STEREO GUIDE verdict
+ natural sound image
+ deep, musical bass
+ plays silky and long-listening
+ very good app with many functions
- not the zippiest inear on the market
- Low bass could be more accurate in terms of impulse
-
Sound: tonal balance / transparency9.2
-
Sound: Bass / Dynamics8.8
-
Ease-of-use / Connectivity8.8
-
Price / Performance9.6
The review of the Sennheiser Sport True Wireless had a prequel in the editorial office. After the success of the CX Plus True Wireless in the review, we were curious to see how other derivatives of the CX model would perform. In the case of the Sport True Wireless, the name already defines the field of application: Everything here is designed for sports and exercise. There is no noise cancelling, but there is a small fin for better hold of the wireless earbuds in the ear as well as improved water resistance.
As a completely new feature, Sennheiser touts two different types of ear canal adapters that are included: One is supposed to provide complete sealing, the other for maximum comfort and a residual acoustic permeability even without electronic transparency mode. This makes sense insofar as it is useful for many sports activities if you can hear something from the outside world. Electronic transparency or voice-through circuits, on the other hand, are more optimized for short-term maximum attention, such as announcements on trains, flights, or train stations, and sound reverberant to annoying when used continuously.
This is how sporty the Sennheiser Sport are
With IP54 dust and splash protection, the Sennheiser Sport True Wireless are quite properly protected against sand, rain and sweat. However, you should not expose them to immersion or too heavy water bombardment.
The battery life is exemplary: 9 hours of total autonomy of the Earbuds is promised by the manufacturer, and 27 hours without power connection with recharging in the case. As with the CX Plus True Wireless, it is a bit angular and thicker, but it is still okay in view of the capacity.
The dynamic transducers of 7 mm size are called True Response. We already know them from the CX Plus. With an array of four microphones, two of which are designed as beamforming arrays, it should be possible to capture speech better during phone calls with the in-ear headset. This succeeds because the direction of the tones is taken into account. The manufacturer thus promises improved speech quality even in outdoor noise. This also allows calling the voice assistants Siri or Google Assistant on the connected smartphone.
Music is imported according to the Bluetooth 5.2 standard. With AAC and aptX Adaptive , high-quality codecs for the Apple as well as the Windows and Android world are on board.
Two kinds of adapters with app requirement
The manufacturer supplies two sets of rubber adapters in three sizes each. One for complete sealing, the other for a kind of passive transparency mode. A colored ring identifies the latter and reduces the risk of confusion to zero. So far, so well thought out.
There is one small catch: The different seal to the ear canal necessarily requires a different tonal tuning. So you have to specify in the free Sennheiser Smart Control app (for iOS and Android) which adapters you have put on, and the handset switches to a suitable bass equalization. The difference is significant. This is not possible via touch command. A bit inconvenient when using the Sport alternately on laptop and smartphone. At least the app control from the smartphone even worked while the Sport was connected to the laptop. Even if sometimes with a small delay.
In addition, you have the choice of three different fins and a simple rubber ring. In the latter case, the form factor is the same as the previously reviewed Sennheiser CX Plus True Wireless.
The Sennheiser Smart Control app is minimalistic, but useful
The Sennheiser Smart Control app is not the most complex on the market. However, it convinced us with small, useful features in the review. The connection went smoothly and quickly. The personalization of the touch functions with an overview screen is particularly well solved. In addition, there is a function that makes the acoustic perception of one’s own voice a bit more natural during calls. It can be adjusted in three stages and is supposed to ensure that you do not involuntarily speak louder than necessary when talking on the phone in the train.
You can also adjust how many announcements and feedback beeps the CX Sport plays in three stages. If you are annoyed by the earphones announcing that the maximum volume has been reached every time, you can easily turn it off here.
The automatic pause function when removing a handset is more common, but nevertheless just as useful as the automatic standby function. And: Finally, an app shows the currently used audio codec. This gives the reassuring feeling to the listener that they are not listening to SBC now, but enjoying high quality music in AAC or aptX.
In the “Equalizer” submenu there is a classic 3-band EQ and a special curve for podcast and voice transmissions.
This is how the Sennheiser CX Sport True Wireless sounds in the listening test
Actually, we would have to write two different listening tests for the CX Sport: Once with insulating rubber seals and once with the transparency adapters. While the app provides extensive tonal correction of the transfer function, there remain character differences between the two modes. Not dramatic, but possibly crucial for some music listeners.
Transparency operation should not be thought of as too permeable. Of course, arriving trucks or honking cars can be heard much better as a cyclist than with clogged ears. But when it comes to conversations or communicating with sports colleagues, it gets more difficult. This is because external noises not only come through quite heavily muffled, but also somewhat low in treble padded, and speech intelligibility is clearly impaired.
The adapters determine the sound
However, the CX Sport True Wireless was sonically convincing with the transparency adapters with smooth resolution and cleanly shaded timbres. We spontaneously recognized the audiophile transparency of the CX Plus and the dynamically rather calm gait with a tendency towards slightly warm timbres. The low bass even seemed a touch more voluminous to us and the three-dimensionality was even wider than on the CX Plus. Depending on the music genre, voices sounded a bit more distant and the Sennheiser could have been a bit more dynamic in the trebles. However, this level of sound quality is already amazing for 130 Euros.
With the isolating adapters called “Focus”, the CX Sport True Wireless also stepped it up a notch dynamically and in terms of playability: if the bass seemed voluminous but not as snappy in transparency mode, it now picked up more speed and seemed to carry the rest of the spectrum along with it. The sound event moved a bit closer to the listener and the rooms became more compact. Not ideal for acoustic recordings, but ideal for direct-recorded music from rock to pop to hip-hop. At most, electronic beats showed that the CX Sport is not the most precise in the low bass and has a minimal tendency to smoothness in the treble. The maximum level is not sky-high either, but it will satisfy most demands.
Thus, the Sennheiser CX Sport True Wireless proved to be more of an all-rounder for a wide variety of music genres and music listeners who prefer a natural sound image and can do without the final kick.
Conclusion and alternatives to the Sennheiser Sport True Wireless
We have not yet reviewed too many models in the dedicated Sport True Wireless EarBuds segment. The Tribit MoveBuds H1 are cheaper and can claim waterproofness and longer battery autonomy. Apart from the powerful bass and larger level reserves, they don’t beat the Sennheiser Sport True Wireless in terms of sound. We don’t know of any other speaker on the market that plays so well-balanced, transparent and at the same time appealingly dynamic for 130 Euros. Its sister model, the CX Plus True Wireless, offers additional features like noise cancelling and similar sonic qualities, but we found the Sport variant to be a touch more playable with the isolating adapters, which is probably more to the liking of most active music listeners.
Specifications Sennheiser Sport True Wireless
- Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: 130 Euro
- Type: In-Ear
- Transducer principle: Dynamic
- Weight: 6 g
- Features: Charging case, IP54 dust/splash protection, app control, different adapters for seal/transparent operation, 27 hours maximum runtime, hands-free microphone.
- More at: www.sennheiser.com
