Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless
MSRP $350.00
“Superb Sennheiser sound sets these wireless cans apart.”
Pros
- Amazing battery life
- Outstanding sound
- Effective wind noise reduction
- Comfortable
- Effective ANC
Sennheiser has been making premium headphones for many years. As technology has evolved, its headphones have kept pace by including that recent technology. But on the subject of style, Sennheiser has at all times stuck to its guns. Its headphones have at all times had a particular, classy designer look to them — living proof are the Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless.
With the brand new Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless — up for preorder on August 9 and available in full on August 23 — Sennheiser has taken a more conventional approach. In reality, the Momentum 4 Wireless, it’s unimaginable to not think that Sennheiser is taking direct aim at Sony’s wildly popular XM-series headphones.
That was a wise move, and I believe Sennheiser has done a terrific job with the Momentum 4 wireless. These headphones have all the most recent features, incredible battery life, and sound higher than the Sony XM-series headphones. But do you have to buy them?
Let’s see if we will figure that out together.
All-new style
As these photos clarify, Sennheiser has pivoted from a design made for headphone enthusiasts to a design that may appeal to an enormous audience spanning those that work at home to those that work on airplanes. The Momentum 4 Wireless seem like they mean business on the subject of doing business. They won’t call an excessive amount of attention while taking a Zoom call, they usually’ll fit right amongst all of the Sony and Bose headphones you see folks wearing on airline flights today.
The Momentum 4 Wireless are remarkably comfortable. I initially was apprehensive in regards to the scant amount of padding underneath the scarf. But after wearing the Momentum 4 Wireless for over 100 hours at this point, I can let you know that between the cushy earcups, perfect clamping force, and customarily light weight, the Momentum 4 Wireless are a pleasure to wear for long periods of time. No pinched crown, no ear sweats, no other fatigue-inducing elements, just all-day (or all-flight) comfort.
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Sennheiser Momentum 3 - 2.
Sony WH-1000XM5 - 3.
Sennheiser Momentum 4
The Momentum 4 Wireless case is precisely what you’d expect: a zippered, reinforced soft-sided affair that cradles the headphones, a USB-C charging cable, headphone cable, and my old, increasingly irrelevant friend, the airline adapter. The case material matches the outside of the scarf
The Momentum 4 Wireless don’t collapse completely down. Just like the Sony WH1000-XM5, the earcups simply rotate in for a flatter profile, and that’s it. As such, the case is a bit larger than people who accompanies more compact headphones, though I even have not found this to be an annoyance.
Momentum 4 Features
The Momentum 4 Wireless have only one button. A brief press calls up your phone’s digital assistant. Press for 3 seconds to show the headphones on or off, or press for five seconds to place them in pairing mode. Regardless that I believe it’s silly that two commands are separated by two seconds of pressing, it ended up being a nonissue due to the headphones’ Bluetooth auto-pairing feature.
The remainder of the controls for music and calls are found on the surface of the correct earcup. Tap the earcup to play/pause, swipe forwards and backwards to advance or return a track, and swipe up and down for volume control. The gestures relevant to phone calls kick in whenever you receive or are on a call.
The Momentum 4 Wireless have industry-leading battery life.
The left earcup does nothing but produce excellent sound.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that the Momentum 4 Wireless have an auto-off feature that triggers after, say, quarter-hour of being them not being worn. I do know this because I packed them up in my backpack, tossed the backpack behind my automobile, drove home, and had constant Bluetooth connection issues with my automobile stereo since the Momentum 4 Wireless kept trying to connect with my phone through the drive. Once I arrived at my destination, I noticed that my phone was still connected to the headphones. And after I pulled my backpack out of the trunk, I heard the headphones blaring away from inside. I discovered this odd since the headphones have a wonderful sensor contained in the earcups that prompts them to pause music once they are faraway from the pinnacle.
It seems the sensor is so sensitive that it will possibly be fooled into considering the headphones are pressed against a head once they are sandwiched of their case. As such, it might be a very good idea to show them off manually, though it’s not the tip of the world if you happen to don’t since the Momentum 4 Wireless have industry-leading battery life.
As you would possibly expect, there’s an app you need to use with the Momentum Wireless 4, and it offers decent functionality. Set the ANC to routinely adjust to your environment, or manually control how effective the ANC is, from block-it-all-out mode all of the strategy to transparency mode. You can even create and name “zones,” so the headphones adopt a custom ANC and/or EQ setting based on areas you frequent. As for that EQ control? It’s a really basic, three-band affair, with basic bass, midrange, and treble adjustments. Frankly, I never felt a necessity to regulate the EQ.
Momentum 4 specs
The Momentum 4 wireless use Bluetooth version 5.2 with AAC, AptX and Aptx Adaptive codec support. I discovered the Bluetooth connection to be each remarkably stable and impressively long-range. I used to be capable of walk about 100 feet from my phone without a lot as a blip within the music I used to be listening to. It was only after I took a turn around a corner and placed several partitions between myself and the headphones that I experienced any signal dropout. In other words, the Momentum 4 Wireless’ connection strength is best in school.
What about battery life? Dig this: 60 hours — and that’s with ANC turned on. With ANC off, they’ll go even longer. To place things in perspective, that’s double the battery lifetime of the Sony XM5. I’ve been putting that battery life claim to the test, and after 63 hours of listening with energetic noise-canceling engaged, I still have battery to spare. Frankly, I believe that’s incredible. Well done, Sennheiser.
Momentum 4 noise-canceling
While Sony and Bose still offer probably the most effective noise reduction available in headphones today, Sennheiser is catching up quickly. The Momentum 4 Wireless’ ANC is so good that, when playing music, I used to be unable to detect a difference between them and the Sony XM5 in a head-t0-head comparison. It wasn’t until I turned my music off and used the ANC by itself that I used to be capable of hear the Sony XM5 cutting down a broader spectrum of noise to a rather quieter level than the Momentum 4 Wireless.
Zeke Jones/Digital Trends
Still, while the Sony XM5 (in addition to the XM4) may technically have barely superior noise canceling, I believe the Momentum 4 Wireless’ ANC is, in practice, ok to make most listeners extremely blissful.
Momentum 4 call quality
I’d characterize the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless’ call quality as excellent. During my testing, the person on the opposite end of my phone calls reported that my voice got here through very clearly. That’s until I walked onto a busy street with noisy cars and buses passing by. At that time, a number of the noise around me did bleed into the decision. That is typical of most headphones, nonetheless, though it’s price noting that the Sony XM5, Bose NC 700, and Apple AirPods Max all do a rather higher job of filtering out noise around you when making calls.
One other area of improvement for call quality could be the way through which the user’s voice is piped into the headphones. Once I made calls, I struggled to listen to my very own voice in addition to I do with the aforementioned competing headphones, so I had to observe how loudly I used to be speaking.
One area through which the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless are unmatched for call quality, though, is wind-noise reduction. I’ve never heard wind noise so effectively canceled by any of the opposite headphones I even have tested over the past few years.
Momentum 4 sound quality
Let’s not mince words here: The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless have higher overall sound quality than the Sony XM5, Bose QC45. Bose NC 700, and Apple AirPods Max. Granted, appreciation for sound quality is very subjective, but for my money, the Momentum Wireless 4 offer a level of refinement, detail, and bass presence that I feel is unmatched by the competition.
More bass? Yes. But additionally higher bass.
Bass performance is what stood out most prominently after I first began listening to music on the Momentum 4 Wireless. Now, to be clear, the Momentum brand has at all times had more pronounced bass than most of Sennheiser’s other headphone offerings; nonetheless, the bass within the Momentum Wireless 4 isn’t just pronounced (aka, bass-forward) it’s deep, tuneful, and poignant in a way that outclasses competing models from Sony, Bose, and Apple. It’s more bass, yes, but it surely’s also higher bass.
Once I got past my delight on the bass performance, I noticed a really open, spacious soundstage. With the Sony Xm5, the audio image seems to manifest inside your head. With the Momentum 4 Wireless, though, the soundstage appears to be arrange throughout you. There’s depth, precise instrumental placement, and other elements of sonic holography that I’ve typically heard only in probably the most high-end wired headphones I’ve tested.
Also, I feel the treble is best refined than most competing headphones, with detail, articulation, and texture that is certain to please audiophiles. I also enjoyed the clarity of vocals an amazing deal, with transparency that’s more akin to an open-backed headphone than a closed-back design, never mind one which is employing energetic noise canceling and digital sound processing to attain its sonic signature. To me, this is very remarkable.
Zeke Jones/Digital Trends
More broadly speaking, I simply have more fun listening to music on the Momentum 4 Wireless. There’s more to dig into. More to note. In case you’re more of a passive listener, a number of the depth and detail may not register, but it surely doesn’t take an audiophile to listen to how superb the Momentum 4 Wireless headphones sound.
Our take
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless are a improbable set of headphones with very effective noise canceling, solid call quality, and tremendous sound quality. If Sennheiser’s mission was to make a model competitive with the features of Sony’s vaunted XM4 and XM5 headphones, but with higher sound fidelity, then I’d say: mission achieved.
Is there a greater alternative?
The Sony XM4 and XM5, Bose QC45 and NC 700, and Apple AirPods Max all offer marginally superior noise canceling and call quality. Those for whom headphones are as much a tool for business as they’re for enjoyment may find considered one of those alternatives to be more suitable. Nonetheless, for anyone who places sound quality and battery life at the highest of their priorities list, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless will likely be the better option.
How long will it last?
Given their construct quality and skill to receive updates, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless should last well into the longer term.
Warranty
Sennheiser offers at two-year warranty on the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless.
Must you buy them?
Yes. The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless are among the many best-featured and best-sounding headphones in the marketplace and are sure to thrill anyone searching for the perfect combination of recent features and excellent sound quality.
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