Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless Review

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless are great wireless over-ear headphones with active noise-cancellation, great features, and great sound and call quality. Light, comfy, and with a 60-hour battery, they’re unrivaled at the level. Thankfully, Sennheiser fixed the performance flaws in our Momentum 3 Wireless review, and the redesigned Momentum 4 sets the battery life bar for wireless headphone producers. Learn about Sennheiser’s Momentum 4 Wireless’s new features and performance in our entire review.

Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless Specs

Price

Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless over-ear ANC headphones cost $379 / £309 / AU$579, up from $349 / £299 / AU$549. Their website, Best Buy, and Crutchfield sell these, and Sweetwater reduced them to $299.   The M4W, like the Momentum 3 Wireless, comes in black or white and includes a hard case with a soft fabric cover, USB-C charging cable, 2.5mm-to-3.5mm audio cable, and an aircraft adaptor. The next-gen Momentum 4 Wireless, Sennheiser’s premier wireless headset, faces stiff competition.

In these tough economic times, the $350 price tag is less than expected, which is encouraging, and it undercuts competitors like the Sony WH-1000XM5 and Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 ANC headphones, which cost roughly $399. This does nothing to undermine the Sennheiser, which already has tremendous value.

Design

Sennheiser fully redesigned its Momentum 4 Wireless over-ear headphones, replacing the Momentum 3 Wireless’s eye-catching original style with a more mainstream appearance and feel. The leather and stainless steel headband that adjusted the earcups and the retro flair that made the over-ear Momentum 3 Wireless so alluring are gone.   The revised M4W has a more commonplace style, but Sennheiser thinks this will help it appeal to more people. I like the classic aesthetic of the earlier model. The new version looks like the Sony WH-1000XM4, which might be the goal. However, the M4W is bigger and clamps the head harder than the Sony.

Controls

Sennheiser replaced the Momentum 3 Wireless push buttons with dependable touch controls in the M4W. Play/Pause, Next/Previous track playback, Volume Up/Down, Answer/End/Reject Call, and ANC are limited to the right earcup. One button on the right earcup controls Power Off and Pairing. A pinch zoom on the touchpad alters transparency without using the Sennheiser Control app.

This was helpful since I could adjust train noise without unlocking my phone. The touch controls are snappy and easy to use after a short time. It’s bad the touch controls can’t be relocated to the left earcup for lefties. Good on-ear detection linked instantly to my playback device. However, the sensors were extremely sensitive, and the headphones would Auto connect and restart playback even when I picked them up to carry them about the house.

Sound Quality

The Momentum 4 Wireless is another example of the company’s dedication to high-quality headphones. Like the M3W, it features a 42mm (1.7 inches) dynamic driver in each earcup to offer Sennheiser’s characteristic sound with powerful bass and balanced mids and highs. EQ presets, and a three-band equalizer allow you to construct your own. Use your phone’s tracking to establish Sound Zones that automatically change the earphones’ sound output to a predefined area.

A new customization feature helps you pick the optimal sound output by guiding you through alternate sound options. Sennheiser’s acoustic characteristic is balanced across the frequency spectrum, although it can generate massive bass pounding when needed. The thumping bass rhythm of Big Data’s “Dangerous” or Dua Lipa’s “New Rules” streaming on Tidal indicates that the Sennheisers enjoy both upbeat and quiet music by Gregory Porter.

Noise cancellation

Due to the cushioned earcups, the Momentum 4’s over-ear design provides good natural noise isolation. Even without ANC, using the headset decreased background noise, yet some low-frequency noises got through. Sennheiser claims each earcup has one exterior mic and two internal microphones measuring background noise. The Momentum 4 Wireless automatically adjusts noise cancellation to your environment.

The sound quality and frequency balance were unaffected, and I was oblivious to the technology’s influence on my listening except to keep me engrossed in the song. Set transparency mode to hear external sounds while out and about without removing your headphones to improve listening safety and ensure I didn’t miss any platform announcements and changes while waiting at the station. Wind Noise Reduction set to Auto didn’t interfere with my listening on windy train station platforms. Disable or max out Wind Noise Reduction.

FAQs

Does the Sony WH-1000XM5 outperform the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless in ANC?

Yes. However, the difference is less than seen on a chart. The Sony WH-1000XM5 reduces noise by 5dB more than the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless, but only by a few percentage points.

Does the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless charge fast?

Yes. Company papers say a 10-minute charge provides 6 hours of listening, although this may be off.

How heavy is the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless?

Just over 290 grammes makes the headset heavy for ultra-long listening sessions. However, it’s fine for 1-2-hour commutes.