Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless Review

Our Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless Headphones Experience

Much like the Sennheiser wireless earbuds, the Momentum 4 feel luxurious compared to the competition, offering something a little extra with a sensory experience we don't see in their brands. While some headphones feel like plastic and are made from cheaper materials, the case and fabric of the Senneiser are made from a textured cloth that is lovely to look at and feel. Though not the smallest, their travel case helps improve portability and organization. The experience is more “high-end,” and the effort makes the higher price feel justified before you even put them on.

The profile of the Momentum is refined, and it fits reasonably well for most ears. We thought they were comfortable, and they stayed in place while walking and stretching. They felt a little more substantial than the cheaper headphones and have one of the heavier weights in the group (despite a dense plastic headband instead of metal), but they aren't uncomfortable to wear. The clamping force is just right, pleasing to a Goldilocks, who is looking for plush padding and softer materials that still feel cool.

The noise cancellation is where the Sennheiser struggles. While the sound quality is among the best in the group, with an enjoyable mix across genres, the ability to block ambient noise is a disappointment. With music playing, it does an admirable job, but silence or podcasts let in more noise than most commuters or travelers would likely want.

Making calls is also not a good use of the Sennheiser. These headphones had more difficulty than most in bringing callers' voices to the front, and the background noise muddies the words, making them harder to understand. While the calls didn't drop, we did experience callers asking us to repeat ourselves.

Sound Quality

The Momentum 4 are among the best-sounding headphones we've tested. From lows to highs, the mix has great detail and crisp clarity. Sonically complex songs never sound cluttered, and regardless of the volume level, the clean sound profile remains consistent. These headphones don't get as loud as most others, which means you'll need to turn the volume up more than usual. Thankfully, they sounded great, even at max volume, but it's worth noting that this “max” is slightly lower than you'd expect.

Though not quite as dramatic as other bass-heavy headphones, the low end (0Hz to 500Hz) is prominent, providing warmth and punch through every track. While strongly present, the bass never overpowers the rest of the mix. This sound profile will be a godsend for listeners who are put off by the typical consumer-friendly, bass-heavy curve common in modern headphones. While not completely neutral, these headphones leave room for lighter genres, such as classical, jazz, and folk, to display their full range of colors, from lows to highs, without distracting the listener with accentuation of any one element over another. EDM, pop, and rap lovers might not be wholly satisfied, but all can likely appreciate the added space that tracks gain without bass bloat.

The midrange (500Hz to 2kHz) reproduction is exceptional, and singer/songwriter tracks truly capture the Momentum 4's capabilities here. “The Captain is Drunk” by Jack Johnson sounds incredible. Our audio expert noted, “Guitars are warm and bright without being uncomfortably twangy,” harmonies sound tight and clean, the slide guitar pans excitingly to the right, and “its texture has a lovely contrast” with the rhythm section. From 2:01 to 2:25, you can hear how effortlessly Johnson's voice floats over the mix, with no nuances being lost from sonic overcrowding. These headphones make genres like this truly delightful.

High frequencies receive the same treatment as the other ranges, with notable accuracy and clarity, no matter the instrument. While some headphones struggle with sounds like cymbal crashes and shrill woodwind instruments, the Momentum 4 presents them as vibrant without ever feeling overemphasized. While treble detail is not always entirely pristine in every track, it is consistently exciting and accurate across all genres of music. Songs like “Arabesque No. 2” by Debussy, performed by Francois-Joel Thiollier, do a great job of highlighting how well the mids and highs work together in these headphones, with detail front and center at every keystroke.

The Momentum 4 prioritizes accuracy and detail above the coloration of any one particular frequency range. And they remain colorful and exciting. By balancing each frequency range against the other, these headphones allow exhilarating nuance and texture to unfold wherever they are displayed. While not necessarily the best for pop, EDM, or rap, they still do them justice by allowing you to hear more of what is on display. We think all music lovers can find something to appreciate.

We compared the frequency response curve of these headphones to our custom GearLab House Curve. Results confirm our audio experts' findings, with sub-bass notably reduced and midrange and treble gain being slightly subdued.

If you adjust for the inherent gain reduction that these headphones appear to have, the curves would align more closely. They have a curve that would be enjoyable to listeners of any music genre, though you may find them a little quieter than you're used to at mid-volume. These won't do sub-bass-heavy genres justice (like EDM and some rap); however, nearly every other style of music will sound exceptional.

Soundstage

A key element of experiencing music is the feeling of being surrounded by sound, with each instrument's location clearly defined. While the Momentum 4s have a decent soundstage, it is not quite as stellar as their sound quality suggests. Instruments and sounds seem to emanate from the ear cups, rather than the wider world.

However, their location is clearly defined and spatially separated. Listeners will appreciate the headphones' ability to separate instruments and give them direction and spatiality, but it doesn't sound like you're sitting with the band. The suboptimal noise cancellation affects the soundstage, so you won't be able to hear it clearly unless the room is quiet.

Comfort and Fit

Coming in at 293 grams with a measured ear cup size of 58mm by 39mm, these headphones were wonderfully comfortable. Coupled with luxurious-feeling ear cushion material and a lightweight clamping mechanism, we could wear these for 10 hours straight.

None of our testers wearing glasses noticed a problem with these. The only downside is that they aren't the most stable, thanks to the less intense clamping force. You won't be able to do much beyond walking with these on; even stretching and yoga resulted in stability issues.

Noise Cancellation

The Momentum 4 fell short of creating exceptional noise cancellation, performing more on par with budget headphones than the top performers in its price range.

While all headphones have some basic passive noise cancellation, the Momentum 4 doesn't have much. During our testing, the bass, mids, and treble all bled past the earcups.

They passively reduce ambient sound, but not as much as competitors. They reduced the treble range by approximately 35 dB, the midrange by 22 dB, and the low end by only 13 dB. That means a lot of noise and voices can be heard quite easily, while hissing and higher-pitched noises are more subdued.

With ANC on, mild improvements in noise reduction were made across the board, but a mild improvement over not much is still not much. If ANC is your top priority, these are not worthy. It can block enough that you won't know what people are saying, but you'll still know they are talking.

App and Controls

Customization

These headphones offer impressive customization options through their in-app EQ and various ANC modes. However, some features, like multi-point pairing, were lackluster. The touch controls were easy to use and intuitive, but we found them overly sensitive, which can lead to frustration and accidental changes.

The Momentum can adjust the EQ based on your location. Sennheiser refers to these as “Sound Zones.” It allows you to adjust the EQ based on your environment without making any modifications. The EQ is superior to most, allowing for pinpoint and accurate frequency adjustments. You can turn the bass up quite a bit without it becoming distorted, though it never sounds as impactful as bass-focused headphones.

Connectivity

While the Momentum has multipoint pairing, meaning you can have up to two Bluetooth devices connected simultaneously, we noticed that this feature can glitch when previously paired Bluetooth devices are nearby. However, once connected to each device, switching between them was instant and seamless. We needed to pause the playback stream on one device before we would hear the other to get the automatic switching to work.

Battery

While the Momentum 4 has good battery life, it does not meet its manufacturer's claimed 60-hour battery life. We measured 49 hours of runtime, which is still a decent performance compared to competitors.

Between their battery life and case, these would be decent commuting and travel headphones if their noise cancellation were better.

Call Quality

The Momentum 4 has okay call-quality performance, but it's disappointing for the price.

During our stress test with louder background noises, you can hear that the extraneous noises become quite distracting, even in quieter environments like an everyday office. The voice over the subway station's loudspeaker is strong, battling for attention when the callers talk. We sometimes found it hard to distinguish words, which created confusion about what the caller was saying.