The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless headphones are a welcome addition to the company’s wireless under-headphone portfolio. At the same time, the traditional style of its predecessor, the Momentum 3 Wireless, as a flagship model, had inadequate battery life for such a popular design, as well as some performance flaws that kept it from being a candidate for the best noise-canceling headphones.
Furthermore, practically every one of the physical buttons has already been replaced by touch and swipe gesture controls. While some Sennheiser enthusiasts will be turned off by what You can only characterize as a bland, uninspired design, there are some reasons to be enthusiastic about the company’s newest cans. The increased noise cancellation and the impressive 60-hour battery life are top of that list.
What will you see here?
Price and availability
The new Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless is available for presale from August 9 and in full on August 23 — Sennheiser will take a more traditional approach. Indeed, looking just at Momentum 4 Wireless, it’s difficult not to conclude that Sennheiser is aiming squarely at Sony’s enormously popular XM-series headphones.
When Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless, placed above white ANC headphones, will go into full retail on August 23, 2022, they will cost $349, £299, and AU$549, respectively.
Design:
Sennheiser opted to entirely redesign its over-ear headphone design for the Momentum 4 Wireless, replacing the classic gaze design of a Momentum 3 Wireless with a more mainstream appearance and feel. The leather and stainless steel headband that doubled as a slider for adjusting the earcups and the retro flair that made a Momentum 3 Wireless so instantly recognized and desirable is no longer available.
Sennheiser has shifted from a design aimed at headphone lovers to one that would appeal to a wide range of people, from those who work from home to people who work on aircraft. Regarding business, the Momentum 4 Wireless appears to be serious. They won’t draw too much attention when on a Zoom call, and they’ll blend with the Sony & Bose headphones everyone is sporting on airplanes these days.
The new design’s retractable arms function effectively. It was simple to get the perfect fit, with the earcups in the ideal position for ears or the proper comfort levels. The unique swivel hinge system allows the earcups to fit precisely on the ear while still folding flat for storage in the included travel bag.
Controls:
Sennheiser has abandoned the tactile push buttons that graced the earcups of the Momentum 3 Wireless in favor of dependable touch controls in the M4W. The interface handles Play/Pause, so Next track playback controls, Level Up/Down, Response Call, and ANC on the right earcup. Power Off and Pairing are facilitated by a single physical button on the side of the right earcup.
Apart from the drab look, they’re the biggest letdown. Sennheiser has removed the volume & multifunction buttons from the 3s and the slider that switched between ANC & ambient sound settings. The one physical button on these headphones serves as both a power button and a Bluetooth connecting button, depending on how long you push it. Taps and swipes on the ear cups handle track controls, brightness adjustment, and ANC. Some of these are simple to remember because they are logical: touch the right ear cup once to play/pause, swipe ahead or back to choose tracks, or slide your finger up or down its surface to regulate volume.
Sound quality:
Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless offers more excellent overall sound quality than Apple AirPods Max and the Bose NC 700. Granted, sound quality is very subjective, but the Momentum Wireless 4 gives a degree of refinement, clarity, and bass presence unrivaled by the competition.
There are several EQ settings to pick from and the ability to design your own using a three-band equalizer. There’s also the option to establish Sound Zones, which use your phone’s unique tracking features to automatically adapt the earphones to a preset audio output relative to a particular place. A new customizing mode also walks you through several sound settings to help you find the best sound output. Sennheiser hasn’t changed the sonic characteristics much, so if you enjoyed the Momentum 3s, you’d be just as pleased with these.
Noise-canceling:
Sennheiser also has made inroads with noise cancellation. It’s still not as good as Sony or Bose, but the Momentum 4s’ active noise cancellation is substantially better than the Momentum 3s’, which was barely enough. The transparent mode is fine and offers a pleasant feeling of what’s happening around you — but it doesn’t equal the AirPods Max’s “it’s like you’re not using headphones at all” sensation.
The Momentum 4’s over-ear design provides decent natural noise isolation to begin with, due to the way the padded earcups wrap ears. Even before ANC was enabled, simply wearing the headset with nothing connected considerably lowered the overall background sound’s average. However, some low-frequency noises made it through.
They effectively check all the criteria for what you want from a luxury noise-canceling headset in terms of comfort, functionality, and performance.
Are Sennheiser Momentum true wireless headphones suitable for running?
Although for water resistance, the earphones are certified IPX4. The Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 2 is stable. These lack stabilizing fins, but they should remain in place during modest athletic activities such as running.
Sennheiser Momentum headphones: Overall
The Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless noise canceling headphones provide a balanced sound and a beautiful vintage design. They’re an upgrade over Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Wireless in terms of sound quality, design comfort, and microphone quality.
How long does it take to charge Sennheiser headphones?
A complete charging cycle might take up to 8.5 hours after the first charge. The Charge state LED just on the transmitter becomes red during charging. The Charge status LED turns green when the battery packs are entirely charged.
Conclusion
Whereas the Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless was a step forward but not a game changer, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless headphones significantly raised the bar. The redesigned look won’t set the M4W out from the pack, but the 60-hour battery life raises the bar for the sector and makes it the one to beat. Add inside the easy-going Sennheiser audio and good noise cancellation, and the Momentum 4 appears to be the most beneficial wireless headphones.
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless is an excellent pair of headphones with excellent noise cancellation, call quality, and sound quality if Sennheiser’s goal was to create a model with features comparable to Sony’s lauded XM4 and XM5 earphones but with higher sound fidelity.
