The Momentum 4 is a definitive launch for Sennheiser. It options exceptional energetic noise cancellation (ANC), audio high quality, and battery life, making the well-received Momentum 3 a whole afterthought, together with many different newcomers which have strived to step out of Bose and Sony’s shadows.
Sennheiser Momentum 4 SPECS
Worth: $399
Colours: Black; White
Battery life (rated): 60 Hours
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2
Water resistance: None
Dimension: 7 x 7.67 x 1.82 inches
Weight: 10.3 ounces
A number of upgrades had been utilized to Sennheiser’s newest flagship headphones. Not each change is taken into account an enchancment. Nonetheless, that doesn’t cease the Momentum 4 from establishing itself as one of many finest noise-cancelling headphones ever assembled.
Let’s not maintain you ready any longer. Learn our Sennheiser Momentum 4 assessment for the total breakdown on these sensational noise-cancellers.
- Sennheiser Momentum 4 at Sennheiser for $399
Sennheiser Momentum 4 assessment: Availability and value
You should buy the Momentum 4 for $399 on Sennheiser’s web site or at main on-line retailers, together with Amazon and Finest Purchase. Black and White are the 2 variations accessible. Contained in the field are a carry case, USB-C cable, airplane adapter, and three.5mm to 2.5mm audio cable.
These headphones share the identical MSRP because the Sony WH-1000XM5 and are priced barely greater than the Bose 700 ($379). If that is out of your price range, try extra reasonably priced choices just like the critically acclaimed Cleer Enduro ANC ($149) or Bose QuietComfort 45, which is at the moment right down to $279 on Amazon (opens in new tab).
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Sennheiser Momentum 4 assessment: Design and luxury
The Momentum 4’s redesign is extra streamlined and unobtrusive, however it lacks the Momentum 3’s premium appear and feel. Gone are distinctive particulars just like the aluminum accents, real leather-based, and stainless-steel yokes that linked the earcups to the scarf. These headphones don’t stand out in the identical approach. The nylon material headband with metallic debossed emblem is a lovely contact. Nonetheless, the earcups simply scream inventory design and bear resemblance to some low cost noise-cancelling headphones (try the Treblab Z7 Professional (opens in new tab)).
A minimum of the construct high quality is on level. Sennheiser didn’t compromise the Momentum 4’s sturdiness, using arduous plastic and aluminum parts to cope with the every day abuse you’ll put these cans by. The real leather-based and nylon are of top quality. Most significantly, the headphones don’t really feel as flimsy as another high-end fashions (*cough* WH-1000XM5 *cough*). The carrying case can also be good-looking and has sufficient house to retailer the whole lot.
Consolation isn’t the best as a result of additional weight (10.3 ounces is heavy). You have to be high quality sporting them for an hour earlier than taking a breather. Something longer and also you’ll really feel the scarf apply undesirable stress atop the pinnacle, whereas your ears warmth up from the leather-based.
The extenders are simply adjustable to realize optimum match and have loads of size to accommodate listeners with massive heads. Study what setting most accurately fits your cranium as a result of having a barely unfastened match will increase slippage, and also you don’t need these hitting the bottom.
Sennheiser Momentum 4 assessment: Controls and voice assistant
A mixture of bodily, contact, and movement controls are utilized on the Momentum 4. Most capabilities – playback, name administration, quantity, and listening mode activation – could be activated on the contact pad, although for some odd purpose it falls asleep after a number of minutes of inactivity. This turns into irritating after some time, however when it does operate correctly, the faucet and long-hold gestures are immediately executed. It even helps you to carry out a pinch gesture together with your thumb and index finger to regulate the ANC/Transparency ranges.
Put on detection is 50/50. There may be occasional latency when eradicating or inserting the headphones in your head; auto-pause/play will take a second to provoke.
An motion button sits on the rear of the appropriate earcup to allow the digital assistant (1x press) or pairing/energy mode (lengthy maintain). It’s responsive and produces strong tactility to make sure customers of supposed instructions being met.
Siri, Google Assistant, and Bixby are all suitable with the Momentum 4 and work flawlessly. Sennheiser’s mic array captures each syllable, and all three AI bots acknowledge and reply to voice instructions precisely.
Sadly, these headphones don’t provide management customization.
Sennheiser Momentum 4 assessment: Audio high quality
Sennheiser geared up the Momentum 4 with a robust 42mm transducer system, Hello-Res playback, intuitive options, and a number of EQ settings. These headphones pump out audio-grade sound with glorious replica to benefit from the refined nuances in complicated recordings. Additionally they complement all music genres and choose media (e.g., podcasts, films).
Jennifer Warnes’ hauntingly lovely vocals on “Ballad of the Runaway Horse” sounded so pure, as if she was serenading my ears up-close and in particular person. The upright bass was dealt with delicately, tickling my ear with each pluck, whereas the softly performed fiddle was given prominence.
I’m all the time intrigued by headphones that may reveal obscure background noises on songs. Listening to a lo-fi conversion of Wu-Tang Clan’s “Clan in da Entrance” left me speechless. I picked up on the bee-inspired buzzing in the course of the RZA’s intro soliloquy (I’ve by no means observed this), and I used to be in a position to establish sure members screaming within the background. Switching to the hi-fi model made these noises extra distinctive. I used to be loving the punchy lows and crisp mids as nicely.
The Momentum 4 has intensive sound settings. You’ll be able to manually regulate the three-band EQ or decide from six well-engineered presets (Rock, Pop, Dance, Hip Hop, Classical, Film). There’s even the choice to allow two totally different sound modes – Bass Enhance or Podcast – it doesn’t matter what EQ is in use. These are helpful for rising bass or speech readability; the latter is ideal for ebooks and podcasts.
Subsequent is the Sound Test characteristic that routinely adjusts the EQ to your sonic preferences by way of three-step check. It’s a should for many who want extra nuance from their music, and it boosts the bass and treble efficiency on modern tracks. My personalized preset made the low finish tighter, clearing up the fuzzy bassline and synths on funk-inspired tracks like Tame Impala’s “Is It True”, whereas additionally bettering the midrange (the lo-fi vocals sounded sharp).
Lastly, now we have Sound Zones, one other one in all Sennheiser’s newer options that optimizes the EQ setting (or noise cancellation) by adjusting audio to your location. It does a noteworthy job of stabilizing sound when coming into totally different environments.
Sennheiser added aptX Adaptive codec help to realize near-lossless sound on suitable companies (e.g., Tidal, Qobuz) at as much as 24-bit/48 kHz. The outcomes had been satisfying when listening to music on my Google Pixel 6 Professional. SBC and AAC are additionally supported.
An audio cable is included for wired listening. Bass and quantity take dips, leading to extra impartial sound that’s nonetheless satisfying.
Sennheiser Momentum 4 assessment: Energetic noise cancellation
The Momentum 4 has elite noise-cancelling know-how that places a kibosh on almost each sound it encounters throughout the frequency spectrum, particularly wind.
Sennheiser engineered the headphones to have ANC on always, so that you’re all the time getting some type of noise discount. Setting the characteristic to its highest stage ensures one of the best outcomes. Maneuvering round the home throughout work hours was peaceable, particularly at a time when there was a lot foot visitors (e.g., relations, repairmen, rowdy toddlers). Noises occurring within the kitchen whereas our fridge was being fastened had been silent, together with any dialogue exchanges and my toddler’s loud cries throughout nap time.
Airplanes that flew over the home went unnoticed. Rushing automobiles and gusty winds had been closely minimized, due to the Wind Noise Discount characteristic, which could be set to Max or routinely adjusted by way of Auto setting. Actually loud high-frequency noises like sirens and whistles may very well be heard from a number of toes away, however they weren’t too distracting.
I really like Sennheiser’s Transparency Mode. It has what appears like over 20 ranges of adjustment (the increments are so small that I misplaced rely). All the pieces round me was extremely perceptible, from the development work taking place throughout the road on the Intracoastal Waterway to my child’s wakeup cries on the monitor throughout naptime. The mode was most helpful for speaking with my spouse in the identical workspace; listening to her loud and clearly from throughout the room was clutch when sharing babysitting duties.
Sennheiser Momentum 4 assessment: App and particular options
It’s wonderful to see what number of options Sennheiser crammed into their headphones. Downloading the Good Management app grants you entry to all of them, together with the aforementioned ANC/Adaptive/Transparency mode, Equalizer, Sound Test, and Sound Zones. There may be loads extra to toy with.
The homescreen has a battery stage indicator, Connection Administration setting that performs a pivotal position with connectivity (extra on that later), and Sidetone slider for adjusting vocal readability on calls. Choose the settings menu on the backside proper and come across a number of toggle controls for various capabilities. You’ll be able to allow/disable On-Head Detection, Good Pause, Auto Energy Off, and Consolation Name, a proprietary characteristic that provides sign processing to the voice of callers on the alternative finish and reduces listening fatigue.
Rounding issues out are firmware updates, a reset operate, and a Uncover menu that acts as a content material hub for Sennheiser releases.
Sennheiser Momentum 4 assessment: Battery life
Battery life is rated at 60 hours. Is that with ANC on or off? Good query. In response to Sennheiser, ANC isn’t turned off. Nonetheless, the Momentum 4 has almost triple the battery lifetime of the Bose 700 (20 hours) and can be utilized reasonably for a month earlier than recharging. I’ve used the headphones all through the workweek (3 hours every day) and nonetheless have 60% in tank life.
Sennheiser’s fast charging can generate 4 hours of playtime on a 5-minute cost. That beats the WH-1000XM5’s fast charging: 5 hours on a 10-minute cost.
Sennheiser Momentum 4 assessment: Name high quality and connectivity
Voice and video calls sound very good. The missus couldn’t inform I used to be utilizing headphones when talking indoors, and the outcomes had been much more convincing outdoors. Widespread noises like automobiles and landscaping instruments had been silenced. Wind had zero presence when speaking in drafty situations.
Bluetooth 5.2 was a easy operator that prolonged as much as 100 toes in open areas. There was zero dropout throughout calls and streaming periods. The pairing course of was instantaneous, particularly on Android gadgets with one-tap Google Quick Pair.
The headphones include multipoint know-how (pair to 2 gadgets concurrently), however you need to undergo a distinct course of to allow it. Usually, you would choose the headphones within the Bluetooth settings of your two most popular gadgets, however that by no means appeared to work. As an alternative, I needed to choose my secondary gadget within the Connection Administration settings.
Sennheiser Momentum 4 assessment: Verdict
Sennheiser simply put Bose and Sony on discover with the Momentum 4. These headphones are a fierce competitor backed by grade-A sound, eternal battery life, and intelligible ANC that blocks out incidental sounds in addition to the Bose 700 and Sony WH-1000XM4. The redesign is a step again from the sequence’ previous entries, and the contact panel may use some refining, however the total efficiency these cans ship is irresistible.
