Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless

Updated with further comparisons to Bathys, and images of some great test tracks and my current EQ setting. The song from Transformers that I’ve attached is one of my favorite test tracks for spatial qualities and imaging (The All Spark by Steve Jablonsky). It’s got great dynamics and stereo imaging with these spacey synth-like sounds and percussive transients, and when the cello comes in at :57, it’s a great way to test center image accuracy and timbre!)

Ok, I finally bit the bullet and upgraded my beloved Momentum 3 wireless with the newer (and slightly controversial and divisive) Momentum 4!

BACKGROUND - I mostly listen to orchestral film scores. Occasionally at the gym I listen to hardstyle EDM, trance, metal, punk, and classic rock, but the vast majority of my headphone use is listening to film scores, gaming, movies, and also composing music and working as a sound designer.

I favor an open sound, strong imaging/depth, spatial qualities, and a fairly flat tuning over a fun signature, and I almost always EQ ANC headphones to have as little bass as possible, it makes them infinitely more clear and defined to my ears.

The Momentum 3 were my first ANC headphones and I love them still. I have since owned the Bowers and Wilkins Px8, Px7 s2e, Bose Quietcomfort Ultra, and the Focal Bathys. The Bathys are my favorite for sound, followed VERY closely by the px8 and px7 s2e.

I thought that the momentum 4 wouldn’t be able to hold a candle to the top dogs- I’ve read they’re muddy, too much of a change from the m3, not as wide, all kinds of stuff.

THE EXPERIENCE/FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I put on the Momentum 4, connected to my phone, and played one of my favorite test tracks, Journey to the Island by John Williams from Jurassic Park,

My first immediate thought as the strings and woodwinds flourish with a rousing run- ok these are bright (good, but bright).

My second immediate thought as the other instruments start chiming in- holy crap the width and detail presented here is nice! I’m hearing all the little noises like bow clicks, chair scrapes, brass players taking a breath, etc.

Third thought as the first and second violins, violas, celli, basses, and woodwinds all play both individually and together, followed by a really quick flute and piccolo run that is a GREAT way to test imaging accuracy and placement- HOLY crap the openness and imaging in the front is… wow. Is this the momentum 4 or the Bathys? Jesus. I think the elevated treble helps orchestral instruments like woodwinds cut through and present those ultra-precise images in front, at the expense of note body and weight- things sound more thin (but still very good)

Immediately I was genuinely stunned. Please note that I was expecting these to not even be close to the Bathys, or even the Momentum 3- but I can truly say I was very, very impressed with the technical performance on this track.

BTW, I had just bought these in a really awesome colorway, Denim, from Best Buy for $250 freaking bucks. And while the dynamic and punch were lacking by comparison, as far as detail, this $250 pair was within striking distance of the unanimously praised Champion in the ANC sound quality realm (and at $600-$700 to boot!).

The most surprising part, as far as having laser precise central depth and imaging capabilities, the Momentum actually wins here (to be fair, it's due to the elevated treble, I believe- they're bright and it really benefits orchestral imaging, but isn't as good for other genres, etc). It just projects a really solid picture of the music in front of me for this genre, it’s wild, and incredibly surprising.

FIT- I used them at the gym and was also initially impressed with the fit and comfort- note that your ears will get hot, these aren’t good for long listening sessions but for a portable solution, they’re perfect. The Momentum 3 earcups never stay adjusted, they slide all over, but the headphones themselves do stay in place on my head (when running, lifting, etc). The Bathys actually fall right off if I’m laying on a bench getting ready to lift weights or something, they seriously slip and slide and I can’t count how many times I’ve just taken them off and put them on the floor haha (same with px7 s2e, they fall off when your head tilts backwards, like lying on a bench.

The Momentum 4 just feel really sleek and modern, and stay in place perfectly.

***UPDATE - post-gym, at home, the comfort was pretty bad for me personally. I couldn't wear them for gaming or home use for long, they just started to hurt my ears badly- not just discomfort but a bit of pain. Out of all the ANC headphones I've tried, I have to put them last for comfort (sadly, bc they sound so damn good). For reference, my ranking for comfort for ANC cans-
1. px8
2. px7 s2e
3. Bose Quietcomfort Ultra
4. Bathys
5. Momentum 3
6. Momentum 4

ANC

In general I think the ANC is good, but it’s better at blocking out certain sounds than others (as to be expected with any pair). For instance, higher pitched noises like traffic outside my window, and the heat pushing through the AC vents as it’s 20 degrees fahrenheit outside right now, I was surprised how much I could hear those- and it’s not like it was awful or anything, but it seemed a tiny bit worse than the Bathys in some cases. Part of it feels like my ears had more room to breathe in the Bathys, and the overall “white noise” profile they generated when ANC was on was a bit more neutral or natural, I could hear things but they sounded further away.

I’ll update more impressions later, I just wanted to collect my thoughts so far, as I was incredibly surprised with how much I liked these. Keep in mind it’s also the honeymoon period and the sheer value is part of the reason I’m so damn impressed right now.

——————————————

Next day, further impressions vs Bathys- Bathys have more body and weight to instruments, better dynamics, which makes things like acoustic guitars really pop- that along with great imaging makes them very spherical, and engaging. Separation is better as well, more space between instruments.

However, the Momentum 4 are very close, at such a lower price, I’m probably selling the Bathys. I’m not a collector, I usually have just one open back, one closed, one ANC, and one IEM. I love the Bathys. But I love the Momentum 4 more, and they’re significantly more convenient and much more appropriate to wear on the go, due to their value at $250… I’d much rather wear these in public than a $700 pair.

The Momentum 4 front depth and imaging really is amazing, regardless of price point. I’m not sure what fancy DSP they have going on, but it’s genuinely amazing. Instead of the Bathys spherical stage, you get big pockets out to the left and right, and a very accurate and broad central image- you can absolutely tell the different positions of first and second violins, flutes, oboe, piccolo, bassoon, clarinet, they all have their own distinct place across the stereo field out in front of you. I don’t really find any noticeable gaps, it’s not 3 blob, but it’s also not a big sphere, it’s more like a big 4k display out in front of you, stretching wide, and then two additional pockets stretching out far left and far right. It’s very engaging and pleasant. The dynamics aren’t quite as good as Bathys as I mentioned, so you get a detailed picture, you can hear everything very well, but things don’t JUMP into your ears the same way, they’re very present and obvious in that fantastic front projection.

The images are generally thinner and smaller than the Bathys as well, going back and forth the Bathys wins in size and stage, but again, I’m overall stunned with how well momentum 4 keeps up. Does this mean you’ll put on the Momentum 4 and be STUNNED? Coming from an AirPods Max, Momentum 3, Bose, Sony, I would say there’s a very good chance you will be.
Coming from Bathys? It’s not better. While I praise the Momentum 4 repeatedly, it’s because of the value on display and just how close it gets. Also, I’m not looking for a solution to replace my closed back or my desktop setup, I use the DCA E3 or HD800 when I’m at home. I’m just looking for the best possible portable option, and for me it’s very clearly the Momentum 4. If you want to just ditch your desktop setup for a portable ANC closed back, I don’t think you’ll find it with the Momentum 4, but you might with the Bathys.

If you want to spend a lot less, and constantly get a smile on your face when you’re out and about thinking “god these are good”, just try these. I adjusted the EQ to basically be the opposite of a V shape, adding in mids, and eliminating that basic “consumer” sound profile. Use the EQ to shape the sound, and I can say there’s a very good chance you’ll be highly impressed, EVEN if you’ve tried or own the Bathys,
Also, final comparison, the earcups fit a lot better if you want to relax in bed and listen to some tunes, where the Bathys they move around a lot of your head is in a pillow and can drastically effect the sound.

Introduction:-

I am very excited to review my first Sennheiser product today. This is the Momentum 4 from them its a ANC headphone which competes with the likes of Sony XM5 and Bose QC line up. So how are they? Lets find out

I have also shared a video version of the review at YouTube any support there in form of a view, A like or A subscribe is greatly appreciated. But if you so wish to read the written version you can read this.



These are a loaner unit from Sennheiser and a huge thanks to them, but all the thoughts and opinions you are about to hear are my own.

Buy them here (Unaffiliated Link) :-

Amazon (Most countries) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CQ2TBSPV

Sennheiser Website (Most Countries) - https://www.sennheiser-hearing.com/headphones/wireless-headphones/

Also please do an online search for dealers in your country, for a better deal


I will be as usual following my bullet style format for better readability for those who are dyslexic and in general find it hard to read long paragraphs. I follow this guide in general from the British Dyslexia Association.


Lets get started!

---

Review:-



1. Everyone is aware of the Sennheiser wired headphones and their legendary status. But the momentum wireless headphone series has been quite popular too.



2. These apparently make a good balance between being consumer friendly while also sounding good. Atleast that's what I have seen from some reviews. Lets dive deep and find out



3. The price of the Momentum 4 is $379 which is the MSRP but they can be always be found on sale, sometimes for as low as $240 new.






See the lowest price in Amazon USA, although it might vary depending on region and when you buy




4. The unboxing experience is very simple. Everything is located inside the main headphone case.



5. I got this fantastic graphite colour, which is probably my favourite colour as I didn’t really like the white colour and the black colour of the headphones feels a bit cheap and flimsy. The graphite colour looks quite posh while also rejecting the fingerprints really well. Good job Sennheiser with this fantastic colour!



6. It comes with a fantastic hard case, the headphones, an analog cable which terminates to 3.5mm, aeroplane audio adapter, usb-c charging cable



7. They are very neatly organized inside the case and they have their own spot which I like



8. The upper portion of the headband has this fabric finish something akin to the case, which makes it feel very premium.






9. The earcups and the headband is made out of this pleather material which has a good amount of memory



10. The entire build of the momentum is made out of plastic to keep it light, but the plastic is of good quality and it does feel cheap or flimsy unlike the Sony or Bose. Although the momentum 4 is tad bit heavier than the rest,but I have had no issues with it



11. The fit is really good! Once you set the size of the headband. It seals really well



12. Although sometimes my ears does do touch the inside, which is a nitpick since my ears are quite large.



13. There is one minor con I have come across is when I set the headband to the size of my head for wearing when I try to put the headphones back in the case they don’t fit, I have to bring them back to their original position for putting them in. So again when I wear them later I have to set my headband size again.



14. The headphones also don’t fold inside like the bose headphones. This is a con for it having a larger footprint, but this is also a pro as it has less moving joints it is very less prone to breaking over the period of time



15. If you place the headphone inside the case it automatically switches off. Alternatively it also has an auto turn off feature which you can set from the app.



16. It also has an auto turn on feature where in if you twist open the headphones they turn on and connects to the last connected device. Which is a really awesome feature, and I found it using more times than I could think of.






17. The momentum 4 can be used via bluetooth, the included analog cable and any usb c cable which supports data.



18. Now to change the settings or eq of the headphone you have to connect via bluetooth. But after that all the settings are saved inside the headphones.



19. One cool thing is they sound really good of the analog cable and the settings you saved inside the dac of the headphones is still applicable via the analog cable. And if your headphone has battery left then the anc can be used. I feel the bass is a bit crisper and tighter and the overall sound has a better resolution when played via wired mode.



20. Without the battery when played through the analog cable they sound really bad as the DSP setting isnt working. But this shouldn’t matter more for what I am going to say next.



20. Now for the killer feature! The momentum 4 can be used by wire via the usb c port. Now doing so the headphones can simulteanously transfer audio + microphone input + it charges the headphones from the source device + ANC also works!



21. This is a feature I absolutely love!! If my battery was dead I could easily use a usb c cable and get all these features. This is my favourite thing of the momentum 4’s. Also just like the analog mode I feel the bass is a bit crisper and tighter and the overall sound has a better resolution when played via usb-c wired mode.



22. The battery life of sennheiser is around 60 hours with ANC! Which is a crazy number to achieve, and yes in my very long testing I got around 58 hours and some change. I played it in the aac codec with around 30% volume.



23. It also has a fast charge feature which gives you 6 hours of playback with 10 minutes of charge. And the full charge takes north of 1 hour



24. Sadly the momentum’s don’t have a anc off state rather it has complete anc or complete transparency and in between you have a middle ground which lets in some sound. I would really appreciate if Sennheiser via an update gave me an option for that, that would extend the battery even further.



25. I will leave a screenshot of the touch controls so you can pause and read it, thankfully it gives control over everything. But one minor con is that its all located on the right side, although the controls are fairly intuitive so you shouldn’t be having an issue learning them.






27. The right earcup has the power on/off button which is also a pairing button. Led indicator for how much battery is left and also the usb c port along with the 2.5mm analog port



28. Now talking about the ANC and transparency these perform really well! But the Sony and Bose edges them out by a bit in both aspects. Both Sony and bose do very well with blocking the high frequencies and also peoples voices. One thing which the momentum 4’s does very well when in ANC is that there is no EQ shift when the ANC is on, which is really awesome.



29. If I had to give an arbitrary number for both ANC and transparency then the Sony and Bose would be a 9/10 while the Sennheiser would be a 8/10. Now in no way is the Sennheiser bad, its infact very good. But its just that there are two headphones out there which performs really good in these aspects



30. I had no issues with the Bluetooth 5.2 momentum 4 when it came to range.



31. It doesn’t have LDAC, but rather supports APTX adaptive, APTX HD along with the AAC, SBC. Which I personally prefer in headphones geared towards a general consumer.




32. The aptx codec gives you a versatility by balancing the act between sounding good, low latency and giving you a good range.



33. I have read online that there have been connection issues particularly with windows PC, but I personally haven't had any issues at all.



33. It can connect upto two devices which is really nice, and you don’t need the app for that to work



34. You can also disable the touch controls if you so wish from within the apparently



35. These also have in-ear detection for play/pause which is nice and as usual can be toggled via the apparently



36. I will show some screenshots from the app, so that you can see how the app is like. Most of the settings are pretty self explanatory











37. The Sennheiser app has a sound personalisation feature which sadly requires you to make an account and login. Which again I am not a big fan of.



38. For me this sound personalisation didn’t sound that good, and rather gave me a heap of treble and made the sound very muffle so I decided not to use that.



39. As for sound I did use a little bit of eq. Because I found one small con with the out of the box sound is that the treble at around 8k or 10k region is a bit too peaky and in many songs specially instrumentals they pricked my ears so I toned a tad bit here.



40. Also while I found the stock bass to be plenty in quantity, I felt that it lacked a bit of that biteness and crispness of the bass so I increased the bass tad bit.



41. Check the EQ I did from the app, and this is saved inside the headphone. This minor eq makes it sound a lot better in my opinion.






42. Now talking about sound, the testing is done with the slight eq I showed and the headphone’s firmware is up to date as of the review



43. The overall sound is very consumer friendly and I can call it V-shaped



44. With the eq the sub-bass has very good rumble and very texture. In songs like Hollow 16-bit remix by Bjork it sounded exactly like I would have liked.



45. While without the EQ it sounded a bit lifeless and it felt like the bass was just there and it didn’t do much.



46. The mid-bass was really good, there is a slight bleed into the mid-range which depending on the song you listen to it might sound good. My Eq does help it a bit over here in sounding a tad bit controlled



47. Without the EQ again it sounded a bit meh and instruments sounded very 1 dimensional



49. But after the EQ there was very good instrument separation and the tonality of the instruments sounded very correct. My test album of 1985 live album by Cassiopea sounded really fun and engaging here.






50. Both the Male vocals and female vocals are very good and surprisingly strike a very good balance.



51. Male vocals like Chris Cornell and Bill Withers sound really good and the richness in their voice comes across very well. While female vocals sound quite apt, for some who is used to female vocals from harman tuned iems they might find a bit lacking.



52. Treble too is very good and has very good extension. My test tracks performed very well over here



53. In some treble heavy songs without the EQ it can became too peaky or shrilly over here, but with the EQ it stays well under my personal comfort level.



54. Now coming to soundstage, here is the one thing I think the momentum 4’s lack. As they don’t sound that wide and spacious and it gets hard to pinpoint instruments and details specially during a live song like the 1985 Cassiopea Live album



55. But fret not, as this lack of soundstage is a good thing. Why? Well because there is a significant chunk of viewers/Readers who prefer the cramped not so wide and in your head sound. So for them this is very good!



56. Coming to technicalities I would say these perform quite good and exceeded my expectations. Although when there is a lot going on in a song it sounds a bit jumbled up and it could sound a bit messy. Now again for the tuning and consumer this is targetting this is a nitpick, but I still though of mentioning it.



57. For gaming specially occasional FPS these are quite Ok and as such don’t causes any issues. But if you play without the EQ the treble peak I spoke about before could be too much in busy sequences.



58. Now talking about some general minor cons



59. The momentum 4’s as of now don’t respect the absolute volume in android devices. I have contacted Sennheiser support so many times but I haven't heard from them. The absolute volume is a really nice feature that helps in fine tuning the volume. Now this could easily be fixed with an update.



60. One more serious issue which I want to address is that with Sennheiser headphones it has some battery issues. There has been a lot of battery issues where after few months of usage they just stop working. Now for my testing period nothing has happened, but if Sennheiser allows me keep to this headphone for a longer period of time I will surely be testing the battery out and report after 6 months and 1 year to see how the reliability is and if there exists any issues or not.





61. I will be giving the mic test now via bluetooth mode. These have a real cool feature where your own voice is fed to you which gives you a more natural sense when talking. Have a listen to the mic (Please check my youtube video for the mic test its given 13:24)



61. Overall I think its a really good headphones for daily usage specially with the Very good ANC and the very dynamic sound which plays very well with genres like pop, rock, rap, hip hop while also being quite good with other genres along with the almost unbeatable battery life.



62. The intuitive controls along with the simple and functional app also plays a big part for me in whole heartedly recommending it.



63. Now if you get lucky and get them in sale for around $240 or 250. I think get a fantastic headphone.



64. So that is my review of the momentum 4’s, If you have any question please do comment below. I hope you have a great day ahead, Thanks for stopping by!

---

If you have any questions please feel free to ask me and also if you have any issues regarding this format of review please do comment I will try to mend it. Also sorry to those who are used to reading long paragraphs of review in headfi. I hope my review was upto the mark, I appreciate any feedback.

Again a big thanks to Sennheiser for making this review possible.

Have a great day ahead, Bye

Build Quality

Other than its predecessor, they are build out of plastic. This doesn't have to be bad. There is plastic and then there is plastic. My HD 580 Jubilee are also mostly made out of plastic and are still standing strong. I just hope, that the plastic used in the Momentum 4's can withstand sun exposure, because I'm mainly going to wear them out and about. Only time will tell.

Comfort

Coming from a pair of Sony XM3, the Momentum 4 are a step-down. They aren't uncomfortable, but could be better. The ear cups are on the smaller side. For my ears, it's barely big enough. The headband padding could be a bit firmer, or have more padding.

Bluetooth and Controls

The headphones got delivered with the newest firmware already installed. Which is a big plus. Connecting the headphones to my phone was as easy as it gets. The Android app also works without any problems. Only thing I don't like is the need to make an account for the custom EQ thing.

The touchpad works well, almost a little too well. Even the slightest touch pauses the music. The pinch gesture to change the ANC setting is a hit-and-miss. From ANC level 1 to neutral to transparency level 1 it works quite well, but either turning up the ANC level or transparency level above that needs a lot of tries.

ANC and Transparency

The ANC introduces a slight hiss, which is inaudible once music is playing. Other than that, it works great. On par with the Sony XM3. The transparency mode is a bit strange. Transparency mode turned all the way up produces a sound as if wind is blowing. Only that I'm inside with all the windows closed, and no AC turned on.

Sound

This is the strong point of these headphones. At home, I'm using a set of HD 580 Jubilee (predecessor of the famous HD 600) with a Fiio K5 Pro. The Momemtum 4 almost sound like a closed back version of the HD 580 Jubilee with slightly less pronounced mids and a sub bass extension.

Almost any of the Bluetooth headphones I tried out boost the lower mids/ upper bass. Hiphop sounds good, but everything else with drums (rock, metal) starts to sound muddy. This is even the case with the Momentum 3. I have no idea how Sennheiser managed to fix this with the Momentum 4, but they did. If the song has subbass, it's audible. If the song has strong subbass, the headphones have a subwoofer-like feeling to them. It does all that without convoluting the mids (or only ever so slightly). This also means that if a song has badly mixed bass, you're going to hear it.

Kickdrums in Metal songs lose a little tightness compared to my HD 580 Jubilee, but are fuller.

Mids are a tiny bit recessed. In The Seed by Aurora with the HD 580 Jubilee Aurora's voice is in the foreground. With the Momentum 4, it fights a bit with the low bass notes. But in return I hear bass notes, I can't hear with the HD 580 Jubilee.

Highs are nicely done too. They sound detailed without sounding harsh.

Imaging is superb. I am able to pinpoint the instruments with ease. I can even distinguish if something is coming from closer or further away.

Soundstage is good for a closed back headphone. It leans on the analytical side of things, which I like.

Final Thoughts

Sound wise, the Momentum 4 are the perfect match to my HD 580 Jubilee. Bass response is way better than 90% of other Bluetooth headphones in their price range (or even above) and are better than the Momentum 3. Comfort could be slightly better. All in all, a definitive recommendation for its price.