[ubs28]

I’ve had HD650’s for twelve years now, and i’m pretty sure it wasn’t that i was hearing, but YMMV.

I have both the Sennheiser HD 650 and Apple AirPods Max and they are pretty close. The Apple AirPods Max has more bass and a bit less treble with a scoop in the mids. But they are not far off from each other.

So really, the Apple AirPods Max cannot be bad. What you are saying is that one of Sennheiser their own best headphones, the HD 650 is bad too then.

The MW4 sound more like a Sony so I can understand why you think the APM has bad treble. That is because it has that typical big Sony type of bass.

 

[willtim]

I have both the Sennheiser HD 650 and Apple AirPods Max and they are pretty close. The Apple AirPods Max has more bass and a bit less treble with a scoop in the mids. But they are not far off from each other.

So really, the Apple AirPods Max cannot be bad. What you are saying is that one of Sennheiser their own best headphones, the HD 650 is bad too then.

The MW4 sound more like a Sony so I can understand why you think the APM has bad treble. That is because it has that typical big Sony type of bass.

But what does the M4W sound like once you fix the bass with EQ?

 

[ubs28]

But what does the M4W sound like once you fix the bass with EQ?

I didn't try the app to fix the MW4 with EQ as I wasn't interested anymore in them due to my ears touching the inside of the headphone, just like my Sony's do.

But then it will be more in line with how the APM and the HD 650 sounds. I did the same with my Sony's and it is much better when you remove all that excessive bass.

 

[willtim]

I didn't try the app to fix the MW4 with EQ as I wasn't interested anymore in them due to my ears touching the inside of the headphone, just like my Sony's do.

But then it will be more in line with how the APM and the HD 650 sounds. I did the same with my Sony's and it is much better when you remove all that excessive bass.

I have the Sony XM3 with the profile fixed via parametric EQ. I've made the profile more similar to my HD580 and HD800S, but obviously the sound is still worlds apart. The Sony sounds congested, lacking detail and rather lifeless and dull compared to the Sennhesier open-back headphones, but this has little to do with the default sound profile. The M4W default profile can easily be fixed with the on-board EQ. If one compares to the passive profile measurements (see beginning of this thread), it looks like they actually add bass via EQ anyway, so it's not an issue to dial it down. This is exactly why Sennhesier need to provide a simple "High end sound" button, to prevent bad reviews with regard to the default profile. Had you have tried it with a different EQ, it *might* have sounded at least as good as the Apple.

 

[starfly]

So I got the M4's yesterday. Haven't had a lot of time to test them yet, but I wore them for just a couple minutes and first impression was that the ear cups are indeed too small and not deep enough. My ears touch the fabric covering the driver, and the sides of the pad.

They need to stop marketing these on-ear headphones as over-ear headphones.

 

[zardos]

I have the Momentum 2,3 and 4. Soundwise the M3 wins against the M4 for me. The sound from the M3 is more involving and Sennheiser-like and you can hear it louder, but technically the M4 is of course superior.

 

[matteventu]

I have the Momentum 2,3 and 4. Soundwise the M3 wins against the M4 for me. The sound from the M3 is more involving and Sennheiser-like and you can hear it louder, but technically the M4 is of course superior.

Would you say that M4 are more similar to M2 or M3?

 

[zardos]

Would you say that M4 are more similar to ME or M3?

ME? Do you mean M2? I would say M4 is more similar to M3. M4 sounds slightly more accurate, but to me also somehow slightly more flat and boring than M3.

 

[matteventu]

ME? Do you mean M2? I would say M4 is more similar to M3. M4 sounds slightly more accurate, but to me also somehow slightly more flat and boring than M3.

Did mean M2, thank you!

 

[starfly]

My quick impressions of the Momentum 4:
* Like the SQ, they're fun headphones
* ANC is great. Just a small step below the XM4, but better than many others.
* Comfort could be much better. While the pads are soft and plush, the opening isn't large enough for bigger ears, and the pads do compress quite a bit while wearing them, meaning my ears touch the fabric covering the drivers and the inside of the pads. I haven't worn them that long yet, but that will get annoying fast after about an hour.

I will not be keeping these.

I did a mini shootout with other headphones here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sid...l-5909-m-d-mw75-and-more.958727/post-17126338

 

[DeTinux]

This is exactly why Sennhesier need to provide a simple "High end sound" button, to prevent bad reviews with regard to the default profile.

I second this excellent idea!

Based on your hearing, what would be the most hifi settings for the built in three band equalizer?

 

[Tuomas L]

Based on your hearing, what would be the most hifi settings for the built in three band equalizer?

For me cutting the bass by two decibels made double basses sound like they should and no additional tweaking was required.

I would still be interested in hearing what Sennheiser can do with the high end tuning option on this headphone.

 

[TrueBlueKew]

Thanks Eric for the detailed dimensions. Very much appreciated.

Unfortunately these dimensions are really small for "over ear" headphones. Both starfly's and usb28's actual experience wearing them further reinforces this. As my ears appear to be larger than starfly's I expect my experience will be the same.

I've gone into a couple of Big Box stores hoping to verify this, but the Momentum 4s are not on the shelves. What I did find at my local Big Box today are the M3s down to 199.98. Not what I had in mind (wanted something less chunky) but... wondering if it's a steal at that price? Would appreciate anyone's thoughts on this.

It's a shame that Sennheiser has made the M4s earcups so small. I imagine like most large companies, it comes down to savings on materials versus customer base, and it was determined that the savings on materials was greater than the hit to customer retention/loss of customers needing larger ear cups.

 

[Tuomas L]

What you are saying is that one of Sennheiser their own best headphones, the HD 650 is bad too then.

No, this is what you are saying. I am disagreeing with at least one of your premises.

The MW4 sound more like a Sony so I can understand why you think the APM has bad treble. That is because it has that typical big Sony type of bass.

As amusing as this argument is, I cannot see how APM’s treble issues could be the result of any other headphone’s bass output.

I will try to revisit APM in the near future to see if my old impressions still stand.

 

[ericpalonen]

I imagine like most large companies, it comes down to savings on materials versus customer base

Cost vs performance is always the primary consideration for virtually all electronics manufacturers...if you disregard one discipline, anything is possible for the other. However materials savings with regard to incremental component size choices is incorrect.