[ericpalonen]

That's reassuring. I'll order a set and see how I get on. Thanks

Thanks for the purchase and vote of confidence. We're excited for you to hear them! Let us know if you have any questions along your journey.

 

[leamingtonspaceman]

Thanks for the purchase and vote of confidence. We're excited for you to hear them! Let us know if you have any questions along your journey.

Is there a chance you could take a look at my post #266?

I tried out a pair of M3's yesterday and the Alexa functionality and integration on those works perfectly.

Why did this get dropped from the M4's?

Yes, it still works but is limited to having to have your phone unlocked. With the M3's Alexa works just like the Sony WH's with the phone locked.

And even with the workaround I used, there doesn't seem to be any way to unbind Alexa functionality from the button on the M4's once it's been binded to it?

Thanks...

 

[ericpalonen]

Is there a chance you could take a look at my post #266?

I tried out a pair of M3's yesterday and the Alexa functionality and integration on those works perfectly.

Why did this get dropped from the M4's?

Yes, it still works but is limited to having to have your phone unlocked. With the M3's Alexa works just like the Sony WH's with the phone locked.

And even with the workaround I used, there doesn't seem to be any way to unbind Alexa functionality from the button on the M4's once it's been binded to it?

Thanks...

Sent to development to take a look, thx!

 

[ericpalonen]

So I just bought a pair of Sennheiser Momentum 4's.

I was using some Sony WH-CH700N's but thought I'd give myself an upgrade.

I have a Samsung Flip 4 phone and using the Sony's was great as I could allocate the NC button on the Sony's to use Alexa. I could keep my phone locked and folded in my pocket, press the button on the Sony's, hear a prompt tone, say the name of the song and artist and it'd play from Amazon music.

The Momentum 4's seem to be a big step back in functionality regarding this.

I try to go into the Alexa app and add the Momentums as a new device but they aren't found. The first time I pressed the button on the Momentums after set-up, a choice came up on my phone screen asking which voice assistant I wanted to use. I chose Alexa. So then I could press the button on the Momentums, ask for the song and it'd play. But... it won't work when the phone is on the lock screen. Pointless really.

Searching Google points to the Sennheiser smart control app having an Alexa button in the settings but it's not there for me.

I can't even figure out how to switch between voice assistants?

Odd how some pretty cheap Sony's have much better functionality... unless I'm doing something wrong?

I found a solution of sorts, but still have an unresolved issue.

The Flip 4 phone has a cover screen. This screen is fairly limited to what it can do as stock.

However, someone has developed an app called 'cover screen OS.' This app allows you to open apps on the cover screen.

Using this, and with the screen set to 'always on', you can open Amazon Music on the cover screen and it will respond to Alexa voice commands without having to touch anything on the headphones or the phone. And it stays active.

So with this solution, I don't have to press the button on the headphones or touch anything on the phone.

It's a nice solution.

What is still unresolved is how, after choosing Alexa as the voice assistant initially for the headphones, do I unbind this choice and choose either Google Assistant or Bixby instead?

A poster on Reddit has dangled a carrot saying they can swap between voice assistants on the Sennheisers, but hasn't shared how it's done despite my asking? On the M4's, after initial set-up, I pressed the button on the 4's and on the Flip 4 screen it asked which assistant I'd like to use. I chose Alexa.

But now I cannot choose or switch to another voice assistant. There's nothing in the Sennheiser App. Choosing different assistants in the phone settings doesn't change the behaviour of the button on the 4's. It still invokes Alexa.

Three factory resets of the 4's done, uninstalled and reinstalled the Sennheiser app three times but still the button is tied to Alexa. In fact, a factory reset of the phones doesn't appear to be that because the latest firmware stays intact and any personalised EQ profiles.

Contacted Sennheiser but no response.

So I've now got a button on the 4's that is Alexa specific and can't be decoupled.

If anyone knows how to switch between voice assistants on the Momentum 4's, could you help me out?

Many thanks if you can... @ericpalonen maybe?

Did a little digging on this one and believe there are no bugs here, but that the Sony set has Alexa integration in its firmware that can bypass the lock-screen requirement that Amazon has set for using Alexa voice assistant otherwise.

Details:

The Alexa voice assistant component of the Alexa app will recognize your voice commands under these conditions:

✔ The Alexa app is open on-screen (phone is thus unlocked at this point and Alexa app is set up for hands-free voice use) and you use voice or hardware button -or-
✔ Your audio device (example: Bluetooth headphones, or even the smartphone itself) has Alexa integration and you activate voice assistant with the associated button or command

TL;DR - The M4W voice assistant button will trigger popular voice assistants (confirmed: works with Bixby, Google Assistant, Alexa, Siri [on my iPad]) with a single press while the headset is on, in accordance with the security features of that particular voice assistant. Amazon has specified that in general, hands-free voice use on an Android phone requires the app to be active and open, unless your device has Alexa integration. For example, while my iPad is locked, I can activate Siri using M4W no problem.

Side note for the Android users: when flip-flopping between Alexa and Google as the default voice assistant, Android will likely hang onto one for some features but not others. It helps to reset the app permissions, which will prompt Android to let you pick the overall default assistant.

Hope that helps!

 

[leamingtonspaceman]

Did a little digging on this one and believe there are no bugs here, but that the Sony set has Alexa integration in its firmware that can bypass the lock-screen requirement that Amazon has set for using Alexa voice assistant otherwise.

Details:

The Alexa voice assistant component of the Alexa app will recognize your voice commands under these conditions:

✔ The Alexa app is open on-screen (phone is thus unlocked at this point and Alexa app is set up for hands-free voice use) and you use voice or hardware button -or-
✔ Your audio device (example: Bluetooth headphones, or even the smartphone itself) has Alexa integration and you activate voice assistant with the associated button or command

TL;DR - The M4W voice assistant button will trigger popular voice assistants (confirmed: works with Bixby, Google Assistant, Alexa, Siri [on my iPad]) with a single press while the headset is on, in accordance with the security features of that particular voice assistant. Amazon has specified that in general, hands-free voice use on an Android phone requires the app to be active and open, unless your device has Alexa integration. For example, while my iPad is locked, I can activate Siri using M4W no problem.

Side note for the Android users: when flip-flopping between Alexa and Google as the default voice assistant, Android will likely hang onto one for some features but not others. It helps to reset the app permissions, which will prompt Android to let you pick the overall default assistant.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for this.

Yes, I was pretty much aware of all you've said but really do appreciate the confirmation.

The M3's have the Alexa integration like the Sony's, but the M4's seem to have had this dropped.

Do you know why?

My main issue now relates to the final part of your detailed response.

During initial set-up of the M4's, the first time I pressed the button, I was prompted on my phone to choose the overall default voice assistant. I chose Alexa. However, it doesn't matter what I do, I cannot now remove Alexa as the default.

I have done three factory resets of the M4's. I've removed and reinstalled the Smart Control app three times. I've reset the app permissions dozens of times. I've un-paired and re-paired the bluetooth numerous times and re-synced the M4's with the app.

Nothing will remove Alexa as the default assistant.

I have Google assistant selected as the default voice assistant on my phone.

When doing a factory reset on the M4's, I noticed that upon restarting, they had retained the updated firmware downloaded during the initial set-up. So I'm wondering if a factory reset is actually that?

 

[hldn]

Thanks for this.

Yes, I was pretty much aware of all you've said but really do appreciate the confirmation.

The M3's have the Alexa integration like the Sony's, but the M4's seem to have had this dropped.

Do you know why?

My main issue now relates to the final part of your detailed response.

During initial set-up of the M4's, the first time I pressed the button, I was prompted on my phone to choose the overall default voice assistant. I chose Alexa. However, it doesn't matter what I do, I cannot now remove Alexa as the default.

I have done three factory resets of the M4's. I've removed and reinstalled the Smart Control app three times. I've reset the app permissions dozens of times. I've un-paired and re-paired the bluetooth numerous times and re-synced the M4's with the app.

Nothing will remove Alexa as the default assistant.

I have Google assistant selected as the default voice assistant on my phone.

When doing a factory reset on the M4's, I noticed that upon restarting, they had retained the updated firmware downloaded during the initial set-up. So I'm wondering if a factory reset is actually that?

On Android, you should be able to reset the default assistant by going to "app defaults", or just clearing the data / cache on the app. Not sure if the Sennheiser app, the very own Alexa, or some Android system app, but try and you should get the prompt again afterwards.

 

[ericpalonen]

Thanks for this.

Yes, I was pretty much aware of all you've said but really do appreciate the confirmation.

The M3's have the Alexa integration like the Sony's, but the M4's seem to have had this dropped.

Do you know why?

My main issue now relates to the final part of your detailed response.

During initial set-up of the M4's, the first time I pressed the button, I was prompted on my phone to choose the overall default voice assistant. I chose Alexa. However, it doesn't matter what I do, I cannot now remove Alexa as the default.

I have done three factory resets of the M4's. I've removed and reinstalled the Smart Control app three times. I've reset the app permissions dozens of times. I've un-paired and re-paired the bluetooth numerous times and re-synced the M4's with the app.

Nothing will remove Alexa as the default assistant.

I have Google assistant selected as the default voice assistant on my phone.

When doing a factory reset on the M4's, I noticed that upon restarting, they had retained the updated firmware downloaded during the initial set-up. So I'm wondering if a factory reset is actually that?

You might need to re-train Android to ask for a default again; I'd delete the Alexa app, then use the M4W button to trigger the voice assistant and see what happens.

 

[An_Ape_named_Joe]

I just received my Momentum 4 headphones, and initial impressions are quite good. They sound good, for Bluetooth headphones. Certainly better than any other Bluetooth headphones I've tried, including the Sony's, but obviously not a match for good wired cans (the only other headphones I have are the Shure SRH1540). The app is definitely buggy. Any time I'm shown the option to click 'OK', such as when I'm done reading a tutorial or following a firmware update, the app won't register me clicking the button, requiring me to restart the app (this is on the S21 Ultra). The ANC seems good, not great, but certainly good enough to be useful and usable (hopefully Sennheiser keep working on it). Other than the app, the only thing that concerns me is the size of the earcups, which are small. My ears aren't big and don't stick out much, and whilst they don't touch the pads, they do touch the drivers. Hopefully this doesn't cause discomfort when I wear them for longer periods.

 

[ericpalonen]

I just received my Momentum 4 headphones, and initial impressions are quite good. They sound good, for Bluetooth headphones. Certainly better than any other Bluetooth headphones I've tried, including the Sony's, but obviously not a match for good wired cans (the only other headphones I have are the Shure SRH1540). The app is definitely buggy. Any time I'm shown the option to click 'OK', such as when I'm done reading a tutorial or following a firmware update, the app won't register me clicking the button, requiring me to restart the app (this is on the S21 Ultra). The ANC seems good, not great, but certainly good enough to be useful and usable (hopefully Sennheiser keep working on it). Other than the app, the only thing that concerns me is the size of the earcups, which are small. My ears aren't big and don't stick out much, and whilst they don't touch the pads, they do touch the drivers. Hopefully this doesn't cause discomfort when I wear them for longer periods.

An official welcome to the #M4WClub! Which color did you get? We're continuously working on the app and put out updates often, so stay tuned. Fun trick: you can use them "wired" two ways; analog cable or via a USB-C cable to tap into the internal DAC, the latter being a nice treat sound-wise.

 

[An_Ape_named_Joe]

An official welcome to the #M4WClub! Which color did you get? We're continuously working on the app and put out updates often, so stay tuned. Fun trick: you can use them "wired" two ways; analog cable or via a USB-C cable to tap into the internal DAC, the latter being a nice treat sound-wise.

Thanks I went for black. Interesting, I haven't tried them via USB-C yet, I'll give that a go and see what difference it makes. Though the sound is already very good for Bluetooth headphones, no complaints there. I only got my hands on them this morning, so haven't listened to them for more than a few hours, but so far there's no glaring evidence of driver imbalance either. I'm glad to hear the app is going to get more attention, it does need it. Do the engineers also plan on improving the ANC over time? It's good, but it would be nice if they could close the gap to Sony a little more.

 

[An_Ape_named_Joe]

@ericpalonen I have noticed another issue with the app. The sound check feature doesn't work at all. It has no affect on the sound whatsoever.

 

[master grunthos]

I've now spent many hours listening to and wearing the M4W, this has included 8 hours on car ferry crossings that needed the ANC.

1. ANC is good enough (pretty good) and doesn't feel like there's some sound doctoring going on that makes the music/TV sound artificial - this is good, it still sounds natural. While my old M2W had poorer ANC they could still make me feel like i was under a pillow after a while.
2. Battery life is actually beyond what is necessary! also good
3. Sound is great - not like the open back headphones I have in terms of fidelity but the listenig experience is hugely enjoyable (also, see 5) so I currently prefer the M4W. For me the sound is nearly spot on without tweaking. just -1 bass and +1 treble.
4. I'm still strugglimg with the uninspiring look of them. That said, I can't see them while I wear them.
5. Comfort is excellent for me. Low weight helps. There will be a lot of personal prefence in this, as there will the sound.
6. Latency - Not an issue on my Sony phone using Aptx Adaptive. However, on my PC (microsoft surface pro 6) using Aptx it is a problem, fixed with a USB cable connection. Weirdly, I didn't find this on the M2W. Anyway, it reveals a clear improvement in usability in the aptx adaptive vs the old aptx (rather than purely sound quality)
edit: 7. made some calls, only in a quiet environment but it works well. i prefer the sidetone at 100%.

Some things that might be good and can probably achieved with software updates:

1. Firmware update via USB on PC - Sennheiser have an updater tool for windows but the M4W isn't listed. It seems to be aimed at more commercial grade kit. The bluetooth update failed a few times and took about 20 minutes. I think this is probably an artefact of using BT for the update.
2. More detailed options for EQ tweaking. While I've not needed much having a built in EQ modifier would be really cool. See the qudelix 5k as an example of this being implemented.
3. The app takes too long to find and connect to the headphones - see Sony implementation, connection automatically adds an icon to the bar at the top of the screen
4. Some information on how/what/if there's point to the "Snapdragon Sound" that my phone tells me the M4W has.
5. I've turned off all the automatic head detection, etc so I turn the headphones off with the button. However, as soon as a pick them up they turn on again. I want to use the button so i can be confident that they stay off when requested!

Thanks

 

[ericpalonen]

I've now spent many hours listening to and wearing the M4W, this has included 8 hours on car ferry crossings that needed the ANC.

1. ANC is good enough (pretty good) and doesn't feel like there's some sound doctoring going on that makes the music/TV sound artificial - this is good, it still sounds natural. While my old M2W had poorer ANC they could still make me feel like i was under a pillow after a while.
2. Battery life is actually beyond what is necessary! also good
3. Sound is great - not like the open back headphones I have in terms of fidelity but the listenig experience is hugely enjoyable (also, see 5) so I currently prefer the M4W. For me the sound is nearly spot on without tweaking. just -1 bass and +1 treble.
4. I'm still strugglimg with the uninspiring look of them. That said, I can't see them while I wear them.
5. Comfort is excellent for me. Low weight helps. There will be a lot of personal prefence in this, as there will the sound.
6. Latency - Not an issue on my Sony phone using Aptx Adaptive. However, on my PC (microsoft surface pro 6) using Aptx it is a problem, fixed with a USB cable connection. Weirdly, I didn't find this on the M2W. Anyway, it reveals a clear improvement in usability in the aptx adaptive vs the old aptx (rather than purely sound quality)
edit: 7. made some calls, only in a quiet environment but it works well. i prefer the sidetone at 100%.

Some things that might be good and can probably achieved with software updates:

1. Firmware update via USB on PC - Sennheiser have an updater tool for windows but the M4W isn't listed. It seems to be aimed at more commercial grade kit. The bluetooth update failed a few times and took about 20 minutes. I think this is probably an artefact of using BT for the update.
2. More detailed options for EQ tweaking. While I've not needed much having a built in EQ modifier would be really cool. See the qudelix 5k as an example of this being implemented.
3. The app takes too long to find and connect to the headphones - see Sony implementation, connection automatically adds an icon to the bar at the top of the screen
4. Some information on how/what/if there's point to the "Snapdragon Sound" that my phone tells me the M4W has.
5. I've turned off all the automatic head detection, etc so I turn the headphones off with the button. However, as soon as a pick them up they turn on again. I want to use the button so i can be confident that they stay off when requested!

Thanks

Thx for the impressions and welcome to the #M4WClub ! Next time you turn off head detection in the app, wait just a few minutes before manually turning then off. I'll ask the developers about it, but wonder if the command didn't relay. Cheers!

 

[frdtitan]

Just purchased the Momentum 4’s. So far I’m pretty impressed. I’ve got them paired with my iPad Pro however, the volume seems strange. Having it at 50% volume is near whisper-quiet. Gotta crank it to 80 - 90% volume just to get to where I normally listen too. I have “Reduce Loud Sounds“ turned off in the Sound Settings on my iPad.

So far pretty good, I think I may keep these.

 

[ericpalonen]

Just purchased the Momentum 4’s. So far I’m pretty impressed. I’ve got them paired with my iPad Pro however, the volume seems strange. Having it at 50% volume is near whisper-quiet. Gotta crank it to 80 - 90% volume just to get to where I normally listen too. I have “Reduce Loud Sounds“ turned off in the Sound Settings on my iPad.

So far pretty good, I think I may keep these.

Welcome to the #M4WClub!