Introducing MOMENTUM 4 Wireless

[Bansaku]

Just received my review pair as part of the Momentum 4 tour, and while I haven't spent too much time with them (yet), initial impressions are great! I have only had time to listen to a couple track, so I will reserve further impressions until I give them a thorough workout tomorrow on the bus ride home from work. As an owner of all 3 previous Momentum over-ears, I am going to be very critical of the M4 as they have a legacy to uphold.

 

[ericpalonen]

Just received my review pair as part of the Momentum 4 tour, and while I haven't spent too much time with them (yet), initial impressions are great! I have only had time to listen to a couple track, so I will reserve further impressions until I give them a thorough workout tomorrow on the bus ride home from work. As an owner of all 3 previous Momentum over-ears, I am going to be very critical of the M4 as they have a legacy to uphold.

Looking forward to reading your impressions and thoughts!

 

[hldn]

Feature request: Sound Zones that don't depend on the location, where one can switch manually (a widget for this would be also great).

 

[ericpalonen]

Feature request: Sound Zones that don't depend on the location, where one can switch manually (a widget for this would be also great).

Thx for the suggestion!

 

[Bansaku]

Well, it's been a few days and I am really loving the Momentum 4! I won't get into too much detail as I want to keep the good stuff for my review, but I will say that in many ways they are an improvement over their predecessor. So far I haven't run into many snags, if any; All the features work as advertised. The weekend's coming up which will give me a chance to do a little A-B-C-D comparison with the full Momentum revisions. In the meantime, here is a family photo featuring grandaddy HD 600 (OG 1997 model) photobombing the shot!

 

[ericpalonen]

Well, it's been a few days and I am really loving the Momentum 4! I won't get into too much detail as I want to keep the good stuff for my review, but I will say that in many ways they are an improvement over their predecessor. So far I haven't run into many snags, if any; All the features work as advertised. The weekend's coming up which will give me a chance to do a little A-B-C-D comparison with the full Momentum revisions. In the meantime, here is a family photo featuring grandaddy HD 600 (OG 1997 model) photobombing the shot!

That's quite the lineup Can't wait to see the side x side x side x side impressions!

 

[scarfacegt]

Is the sound tuning on the momentum 4 similiar to the tws3 iems?

 

[ericpalonen]

Is the sound tuning on the momentum 4 similiar to the tws3 iems?

There are shared characteristics, for certain, even though they are different in terms of presentation did to form factor. Both feature full-bodied and rounded low-end with great detail. Both have a sweeter and warm presence that is quite musical. Both have punchy dynamics and transients.

 

[KyleWithAK]

Got these in the mail today. Everything is good including the sound quality, noise cancelling, battery. I even dig the new sleek look of these as I got the black version. But the creaking is KILLING me. Apparently a lot of people experience it and it sucks that I lost the raffle of getting a good pair.

 

[DeTinux]

I have had these for five weeks now. To be honest, I still hesitated to return them. While I like the plastic design away and these don't attract that much attention in my somewhat rough neighbourhood in Amsterdam, the crackling of the ear cups didn't inspire that much confidence. I cycled to the Apple Store a few times to compare them with the APM. To be honest, I found the sound quality to be of about the same level. The APM are a bit sturdier, much more expensive, slightly better noise cancellation and much more noticeable when wearing outside.

Now that I have got used to the M4s, I have discovered in myself a sneaky basshead. For classical music, these headphones are really exceptionally good. Decay may not be as fast as with the Ety ER4SR, but the overall picture is quite some experience. How brilliant and, for lack of a better word, violent Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique (Chandos) sounds without sacrificing clarity amazes me. I thought the Meze 99s were my guilty pleasure, but, as it turns out, I’m just really into bass and mid range. Who knew!

I initially tried various EQ modes. I am new to EQ, so the fact that there are only three bands makes it manageable. Turns out, I like them best with the mids +3dB.

What kind of sound signature would that be?

 

[KopaneDePooj]

Turns out, I like them best with the mids +3dB.

What kind of sound signature would that be?

Depends on what the stock sound signature is. Assuming stock is V-shaped, by lifting the mids you're trying to achieve a more neutral sound.
With EQ it's always best to dial down the "offending" frequencies instead of lifting the lacking ones. So maybe try to keep the mids at zero and lower the bass and highs.

On another note, it's sad that these are affected by creaking... so many reports. For this exact reason I returned both the XM3 and XM4s. But Sony is "famous" for these issues associated with plasticky build. Never thought it will be the case with a Senn.

 

[ericpalonen]

I have had these for five weeks now. To be honest, I still hesitated to return them. While I like the plastic design away and these don't attract that much attention in my somewhat rough neighbourhood in Amsterdam, the crackling of the ear cups didn't inspire that much confidence. I cycled to the Apple Store a few times to compare them with the APM. To be honest, I found the sound quality to be of about the same level. The APM are a bit sturdier, much more expensive, slightly better noise cancellation and much more noticeable when wearing outside.

Now that I have got used to the M4s, I have discovered in myself a sneaky basshead. For classical music, these headphones are really exceptionally good. Decay may not be as fast as with the Ety ER4SR, but the overall picture is quite some experience. How brilliant and, for lack of a better word, violent Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique (Chandos) sounds without sacrificing clarity amazes me. I thought the Meze 99s were my guilty pleasure, but, as it turns out, I’m just really into bass and mid range. Who knew!

I initially tried various EQ modes. I am new to EQ, so the fact that there are only three bands makes it manageable. Turns out, I like them best with the mids +3dB.

What kind of sound signature would that be?

FWIW, a 5-band is in development along with some other sound cool personalization features. Glad you're enjoying the sweet and buttery signature!

 

[jpnz]

Can you turn the Sennheiser into a gaming headset for the PS4 with the V-moda Boompro mic?

 

[arsh27]

They say momentum 3 got more punchy bass and better sound stage ! is it true ?
i want to get M3 but amazon reviews are very negative, very poor quality controle.

 

[SQ13]

M4W is meant to be used on, as most users (and many here) will want Bluetooth wireless use as the main event. In that case, it makes sense to have the headphones sound as good as they can while active as passive-mode listening is a fringe case. M4W sounds best while on for certain.

I'll get some more clarification on this and understand the scenario, thank you for the detailed description. For everyone reading this thread, here's my "best option until..." take. First a quick primer:

• M4W, through the app, can utilize ANC in 2 ways: Adaptive (set and forget) and "blanket" ANC (strong no matter the environment).
  • Both versions of ANC work in tandem with the Transparency feature. You can blend the amount of transparency you want via the Smart Control app or the gesture control pad on the hardware
    • To adjust transparency amount via the hardware, pinch "open" (like zooming IN on a smartphone) in either ANC mode
      • From MOST ANC/LEAST TRANSPARENCY setting, you can pinch open 5x to reach LEAST ANC/MOST TRANSPARENCY
    • To adjust transparency amount via the app, use the slider (Adaptive mode only)
    • To achieve "least amount of ANC without too much transparency" (sorry I don't have a shorter name), turn ON adaptive, then slide your ANC setting to the middle. Based on what your own sensitivity you may want to adjust slightly. I've attached a screenshot
      • For non-Adaptive ANC mode, there's a middle setting but not available via a slider (hardware pinch only)
  • If you're using hardware gestures only, an easy way to get your bearings is to pinch open 5x, then start pinching closed until you get the balance you like (3x is great for office use, IMHO)

Again, while this is not the same as simply disabling ANC while retaining active Bluetooth and ZERO transparent hearing mode, but is close. More to come and I'll absolutely send this along to the team for a closer look. Quick reminder to update your firmware, as a new release is out 2.6.13

Thx again for the feedback everyone!

The screenshot

Just got the M4, and will test out the sound difference from my M3.
From your post, ANC cannot be switched off and hope there will be a firmware update for it.

When my M4 is different in the Adaptive mode, I cant slide the control between the ANC/Transparency mode nor pinch the hardware to adjust it. It is only possible to pinch or slide on screen when the Adaptive mode if switched off.

I updated the firmware when I got it, can you advice.
thanks