[hldn]

I just got these.

Sound
Sound is great. My main pair is a Sennheiser HD 600. The Momentum 4 feel like a closed back version of those with a subbass extention all the way down to 20hz.

Bluetooth and App
So far I didn't have any problem. Neither connecting to my phone, neither connecting to the app. The app also works as it should (android).

ANC and Transparency
ANC is slightly worse compared to my now broken Sony XM3. There is also more of a pressure feeling with the Sennheiser. The transparency mode is strange. Even if I'm inside a building with absolutely no wind (not even AC), the headphones produce some kind of strong wind noise.

Build quality
This I can't really talk about. I own some pairs of Sennheiser headphones which are made out of plastic and are still going strong even after 5+ years. So Sennheiser definitely know how to make solid plastic. With Bluetooth headphones, the plastic is more prone to UV exposure, which deteriorates plastic way faster, and I have no idea which kind of plastic got used with the Momentum 4.
They feel better than Sony XM3 and XM5, but worse than B&W PX7 S2.

Comfort
The headband feels good. The ear cups not so much. I have no idea if they are too small, too shallow, or if the shape just doesn't fit my ears. Both ears touch the inside of the headphones, the right ear is slightly worse. If I fiddle around and find just the right spot, they are ok comfort wise, but just ok. And this is too much hassle for me.
I can't really get behind Sennheiser's reasoning for changing the ear cup design. I have two pairs of Sennheiser open back headphones (HD 598 and HD 600), with which I have no problems comfort wise, I tried the Momentum 3 and had no problems either, but the Momentum 4 don't seem to fit.

I really tried to like them. I love the sound (like it better than the Momentum 3), but every time I think about wearing them, I second guess. This isn't a good sign. The Sony XM3 got somewhat uncomfortable after maybe 4 hours, which is normal. The Momentum 4 are uncomfortable from the get go, if they don't sit just right on my head, and still then, my ears immediately feel irritated.

Did you try them with the latest firmware?

And is the new firmware out, or September 2022 is still the latest?

 

[Valen1901]

Did you try them with the latest firmware?

And is the new firmware out, or September 2022 is still the latest?

September is still the latest for me (no update in app)

 

[cristian007]

ANC and Transparency
ANC is slightly worse compared to my now broken Sony XM3. There is also more of a pressure feeling with the Sennheiser. The transparency mode is strange. Even if I'm inside a building with absolutely no wind (not even AC), the headphones produce some kind of strong wind noise.

Try turning Adaptive ANC to off and setting the slider to about 20%, this eliminated the cabin pressure feeling for me.

Also I recommend playing with the "wind noise reduction" setting as I found that it behaves in unexpected ways when in the default Auto mode. I ended up keeping it on Off at all times except for when outside in windy conditions when I turn it manually to Max.

Build quality
This I can't really talk about. I own some pairs of Sennheiser headphones which are made out of plastic and are still going strong even after 5+ years. So Sennheiser definitely know how to make solid plastic. With Bluetooth headphones, the plastic is more prone to UV exposure, which deteriorates plastic way faster, and I have no idea which kind of plastic got used with the Momentum 4.
They feel better than Sony XM3 and XM5, but worse than B&W PX7 S2.

Comfort
The headband feels good. The ear cups not so much. I have no idea if they are too small, too shallow, or if the shape just doesn't fit my ears. Both ears touch the inside of the headphones, the right ear is slightly worse. If I fiddle around and find just the right spot, they are ok comfort wise, but just ok. And this is too much hassle for me.
I can't really get behind Sennheiser's reasoning for changing the ear cup design. I have two pairs of Sennheiser open back headphones (HD 598 and HD 600), with which I have no problems comfort wise, I tried the Momentum 3 and had no problems either, but the Momentum 4 don't seem to fit.

I really tried to like them. I love the sound (like it better than the Momentum 3), but every time I think about wearing them, I second guess. This isn't a good sign. The Sony XM3 got somewhat uncomfortable after maybe 4 hours, which is normal. The Momentum 4 are uncomfortable from the get go, if they don't sit just right on my head, and still then, my ears immediately feel irritated.

I also experienced slight discomfort at the beginning, with both the earcups and the headband, but both went away within a couple of weeks of use. Not sure if it's because I've gotten used to them or because the earpads and the headband softened. In any case, the pads are much soften than they were when new and I can wear them for several hours at a time without any discomfort now.

 

[Nebeldiener]

​

Did you try them with the latest firmware?

And is the new firmware out, or September 2022 is still the latest?

Yes, I tried the latest firmware which is 2.9.12 from September 12, 2022. The strange thing is, that they came with the newest firmware already installed. Bought them last week. So, for what it's worth, the headphones have to be produced after the September update (or they update their old stock, which I highly doubt). Maybe there is/was some problem with the earlier batches?

Try turning Adaptive ANC to off and setting the slider to about 20%, this eliminated the cabin pressure feeling for me.

The Sony XM3 and later Sony models have an auto adjust feature. You activate it, the headphones measure the outside and inside pressure and try to compensate for the difference. The ANC of the Momentum on max is slightly worse than that of the Sony XM3. So I don't really want to turn it down even more to eliminate the pressure feeling (which isn't really bad, just noticeable).

I also experienced slight discomfort at the beginning, with both the earcups and the headband, but both went away within a couple of weeks of use. Not sure if it's because I've gotten used to them or because the earpads and the headband softened. In any case, the pads are much soften than they were when new and I can wear them for several hours at a time without any discomfort now.

I can't really pinpoint exactly what is bothering me. I also own the HD 25 which are on ear with a really strong clamping force (worst combination) and Beyerdynamic Custiom Studio which are over ear with a really strong clamping force. So I know how pressure from too much clamping force feels like. And this is not the issue I have with the Momentum 4.

What I noticed so far:

• The opening on the cushions is too small for my ears, but the inside of the ear cups seems to be wide enough. So my ears end up sitting between the cushioning and drivers. The cushions are more like big on ear and the ear cups over ear.
• The drivers are angled, which would be fine in theory, but the cushions seem to be too narrow, don't have enough padding.
• The Sennheiser logo and L/R are glued on. So they stick further out.
• There is no foam behind the driver fabric, like is normally the case. The fabric is really thin and just hides the grill, which sticks out in the middle.
• The ear cups are narrow in front and get more spacious in the back.
• The right side also houses the wear detection sensor, which takes up space which is empty in the left ear cup.

I think it's a combination of my ears touching the cushioning, the grills, or something else (like the wear detection sensor). And the cushions, clamping force seems uneven. The left side seems firmer, clamps more. I can get it to an ok state for one ear, but the other is still bothered. It's not a pressure feeling which builds up over time. My ears are irritated from the beginning. If I'm able to find the sweet spot, they are ok, but they slip way too easily. The headband feels fine.

And like I also wrote, I have no problems with my Sennheiser HD 600 and HD 598, and the Momentum 3 (heavily worn in) I tried were also fine. The Sony XM3 which I owned for 4–5 years were comfortable at the beginning and had a pressure point on the headband after some hours of listening. The Beyerdynamic Custom Studio (not in production anymore as it seems) have spacious enough ear cups, but too much clamping force. My ears feel fine, but there is a pressure building up on my head. I fixed it with stretching the headphones.

I really tried to get around this. I love the headphones otherwise and would like to keep them. But the return window is getting smaller, and I don't see wearing them in or stretching them fixing the issues I have.

 

[cristian007]

I really tried to get around this. I love the headphones otherwise and would like to keep them. But the return window is getting smaller, and I don't see wearing them in or stretching them fixing the issues I have.

The only suggestion I'd make regarding the irritation with the earcups would be to investigate whether it's coming from actual pain or just from the novelty of being exposed to a new kind of sensation (as it's not clear from your description), because the ear simply touching the headphone shouldn't be a problem in itself. In the latter case, the sensation would likely go away just is it does for example when wearing a new type of material, once the brain figures out that the new sensation is not a threat and dials down the perception of discomfort.

Perhaps not a very useful answer but I'm just mentioning this because you didn't mention pain but just referenced new sensations that seem irritating.

 

[Metsuki]

Got my White pair today.
Fairly sure it's an extremely recent build, due to having perfect 50% battery.
I'm using with a BT-W5 dongle and it sounds amazing with bass at -2.0db, it feels a bit too much out the box.
Movies are amazing with these, very good imaging.

The app definitely needs some improving, I've had to force shutdown the headphones 2 times.

The ANC is much better than I expected it, I leave it on auto. The passive isolation is pretty good.
No issues with comfort, I was expecting HD600 level of clamp, but this has pretty much no clamp force compared to those.

NOTE: I used an iPhone 14 on 16.4.1.


EDIT: Forgot to add: the case it comes with is quite sturdy!

 

[Valen1901]

Got my White pair today.
Fairly sure it's an extremely recent build, due to having perfect 50% battery.
I'm using with a BT-W5 dongle and it sounds amazing with bass at -2.0db, it feels a bit too much out the box.
Movies are amazing with these, very good imaging.

The app definitely needs some improving, I've had to force shutdown the headphones 2 times.

The ANC is much better than I expected it, I leave it on auto. The passive isolation is pretty good.
No issues with comfort, I was expecting HD600 level of clamp, but this has pretty much no clamp force compared to those.

NOTE: I used an iPhone 14 on 16.4.1.


EDIT: Forgot to add: the case it comes with is quite sturdy!

ANC is good? What software for the headphones are you on?

 

[Metsuki]

ANC is good? What software for the headphones are you on?

2.9.12, it came from the factory with it. Hardware version 4.0.

 

[Gilst]

Is the sound of mtw3 and momentum 4 totally different or the same sound profile? I really like the sound of the mtw3.

The MTW3 sound definitely better, but they share similar midrange clarity.

 

[Valen1901]

2.9.12, it came from the factory with it. Hardware version 4.0.

Maybe you got lucky or something coz my anc is much worse than my sony link buds s lol

 

[udd3n]

New firmware 2.13.18 Seems to be released!

 

[Metsuki]

Can anyone try the High resolution mode and tell us the difference?

 

[Valen1901]

Brilliant, i updated the app and now the headphones dont even connect anymore, refusing to connect lol

 

[Compactor5077]

Brilliant, i updated the app and now the headphones dont even connect anymore, refusing to connect lol

Installed today's update and restarted the app. I had to unpair mine, reconnect them and then they played no sound - neither built-in tones nor phone audio. Eventually did a factory reset and paired again. Now they play audio, but it says the ancient firmware is the latest and the new features from the change log haven't appeared.

 

[Metsuki]

The firmware hasn't been released yet.



My app connects and works without issues. Iphone 14

19:00 (gmt+1) and still no firmware
20:25 nothing
21:37 nothing