Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless review: A respectable choice in premium ANC headphones

I have to admit, having the opportunity to review and test dozens of headphones is a big privilege. But it can also be a real dilemma. It really wouldn’t be an issue if there were only one or even two really premium and great sets of ANC headphones. Some users may think there are, but that’s only because most do not get the chance to try multiple brands to compare them. The wireless ANC headphone market has a broad selection of brands to choose from, and the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless ANC headphones are a very respectable choice to make.

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

The Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless joins an array of other ANC headphones from equally great brands as Sennheiser. Companies like Sony, Bose, Apple, beyerdynamic, and Bowers & Wilkins all make similar headphones. Sure, I have my personal favorites, but to be honest. They are all playing on the same field and they’re all fantastic. But, at least in my opinion, there are some better than others at some things and worse than others at other things. Let’s jump into this review and find out what the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless ANC headphones do great and what they don’t do as great.

The Quick Take

The Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless joins an already crowded space of premium ANC headphones. The competition is fierce in this space and Sennheiser knows it.

The company did a remarkable job in design, comfort, and functionality. They also did an incredible job in the sound department. If there’s anything wrong with these headphones, it is that the ANC is not up to snuff to its competition. But all is not lost.

The ANC is not awful, it works well, just not as well as some other players on this field. But it’s easy to forgive the misgivings of the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless ANC performance, why? Because the sound is spectacular, and the price point is competitive.

The Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless will wow you with its sound staging and if you need to tweak it a bit to suit your taste, that is easily done in the Sennheiser Smart Control App. No, these aren’t going to win the best ANC award, but they don’t have to because the sound more than makes up for the weaker ANC performance. The Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless are right up there with the best ANC headphones I’ve used because sound is what ultimately matters in a pair of headphones.

Specifications

The Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 has the following features and specifications:

• Article number (SKU): 700382
• Wearing style: Headband stereo headphones
• Ear Coupling: Around-the-ear, circum-aural
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2 compliant, class 1, 10 mW (max)
• Transmission frequency: 2,402 MHz to 2,480 MHz; GFSK, π/4 DQPSK / 8 DPSK
• Supported Profiles: A2DP, AVRCP, HFP
• Codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX™, aptX adaptive™
• Speaker Type: Dynamic
• Transducer principle: 42 mm diameter
• Speaker frequency range: 6 Hz to 22 kHz
• Speaker sensitivity: 106 dB SPL (1 kHz / 0 dB FS)
• Total harmonic distortion (THD): Speaker: <0.3% (1 kHz / 100 dBSPL)
• Impedance: Speaker: Active 470 ohms / Passive 60 ohms
• Active Noise Cancellation: Hybrid Adaptive ANC
• Microphone principle: MEMS
• Frequency response (microphone): 50 Hz to 10 kHz
• Microphone pick-up pattern: 2 mics per side, beamforming for noise reduction
• Battery time: Up to 60 hrs music playtime via Bluetooth and with ANC (test condition: iPhone, mid-volume level)
• Charging time: Approx. 2 hrs for a full charge; 5 min charging for up to 4 hrs playtime; Remark: Ambient temperatures >30 °C may lead to extended charging times
• Battery type: Built-in Lithium-Ion rechargeable batteries, 700 mAh
• Power Supply: 5 V⎓, 800 mA max, USB charging via USB-C socket

What’s In The Box

• MOMENTUM 4 Wireless
• USB-C to USB-A charging cable
• AUX cable
• Airplane Adapter
• Hardshell Carrying Case
• Manuals and Documentation

Design

I recently reviewed the Sennheiser ACCENTUM wireless, a more budget-friendly set of headphones from Sennheiser. The MOMENTUM 4 Wireless look very much like the ACCENTUM except slightly larger and with much better materials and build quality.

The entire build is mostly plastics, but these are much thicker and heavier plastics than used on the ACCENTUM. The headband has a nice woven material on the top, and the cushioning material is most likely memory foam covered in a rubbery-like material. The headband is very comfortable and the clamping force is almost perfect. Unlike the ACCENTUM, the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 aren’t nearly as forceful in their clamping. Sennheiser’s logo in on either side of the headband in a shiny silver, it looks excellent.

The arms are also plastic but, again, much more robust and better built, and they slide in and out easily. The earcups are pretty uneventful, with the right earcup housing the touch controls, more on that later. The earcups do pivot in and out to take the shape of the head, I like this. They also fold flat either way, but do not fold in.

The earpads are super comfortable and are likely memory foam with a faux leather covering. The inside of the earcups show an impressive large indicator for left and right and the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless branding is in there too. The only button on these headphones is a power/multifunction button located on the right earcup. The right earcup also houses the AUX port, microphone, and USB-C port for charging. The left earcup has another microphone.

The carrying case is one of the nicest cases I’ve used. It’s solid and feels substantial. It will protect your headphones without a problem. The exterior has the same woven material as the headband, and the Sennheiser logo is on the outside in white. The interior is padded with a felt-like material, and I love that there are places for the cables and airplane adapter. Actual nylon straps to hold them down too. There is also a netting material to stash small items if you so wish.

Overall, the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless looks really impressive, sort of plain and nondescript but not ugly. They’re certainly not trying to be a fashion statement, and I think the nondescript look is really just fine. Less chance that someone will want to steal them, unless they know what they are. But just because they’re plain Jane looking, doesn’t mean they aren’t built well, they are and they are also comfortable.

Ease of Use

Like any other Bluetooth headphone, the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 are not difficult to use at all. Pairing them to your device is as simple as taking them out of the case, they have auto-on and auto-pair, and finding them in Bluetooth settings. You don’t even need the app, but should get it to access EQ and other features. More on that later.

Once you have everything paired up, the only other thing you need to worry about is the controls. The right earcup houses a touchpad and everything is touch control. Touch control is not my favorite way to interact with headphones, but it works fine here. I really do not like touch controls on earbuds, but headphones I can at least tolerate it. The gestures work fine, but I would have preferred physical buttons, here are the gestures to expect:

• Tap Once: Pause or Play
• Swipe Forward: Answer a Call
• Swipe Backward: Hang Up a Call
• Swipe Up: Volume Up
• Swipe Down: Volume Down
• Tap and Hold for 3-seconds: Power Off
• Tap and Hold for 5-seconds: Bluetooth Pairing

Overall, using the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 is as simple as it gets. I think, at this point, almost everyone knows how to use Bluetooth devices and these headphones will be familiar.

App

The Sennheiser Smart Control app is available for iOS and Android and is where you will find many of the great features of the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless.

Once you’re connected via Bluetooth, the app will detect your headphones and connect to them. When you first use the app, it will offer to give you a tour of the features you can use. You can take the tour or skip it. In the app, you can do the following:

• Connections: Manage connections, the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 can be connected to two devices at once.
• EQ: Use the 5-band EQ, Bass Boost, Custom Presets, or Podcast Preset
• Sound Check: Requires registration and is supposed to allow you to personalize your listening experience by guiding you through the best settings for your music.
• Sound Zones: Requires registration and uses geolocation to create different sound profiles based on your location, and it auto-applies them when entering those locations.
• Modes: Toggle between ANC and Transparency Modes
• Sidetone: Is supposed to give a more natural voice call experience
• Settings: Firmware updates, Auto Power Off control, Tone and Voice Prompts, Codec, Factory Reset

The app is great to have, but once you have your settings in place, you’re likely never going to use it unless you need to make some big change. I still recommend you download it and use it if you want to change the sound and add more bass or more mids etc.

I did not try the features that require registration and geolocation, these are not essential to me and I don’t need Sennheiser to know where I am at all times. You may feel differently and enjoy these features, so they are here for you.

Overall, the app is useful and it is laid out nicely. Most people will use it a few times and stop once they have settings where they want them. I do recommend checking for firmware updates every six months, though. Just to keep your headphones updated.

Sound

Let me just address one of the main features in terms of sound, ANC. If you’re coming from a pair of Apple, Sony or Bose ANC headphones, you might find the ANC performance lacking here. This isn’t anything new, the aforementioned companies have done some remarkable things with ANC and they deserve the praise. Sennheiser’s ANC performance is fantastic, it’s not at the same level as the other three but it’s also not horrible.

But what Sennheiser lacks in ANC performance, it more than makes up for in sound quality. The sound quality on the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless is better than both the Sony and Bose headphones, and matches well with the Apple AirPods Max. To me, I would rather have an incredible soundstage over ANC performance. The earpads do a remarkable job of passive noise isolation, so combine this with ANC, and Hi-Fi sound and you get a very competitive pair of headphones.

The soundstage of the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless has a nice neutral quality to it but you can tweak this in the EQ settings within the app. The sound is big and wide and when combined with ANC and passive noise isolation, the experience is fantastic.

Transparency Mode works well too, though I am not much for using this feature. I don’t use headphones in places or situations that need this feature. But for those who do use it, it does work, though I can’t really give a definite better or worse call on this.

Overall, Sennheiser delivers a nicely balanced soundstage with incredible noise isolation and acceptable ANC performance. This results in an above-average user experience.

Reception/Call Quality

The Bluetooth reception is typical on the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless, 30–40 feet from source before you lose connection. Walls and obstacles always play a part in reception, so your results may vary.

Call Quality is great and the Sidetone feature seems to work a little magic, making things sound more natural. Overall, no complaints here.

Battery Life

Sennheiser claims 60 hours of battery life. There are exceptions, of course, and the way you use your headphones is going to impact your results.

I rarely push the volume up past 60% on any of my headphones, and I always have ANC mode on. I was able to get almost 56-hours of use on a charge. So not right at 60, but not far off.

Overall, the battery life is great, and your mileage will vary, so you may get more or less than the advertised spec.

Price/Value

The MOMENTUM 4 Wireless are priced at $379.95. Unlike its affordable little brother, the ACCENTUM Wireless, these headphones give you the full creature comforts you come to expect. Comfort, sound, great build, and more. And these headphones are more than competitively priced with the likes of Sony and Bose. For those who value SOUND over ANC, these headphones are for you. You’ll get better sound performance than Sony or Bose but you will sacrifice some ANC performance. If you value ANC performance, then Sony or Bose may be your better bet.

This review is being posted on Black Friday 2023 so you can find these on sale at Crutchfield and Amazon for $260 and at Best Buy for $280. Prices subject to change.

Wrap Up

The Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless are a very nice pair of headphones. The price point is fantastic, the build quality is top-notch, the feature set is on par with the pack, and I’d recommend these to just about anyone.

In some of our articles and especially in our reviews, you will find Amazon or other affiliate links. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. Any other purchases you make through these links often result in a small amount being earned for the site and/or our writers. Techaeris often covers brand press releases. Doing this does not constitute an endorsement of any product or service by Techaeris. We provide the press release information for our audience to be informed and make their own decision on a purchase or not. Only our reviews are an endorsement or lack thereof. For more information, you can read our full disclaimer.

Last Updated on March 13, 2024.