Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless headphones review: Watch out, Sony WH-1000XM5

Elegant design, good build, comfortable to wear for long hours

There is nothing flashy about the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless design, but it's classy, especially the white variant that we got for review. Though it is mainly made of plastic, the build quality is quite solid with a smooth finish. The headband is covered in a brown fabric that complements the white body well. The inside of the headband and the earcups are nicely cushioned and have a faux leather finish. The left and right markings are present inside the ear-cups and are quite conspicuous. The weight distribution is quite even and you don't feel any excess load when you put them on. The soft ear-pads exert just the right amount of pressure to hold the headphones in place without any discomfort to the user. The ear-cups are large enough to go over the ears in most cases. They are extremely comfortable to wear for long hours. The cushions also provide a good seal and passive noise isolation. The ear-cups can be rotated to a certain degree but one cannot fold them. Hence you may require more space in the bag to store them. However, Sennheiser provides a cool-looking carry case whose texture matches that of the headband. The headphone can be neatly stored in that, and you have more compartments in there to keep the bundled in-flight adapter, USB-C charging cable, and an Aux cable. Yes, you can use the Momentum 4 Wireless as a wired headphone in case the battery goes flat. You get wear detection sensors inside the ear-cups to automatically pause the audio when you take off the headphone, and resume when you put it back on. The back of the right ear-cup accepts touch gestures (more on that in a bit). A USB-C charging port, five tiny LEDs, and a headphone jack are also present. The power button doubles up as a Bluetooth pairing button with a long press.

aptX support, touch controls with ANC adjustments, no ingress protection

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless supports SBC, AAC, aptX and aptX Adaptive codecs (happy to see the last two) over Bluetooth 5.2. Multi-point compliance is also present to pair this headphone with two devices simultaneously. No complaints about the wireless range with the headphones maintaining a strong connection even beyond 10 metres with a clear line of sight. An array of four microphones takes care of calling and ANC. An IP rating for dust and fluid resistance is missing here, so tread cautiously and avoid wearing them during workouts or in the rain. The Smart Control companion app can be used to tweak certain settings of this headphone along with the sound output. The app seems to have issues with certain phones running Android 13 and it was unstable. It worked well on an older device. You get a 3-band equalizer to alter the sound profile, but I doubt one would need it as the headphone is tuned to perfection. But you can always give it a go to fine tune the audio to suit your taste. Unlike some of its competitors, the app does not let you change the default controls. But again, they are well thought of and you won't need to. Single tap at the back of the right ear-cup lets you play/pause the audio, sliding horizontally or vertically lets you skip to previous/next tracks or adjust the volume, respectively, and double tap lets you answer/end calls or toggle between ANC and Transparency modes. Sennheiser goes a step further and lets you adjust the level of ANC and Transparency on the go by using the pinch gesture. By pinching in and out, you can decide how much ambient noise to cut off and how much to let in. Alternatively, the Adaptive Noise Cancellation on the Momentum 4 Wireless automatically adjusts the ANC depending on your surroundings or location.

Balanced and delightful sound output, average ANC for the segment

The audio quality of the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless is right up there with the best in this segment in India including the Sony WH-1000XM5. If you like a sound signature closer to neutral, you will like this even more. Though not perfectly neutral, these headphones produce a wonderfully balanced output that is enjoyable across various genres of music. These are not ideal for listening to audio at a low volume as the output feels a tad flat. Once you increase the volume up to 70-75% and beyond, the 42mm drivers deliver a great balance between the three key frequency ranges. The bass is tight with ample thump and does not mask the mids. The mids have ample clarity with sharp vocals and good instrument separation. The highs are crisp with just the right amount of sparkle without sounding sibilant. The overall detail in audio is excellent and the soundstage is quite broad, giving the audio a nice wholesome feel. The Momentum 4 Wireless headphones are equally enjoyable when watching movies or web series as they are in music. There were no latency issues either between the audio and video. The active noise cancellation, though not bad, is not in the same league as Sony, which has mastered ANC in this segment over the past few years. This headphone is capable of blocking out low-frequency sounds like a hum of an AC or a spinning fan or even that of car engines but doesn't do that well with mid-frequency sounds or voices. The Transparency mode is pretty decent too and ambient sounds feel natural, but you need to strain your ear a bit to listen clearly without taking the headphones off.

Good call quality, amazing battery backup, quick charge support

The call quality on the Momentum 4 Wireless is pretty good for an over-the-ear headphone. You are heard with sufficient clarity by the person on the call, especially when indoors. The call quality outdoors is also acceptable. Though it doesn't mute the background noise completely, it filters out quite a bit of it, and the conversation isn't impacted much. Though this is not the best option for calling, it gets the job done well. Other than the sound quality, battery is another department where the Momentum 4 Wireless dominates. Sennheiser claims an unreal battery life figure of 60 hours with ANC on. For the record, 60 hours is great even without ANC. During our test process, at an average of 3.5 hours of daily listening and very little calling, the headphones went on for 15 days. That translates into something close to 52 hours at 75% loudness with aptX codec and ANC on most of the time. To put things into perspective how good that number is, its closest competitor, the Sony WH-1000XM5 can manage half of that on a full charge, which itself is commendable. Yes, the XM5 does have a more effective (and probably more demanding) ANC circuitry which includes a dedicated second processor. Even then, over 50 hours with ANC is insane. In case you thought it would take forever to charge the Momentum 4 Wireless given its battery backup, you are mistaken. This headphone can be charged fully in just two hours, which is actually much faster than several headphones with half its battery life. Even better, it supports fast charging too. A mere five minutes of charging can give you close to four hours of playtime, which is more than handy.

Among the best wireless headphones around Rs. 35,000 in India

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless can be purchased for Rs. 34,990 in India with two years warranty. Incidentally, the official selling price of the Sony WH-1000XM5 here is the same, but more often than not, it is available for purchase under Rs. 30,000. Though the price is Rs. 5,000 higher for the Sennheiser, it has enough going for it to command such an asking price. A balanced sound output, excellent battery backup, and double warranty are just a few reasons. Now the obvious question on your mind is whether to buy the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless or the Sony WH-1000XM5? Simple answer - both are great, and neither will disappoint you. And it's not just that. Be it design, features, ergonomics, and brand value, it is hard to choose a clear winner. But if we dissect further, the answer boils down to what you prefer. If you are looking for a more balanced sound output, the Sennheiser will suit you better. If you prefer a bit more warmth in the sound and a stronger bass without going overboard, the Sony will offer you just what you need. A couple of areas where they are distinctly different are battery backup and ANC. The Momentum 4 Wireless offers twice the battery backup, while the ANC on the XM5 is noticeably superior. Now that all the cards are on the table, pick one that gives you a stronger hand.