Sound Impressions
Bass
The Momentum 4 Wireless stock experience via the wired mode (using the 3.5mm cable) is on the lower side of bass moderate. It is not bass light, but it is also what I would consider still lacking depth and balance compared to the midrange and treble quantities.
The wireless mode adds more bass, more boom, and more depth. Wired mode removes that bass depth and replaces it with more clarity and a different texture.
The bass experience on a wired mode run is still fine, what’s there is just good in terms of quantity, and very clear for the price. The cabled method of listening sounds audibly cleaner than the already very good wireless mode. Drop a great portable amp or use a powerful source, and you can get one of the best-sounding portable low ends in the $300 closed-back category.
Bass impact is so juicy and yummy, a rare typing and tone/texture presentation. With ANC active and the wireless mode on + bass boost in the app + a tiny little bit more bass added via your source app like Foobar2000, the low end is so vividly thick and solid, that it doesn’t feel like a typical dynamic driver anymore. It feels like a budget planar to me.
I am impressed with how well it retains control with that much alteration ongoing. This is so close to entry-level bass head quantity, a few steps below for sure, but look…this is a Sennheiser headphone that outperforms the bass quantity and control of the Sony WH series models by a few clicks and notches on their cowboy belt.
Mids
The Momentum 4 Wireless mids are relaxed with a wide feeling, but it lacks forwardness. Quite different when swapping to the very forward mids of the Cleer Alpha or the more forward mids of the 1More SonoFlow.
Even the Yamaha E700A has more forward mids and vocals. This Momentum 4 Wireless feels like a Sennheiser should, wider than tall, relaxed in the physical placement of the mids.
The fidelity factor is excellent, again. For the price, it’s one of the better $300 tier small, closed-back headphones out there that I’ve tested.
Dynamic realism is the real winner here, vocals are exceptionally dense feeling and as mentioned, this headphone is like a hybrid dynamic/planar in tone and texture at times. The background is so jet-black dark, that midrange vocals are supremely highlighted like one of those amazing OLED TVs out there that are on display in some stores.
The Momentum 4 Wireless upper mids are super slick, with gentle brightness that is typical of Sennheiser house sound, but the sound is still relaxed on the physical strike factor. The Momentum 4 Wireless is non-fatiguing to the treble.
Treble
The Momentum 4 Wireless top side is beautiful. Who tuned these headphones? Do they need a raise? The physical quantities of the experience are like they were made for me and they are highly logical in general.
The lower treble is magnificently clean, and vocals from tracks by Childish Gambino (Sober) are next-level crazy engaging, but without any wince factor.
This is how great dynamic headphones should sound, at least in my opinion. And again, as mentioned, the background static is so blackened. Those treble and upper mids get highlighted almost like an artist in a spotlight on a darkened stage. It is beautiful, just beautiful in tone and physical quantities offered.
The very top side has tinges of brightness that I call engaging. Remember the old AKG Tiesto 267? That’s my pick for the most gorgeous treble in a closed headphone, ever (in tone). But this Momentum 4 sounds just like it.
It is a hyper-slick feeling in tactility and has that engaging bite that you desire without it overboard and becoming wince-worthy.
In wired mode, the treble is better than the wireless. When paired with the right source and amp, you can take this a step further. The reverse is true with bass, I find the bass on the wireless mode to be more enjoyable than the wired experience. Interestingly, both routes are still great. And that’s not for tone only, that’s for fidelity.
Imaging
Depth of field is excellent on the Momentum 4 Wireless, due to it being fairly relaxed in presentation and pushed back, it offers a wide sense of imaging, yet going a bit further with a quality depth of field to? Dang, that’s nice. Oh, I like it a lot!
The width factor is excellent as well for a closed back of this style. IMO, there are no other ANC headphones that sound as wide or that breathe like this.
The 1More SonoFlow was pretty nice, but not this nice. I have some regular dynamic headphones at the $300 tier that sound boxed in and lack an entire dimension in stage-forward that is abundant in this Momentum 4 Wireless.
Yet this one has a plethora of other features that the wired other models do not have. Yep, the Momentum 4 Wireless has the best overall sound staging in any wireless headphones in this price tier that I’ve ever touched.
Synergy
Wired vs Wireless
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless comes with the option of using a standard 3.5mm cable (2.5mm termination end into the cup) or entirely wireless via Bluetooth connectivity.
The funny thing is that the Momentum 4 Wireless sounds the worst of the lot when the battery is drained and no electronics are being used for the adaptive ANC modes. Meaning, you straight plug into an amplifier or a music source without power in the unit, or with it entirely off and not powered on.
The Momentum 4 Wireless sounds pretty awful, whereas sets like the Cleer Alpha, 1More SonoFlow, and the Yamaha E700A do not have nearly as severe of a problem when trying to use the headphones without power.
It is not a huge issue, considering 60 seconds = roughly an hour of usage via charging. But I thought it was odd the most expensive ANC headphone I have right now is the worst performing when all the electronics are inactive and the headphones are not powered on.
Opting to still use the Momentum 4 Wireless while it is in off-mode. In this case, the 1More SonoFlow ANC headphone sounds great in wired mode even with the headphones offline, significantly better than the Momentum 4 Wireless. But of course, turning the Momentum 4 Wireless on and using wired mode sounds much, much better than the 1More.
With a headphone amplifier and the Momentum 4 Wireless being used in wired mode, it sounds audibly superior in every single way to the wireless experience.
However, bass quantity takes a little dive off and cannot be replicated to sound as nice as it does via wired as it does wireless. Yep, wireless mode gives better bass quantity and depth, while wired mode gives more fidelity but less response.
Wired Synergy
In wired mode, the Momentum 4 Wireless requires a better-than-budget source/amp to get the best out of it. Again, this headphone sounds great at the $300 tier as it is, so you will be missing out on its full fidelity capability if you use a lower-end or even lower side of middle-tier DAP.
I’ve found that the Hidizs DAPs do not do it justice and I required the TempoTec V6 DAP or my $899 CEntrance HiFi-M8 V2 powerhouse of an amp. Which I find funny because CEntrance is a Bluetooth wireless amp and DAC only.
So, like…I have my phone as my source that outputs my music wirelessly to the CEntrance HiFi-M8 V2. Then I plug the Momentum 4 Wireless via wired cable into it and I laugh because it is intended mostly for wireless needs.
But, in this case, I’ve hit a weird angle and found that as good as the wireless setup is on the Momentum 4 Wireless, the wired mode really requires a moderately good source/amplifier to generate the power and solidity that the wireless mode has.
I think the Momentum 4 Wireless is quite needy for power if you run it in wired mode.
Select Comparisons
Cleer Alpha
The Cleer Alpha is a $200-ish ANC model that sounds much harsher and physically impactful than the Sennheiser.
The Cleer is more forward, less wide, and less deep feeling. It is also heavier and far less comfortable. But it also plays nicer with rig pairing and can be used with virtually any source or dap or amplifier and it will sound very good.
The Momentum 4 Wireless is stubborn in that regard and using anything but a forgiving source/amp with a pension for bass depth will be required to get the best out of it.
The Momentum 4 Wireless is very soft on the strike, so you can easily ruin that with a cold or even a neutral source or amp and make it impact harder if you want.
1More SonoFlow
Despite being 3x cheaper, the SonoFlow is no slouch and still sounds very coherent and enjoyable too. It is also one of the most comfortable headphones out there, but not as good as this Momentum 4 Wireless.
The 1More is far less wide feeling and much more brightened in the backdrop, vs the Momentum 4 Wireless’s stark blackened curtain effect. The Sennheiser also has the potential for more bass and can retain much better control of it when you start adding more in.
Yamaha YH-E700A
The YH-E700A and the Momentum 4 Wireless are being sold at the same $349 price point. The Yamaha is larger, bulkier, and does not have a well-balanced feel on the top of my head as the Momentum 4 Wireless has in abundance.
The Yamaha also exudes a tone that is thinner, and less hefty than the Momentum 4 Wireless. Usually, it’s the Sennheiser house sound that feels thinner than most, but in this case, the Momentum 4 Wireless is viscus feeling and thicker in presentation tactility than the Yamaha.
Beyond this, the Momentum 4 Wireless has significantly more bass and responsiveness than the E700A.
Our Verdict
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless is a very good wireless ANC headphone. It is supremely comfortable, has great-looking materials, and has a premium, well-thought-out design.
It sounds great in wireless mode, and the ANC is fantastic, easily on par with the titan Sony WH-1000XM5.
However, the wired mode takes some of that bass depth away and it cannot be returned with any amount of EQ toggling. Despite that, wired mode adds a clearer texture from top to bottom, a more refined and mature sound. It may be needy in power output too.
Outside of that, the immensely thoughtful touch features are just a bonus and icing on the cake, effectively making these headphones one of the best values on the market.
Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless Specifications
- 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 42mm diameter
- Speaker frequency range: 6Hz to 22 kHz
- Speaker sensitivity 106 dB SPL (1 kHz / 0 dB FS)
- Total harmonic distortion (THD) Speaker: <0,3% (1 kHz / 100 dB SPL)
- 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
