Sound Impressions
Summary
The MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS has a sound profile that is on the neutral side except for a small amount of bloom in the upper bass region but it’s not one of a high amount or overdone.
I did not have an aptX Lossless capable phone on hand but a friend helped me out with that. However, I was only able to briefly listen to the codec. To be honest, it’s similar to LDAC excepting an almost unperceivable amount of added detail in the top region.
On lower-end codecs, the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS excels and gives off an improved sound signature over some of the previously reviewed models like the Grado GT220, and the Technics EAH-AZ70 just to name a couple.
I tested the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS with ANC off mostly. Fortunately, the transparency mode and ANC implementations don’t affect the overall quality of the sonic presentation.
However, there is a reduction in high frequencies that seems to remove around 2kHz off the top end when the ANC mode is turned on.
Bass
The MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS bass is effective down to 18Hz but is recessed in the lower region compared to the above 40Hz region. At that frequency, it remains even in output until it reaches the 70Hz area where there’s an obvious uptick in output.
The MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS does have a slight bass elevation that seems to start around 70Hz and goes into and up to the 150Hz range, then it smoothly transitions into the midrange without affecting those frequencies.
Impactfulness hits a medium point and the bass impactfulness seems balanced between a good dynamic driver with characteristics of a balanced armature. Audibly it’s not a heavy-hitting bass. It’s clean, fast, and well-textured bass but not potent or overwhelming hard-hitting.
Midrange
The MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS midrange response in general is realistically portrayed with an occasional hot spot in the upper range that accentuates sounds in the S range. Other than that, It’s a smooth-sounding set.
Overall, the mid-section is evenly dispersed in frequency response. But what I mostly get is Sennheiser’s True Phase Coherency concept in that everything is produced with a high level of cohesiveness and there’s also lots of detail behind that.
The midrange section is the star of the show and seems to be where Sennheiser focused their tuning prowess since that has been their forte all along, so the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS just falls in line with the Sennheiser sound except for the bass bump.
Treble
The MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS treble response is very good if you use the aptX Lossless codec, other codecs place this TWS into what I consider an average performance category in the high-frequency department but above many in producing an accurate timbre in the TWS genre.
When using the lower codecs, the high frequencies dive, yes. However, when comparing this set to competing sets, the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS fares well.
I did run a tone generator as usual and found little to no noise within the top frequencies as I commonly do with other TWS models. High-frequency extension is also above other sets close to its tier.
Staging and Dynamics
Staging capability is not stellar but I’m very happy with the performance level since the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS is one of the only TWS models I’ve heard capable of some decent micro staging.
The aura around each sound produced is rather tight with a minimum amount of bleeding. Plus, I can hear a good amount of isolation between each element.
The stage is not a large one and I would consider it to be almost introverted with a slight outward push and a well-defined center channel.
Wireless Performance
Stability and Range
The MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS provides some wow factor when it comes to range and stability. This is the only TWS model I’ve tested that when the source, my mobile phone is placed in the center of my home, I can go into any other room I want with zero breakup.
This model TWS seems to be one of the few that is almost impervious to walls, as long as the source is nearby. By the way, I was able to pair two devices to this model with no issues.
Of course, in a straight line range and stability increases. I was also able to keep my mobile phone at the other end of the house, and as long as the transmission was in a visible straight line I could easily go past 50 feet away from the source and the connection remained rock solid.
Latency
I didn’t notice any latency issues using the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS. I didn’t have to use a low latency mode or anything either for this set to perform with no delay issues.
This TWS set is a good one for watching videos, movies, and even some gaming as long as your device runs on a BT 5.0 or above.
One note is that I could not pair the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS with a Bluetooth 4.0 device using Windows 11 which is a current bug that Sennheiser is working on.
Select Comparisons
HIFIMAN SVANAR Wireless
Technical
To me, the HIFIMAN SVANAR Wireless is the one to beat at the moment sonically. It’s costly, but you get your investment back in the form of a TWS that almost rivals the wired version of the SVANAR which is one of my favorite IEMs at the moment.
The Topology technology has been around for some time now and HIFIMAN seems to have a good grip on tuning these custom drivers. On top of that, HIFIMAN managed to incorporate a Himalaya DAC section within a TWS.
Design
The cradle has a unique design that uses triangular angles and a simultaneous clam-like appearance. The Cradle has a thick Polymer shell that can take lots of abuse. The negative aspect is that it’s twice the size of the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS‘s cradle and heavier.
There is an issue that arises when you use large tips even though the cradle is larger. Another aspect that some might not like is the size of the earbuds themselves. They’re large, silver, and very preeminent looking.
There is another issue in that if you use oversized tips, the earbuds will not properly sit within the cradle charging cavity. The earbuds are a bit tricky to get into the right position but large tips just make it worse.
HIFIMAN backlit their logo behind some LED lighting for the charging and status indicator instead of using a surface-mounted plain vanilla LED which I thought was a cool touch.
Performance
The SVANAR Wireless presents music in a forward way and is not a shy set. It’s punchy, dynamic, and a fun set to listen to but it’s a one-size-fits-all model that doesn’t have an app, so there’s no sound tuning, or even firmware updates that I know of.
The SVANAR wireless also has an ANC system incorporated but it’s not an adaptable type. However, it is very effective, and that might be all you need. Sometimes adaptive ANC systems do funky, unexplainable things.
But the sonic performance is where it’s at with this set. They’re costly and perhaps one of the models below the SVANAR Wireless would best compete with the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS. Since cost-wise the SVANAR is quite an uptick.
TOZO GOLDEN X1
Technical
The TOZO Golden X1 model came out of nowhere and surprised everyone by serving up an ample set of features, a hybrid driver configuration, and a full-featured app that also could update the firmware.
This set has a lot going for it. It’s comfortable, affordable, and surprisingly can handle an LDAC transmission. It uses the previous 5.3 Bluetooth radio. TOZO also incorporated a digital display on the inside of the cradle that indicates battery charge status numerically.
TOZO used a hybrid two-driver implementation on the Golden X1 consisting of a 12mm dynamic driver with a carbon nanotube diaphragm and a Knowles balanced armature for the high frequencies.
Design
The TOZO Golden X1 has what I call a hybrid half bean, half stem design that wears comfortably but it has no replaceable ear fin design that upticks the comfort level and flexibility.
The cradle is also made of Polymer materials and displays the TOZO logo in gold but the finish is plain vanilla.
One thing it does have going for it is the size and weight which is more in line with the lighter MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS over, for example, the HIFIMAN set.
Performance
If the average consumer buys both sets, the TOZO Golden X1 will find an LDAC signal faster than the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS will find an aptX Lossless signal, and therefore it will underperform.
Unless you have one of the few capable devices, you’ll drop down to an inferior codec, and again, that’s the elephant in the room. Nine out of ten consumers don’t know anything about Bluetooth codecs, which is the target market.
I hate to sound repetitive but LDAC is where it’s at right now and the TOZO Golden X1 plays well with that codec which is a highly popular one nowadays.
I can give merit to the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS for touch control and operation stability, construction quality, and fit versatility but when it comes down to sound, quality will depend on what the consumer uses as a source.
Sennheiser CX Plus
Technical
The MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS improves over the previous version but how much of an improvement can you expect if you transition over from the CX Plus True Wireless to the MOMENTUM 4?
Both these models seem to house a similar 7 mm TrueResponse driver with identical specifications. The largest difference lies in that the CX Plus uses a 5.3 Bluetooth radio and there are no high-end codecs available on this set, not even LDAC.
Design
The earbud shape seems to be similar but the CX Plus does not have any type of flexibility like the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS has with the implemented replaceable rubber ear fin design that allows the customers to fine-tune comfort levels.
The cradle is the same style and type but the charging port resides in the rear which is where it belongs. But the cloth cover is gone which gives the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS cradle a touch of appeal versus a plain vanilla top cradle.
Performance
In a listening test, the first aspect of the sound signature that hits you as improved on the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS is within the high-frequency region.
I dropped the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS down to an aptX HD codec just to be fair and they still sounded superior. However, the differences were not far apart when it comes down to bass and midrange production.
More improvement aspects arise when you notice the improved imaging within the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS‘s signature that paints a sharper aura around elements within recordings that are also better balanced due to linearity in frequency response, probably attributed to new hardware.
The MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS has a more focused stage and the frequency response seems linear, more so than on the CX Plus. So yeah, the saying you get what you pay for applies here.
Our Verdict
Sennheiser has an almost perfect TWS model here and they ticked all the boxes except for the lack of LDAC.
The MOMENTUM 4 should be sold on the merits that it’s an improved predecessor, a stable model with a touch control system that is responsive.
It also comes with an accompanying app that allows you to customize the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS’s pleasant sound signature further. Well done Sennheiser.
Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 TWS specifications
- Ear coupling: Ear canal
- Frequency response: 5Hz to 21kHz
- Transducer principle: Dynamic
- Sound pressure level: 107db (1kHz/ 1W)
- THD: ≤ 0.08% (1kHz/ 94db)
- Noise cancellation: Hybrid adaptive ANC technology
- Microphone principle: MEMS
- Microphone Frequency response: 100Hz to 10kHz
- Microphone pick-up pattern: 3 microphones per earbud with Beamforming technology
- Power supply: Built-in rechargeable Lithium batteries (75mAh per earbud) ( 820mAh cradle)
- Operation time: 7.5 hours (ANC off)/ 7.0 hours (ANC on) 30 hours( Cradle)
- Charging method: USB charging via USB-C port or Qi wireless charging
- Charging time: 1.5 hours for full charge / 8 minutes for 1 hour playback
- Temperature range: Operation 0 to +40C / Charging +5 to 35C / Storage -20 to +60C
- Magnetic field strength: Earbuds 0.95 mT / Charging case 105 mT
- Ingress protection: Splashproof IP54
- Weight: Earbuds approx. 6g / Charging case approx. 66g / Total 78g
- Bluetooth version: 5.4 certified, class 1
- Transmission frequency: Classic BDR/EDR and BLE 1M; 2,402 MHz to 2,480 MHz BLE 2M; 2404MHZ to 2,478 MHz (without 2.426 MHz)
- Modulation: GFSK, π/4 DQPSK, 8DPSK
- Output power: 10mW (max)
- Codec: aptX, aptX adaptive/lossless, AAC, SBC, Auracast broadcast audio, LC3
- Device name: MOMENTUM TW 4
- Number of active connections: 2
