I purchased Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones in late 2024. I spent my own money on those items, used them almost every day, and I have some thoughts to share.
Chances are you came here because you’re tired of reading the same over-engineered nonsense on every tech site. Same complaints about bass. Same praise for battery life. No one is actually telling you what it’s like to own these things beyond the first 7 days.
Let me fix that.
The Battery Thing Is Legitimately Nuts
Sixty hours between charges. I know that is a marketing BS line, but it’s true. I charge them every two weeks, and I use them frequently. I use them for work calls, music during cooking, and podcasts on walks. They just don’t die.
I had to charge my previous pair, which were Sony something-or-others that needed charging every three days. Drove me crazy. With the Momentum 4, I seriously forgot that these things need power.
How They Actually Sound
OK, so Sennheiser’s a company that makes “reference headphones,” or headphones designed to sound “accurate.” These aren’t that. At all.
There is a lot of bass right out of the box. Too much, honestly. Newer stuff like Billie Eilish or Travis Scott sounds excellent, but put on older rock and it gets muddy. Jazz recordings lose detail. An acoustic guitar sounds thick when it should sound crisp.
But what redeems them is that the app’s EQ does work. I tweaked them for maybe 10 minutes, scooped out the low end and boosted some mids, and suddenly they sounded way better. Not “audiophile reference” better, but certainly “I can listen to anything now” better.
Vocals sit pretty far forward. Sometimes that’s cool, as you may pick up some lyrics you missed the first time. At other times it’s tiring, especially on bright recordings. Treble can get sharp on poorly mastered tracks.
Sennheiser headphones usually lean neutral. These lean fun. Take that how you will.
Wearing Them For Hours
They are a lot lighter than AirPods Max. That helps. The earcups are plush, won’t get too hot and seal well around your ears.
The problem? That headband. After about three hours, the top of my head starts aching. Not painful, just… there. You notice it. With my old Sony pair, I could wear them all day. With these, I have to take breaks.
Clamping force is fine. Not too tight, not too loose. The earcups are also large enough that my ears never touch the drivers inside, something that can be an issue with other headphones.
What They Look Like
These are black, which is kind of boring, maybe, but that is exactly the point. They don’t scream, “Look at my expensive headphones.” They just look normal.
Once you fold them flat into the case, it’s all a nice tight fit. The case isn’t huge either. Nestles in a backpack without hogging all your space. They also throw in a standard old cable and an airplane adapter, which is nice because most companies stopped doing that.
Noise Canceling Works Fine
Noise canceling is not Bose or Sony level. But close enough that I don’t care most of the time.
Flew to Denver last month. Plane noise mostly disappeared. I could still hear the flight attendant when she passed by. These can easily handle coffee shops, libraries, and rowdy offices. Depending on what you need, the app allows you to dial it up or down.
Sometimes I keep it at 50% so I hear if someone’s trying to get my attention. Full blast when I really need to focus or I’m traveling.
The Reviews You’ve Been Reading
If you’ve been reading Sennheiser Momentum 4 wireless headphones reviews there on Reddit or watching comparison videos of some kind over on YouTube, this pattern will look all too familiar. Everyone’s saying the same stuff because everyone is testing them for a week and then rolling.
I’ve had mine over a year. Different story.
Battery life claim? Still holds up. Sound quality? Gets better once you EQ them, but stock tuning stays bass-heavy forever. Comfort? Still the same issue with the headband. Nothing’s fallen apart; the earcups still look new, and the case is holding up fine.
Most Amazon reviews mention the bass thing within the first paragraph. They’re not wrong. But they often don’t mention that you can fix it pretty easily.
Price Makes Sense Now
These dropped from $350 when they first came out. The release date was August 2022, so they’ve been around a minute. Now you can grab them for $250-$280 pretty regularly. Sometimes lower during sales.
Compare that to the Sony WH-1000XM5 at $400, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra around the same, and the AirPods Max still sitting at that ridiculous $550 price point. The value math gets pretty obvious.
Are you giving up anything? Yeah, a bit of comfort. Maybe slightly worse noise canceling. But you’re gaining serious battery life and sound quality that’s competitive once you dial in the EQ.
Wired Mode Actually Matters
They come with a regular 3.5mm cable. Seems basic, but it matters more than you’d think.
If the battery dies, plug them in and keep on listening. Does the airplane have a screen with an audio jack? Works fine. Want to use them with your desktop setup? Done.
Sound quality wired is actually pretty solid too. Not night-and-day different from Bluetooth, but you can tell it’s cleaner if you’re paying attention.
Who Should Buy These
You want the best noise canceling? Get Bose or Sony. You want all-day comfort? Same answer. You’re deep in the Apple ecosystem? AirPods Max make more sense despite costing way more.
But if you want really good performance across the board without dropping $400-$500, these make a lot of sense. Nothing’s best-in-class except battery life, but everything’s solidly good. That matters more than people think.
I’ve tested the Sennheiser Momentum 3 at my friend’s house. These are superior in pretty much every regard. More comfortable, way longer battery life, better sound once EQ’d. Maybe less flashy in design, but who cares when you’re actually wearing them?
There’s talk about a Sennheiser Momentum 5 eventually showing up, but nothing is confirmed. Given how long the gap was between 3 and 4, I wouldn’t wait around.
Direct Competition
The clear alternative to the Sennheiser Momentum 4 is the Sony WH-1000XM5. By far better comfort, and maybe slightly better ANC. But they are more expensive and the battery life is nowhere near the same. The build quality feels about the same.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra is right up there with Sony in comfort and noise canceling. Sound quality is good, but not as detailed as the Momentum 4s after you EQ them.
AirPods Max if you’ve already bought into everything Apple. They’re heavier, more expensive and include that weird case everyone hates. But they are seamless with iPhones and Macs.
After Living With Them
Used these on probably 20 flights. Countless work calls. Hours of music every week. They’ve been reliable. No weird Bluetooth dropouts. No buttons stopping to work. Battery health seems fine.
The bass-heavy tuning still bugs me sometimes, but I’ve got my EQ preset saved and it’s fine. The headband pressure thing hasn’t gotten better, but I’ve learned to take them off every few hours. Not a huge deal.
Would I buy them again? Yeah, probably. They’re not perfect—nothing is—but they do what I need them to do without costing a fortune. That’s worth something.
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 wireless headphones reviews you’ll read mostly focus on specs and first impressions. Living with them long-term, the main thing is they’re consistent. They work the same today as they did a year ago. No software updates breaking things. No degradation. Just solid, reliable performance.
If you’re done with the research and just want something that will work well without being dramatic, get these. They’re a safe pick that usually goes on sale, sounds good once you tweak them, and won’t die on you mid-flight to wherever.
That’s pretty much it. Nothing revolutionary, just good headphones that do their job.