- VERDICT
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless noise cancelling headphones offer superb audio quality that will please the fussiest listeners and give you hours of comfortable listening on your next flight, commute or when you’re just kicking back to block out the world and listen to your favourite tunes.
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless noise cancelling headphones have improved the standards customers have come to expect from the respected audio brand.
With Advanced Noise Cancellation onboard, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 wireless headphones creates your own private listening space by eliminating ambient sounds.
Design-wise the Momentum 4 headphones have a sleek look with padded earcups and headband which reduces the pressure on your head so you can wear them for hours.
For our review, we wore them on our flight to New York and had no issues.
In fact, they were so comfortable we were able to sleep on the flight while we were still wearing them.
The mechanism allows you to expand the headphones to fit any size head – we’ve got a big head and it fit perfectly – while the swivel earcups sat in the perfect position.
And when you’re done, the Sennheiser headphones fold flat so you can safely store them in the included hard case which also holds the 3.5mm audio cable and airline entertainment system adaptor and the USB-C charging cable.
OK, let’s talk about audio.
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones well and truly deliver.
This is thanks to the onboard 42mm transducer that powers the audio performance to deliver the detail and brilliance of what you’re listening to.
The headphones get it right with solid highs and mids and just the right amount of bass so as not to overpower anything else.
It’s like mixing a cocktail – the ingredients are right and blend together admirably.
Adaptive Noise Cancellation lives up to its name and executes to the level required make a difference so it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution.
For our review, the main use of our noise cancellation was during a flight so the ANC only had mainly one frequency to block – the sounds of the engine.
As a result we were easily able to hear the movies and TV shows we watched on an iPad Air even at lower volumes as well as the inflight movies on the in-flight entertainment system.
This level of ANC is in the same ballpark as that of similarly priced Bose and Sony headphones.
For us to sleep on a plane we need to have earplugs in to block the sound of the engines and let our circadian rhythm do its thing.
Our understanding is that the sound of a jet engine is at a frequency that can disrupt our circadian rhythm and prevent you from falling asleep.
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 ANC was so good we were also able to easily fall asleep while we were wearing the headphones instead of using a pair of soft ear plugs that usually do the job of blocking out the sound.
We also like the fact that whenever we took of the headphones or just removed one ear cup, whatever we were watching or listening to was paused and resumed when we put the headphones on again.
The Transparency Mode is also handy for those times you want to hear your surroundings – like when we were asked if we wanted a drink on the flight or our meal choice.
The gesture to go from ANC to Transparency mode is to spread your fingers apart on the right touch sensitive earcup.
And to go back to ANC you have to slide two fingers together
This was tricky and took a few tries to get it to work.
It’s easier if you pause your music before you try it – which is just another step you need to take to hear your surroundings or to get back to ANC.
It would have been easier to make this feature accessible by hitting the button on the right earcup. That activates your voice assistant instead.
We feel this important feature should be easier to access.
Those touch sensitive control is also activated if you happen to brush it accidentally with your hand.
We found ourselves pausing our music when we didn’t want to while making minor adjustments to the headphones.
The panel also allows users to adjust the volume by sliding their finger up and down.
You can answer calls by sliding forward and reject the call or hang up by swiping backwards.
The Sennheiser Smart Control App has as customisable EQ, preset EQs and lets set up to 20 Sound Zones so the headphones adjust EQs, ANC and transparency based on where you are whether it’s at home, in the office or in the gym.
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones have an impressive 60 hours of battery life.
We flew from Sydney to New York with ANC turned on – that’s about 18 hours of flying – and we still had 70 per cent battery remaining.
You can also charge the headphones for 10 minutes and get up to six hours of listening time.
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless noise cancelling headphones are available now and priced at $549.95.
VERDICT
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless noise cancelling headphones offer superb audio quality that will please the fussiest listeners and give you hours of comfortable listening on your next flight, commute or when you’re just kicking back to block out the world and listen to your favourite tunes.
