Sennheiser Momentum 4: A step behind premium ANC-enabled earplugs with a long battery life

Sennheiser Momentum 4 fits under the premium segment and mainly battles with Sony headphones with ANC in India 

Sennheiser has had a long presence in the audio segment, and it has delivered several products with enhanced sound experience in the past. Now, it has launched the 4th generation of Momentum wireless headset priced at Rs 34,990, which takes on the likes of BOSE and Sony. The new Sennheiser Momentum 4 offers active noise cancellation (ANC) along with the transparency mode and a several other features. 

The headset is placed in a case and inside the case, you get a USB-A to USB-C cable, an airplane adapter, and a 2.5mm to 3.5mm TRS cable to be used in case the device you want to connect with does not come with Bluetooth facility. 

The new Sennheiser Momentum 4 comes with a very clean design. The body is carved out of plastic giving the headphone lightweight. It looks premium though. The band has soft cushioning to make it easy to wear. The two oval ear cups come with soft padding and the cups are designed in more of a free-size manner fitting ears comfortably. The earcups lie flat and do not fold so carrying the headset without its case requires you to adjust some space. The controls are completely placed on the right earcup of the headset as you can find the power and pairing button, USB-C charging port, and the LED indicators all on the right earcup. 

Other than the pairing button all the controls are touch-based and are placed on the right earcup. The touch control allows you to play/pause the tracks, increase/decrease the volume, and move to the next or the previous track. The touchpad is quite smooth and responsive to use. The headset also has the automatic play/pause functionality when you remove and wear it. The headset shuts down automatically and can be adjusted using the Sennheiser app. 

The new Sennheiser Momentum 4 is compatible with Bluetooth 5.2 and also it supports the AptX, AptX Adaptive, AAC, and SBC codecs. While pairing the headset we did not use the Sennheiser app and were able to pair it with our phone comfortably. For better functions, adjustments, and controls it is better to use the Sennheiser Control app. The app comes with connection management showing how many devices are connected to the headset. There is an equalizer mode allowing you to choose a list of presets available like Rock, Pop, Dance, Hip Hop, Classical, and Movie allowing you to adjust the Bass, Mid, and Treble level according to your preference. The app also has Sound Zone mode which allows you to automatically apply your sound settings when entering or leaving specific zones like your work zone, home, gym, etc. You can also adjust the ANC and the Transparency level using the Sennheiser app. 

The active noise cancellation (ANC) feature of the new Sennheiser Momentum 4 is very good. It suppresses the unwanted noise of the outside environment quite effectively. The headset also has the transparency mode which allows you to be aware of the surroundings especially when you are walking on the road and need to be aware of the vehicles coming from behind. Although the ANC of the Momentum 4 wireless is good, but is not on par with the competition like the ANC present on the BOSE or a Sony headphone as it did not cancel out the outside noise entirely. You can also find the Adaptive mode on it which adjusts automatically to the environment. 

The new Sennheiser Momentum 4 has a very clear sound quality and lets you hear every note. The sound output is on point and you can feel the richness of the songs. The bass quality is very good and you can adjust the bass levels as well using the equalizer mode also there is Bass Boost which adds more punch. The sound produced is very deep allowing you to feel each element of the song very clearly. The overall experience of listening to music on the new Sennheiser Momentum 4 is very immersive and we did not come across any deflection in the sound frequency as everything was on a good level. One good thing is that the sound produced does not pinch the eardrums allowing you to use the headphone for a much longer period.