Hear up, audiophiles: Apple, Bose and Sony aren’t the one recreation in Ear City. It is time to give critical consideration to Sennheiser, which has crafted an excellent set of wi-fi Bluetooth earbuds. For those who prize model, sound high quality, and battery life, and do not thoughts paying a premium to get them, this may very well be your subsequent splurge. There’s actually just one factor lacking, and it is perhaps a dealbreaker for some. This is my Sennheiser Momentum True Wi-fi 4 overview.
Learn extra: I tested the best open-ear headphones for 2024, and I’m genuinely surprised
Sennheiser Shopper Audio
Ear detection: Sure | Spatial audio: No | Multipoint connectivity: Sure | Case charging: USB-C or wi-fi | Max battery life: 7.5 hours on a cost | Water-resistance: IP54 | Ear ideas included: 4 sizes
VERDICT: With higher battery life than AirPods Professional and newer Bluetooth tech than the newest from Bose and Sony, Sennheiser’s great-sounding earbuds are undoubtedly price a glance.
- Excellent sound
- Superb noise-canceling, particularly in opposition to wind
- Above-average ANC battery life
- Water- and dust-resistant
- Helps Bluetooth 5.4
- Expensive
- No spatial audio
- Charging case bulkier than most
- App is complicated and buggy in locations
- Minimal printed instruction
Sennheiser Momentum True Wi-fi 4 design
The Momentums are “bullet-style” earbuds, nearer in design to Sony’s WF-1000XM5 than to the Apple AirPods Pro and Bose QuietComfort Ultra, which have “stems.” I are inclined to choose the latter as a result of they’re just a little simpler to grip, and due to this fact additionally simpler to wiggle into your ears.
That will help you obtain an optimum match, Sennheiser offers 4 units of ear ideas and two units of rubber “fins.” I am fortunate in that almost all earbuds match my ears proper out of the field, utilizing the inventory medium measurement. The Momentums had been no completely different, however as with all such merchandise, be ready to experiment with completely different sizes to get a correct (and comfy) noise-isolating seal.
To that finish, the Sennheiser app presents a “match take a look at” to be sure to’ve made the correct selections, however I discovered this a bug-riddled train. Some components did not make sense, and at one level I discovered myself “trapped” in a take a look at loop with no manner out besides to force-close the app. The excellent news is that after carrying the earbuds for hours at a time, I skilled no discomfort to talk of. That is not at all times the case.
Sennheiser presents three colour selections — black copper, black graphite and white silver — all very trendy with their respective metallic accents. Certainly, I believe these stands out as the best-looking earbuds within the premium area; they’re snazzier than something within the Apple, Bose or Sony lineups.
That is very true of the cloth-covered charging case. Though it’s kind of bulkier than most, and due to this fact more durable to slide comfortably right into a pocket, it appears wonderful — manner higher than typical hard-plastic instances. You’ll be able to recharge it utilizing USB-C or a Qi wi-fi charging pad. Sennheiser guarantees as much as one hour of listening time after simply eight minutes of charging, good in case you’re headed to the airport and understand you’ve got obtained lifeless ‘buds.
Sennheiser Momentum True Wi-fi 4 options
Talking of batteries, the Momentums can run for as much as 7.5 hours on a cost (in line with Sennheiser). That is with ANC toggled off; when it is on, it is best to nonetheless rise up to 7 hours, once more in line with Sennheiser. That is uncommon: Whereas many different earbuds boast related ANC-off numbers, battery life often drops by a number of hours with ANC turned on.
For those who do not sometimes hear for that lengthy, you’ll be able to toggle on Battery Safety Mode, which guarantees to delay the batteries’ general lifespan by limiting the utmost cost degree to 80%. It additionally slows down the charging course of. Many trendy telephones make use of this trick as nicely; it is good to have the choice right here. (For those who’re hopping on an extended flight and wish most listening time, simply toggle BPM off and let the earbuds cost to 100%.)
Value noting: All these battery estimates are based mostly on enabling ECO mode, which is completed within the app. That disables the aptX codec — and likewise requires “restarting” the earbuds by inserting them again of their case — and ends in a small however noticeable discount in audio high quality. (Amongst different issues, aptX helps to compensate for the compression and decompression of sound when it travels out of your cellphone to your earbuds. With out it, music tends to sound just a little flatter.)
The earbuds have an IP54 ranking in opposition to water and mud, that means they’ll deal with splashes and sweat (although not underwater dunks). They’re additionally among the many first I’ve seen to include Bluetooth 5.4, the newest model of the short-range wi-fi expertise. That brings help for Auracast and LE Audio, which allow you to share your audio with others or connect with sources in public areas (suppose: bars, airports, gyms). Nonetheless, these options aren’t right here but; they’re due in a firmware replace coming later this yr.
Hopefully that replace additionally resolves a recognized multipoint bug that prevented me from connecting the Momentums to my Home windows 11 PC. (A Sennheiser consultant indicated a repair could be deployed “very quickly.”) Certainly, once I accessed the connection-management display within the Sennheiser app, my iPhone was listed, however I could not pair with my desktop.
That app proved to be a significantly blended bag. For instance, there is a excellent setup display for configuring contact controls, which will be set for one, two or three faucets, plus tap-and-hold, with completely different capabilities for the left and proper earbuds. I like having the choice to completely disable the single-tap operate, as a result of it is too simple to unintentionally faucet as soon as once you’re inserting or eradicating an earbud or simply scratching your ear.
I am much less enamored with Sennheiser’s noise-cancellation selections, which consist solely of “adaptive” and “anti-wind”. In my checks the latter labored extraordinarily nicely, making for among the best outdoor-listening experiences I’ve had, however why does not adaptive mode additionally fight wind? And what does anti-wind mode sacrifice in the remainder of the noise-cancellation spectrum? It is all a bit complicated; different earbuds provide extra ANC choices (often along with adaptive) and clearer descriptions of every.
Much more complicated: transparency mode, which permits exterior sound to go via. It is a staple in noise-cancelling earbuds, however the app left me completely misplaced. There isn’t any “on/off” change — fairly, you toggle “transparency degree,” which you then alter utilizing a slider. In the meantime, you are instructed to “insert each earbuds to modify Transparency Mode on.” Um, what?
You then get to Sound Zones, a intelligent instrument for robotically making use of noise-control and equalizer settings relying on the place you go. The concept is that you may want completely different ranges at dwelling, the gymnasium, the workplace and so forth; this protects you having to manually alter them each time you enter and depart a spot. Zones are simple to arrange, however take notice they require location-tracking permission in your cellphone.
To Sennheiser’s credit score, you’ll be able to customise the app to point out as many or few of those settings as you need. You can too disable issues like ear detection (right here known as Sensible Pause), automated energy off, voice prompts and so forth.
Sennheiser Momentum True Wi-fi 4 sound high quality
Sennheiser makes pro-grade audio merchandise, so it is no shock the True Wi-fi 4 earbuds produce a wealthy, full, superbly balanced sound. Nonetheless, my commonplace caveat applies: It is a extremely subjective space, and I am no audiophile. What sounds nice to my ears could sound much less so to others, and what sounds nice to others could also be much less pleasing to me. However I appreciated the refinement and element I may detect in songs from my Spotify playlists.
As for noise-canceling, the Momentum principally excels at it. As famous above, it is nice at blocking wind (assuming you select that mode), and once I parked myself subsequent to loud air-conditioning unit, the Momentum’s adaptive ANC diminished the noise to a barely noticeable hum.
Whereas there’s little fine-tuning accessible there, the app offers quite a few equalizer presets (rock, classical, film, and so on.) you’ll be able to toggle to higher go well with the supply audio, together with a bass-boost possibility and a preset that is only for podcasts. You can too alter 5 completely different frequency bands to your liking and save them as a customized preset.
Another choice: Sound Personalization runs you thru a sequence of checks that will help you get, nicely, a personalised sound. However I discovered this complicated, particularly the questions on selecting a quantity that is “comfy to hearken to for hours” and setting ranges for strings and drums. Perhaps audiophiles will perceive all this higher than I did, however ultimately I apprehensive I would made dangerous selections and went again to utilizing the usual equalizer.
My solely actual grievance within the audio division is the dearth of spatial audio. That is the one space the place Sennheiser comes up brief; the aforementioned merchandise from Apple, Bose and Sony all provide spatial audio, which makes it sound as if music and flicks have a focus, one which stays in place even once you flip your head. It isn’t important, however it’s actually cool and needs to be included in $300 earbuds.
Sennheiser Momentum True Wi-fi 4: Do you have to purchase it?
If not for the dearth of spatial audio, I would give the True Wi-fi 4 a stronger advice. Because it stands, it is a great-sounding headphone that is simple on the eyes and filled with nice options, together with sturdy battery life, stable noise-cancelling (particularly in opposition to wind) and soon-to-come Bluetooth 5.4 facilities.
Sure areas of the app want work, nonetheless, as does multipoint connectivity. And you will undoubtedly pay a premium for what the Momentum has to supply. However audiophiles know that is a part of the drill, and I can say with out reservation audiophiles will probably be happy by these ‘buds.
