The Momentum 4 trades class-best ANC for flagship battery and sound: SoundGuys measured 56 hours 21 minutes with ANC on, and its Timbre score of 4.8/5 reflects a tuning reviewers nearly universally praise. The catch is honest — Sony and Bose cancel more noise — but for music-first buyers who hate chargers, little touches this. Check the current Amazon price.
— THE VERDICT · JUDGEANY EDITORSWhat the Momentum 4 are
Sennheiser launched the Momentum 4 Wireless in August 2022 as a deliberate reset of its flagship over-ears: the leather headband and metal sliders of the Momentum 3 were traded for fabric and plastic, and the payoff was a battery claim that still stands out — up to 60 hours with ANC on, roughly double the Sony WH-1000XM5's 30-hour rating. Per Sennheiser's spec sheet, you get 42mm dynamic drivers (6 Hz to 22 kHz), Bluetooth 5.2 with SBC, AAC, aptX and aptX Adaptive, hybrid adaptive ANC, four beamforming microphones, and a 700mAh cell rated for 60 hours at mid volume on an iPhone. Everything below is drawn from published reviews and lab measurements; JudgeAny runs no lab and measured nothing ourselves.
Sound: the consensus is rare and strong
Sound is where reviewers most agree, and the lab data backs them up. SoundGuys' MDAQS testing gave the Momentum 4 a Timbre score of 4.8 out of 5, with the measured response sitting close to their headphone preference curve: modest bass shelf, well-represented highs, no major problem areas. Their reviewer noted a bit of extra boom in the low end but found it easy to tame with the app's EQ. What Hi-Fi? awarded five stars and called them one of the best-performing ANC over-ears at their price, describing a clear, direct, detailed and lively profile that had shed some of the richness of older Momentums for more neutrality. TechRadar scored sound 5 out of 5, praising a detailed, energetic listen with lows that never turn congested or muddy. The honest footnote: SoundGuys' Distortion score of 3.5 trails newer models like the Momentum 5's 4.6, so the sound is close to flawless, not flawless.
Noise cancelling: good, not class-best
Read this section if ANC is your priority, because reviewers are consistent here too — and the consistency cuts against the Momentum 4. Tom's Guide found the adaptive ANC effective, with wind noise reduction it singled out as top-notch, but not quite up to the superior standards of the Bose 700 and Sony WH-1000XM5. What Hi-Fi? drew the same line in its Bose comparison: the QuietComfort Ultra remains the superior noise-canceller, probably the best it has ever tested, while Sennheiser's tech is still very good, reducing a commute to a visual distraction rather than an audible one. SoundGuys' 2026 comparison put numbers on the gap: the Momentum 4 attenuates perceived loudness by about 76% on average, well short of the 86% the newer Momentum 5 manages with deeper earcups and double the mic count. Office and commute duty, yes. The loudest cabin rows still belong to Sony and Bose.
Battery, comfort and controls
The 60-hour claim survives independent testing better than most manufacturer figures. SoundGuys measured 56 hours 21 minutes of continuous playback at 75dB with ANC on — close to the claim and roughly double the Sony WH-1000XM5's 31 hours in the same standardized test. Digital Trends went further, logging 63 hours of real-world listening with ANC engaged and battery still to spare. A 5-minute top-up returns about 4 hours, and a full charge takes around 2 hours over USB-C. Comfort is mostly good news — plush earpads, 293 g, low-friction hinges — but Tom's Guide noticed ears getting hot after about an hour of wear, and Headfonia grumbled that the redesign stepped materials down in perceived quality versus the Momentum 3, even as the look grew on them. Controls are a capacitive touch plate on the right earcup plus one physical button; Tom's Guide and Laptop Mag both found the touch panel imprecise at times, and Laptop Mag noted that enabling multipoint meant a detour through the app's connection settings rather than plain Bluetooth pairing.
Features and the app
The Smart Control app is where Sennheiser earns back points: a 5-band EQ (expanded from 3 by a firmware update, per SoundGuys), a Sound Check personalization test, and up to 20 location-based Sound Zones that switch ANC and EQ presets by geotag. Multipoint keeps two devices connected at once, Smart Pause halts playback when the headphones come off, and auto on/off wakes them when picked up. Call quality splits the difference: Laptop Mag's reviewer reported callers couldn't tell they were on headphones indoors, with cars and landscaping tools silenced outside, while SoundGuys judged the 4-mic array fine but no standout — wind and noisy streets still challenge it. Cabled listening works over the included 2.5mm-to-3.5mm cable or USB-C with data, and the box adds an airplane adapter and a fabric hardshell case. One caution from the owner base: a 2026 synthesis of roughly 10,000 owner reviews and expert write-ups scored overall sentiment at 4.1 out of 5, with recurring complaints about oversensitive touch controls and firmware quirks.
Who should buy them
Buy the Momentum 4 if sound quality ranks above everything and you hate charging: measured near-60-hour endurance with ANC on is still exceptional years after launch, and the tuning earns near-universal praise. Skip them if you want the quietest cabin on the market, or if fiddly touch controls drive you mad. These are a few years old now and street prices have fallen well below launch — What Hi-Fi? has tracked repeated deal rounds at a fraction of the original tag — so check the current Amazon price before judging value.