- 2 weeks ago
- #headphones
- #sennheiser
Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones Review
#headphones #Sennheiser
#headphones #Sennheiser
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TechTranscript
00:00.
00:30.
01:00So these are the Bose QC headphones and these are Bose's new mid-tier ANC headphones and
01:06these are great for traveling with because these block out a lot of noise, they're
01:11very comfortable to wear and they come included with a very small case which I feel is very
01:16important for flying.
01:18But the Sennheiser Momentum 4's also block out an impressive amount of noise and they
01:24sound really good too.
01:26So today we are going to compare the Bose QC's to the Sennheiser Momentum 4's and
01:30we're going to see which ones are right for you.
01:33Now first lets talk about these included carrying cases.
01:35Now both of these headphones come included with hard shell cases which is great cause
01:39they're going to remain safe even if you stuff them into a cramped backpack.
01:44My main critique here is the case that comes with the Momentum 4's has a large footprint
01:49cause these headphones have a lay flat design to them and this case is also pretty thick.
01:55So I feel that traveling with the Momentum 4's isn't as convenient as with the Bose QC's
02:01case cause this case is just smaller and slimmer.
02:05But something about this case is that when you take these headphones out they will automatically
02:08power on and connect to your phone which is really cool.
02:11The only problem is, at least for me, is that I've found that when this case is vertical,
02:16like lets say they're in your backpack, your headphones can power on and they can get
02:21connected to your phone which can be very annoying.
02:24And even after a year it doesn't look like any of these recent firmware updates has fixed
02:28this issue.
02:29Now I got these headphones when they first came out.
02:32So maybe this isn't a problem with newer models of these headphones but just be warned
02:38that this could be something that might happen.
02:40But with the cases out of the way lets talk about the headphones themselves.
02:44Regarding fit, this right here is very different between these two headphones and this can
02:48actually be a deciding factor for some people.
02:51Now both of these headphones are big head approved but the Momentum 4's have a firmer fit to
02:55them.
02:56Where as the Bose QC's have less clamping force to them.
03:00So if you like a looser fit or if you have a really big head and or if you like to wear
03:05hats then you're definitely going to want to go with the Bose QC's.
03:09But then there are the ear pads on these headphones.
03:11Now both of these headphones have very spacious ear pads and they're both going to have no
03:16problem accommodating most ear types.
03:18And even if you have very large ears or ears that stick out a lot, both of these ear pads
03:23will have you covered.
03:24However the ear pads on the Bose QC's are just more spacious.
03:28And also these ear pads have less surface area coming in contact with your skin.
03:33So Bose's ear pads are just able to stay cooler for longer.
03:37And then there's their weight.
03:38The Momentum 4's weigh in at 295 grams.
03:41Which isn't awful but it is a little heavier than your Bose QC Ultra and Sony 1000XM4's
03:48which weigh in at 255 grams and the Sony 1000XM5's weigh in at 250 grams.
03:55And then there are the Bose QC 45's which weigh in at 237 grams and the Bose QC's weigh
04:01in at 235 grams.
04:04So with the Bose QC's these are just a lot easier to forget that you're wearing when you're
04:09sitting still and you notice these shifting around a lot less when you're walking around
04:14with them on.
04:15So overall both of these headphones fit well.
04:17But the Bose QC's are considerably more comfortable than the Sennheiser Momentum 4's because they
04:22have a lot less clamping force, their ear pads are a lot more spacious, their ear pads also
04:27stay cooler for longer, and they're a lot lighter as well.
04:31But when it comes to tech specs the Momentum 4's dominate the Bose QC's when it comes to battery
04:37life and connectivity.
04:39The Momentum 4's have an advertised battery life of 60 hours with their active noise cancellation
04:44turned on which is both very impressive and it's very above average.
04:49Whereas with the Bose this is one of their biggest weak points.
04:52The Bose QC's have an advertised battery life of 24 hours with their active noise cancellation
04:57turned on which is a little low especially if you do plan on flying with these headphones.
05:03And since you can't use these headphones with their active noise cancellation turned off
05:07you can't extend their battery life.
05:09Now you also can't use the Momentum 4's with their active noise cancellation turned
05:13off but since they already have a battery life of 60 hours that's ok.
05:19And in order to charge these headphones both of these headphones charge via a USB C port
05:23as they should.
05:24But the really cool thing about the Momentum 4's is that you can also use their USB C port as
05:30a wired connection.
05:31Whereas with the Bose QC's their USB C port is strictly used for charging.
05:37However if you want to you can still use either of these two headphones with a wired connection
05:42because they both still have an audio jack and with both of these headphones they can be used
05:47passively unlike with the Bose QC Ultra's which can't be used passively.
05:53But when it comes to wireless connectivity both of these headphones can be connected to any
05:57two Bluetooth devices at the same time which is good if you're a power user because you
06:02can easily hot swap from one device to another regardless of ecosystem.
06:06So if you have an iPhone you can switch over to your PC with either of these two headphones.
06:12And when it comes to overall performance both of these headphones have zero latency across
06:16the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you're using an iPhone
06:19or an android device.
06:21And when it comes to audio codecs the Bose QC's have support for SBC and AAC whereas
06:26the Momentum 4's have support for SBC, AAC, and AptX Adaptive.
06:30However just keep in mind that if you do want to take advantage of AptX you do have to be
06:34an android user because iPhones top out at AAC.
06:38But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound.
06:40Now first the Bose QC's are a pair of neutral sounding headphones, as in these are going to
06:45be better suited for someone that likes a more neutral or vocal focused EQ.
06:50Now these headphones have bass, but the bass is mostly on the audible side.
06:54As in you can hear their bass but you can't feel their bass.
06:58Now you can always go in and adjust the EQ on these headphones to your liking, but even
07:02if you were to crank the bass all the way up on these headphones they aren't going
07:06to physically rattle your head.
07:08So for this reason some people will say that these headphones sound flat, but they don't
07:12sound flat they're just different.
07:14But then there's the Sennheiser Momentum 4's.
07:16Now I still feel that the Momentum 3's sound better than the Momentum 4's.
07:20But the Momentum 4's still sound great.
07:23And more importantly the Momentum 4's have very impressive instrument separation and detail.
07:28All on their own.
07:29They don't require any software trickery to sound as good as they do, like the Bose QC
07:34Ultra and their immersive audio and the AirPods Max and their spatial audio.
07:40But another thing about the Sennheiser is that they also have a decent amount of physicality
07:44in their bass.
07:45So if you want to feel your bass, the Momentum 4's can do that and their bass also has a
07:51decent amount of resonance as well.
07:53So overall the Sennheiser Momentum 4's easily sound better than the Bose QC cause these are
07:58able to always sound great and they also have some kick in their bass.
08:02Whereas with the Bose QC's these also sound good but these are going to be better suited
08:07for someone that likes a more neutral or vocals focused EQ.
08:11Plus the Momentum 4's do sound noticeably more open than the Bose QC's.
08:15But then there are the media controls on these headphones.
08:18Now the Momentum 4's are using a touchpad.
08:20Now this touchpad is decent but it can be a little overly sensitive which can be a little
08:25annoying at times especially if you plan on traveling with these headphones.
08:30Whereas the Bose QC's are using physical buttons and these physical buttons are just
08:34a lot easier to find and they're a lot easier to use.
08:39However something that the Momentum 4's do have over the Bose QC's is that they have
08:44aware sensors.
08:45So they'll automatically pause your music when you take them off… and then when you put
08:49it back on they'll start playing new music again.
08:51Now personally I don't really care for wear sensors on my headphones so I usually just
08:55turn them off but they're there if you want them.
08:58And most importantly the wear sensors on the Momentum 4's are a lot better now than
09:03when they first came out.
09:05But now lets talk about the active noise cancellation on these headphones.
09:08Now just as you'd expect both of these premium ANC headphones block out an impressive
09:12amount of noise.
09:14But so that you can see for yourself we're gonna jump into an ANC test.
09:26fine.
09:41This is always a snapper.
09:43It's not here, it's limited space, but also it's a lot easier.
09:48But this is the same machine, also in 406 Owen's our name and that is new to me.
09:53So like you may have just seen, both the Sennheiser Momentum 4's and the Bose
10:22QC's block out an impressive amount of noise.
10:26However, the Bose QC's just block out overall more noise than the Momentum 4's.
10:31So either of these two headphones are going to be good options to fly with cause they
10:34both block out a lot of noise, however the Bose QC's are able to block out more lower
10:40frequency sounds like jet engine noise and they also block out more chatter.
10:44And most importantly they don't have all that much more cabin pressure than the Momentum
10:494's.
10:50Also, both of these headphones have an ambient mode and you can adjust how much noise these
10:54headphones let in, however these ambient modes are a little different.
10:58Now the ambient mode on the Bose sounds more natural than the ambient mode on the Momentum
11:024's cause I feel the Momentum 4's prioritize noise pollution so it can be a little harder
11:07to understand people.
11:09But the microphone array on the Momentum 4's does a much better job of rejecting wind noise
11:14when walking outdoors, whereas the Bose QC's are much faster to pick up wind noise which
11:19can be very annoying especially if you plan on commuting with these headphones.
11:24But something that I do like about the Momentum 4's is that if you have them set to pause
11:28music when you turn on their ambient mode then you'll have a conversation mode where
11:33your headphones will lower the volume of your music and pump in all of the ambient sound
11:37around you so that you can quickly talk to someone without having to remove your headphones.
11:51And when you double tap on the touchpad they'll go back to normal again.
11:54And with the Momentum 4's you kind of have access to both features.
11:59If you double tap on the touchpad they'll go to your conversation mode.
12:04And if you want to have your ambient mode turned on and you want your music to play at the
12:08same time then you can just pinch to zoom on the touchpad.
12:12So you technically have access to both features.
12:16But with Sony's headphones their setup is a lot more seamless and this is definitely
12:20something that both Sennheiser and Bose should try to improve on their headphones.
12:26But more importantly Bose's headphones don't have a conversation mode and this is a very
12:32big shame because the Bose NC700's do have a conversation mode but for some reason Bose
12:39just didn't include a conversation mode on their newer headphones.
12:44So I really do hope that Bose adds a conversation mode to their newer headphones through a firmware
12:49update because they can easily do so.
12:52Cause like I've mentioned in the past having a conversation mode on your headphones is extremely
12:56useful especially if you plan on flying with your headphones.
13:00But finally here's the microphone test and I feel that both of these headphones have decent
13:04sounding microphones on them to take phone calls with while in a quiet room.
13:09But I do feel that the microphone on the Bose QC's does sound a little more natural than
13:13the microphone found on the Sennheiser Momentum 4's.
13:17But when it comes to blocking out noise pollution both of these headphones do struggle a little
13:21bit.
13:22Now when it comes to blocking out road noise the Bose QC's are able to block out some of
13:27this road noise.
13:28But again for comparison sake if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone you're
13:32gonna clearly hear all of this road noise.
13:34But if we were to switch back over to the Bose QC's it is slightly reduced.
13:40And it's the same thing with the Sennheiser Momentum 4's, these are managing to slightly
13:44block out some of this road noise.
13:48And it's the same thing when it comes to blocking out chatter.
13:50The Sennheiser Momentum 4's are only managing to slightly block out some of this noise pollution.
13:57And the Bose QC's are also only blocking out some of this chatter.
14:01But again if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone you're gonna clearly hear all
14:05of this chatter.
14:06So with all that being said if you're trying to choose between the Bose QC's and
14:36the Sennheiser Momentum 4's, the Bose QC's are the better option here if you're looking
14:41for a pair of headphones to constantly travel with cause they block out more noise than
14:45the Momentum 4's, they're a lot more comfortable to wear, and they have a much smaller case
14:50for traveling.
14:51But their biggest issue is their battery life, 24 hours is a little low especially for flying.
14:58Where as the Momentum 4's are good for up to 60 hours.
15:01Now don't get me wrong, the Momentum 4's are also good for traveling cause they also
15:05block out a lot of noise, but they aren't as convenient as the Bose because they have
15:10a much larger case and they just aren't as comfortable and those ear cups can heat up
15:15after a while.
15:17But where the Momentum 4's really shine is their sound quality.
15:21These truly sound really good.
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