On paper, the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s are amazing. Their battery life simply crushes both of Sony’s headphones. Their ANC rivals that of the Sony 1000XM5’s, and the Momentum 4’s simply sound better than both of Sony’s headphones. However, there are some quirks about the Momentum 4’s which are just too hard to ignore. Nonetheless, if you’re trying to choose between any of these headphones, lets see how the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s stack up to both the Sony 1000XM5’s and the Sony 1000XM4’s.
Regarding pricing, the Sony 1000XM5’s are the most expensive headphones here retailing for $400… where as both the 1000XM4’s and Momentum 4’s have a retail price of $350. Overall, depending on your needs, one of these headphones are going to be better suited for you. Nonetheless, if you want to pick any of these headphones up, they’ll be linked down below. Or, you can press on the YouTube shopping button, just give it a try.
Now first lets talk about these cases. All of these headphones come included with proper hard shell cases, which is good. However, both the Momentum 4’s case and XM5’s case are on the larger side. Simply put, they aren’t as conveninate to travel with when compared to the XM4’s case which has a smaller foot print and is a touch thinner. But personally, I do find the XM5’s to have the worst case here cause it has the largest foot print, and it compresses the most here. So personally, I would highly recommend that if you’re looking for a pair of headphones to travel with on a regular basis, I would go with the XM4’s, cause I have already traveled with the XM5’s, and this case is simply a huge burden.
And something that I do have to point out with the momentum 4’s, is that when you remove these headphones from their case, they will automatically power on. Now in theory this sounds cool, but I have found that if you have this case standing upright or upside down, the Momentum 4’s will power on and sometimes get connected to your phone. So until sennheiser fixes this or allows you to turn off this feature, you’re going to have to be mindful about how you store these headphones while they are in their case.
But now lets talk about these headphones themselves. Now design and build quality wise… all of these headphones have a mostly plastic body and they’re using leatherette on their earpads. But the key differences here is that the Momentum 4’s have have padded silicon underneath their headband, and they have a hit of fabric on top of their headband. Where as both of Sony’s headphones are using leatherette on their headband. But also, with the XM5’s these things are using a lot of a recycled plastic which simply doesn’t feel as premium or as sturdy as the new plastic used on both the XM4’s and Momentum 4’s. But finally there’s the leatherette on these headphones. Now the leatherette on both the XM4’s and Momentum 4’s feels very systnetic very plastic. It does soften up after your oils get into it… but their leatherette isn’t my favorite. Where as with the XM5’s their leatherette feels better. It kind of feels like soft touch… but with a little less friction. Overall, all of these headphones have good build quality… But to me, the XM5’s don’t feel as premium or as sturdy as these other two headphones cause of their recycled plastic… but I do prefer the leatherette found on the XM5’s, over the leatherette that you’ll find on these other two headphones.
But next up, lets talk about fit. Now all of these headphones are big head approved… But ultimately, the XM4’s are the most comfortable headphones in this lineup. For starters, the XM4’s have the least amount of clamping force here. Where as the XM5’s have a little more clamping force than the XM4’s… but then there are the Momentum 4’s which just have a firm fit to them. Now I would still say that they are big head approved and I can wear them for extended periods of time… but I’m never happy about it. But then, there’s the padding underneath their headband. With the XM5’s, since this headband is so thin and since it has so little padding, I have noticed that after like 40 minutes, they create a hot spot on the top of my head. So I just gotta take them off. Where as with the Momentum 4’s, this headband has more surface area, but I wish this padding was softer, cause I have found that it also likes to create a pressure point after while. Now its not as bad as the XM5’s… but it can be uncomfortable for some people. But then there’s the XM4’s, since this headband has a lot more padding to it, hot spots aren’t an issue for these headphones. But then there’s their weight, the momentum 4’s weigh in at 295 grams… now this isn’t terrible… but for comparison sake, the XM4’s weigh in at 254 grams and the XM5’s weigh in at 250 grams. So with both of Sony’s headphones, these headphones are much easier to forget that you’re wearing while you’re sitting at your desk or walking around with them on. Where as with the Momentum 4’s, you will notice these headphones shifting around when you’re walking with them. But finally, there are the earpads… now I would say that the earpads on both the momentum 4’s and XM4’s are in the same league. They’re are both going to have no problem accommodating most average sized ears. However, I do prefer the earpads on the XM4’s cause they have less surface area coming in contact with your skin. So they stay a little cooler for a little longer than the earpads on the Momentum 4’s. But then there are the XM5’s, now these earpads have the widest diameter to them… however they’re super shallow. And I have found that these earpads will press down on my average sized ears. And after while, having my ears pressed down on does get uncomfortable. So overall, when it comes to comfort… the XM4’s are hands down the winners here. But if I had to choose between the Momentum 4’s and XM5’s, I have found that I have had an easier time putting up with the Momentum 4’s over the XM5’s. For me, the Hot Spot on the XM5’s and having my ears constantly pressed down on are just deal breakers. And also, I just don’t like how the XM5’s look. They look way to bulbs for my taste. Where as, I feel the Momentum 4’s looks much classier… and I do feel that the XM4’s look the sleekest here.
But now, lets talk about tech specs, when it comes to battery life, the Momentum 4’s simply destroy both of Sony’s headphones. The Momentum 4’s have an advertised battery life of 60 hours and that’s with the ANC turned on. Where as with both of Sony’s headphones they’re good for 30 hours with their ANC turned on.
However, with both of Sony’s headphones you can use them with their ANC turned off and you can extend their battery life that way. The XM5’s can go for as long as 40 hours and the XM4’s can go for as long as 38 hours. Now you can’t use the Momentum 4’s with their ANC turned off… but still, Sony’s headphones just can’t keep up here.
And when it comes to fast charging, With the Momentum 4’s if you were to plug them in for 5 minutes from a dead battery they’ll get you 4 hours of playback time, the XM5’s will get you 3 hours from a 3 minute charge, and the XM4’s will get you 5 hours from a 10 minute charge.
But now, let’s talk about the bluetooth connectivity on these headphones… and this has been somewhat of an issue with the Momentum 4’s. Now all of these headphones can be connected to two devices at the same time. However, with both of Sony’s headphones you’re going to have to go into their settings and sacrifice LDAC. But if you’re an iPhone user, you should defeneitly turn this feature on cause iPhones don’t support LDAC.
But with the Momentum 4’s, I have found that on a semi regular basis, these headphones won’t automatically connect to my phone. So I’ll have to go into my bluetooth menu and manually establish a connection. Now this doesn’t happen all of the time, but it does happen enough to where I have to point it out… And this simply just doesn’t happen with either of Sony’s headphones and I feel that this is an inconvenience that you shouldn’t have to deal with.
But when it comes to overall performance, all of these headphones have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device… and when it comes to audio codecs, the Momentum 4’s have support for SBC and AAC, very standard. But they also have support for APTX and APTX Adaptive. Where as with both of Sony’s headphones, they both have support for SBC and AAC… and they also have LDAC which is Sony’s own in house high res audio codec. Now AAC is going to work perfectly fine whether you’re and iPhone or an android user. But if you want to talk advantage of APTX or LDAC you do have to be an Android user. And if you do decide to use LDAC… that is going to take its toll on the battery life. Cause with the XM5’s… they have an advertised battery life of 30 hours with their ANC turned on… but if you were to use them with LDAC as well… they’re going to have an advertised battery life of 26 hours.
But if you want to, you can always use a wired connection with any of these headphones cause they all still have an audio jack. However, Sony’s headphones are using a 3.5 millimeter audio jack where as the Momentum 4’s are using a 2.5 millimeter audio jack. But also, with the Momentum 4’s, you can also use their USB C port as a wired connection, which is something that you can do with either of Sony’s headphones. But more importantly, all of these headphones come included with the proper audio cables… unlike the AirPods Max.
But now lets talk about sound. Now Sony’s headphones aren’t the best sounding headphones out there… but the XM4’s have always been people pleasers and the XM5’s sound good enough to get the job done. Now with the XM5’s, these have a little better instrument separation than the XM4’s… which is nice. But the improved instrument separation on the XM5’s from the XM4’s is very subtle. But something that isn’t subtle is the difference in the physicality in the bass between the XM4’s and the XM5’s. The XM4’s have significantly more physicality in their bass than the XM5’s. So if you’re someone that likes to feel their bass… then you do want to go with the XM4’s. And overall… even though the XM4’s may not sound as open as the XM5’s… I do feel that these are going to have an easier time pleasing more people than the XM5’s thanks to their increased bass if you want it. But then there are the momentum 4’s which are in a different league. First off, the Momentum 4’s have much better instrument separation and sound much more open than both of Sony’s headphones. Cause with both of Sony’s headphones, they can sound narrow cause vocals are pronounced but the instrumentals aren’t as detailed. But also, the bass on the Momentum 4’s is much more dynamic. The bass on the Momentum 4’s both resonates and kicks. Where as the bass on the XM5’s only resonates a little bit… and the bass on the XM4’s mainly kicks… but its not as tight as the Momentum 4’s. But also with the Momentum 4’s… if you want a more bass heavy sound signature and if you want your head to rattle… then the Momentum 4’s can provide that experience better than with both of Sony’s headphones. Or if you’re someone that like a more neutral or vocals focused EQ, the Momentum 4’s can also do that… and again, they do it better than both of Sony’s headphones cause they have the better instrument separation. However just be warned, even though the Momentum 4’s sound great… I still feel that their predecessors, the Momentum 3’s sound better. They sound more open and their bass kicks harder.
Now when it comes to the media controls on the these headphones… all of these headphones are using touch pads. But personally, I do prefer Sony’s touch pads over the momentum 4’s cause I’ve found that Sony’s touch pads do a much better job of rejecting accidental inputs. Where as with the Momentum 4’s… I feel that these are just a little too sensitive for my taste.
But also, all of these headphones have wear sensors. So whenever you take any of these headphones off, they’ll automatically pause your music. And when you put them back on they’ll start playing your music again. Now the wear sensors on Sony’s headphones are very accurate and I never have any issues with them. Where as with the Momentum 4’s, their wear sensors are accurate, but they only work half the time. The other half of the time is like these headphones forgot that I had them on. Regardless, I usually just turn off the wear sensors on all of my headphones… but that fact the momentum 4’s are having this issue is shocking.
But now, lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Now this is a huge improvement for the momentum 4’s especially is you’re upgrading from Sennheiser’s previous headphones. And shockingly, the ANC on the Momentum 4 is on par with the ANC on the Sony 1000XM5’s. But so that you can see for yourself, we’re going to jump into an ANC Test.
So like you may have just seen, both the XM5’s and momentum 4’s brutally go after those constant low frequency sounds… and as a result, they block out noticeably more road noise than the XM4’s. And again, when it comes to chatter, both the Momentum 4’s and XM5’s are going after those constant low frequency sounds… and they both do a noticeably better job of blocking out those random higher frequency sounds than the XM4’s. For me, its a real toss up between the XM5’s and Momentum 4’s when I comes to blocking out noise. But personally, I do prefer the ANC on the Momentum 4’s cause I feel it has slightly less cabin pressure. Now cabin pressure will might affect you differently and some people are more sensitive to cabin pressure than others… I’m fairly sensitive to it… but I do prefer the ANC on the Momentum 4’s over the XM5’s.
However, when it comes to their ambient mode… I feel the momentum 4’s fall short here. Now you can adjust how much noise all of these headphones let in. But I feel the ambient mode on the momentum 4 prioritizes noise pollution over people’s voices. Where as with Sony’s headphones, they do a better job of prioritizing people’s voices, making it easier to understand people when they’re talking to you. But also, with the microphone array on both the Momentum 4’s and XM5’s, they like to let in a considerable amount of wind noise when walking out doors. Which can get very annoying. Where as the XM4’s microphone array does a batter job of rejecting wind noise.
However, Something that the Momentum 4’s does have over both the XM5’s and XM4’s is that they have an active ambient mode. As in they will automatically turn off their ambient mode if they detect a sudden loud noise, like this. Headphone warning
And then, when that loud noise stops, the Momentum 4’s will go back to normal. Now the XM5’s also try to do this… but they don’t get it quite right.
XM5 active ambient mode
So like you saw, with the XM5’s they detected that loud noise and they blocked it out… but then they just let that noise in and out. I don’t get why the XM5’s can’t get this right, cause both the XM4’s and XM3’s handle this situation much better.
So like you just saw, with the XM3’s… they reacted accordingly. So yeah, I don’t know why the XM5’s can get their right cause both the XM3’s and XM4’s do.
But something that both of Sony’s headphones have over the Momentum 4’s is speak to chat which works a little like this
But personally, I’m not a really big fan of speak to chat because it is very easy to accidentally active. If you’re talking to yourself very quietly that can activate it, if you’re singing along to your music, that can activate it, if you start laughing that can active it, and on rare occasions loud enough outside noises can activate it. So that’s why I don’t use it.
Personally, I prefer to use quick attention on Sony’s headphones and Momentum 4’s have a similar feature if they’re properly set up. Basically they allow you to quickly lower the volume of your music and pump in all of the ambient sound around you so that you can quickly talk to someone without having to take your headphones off, like this.
Now personally, I do prefer the Momentum 4’s method here, cause once its activated, your hands are free. You don’t have to constantly keep the touch pads on Sony’s headphones covered which does get awkward and uncomfortable after awhile. However, the Momentum 4’s do have to be properly set up to do this, bet its easy to set up.
But finally here’s the microphone test. Now overall, the XM4’s have the worst performing microphone here. While in a quite room, they don have the best clarity
Where as with the Momentum 4’s, I feel that these do a better job of focusing on my voice
And I feel the XM5’s also do a really good job of focusing on my voice. But I do have to point out that the XM5’s still have a very faint hissing in the background.
However, the XM5’s do the best job of dealing with noise pollution here. Cause right now, these are doing a great job of blocking out this road noise. Cause for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone, you’re going to clearly hear all of this road noise, but if we were to switch back over to the XM5’s it is severely reduced.
Now the Momentum 4’s are also trying to block out this road noise… but they’re not doing as good of a job… and and they are interning with my voice a little bit.
But then there are the XM4’s which are just a disaster when it comes to blocking out road noise cause there’s just a lot of static in the background when I’m talking.
Now when it comes to blocking out chatter, the XM4’s aren’t as bad… but they are still letting in a decent amount of chatter.
Where as with the Momentum 4’s, these are doing an OK job of dealing with this chatter…
But then there are the XM5’s which are just blocking out more chatter and they’re not really interfering with my voice. So overall, both the XM5’s and Momentum 4’s have decent sounding microphones on them to take phone call while in a quite room. But the XM5’s do a better job of dealing with noise pollution.
But with all of that being said. On paper, the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s are an amazing pair of ANC headphones… and they should be the clear winners here. They have the better battery life here, they block out as much noise as the Sony 1000XM5’s with a little less cabin pressure, and they sound WAY better than either of Sony’s headphones. But the overall user experience isn’t the greatest. For starters, as of September 2022, bluetooth connectivity in the Momentum 4’s isn’t flawless, as it should be. The ambient mode on the Momentum 4’s does prioritize noise pollution over people’s voices. And if you have these headphones upside down in their case, they can power on and connect to your phone. Now I hope that sennheiser will fix these issues soon through a firmware update. But even if these software issues are fixed… Personally I don’t find the momentum 4’s to be the most comfortable headphones out there… and their large case wouldn’t be my top pick for traveling. But hey, if you’re willing to put up with these possible short comings, then the Momentum 4’s will might be for you. Personally, I still highly prefer the XM4’s for traveling simply cause they’re way more comfortable to wear than these other two headphones. And they have the smallest case here. However, if you do want to block out the most amount of noise here… then you’ll might want to go with the XM5’s. And personally I would rather go with the XM5’s over the momentum 4’s… simply cause bluetooth connectivity isn’t an issue for these guys and as of right now, they have a better sounding ambient mode. The only thing is, you are going to have to learn how to deal with the XM5’s fit and comfort.