Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 pushes the boundaries on audio luxury

Setup is easy and you have the Smart Control app to customise the earphones exactly the way you need. It takes a few minutes, but the app helps you fine-tune the audio output, even setting your preferred volume for the highs and mids. I really enjoyed the precision playback I got after going through this process. There is also a 5-band equaliser in the app that lets you customise and save the settings. The connection management tab in the app is a nice touch, letting you toggle between source devices and even delete those that are not needed anymore. The earphones easily switch between multiple devices.

These earbuds are among the larger ones I have used in all these years (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)

Talking about the quality of adaptive noise cancellation of a Sennheiser is sort of pointless given for how long this company has now been doing this well. But still, I should reiterate that it is pretty good and without creating a vacuum in your ears. There is an anti-wind mode which is great for when you are taking a call outdoors or under the fan.

The haunting Nyabagam from the new Malayalam movie Varshangalkku Shesham was a perfect song to test the versatility of the Momentum True Wireless 4, given that it is a vocal-led number but one that has great use of the violin and piano, finally reaching a crescendo that will pressure any good audio device. The Momentum did not fret a bit and gave me some underlying touches in the song I could not pick up in the theatre.

To really push the Momentum, I switched to my headphone-testing playlist. Dennis Kamakahi’s Ulili E is a tough composition to manage if you are not on really high-end headphones that offer the space needed for so many layers. The Momentum 4 managed this well. The Vampyre of Time and Memory is a very different type of song in comparison and has high techno notes that could be called the audio equivalent of a strobe light. I switched from my custom setting to the pop preset for this song and really enjoyed the experience, though it is not really my kind of song.

Given that I don’t have a lot of time these days for music, a lot of my listening time with earphones ends up on podcasts like The Empire. And the Podcast preset in the Smart Control has given me the best podcast experience I have had and left me wondering why other earphones don’t have this mode.

My one grouse with the Momentum True Wireless 4 is something I have had with other Sennheiser earphones over the years — the tunnel effect while on voice calls. This one has managed it to a large extent, but you still hear this as you are speaking to someone.

The battery lasts about 30 hours on a full charge (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)

The battery lasts about 30 hours on a full charge, which is good given how many features this Momentum has. But with the next version, Sennheiser will have to up this game a bit as a few companies are now offering up to 50 hours of playback.

At Rs 19,990, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 is the near-perfect truly wireless headphone that blurs the lines on what these tiny in-ear devices can do at the moment in comparison to large on-ear headphones. But this is if you love your music.