Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 review: The upgrade that doesn’t look like an upgrade

The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 are the fourth iteration of the manufacturer’s flagship wireless earbuds in five years and a decent step up on their predecessors the Momentum True Wireless 3. 

Sennheiser has sensibly left well enough alone where proven elements like the 7mm full-range drivers and Smart Control app are concerned and only made tweaks where they are necessary. The result is a full-on specification that includes Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity, aptX Lossless codec compatibility and Auracast. 

They have a great deal to recommend them in sonic terms too, while competitive battery life, a small and comfortable form factor and wireless charging smarts mean they’re premium earbuds that demand serious attention.

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 review: What do you get for the money?

The Momentum True Wireless 4 cost £259, an outlay that gets you about as up-to-date a specification as you could reasonably hope for, in a form factor that’s almost identical to that of the previous model. Unless that is, you buy the buds in the new black copper finish; the black graphite model reviewed here and the silver white option are indistinguishable from the third-gen iteration that launched in April 2022.

That’s not automatically a bad thing. Both the earbuds and the charging case in which they travel are light and compact, and the earbuds’ ergonomic credentials are enhanced no end by a selection of silicone eartips and silicone fins that make it simple to get a snug, secure and comfortable fit. And the earbuds’ IP54 rating means there should be no problem even if your journey takes a turn for the dusty or sweaty.

Build quality is beyond reproach. Sennheiser’s reputation for impeccable standards of build and finish is long-established, and nothing about the MTW4 (as I’ll be calling them from here on out) is going to jeopardise it. 

The MTW4 use Bluetooth 5.4 for wireless connectivity. This represents the current state of the Bluetooth art, and it means the Sennheiser have a nap hand of compatibility. As well as SBC, AAC and aptX codec compatibility, they’re also compatible with aptX Adaptive and – for those who own one of the source players capable of exploiting it – aptX Lossless. LE Audio, Snapdragon Sound, LC3 and Auracast are all featured as well. There’s a low-latency mode for gaming, and multipoint connectivity too. 

No matter how you get your digital audio information on board, though, it’s dealt with by a couple of 7mm TrueResponse dynamic drivers. The wireless stream they receive is optimised by a reworked antenna design that offers increased range and improved rejection of transmission interference.

Battery life is a perfectly acceptable 30 hours, all-in and in the most advantageous circumstances, which means with active noise cancellation switched off, volume levels set to reasonable and one of the less power-hungry codecs in operation. 

There’s a USB-C socket on the charging case, but the MTW4 are also compatible with Qi-certified wireless chargers – just eight minutes on the juice should be good for another hour of listening. A new “optimised charging” system monitors charging cycles in an effort to maximise battery longevity. 

If you decide you want to listen with active noise cancellation on, you’ll find it’s an adaptive system with a very handy anti-wind setting. Transparency mode is available if you need to hear what’s going on around you, and it has a sliding scale of intensity.

These settings, and plenty more besides, are accessed via Sennheiser’s exemplary Smart Control app. In addition to the ANC options, it features a five-band EQ with presets and the ability to save (and name) custom settings. 

Touch controls can be customised or disabled here, and there’s a fit test to make sure your earbuds are in correctly. Here’s where you can select your maximum audio resolution, customise the look of the app (to an extent) and plenty more besides. Between this stable, logical app and the responsive capacitive touch surface on each earbud, control of the MTW4 is simple. And there’s always the option of your source player’s native voice assistant if you prefer that sort of interaction.     

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Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4: What did we like about them?

There’s plenty to enjoy and admire about the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 but I’m going to start with just how easy to control they are. The ability to rearrange touch controls is an underappreciated feature, the app is beautifully realised and voice-assistant interaction is – thanks to the six-mic array – rapid and reliable. The same array takes care of call quality (also very impressive) and active noise cancellation.

The specification is impressive too. Bluetooth 5.4 and its associated functionality offers a combination of efficiency, streaming stability and audio quality; Sennheiser’s efforts to maximise battery efficiency are also worthwhile. The physical specification is good, too – comfort over extended listens is assured, and the compact form factor of the charging case doesn’t do any harm either.

The whole point, though, has to be sound quality – and in this regard, the MTW4 need very few excuses made for them. Do the right thing in terms of the size of the digital file you’re streaming and the quality of the codec you deploy (as I’m typing I’m listening to a big 24bit/192kHz FLAC file of Life During Wartime by Talking Heads streamed via aptX) and the result is a confident, observant and entertaining listen.

The MTW4 are a spacious, organised listen, able to create a convincing soundstage and lock every element of a recording into position. As a result, individual strands are easy to follow, have a little pocket of space in which to do their thing and are positioned securely relative to every other strand. There’s real width and depth available too, so even the most complex recordings have elbow room. 

Detail levels are high across the board – from the deep, straight-edged and nicely varied low frequencies to the bright, substantial treble reproduction, there’s a stack of information revealed and contextualised. In between, the midrange communicates in an utterly explicit manner – a singer’s technique, character, emotional state and intentions are made completely clear. The transition from the top of the frequency range to the bottom is smooth and balanced, and overall tonality is nicely neutral and uncoloured.

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4: What could be improved?

For all their facility with the finest details, great transient response and ability to offer variation where less accomplished designs can manage only uniformity, the Sennheiser MTW4 are not the most dynamic listen in the broadest sense. A 16bit/44.1kHz TIDAL file of DJ Shadow’s Walkie Talkie has only hints of the changes in intensity and attack, rather than describing them explicitly.

There’s nothing special about their noise-cancelling abilities, either. Switching the adaptive system on makes a difference to the level of external sound that gets in, most certainly – but ambient noise is reduced rather than eradicated in the way, say, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds can manage. The wind-reduction feature works pretty well, though, and being able to adjust the amount of external sound you hear when in Transparency’ mode is a nice touch too.

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4: Should you buy them?

To say the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 are not without competition is to understate it somewhat. At every turn, premium brands have a premium-priced alternative to sell you. 

But the MTW4 deserve serious consideration when you’re drawing up a shortlist. Their sound quality is impressive in virtually every respect, their specification is as good as it currently gets (unless you’re a spatial audio enthusiast), they have competitive battery life, are comfortable and they’re built to last. If you have this sort of money to spend on new true wireless earbuds, you need to check them out.