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Sennheiser’s latest high-end earbuds aim to reclaim the crown as the best-sounding noise-canceling earbuds you can buy, with the very latest chips, tricks and future-proof technology.
The Momentum True Wireless 4 earbuds cost £259.90 (€299.90 / $299.95), putting them head to head with the best from Bose and Sony.
Apart from some striking new colours, the fourth-generation buttons are externally identical to their predecessors, with a mix of metal, plastic and fabric surfaces that look and feel great.
They are an average size for earbuds and fit well, with a decent range of silicone tips and wings to adjust them to your ears. They were comfortable for long listening periods, but people with small ears may have some trouble fitting them.
The Sennheiser logo on each earbud acts as a touch-sensitive button, allowing you to control playback, volume, noise-canceling modes, and other functions. They work well with a full set of customization options.
The earbuds last about seven hours between charges, which is long enough for most activities. The fabric-covered case can fully charge the earbuds just over three times, for a total playback time of about 30 hours.
Specifications
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Water resistance: IP54 (splash)
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Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.4, SBC, AAC, aptX adaptive, LC3
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Battery life: Seven o’clock; up to 28 hours with case
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Earbud weight: 6.2g each
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Driver size: 7mm
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Charging case weight: 66.4g
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Charging case: USB-C, Qi wireless charging
Future-proof technology
Most major upgrades are the result of new chips. The TW4 supports Bluetooth 5.4, has a multipoint to connect to two devices at once, and has improved range and a stronger connection to your phone. They also connect significantly faster to the Sennheiser Smart Control app on your phone, allowing you to quickly change modes and other settings, eliminating a pain point common to many Bluetooth headphones.
In addition to the standard SBC and AAC Bluetooth audio formats, the earbuds also support aptX Adaptive, including lossless playback at the equivalent of CD quality with the right phone. Most Android devices support some form of aptX, but only a limited number Snapdragon sound of Qualcomm can achieve the highest quality versions.
Sennheiser promises to future-proof the earbuds with an upcoming update to add support for them LC3 for next generation Bluetooth LE audio playback and AuracastThese are technologies that are expected to be used in phones and other devices in the coming year. Auracast promises that multiple earbuds can connect to one phone, tablet, TV or other device, kind of like a radio broadcast, but via Bluetooth, and is expected to be added to Android 15 this year.
Fantastic sound
Sennheiser has improved the already best sound from Bluetooth earbuds. The TW4 produces rich, full and detailed audio that does justice to virtually any genre of music. They still have plenty of low end, but are slightly more balanced than their predecessors with an overall cleaner, more energetic sound. They still have the option to fully customize the sound via an equalizer or a sound personalization feature in the app.
The earbuds feature effective active noise cancellation that is able to reduce most traffic sounds and rumble, as well as distracting background noise. The earbuds automatically adjust the level of noise cancellation, meaning that in quieter environments, voices and keyboard taps cut through more clearly than ideal. I would prefer an option to always set them to maximum noise cancellation. The wind noise reduction setting is the best I’ve tried and the situational awareness mode is good too.
The TW4 can’t match the market leader, Bose, in terms of noise cancellation, but they generally do a good job of making the outside world quiet.
Call quality has also been improved over previous iterations, making it clear in a quiet office and still clear, if a little more robotic, in noisy environments.
Sustainability
Sennheiser estimates that the batteries will retain at least 80% of their original capacity after 500 full charge cycles. An optional protection mode extends battery life by delaying charging and limiting maximum charging capacity. But the batteries are not replaceable, making them ultimately disposable.
Spare parts including ear tips (£9), ear tips (£170 for a pair) and cases (£100) are available. The earbuds do not contain recycled material and Sennheiser does not publish impact assessments for products.
Price
The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 costs £259.90 (€299.90/$299.95)
For comparison: the Sony WF-1000XM5 costs £229the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds cost £299.95Google Pixel Buds Pro cost £130 and the Apple AirPods Pro 2 cost £229.
Pronunciation
Sennheiser’s top fourth-generation earbuds take what was good from previous efforts and improve on just about everything inside.
They still look stylish, especially in the new copper color. But it’s the small quality of life improvements, including the faster connection to the control app on your phone and multipoint support, that are most noticeable.
The advanced support for the aptX Bluetooth format is great for those with compatible phones, while the promise of LC3 and Auracast support for the next generation of Bluetooth ensures the earbuds are future-proofed.
The active noise cancellation is solid, but it’s Sennheiser’s top-quality audio that makes it a class leader and sounds better than ever.
The earbuds lack advanced Dolby or spatial audio support, which is common among rivals. The case is a little larger than ideal, and they feel a little overpriced. But the biggest drawback is the lack of replaceable batteries or repair options, which ultimately makes them disposable and loses a star.
If you want the best sounding set of Bluetooth earbuds, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 is it.
Pros: top quality sound, good noise cancellation, long battery life, optional stability wings, multipoint, aptX Adaptive support, full equalizer, pocket-sized bag, cross-platform app, promised LC3/Auracast updates.
Cons: expensive, housing bigger than some of the best, lack of advanced spatial audio features, can’t manually set noise canceling level, unrecoverable.