When Sennheiser’s Momentum 3 hit the scene in 2019, it was one of the best over the ear headphones in the market. Three years and a pandemic later, travel patterns are gradually moving back to normal even as revenge tourism and pent up business travel has started filling up flights and choking airports across the world. It’s also brought high-end, over the year headphones back in the mix. Many audiophiles still consider them the ‘real deal’ with comfortable ear cups, stellar sound and battery life. All the ingredients that need to come together when you’re on a long flight and you need to immerse yourself in your playlist or the in-flight entertainment.

Premium build

The Momentum 4 stays in the zone with a design aesthetic that we’ve come to expect from Sennheiser. It’s akin to a German luxury car cabin that’s understated and borders on sedate. There’s one key design difference compared to its predecessor, there are no foldable arms that allow it to assume a compact shape with a smaller footprint. This one sits in a fabric case and comes with useful accessories in the box including an airplane adapter (so you can plug into the in-flight entertainment) and a 3.5mm cable if you want to switch to wired mode. You’re unlikely to do that on account on poor battery life. These headphones slay the competition with 60 hours of battery life. Based on our tests, we think this is quite an accurate estimate. The case also features a convenient meshed pocket that stores all these accessories.

Designed for the long haul

The ear cups are finished with faux leather and ample foam, they’re comfortable to wear for hours together. I didn’t feel any discomfort through a long domestic flight to Delhi. They’re also geared for a day full of virtual meetings. At a time when we’ve come to expect the ‘fast pair’ option with earbuds, these headphones can take a tad longer to pair than we’re used to these days. You’ll have to press the power button for a long time to activate pairing mode. The companion app is quite intuitive and allows you to familiarise yourself with multiple controls and shortcuts. We like the five LEDs that break up the battery levels into 20% slabs– an easy battery reckoner.

No surprises

At a price tag of around Rs 35K you expect stellar sound and ANC (Active noise cancellation). The Momentum 4 doesn’t disappoint. As always, it’s the low-end response that defines the soundstage of premium headphones and these cans knock it out of the park. Bass is thumpy and the mids are perfect. I tuned into my ‘year-end’ playlist on Apple Music that is super diverse with everything from Ellie Goulding to Anirudh Ravichander to Imagine Dragons in the mix and the acoustic experience was top class. Sennheiser’s Momentum 4 is among the best in class and comes at a time when travel is surging and Over the ear
headphones are back in the mix.

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless Headphones cost Rs 34,990