Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 vs Sony WF-1000XM5

Sennheiser and Sony are two of the biggest names in premium audio, so it’s no surprise their latest flagship true wireless earbuds — the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 and WF-1000XM5, respectively — are among the best on the market. But which one should you buy?

What’s it like to use the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 compared to the WF-1000XM5?

Both earbuds have a premium build quality. Sony features a plastic enclosure with a glossy finish on the sides and a matte finish for the touch control areas. Sennheiser’s have metallic accents and a shape resembling earrings more than earbuds.

The MOMENTUM 4 sticks out of your ears a bit more due to its larger housing, but they aren’t that heavy. The WF-1000XM5 are smaller and a tad lighter and come with four sets of ear tips, including an extra-small option, compared to the MOMENTUM 4’s small, medium, and large offerings. However, the MOMENTUM 4 includes fin tips that allow for a secure and customizable fit.

The Sony WF-1000XM5 is not waterproof but has an IPX4 water resistance rating. The earbuds can withstand a light drizzle outdoors or a heavy workout at the gym. The Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 are slightly more durable with an ingress protection rating of IP54 — not enough to handle swimming, but perfectly adequate for workouts or the rain.

How do you control the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 and WF-1000XM5?

The MOMENTUM 4 uses touch-capacitive panels on each earbud for controls like play/pause, track skipping, volume, transparency mode, and noise cancelation. The WF-1000XM5 has similar touch controls plus the ability to trigger your voice assistant.

Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 controls

Sony WF-1000XM5 controls

Should you use the apps of either MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 or WF-1000XM5?

Yes, both earbuds have excellent companion apps that unlock advanced features. With Sennheiser’s Smart Control app, you can have the earbuds self-tune to your ears (with the creation of a Sennheiser account), use the 5-band equalizer to adjust your sound, set coordinates to geofence certain behaviors like how strong the ANC is, and update the firmware. There’s also a fit test, which is useful since it takes the guesswork out of getting a good seal.

Sony’s Headphones Connect app lets you create custom EQ profiles, adjust Ambient Sound, and customize touch sensor functions. The app is also necessary to enable Sony 360 Reality Audio, Speak-to-Chat, and DSEE Extreme, which is Sony’s proprietary algorithm for upscaling lower-quality, lossy audio files.

How do the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 and WF-1000XM5 connect?

The Sony WF-1000XM5 supports Bluetooth 5.3, while the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 connects over Bluetooth 5.4. In terms of codecs, the MOMENTUM 4 supports SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless, and—after a firmware update—LC3 and LE Audio, while the WF-1000XM5 has SBC, AAC, LDAC, and LE Audio. The MOMENTUM 4 can also connect to Auracast transmitters, and both earbuds support Multipoint to connect up to two devices simultaneously.

Is battery life better on the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 or WF-1000XM5?

The WF-1000XM5 edges out the MOMENTUM 4 slightly, with 9 hours and 32 minutes of battery life in our testing compared to the latter’s 7 hours and 45 minutes. Both earbuds charge inside their cases using a USB-C cable or by placing the case on a Qi wireless charging pad. Although wireless charging is wasteful, it helps preserve the longevity of your product if you keep the battery level between 20% and 85% charged.

They each have fast charging capabilities as well, with the Sony WF-1000XM5 gaining 50 minutes of playtime from just 3 minutes of charging, and the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 achieving 1 hour of listening time from 8 minutes of charging.

Do the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 or WF-1000XM5 block noise better?

These are both top-of-the-line earbuds when it comes to ANC performance and isolation. The Sony WF-1000XM5’s foam ear tips are flexible and reduce noise by up to 15dB in the low end and up to 50dB for sounds above 1kHz. The Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 also did pretty well in our lab, posting an average noise attenuation of 83%.

According to our testing, the WF-1000XM5’s ANC attenuates over 30dB of low-frequency outside noise (below 1kHz). This makes it a great companion for daily commuters, frequent flyers, or anyone working in a busy office or cafe.

The Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4’s low-end ANC performance also does very well and physically blocks almost 50dB in some higher ranges. They can struggle a bit with incidental noise sometimes, but on the whole, the ANC is quite good. If you’re a frequent flyer, these earphones will be an excellent companion.

For times when you need to hear your surroundings, both earbuds have a transparency mode that allows some environmental sound to pass through. You can adjust the passthrough level in the accompanying apps.

Do the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 sound better than the WF-1000XM5?

Both earbuds scored highly in our audio quality testing; however, there are some notable differences in their sound signatures, as indicated by the frequency response measurements.

Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores (MDAQS)

Both the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 and the Sony WF-1000XM5 score equally high in Timbre. However, Sony’s score is slightly higher in Immersiveness, and Sennheiser’s have less distortion, indicated by the higher Distortion score.

Objective measurements:

Both products exhibit excellent frequency responses that closely follow our house curve.  Both have a slight bass emphasis below 300Hz, which provides a touch of warmth without overwhelming mids and vocals. This bump in bass and mid-bass frequencies explains why cellos, synth pads, and other bassy tones can be more prominent than the ideal.

The most obvious difference between the two, based on frequency response alone, is the slightly recessed upper midrange of the Sennheiser response, with a wide, shallow notch centered around 6kHz, which doesn’t have a big impact on the sound despite the deviation from our house curve.

Do the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 or WF-1000XM5 have a better microphone?

Neither set of earbuds excels at microphone performance, but the MOMENTUM 4 suffers from inconsistent quality that impacts speech intelligibility and wind and noise suppression. It is a long way from class-leading. Take a listen for yourself with the samples below, and let us know what you think.

Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Sony WF-1000XM5 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 microphone demo (Wind conditions):

Sony WF-1000XM5 microphone demo (Wind conditions):

MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 vs WF-1000XM5: Price and availability

The Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 and Sony WF-1000XM5 are both flagship earbuds with the same $299.99 MSRP; however, regular discounts often mean you can find them for a lower price. At the time of writing, we’ve seen the Sennheisers around $269.95 and the Sonys as low as $229.99. You should be able to find both at stores that sell audio electronics or directly from the manufacturer.

Should you get the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 or WF-1000XM5?

The Sony WF-1000XM5 is the better all-around choice for most people. It offers top-notch active noise cancelation, great sound quality that can be customized, outstanding battery life, and robust wireless connectivity. The secure and comfortable fit also makes them ideal for workouts. Though they’re not as chic as the Sennheisers, the Sony earphones are high performers for the same price and have better battery and microphone performance.

However, the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 has equally exceptional noise cancelation and sound quality, especially if you have a modern Android phone to take advantage of features like aptX Lossless. But the main reason you’d pick Sennheiser over Sony is whether the benefits of Auracast would meaningfully impact your life, which may become more apparent in the coming years.

Ultimately, both the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 and Sony WF-1000XM5 are exceptional true wireless earbuds that deliver premium audio performance. Because the Sony WF-1000XM5 has been on the market for a while, you’ll often see it discounted below MSRP, and any future successor will likely push prices even lower. But besides price, the choice really comes down to comfort preferences, how much you value microphone quality, and how much future-proofing means to you.

Frequently asked questions