For the last few years, the Sennehsier Momentum 3’s have been my favorite sounding ANC headphones. And now we have their predecessors, the Momentum 4’s which have some major upgrades. Now, even though I am not the biggest fan of the AirPods Max, I do have to admit, they sound really good. But then, there are the PX7 S2’s, and these things also sound really good. So if you’re looking for a pair of ANC headphones, and if sound is super important to you, lets see which ones are right for you.
Regarding pricing, the AirPods Max as the most expensive Headphones here retailing for $550… and if you want a proper carrying case and or if you want to use them with a wired connection, that is going to cost you extra. And keep in mind, these are the oldest headphones here. These came out in the fall of 2020. Then there are the Bowers And Wilkins PX7 S2 which recently came out, and these retail for $400. And finally, there are the recently released Momentum 4’s which retail for $350. Now overall, the PX7 S2’s are my preferred headphones here. Nonetheless, if you want to pick any of these headphones up, they’ll be linked down below.
Now first lets talk about these cases, cause there’s a lot more going on here then you’d expect. Now both the Momentum 4’s and PX7 S2’s come included with a hard shell case. Which is good. Where as with the AirPods Max, not so much. So with the AirPods Max, you’re going to be constantly worried about crushing your headphones if they’re in your backpack. Where as with these other two cases, they’re going to be perfectly safe. Now both the Momentum 4’s and PX7 S2’s come included with fairly large cases. Traveling with them is doable… but it isn’t as convenient as traveling with either the Bose QC45’s or Sony 1000XM4’s which have noticeably smaller cases.
However, with both the Momentum 4’s and AirPods Max, when you take them out of their cases they will power on and when you put them back in they’ll power off. However, unlike the AirPods Max, the Momentum 4’s aren’t reliant on their case to power them off. You can still power them off by pressing and holding on their multiple purpose button. But a problem that I did notice with the Momentum 4’s is that if you have their case upright, or if their case is upside down… then they can get powered on and they can get connected to your phone. So until Sennheiser either allows you turn this feature off or fixes their issue, you’re going to have to be mindful about how you store these headphones while they are in their case.
But now lets talk about the headphones themselves. When it comes to build quality, unfortunately the Momentum 4’s aren’t in the same league as these other two headphones. The Momentum 4’s have a mostly plastic body, they’re using some very synthetic feeling leatherette on their earpads and they have some fairly stiff silicone padding underneath their headband. However, they do have a touch of fabric on the top of their headband, just like the PX7 S2’s. Where as with these other two headphones, they both have generous amounts of exposed metal, and the PX7 S2’s are using real leather on both their ear pads and headband. But also, from a design standpoint, the earpads on both the PX7 S2’s and AirPods Max are easily removable and you can easily attach them back on. Where as with the Momentum 4’s… you can also remove their ear pads, but they’re glued on. So don’t go removing the earpads on these headphones unless you have a new pair ready to go. But overall, the Momentum 4’s have solid build quality, but you’re not going to get any of the more premium materials that you’ll find on the PX7 S2’s or AirPods Max.
Now when it comes to fit, I am going to have to say that the Momentum 4’s are the least comfortable headphones here for a few reasons. Now I will say that all of these headphones are big head approved, cause I can wear all of these headphones for long stretches of time… however, all of these headphones do have a firmer fit to them. Now the Momentum 4’s have the firmest fit here. Where as the AirPods Max are a little looser, and the PX7 S2’s have the loosest fit here. However all of these headphones fit tighter than your more main stream options like lets say the Sony 1000XM5’s or Bose NC 700. But then there’s the padding underneath their headband. Like I mentioned earlier, the Momentum 4’s have padding silicon underneath their headband, but it isn’t the softest. And I found that after wear these headphones for 40 minutes, they do develop a pressure point. Now its not a full on hot spot… but it can get uncomfortable. Where as with the PX7 S2’s, this headband has more padding and it has more surface area. So pressure points are not an issue for this headband. And finally there their AirPods Max which have their canopy. And this canopy does and amazing job of confirming to your head and pressure point also aren’t an issue. But then there’s their weight… the AirPods Max are the heaviest headphones here weigh in at a whopping 384 grams, which is way above average and you’ll never forget that you’re wearing these headphones. The PX7 S2’s weigh in at 307 grams… which is better… but its still above and you’ll always notice these headphones on your head. Then there are the Momentum 4’s which weigh in at 295 grams… and with these, you won’t notice them too much while you’re sitting at your desk with these headphones… but for comparison sake, the Bose NC 700’s weigh in at 264 grams, the XM4’s weigh in at 254 grams, the XM5’s weigh in at 250, and the Bose QC45’s weigh in at 234 grams. So yeah, both the Momentum 4’s and PX7 S2’s are noticeably heavier than your more main stream options… but the AirPods Max are simply in a different league. But finally there are the earpads on these headphones. Now the earpads on both the Momentum 4’s and AirPods max are going to have now problem accommodating most average sized ears… however, the earpads on the PX7 S2’s are noticeably more spacious. So if you have larger ears or ears that stick out a lot, then you’ll might want to go with these. But then, there’s also heat retention on these head pads, the earpads on the Momentum 4’s heat up the fastest here cause they have the most surface area coming in contact with your skin. Where as, the ear pads on the PX7 S2’s stay a little cooler for a little longer cause they have less surface area coming in contact with your skin. But finally there are the AirPods Max, now these earpads are super breathable cause they’re fabric. However, this fabric is very corse, and I have always found it to get very itchy after awhile. So overall, when it comes to fit, personally the PX7 S2’s are my preferred headphones cause they are the most comfortable headphones here. They have a firmer fit to them, but they’re looser than these other two headphones. Their headband doesn’t create a hot spot or pressure point. They aren’t super heavy. And their earpads are spacious, they stay cool, and the real leather feels much better than the leatherette on the Momentum 4’s and fabric on the AirPods Max.
But now lets talk about tech specs, regarding battery life, this is something that the Momentum 4’s crush these other two headphones in. The Momentum 4’s have an advertised battery life of 60 hours, and that’s with their active noise cancelation turned on. Where as with the PX7 S2’s they have an advertised battery life of 30 hours with their ANC turned on. However, with the PX7 S2’s you can always extend their battery life by using them with their ANC turned on. Now you’re not going to get near that 60 hour mark… but it is something. Whereas with the momentum 4’s you can’t use them with their ANC or ambient mode completely turned off.
But then there are the AirPods Max, these things have an advertised battery life of 20 hours with their active noise cancelation turned on. Now a 20 hour battery life is doable, but it is below average. But the biggest issue with the AirPods Max is their battery drain… even when they are stored in their case… their battery life does deplete pretty fast. Where as battery drain isn’t an issue with these other two headphones.
But now lets talk about bluetooth connectivity. With the both the PX7 S2’s and Momentum 4’s they can be connected to and two devices at the same time regardless of eco system, which is good if you’re a power user. Where as with the AirPods Max, you can quickly hot swap between any of your apple devices that are associated to your iCloud account. Making them great if youre an Apple power user.
However, with the Momentum 4’s, I have noticed that on a semi regular basis they won’t automatically connect to my phone. So I do have to go into my phone and manually establish a connection with these headphones. Now this doesn’t happen all of the time… but it does happen enough to where I have to point it out… and this has been an issue with my iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 14 Pro Max and Pixel 6a. Where as, bluetooth connectivity isn’t an issue for these other two headphones.
But when it comes to overall performance, all of these headphones have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device… but when it comes to audio codecs, the AirPods Max only have support for SBC and AAC. Now whether you’re an iPhone or an android user AAC is going to work perfectly fine. However, these other two headphones have support for higher quality audio codecs. They both have support for SBC and AAC, very standard, but they also have support for APTX and APTX Adaptive. And the PX7 S2’s also have APTX HD. But just keep in mind, if you want to take advantage of APTX, you do have to be an android user cause iPhones top out at AAC.
But if you want to you can always use a wired connection with any of these headphones. Now with the PX7 S2’s, they don’t have an audio jack, but you can use their USB C port as a wired connection and they come included with a USB C to audio jack cable. With the Momentum 4’s you can also use their USB C port as wired connection, but they also have a 2.5 millimeter audio jack. But finally there are the AirPods Max… now you can use them with a wired connection, but you do have to get a lightning to audio jack cable which is sold separately.
But now lets talk about actually listening to music with these headphones. Now without a doubt, all of these headphones sound better than your more main stream options. They all have better instrument separation and they sound more open. However, these headphones do differ pretty significantly when it comes to their bass response. Now, with the PX7 S2’s I feel that these headphones are going to be better suited for someone who likes a more neutral or vocals focused EQ. The PX7 S2’s have very well defined mids and they give the instrumentals really good detail, but these do have the overall weakest bass here. Now don’t get me wrong, the bass on these headphones resonates a good amount and if you were to go into their EQ settings, you can raise their bass and they’ll have some physicality to them… but the bass on these headphones isn’t going to kick as hard as the bass on these other two headphones. If you like a more neutral or vocals focused EQ, these do have enough bass to satisfy you… but if you like lots of bass, then these will leave you wanting more. But then there are the AirPods Max, now the instrument separation on these headphones is line with that of the PX7 S2’s, but the main difference here is that their bass kicks noticeably more. Giving these headphones a more fun and more dynamic listening experience than the PX7 S2’s. My issue with the AirPods Max is that I have always felt that their put a little too much of an emphasis on the treble. So I do feel these don’t sound as balanced as these other two headphone cause they have a slightly brighter sound signature to them. Nonetheless, I still enjoy how these headphones sound. But finally there the Momentum 4’s… and I feel that these are going to have the easiest time pleasing the most amount of people here. They have good instrument separation, they sound more balanced than the AirPods Max cause they don’t put so much of an emphasis on the treble, their bass resonates the most here, and if you were to go into their EQ settings and raise their bass… their bass will kick the most here. However, I can’t help but feel that these headphones don’t have as much instrument separation as these other two headphones… their instrumentals aren’t as defined. Also, I noticed that these headphones don’t get as loud as these other two headphones. Now the momentum 4’s get more than loud enough, but I noticed that I would have to use them at a higher volume than these other two headphones. But overall, personally I feel that the PX7 S2’s are my preferred sounding headphones here cause I like their instrument separation over the instrument separation on the Momentum 4’s. And I do prefer their more balanced sound over the AirPods Max. However, with the PX7 S2’s, their bass is mostly on the audible side. So if you’re someone that wants that instrument separation, but you also want to feel your bass, then you’ll want o go with the Momentum 4’s.
Now when it comes to the media controls on these headphones… the Momentum 4’s are the only headphones here that are using a touch pad. Now even though this touchpad gets the job done, its not my favorite cause it is a little too sensitive for my taste. So I have noticed that accidental inputs can be an issue for this touch pad. Where as with these other two headphones, they have physically buttons. The PX7 S2’s have a more traditional 3 button layout, where as the AirPods Max has its crown.
However, something that all of these headphones do have are wear sensors, so whenever you take these headphones off they’ll automatically pause your music and when you put them back on, they’ll start playing your music again. Now the wear sensors on the AirPods Max are flawless… where as the wear sensors on the Momentum 4’s also work very well, but they only work half of the time, the other half of the time, they forget that I have their wear sensors turned on. And then there are the wear sensors on the PX7 S2’s which will just randomly pause your music sometimes. So yeah.
But now, lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. The PX7 S2’s block out a decent amount of noise of a pair of Premium ANC Headphones. However both the AirPods Max and Momentum 4’s block out noticeably more noise than the PX7 S2’s. But so that you can see for yourself, we’re going to jump into an ANC Test.
So like you may have just seen, the PX7 S2’s block out the least amount of noise here. But they still block out an ataquite amount of noise. However, both the Momentum 4’s and AirPods Max brutally go after those constant low frequency sounds, and as a result, they block out more road noise than the PX7 S2’s. Now I feel the AirPods Max block out more road noise than the Momentum 4’s… but I feel the momentum 4’s do a better job at blocking higher frequency sounds like chatter. And overall, I do prefer the ANC on the Momentum 4’s over the AirPods Max because they have noticeably less cabin pressure
But then there’s the ambient mode on these headphones. Now the ambient mode on the Momentum 4’s is the only ambient mode here that allows you how much noise you can let in where. Where as the ambient mode on these other two headphones are one size fits all. However, the ambient mode on the Momentum 4’s prioritizes noise pollution over people’s voices. Making it hard to understand people when they are talking directly act you. Where as, the ambient mode on the PX7 S2’s sounds more natural, and the Ambient mode on the AirPods Max sounds the most natural. Its almost like you’re not even wearing headphones. Plus the microphone array on the AirPods Max does an amazing job of blocking out wind noise when walking outdoors. However, something that the Momentum 4’s does have going for them is that they have an active ambient mode where they will automatically turn off their ambient mode if there’s a sudden loud noise, like this. Major headphone warning.
And then, when that loud noise stops, they’ll go back to normal again. Now the AirPods Max also try to do this… but then they’ll just gradually let in this noise, like this.
So like you saw with, with the AirPods Max, they started to block out that noise… but then they gradually let that noise in. Now we know apple is going to be focusing on their active ambient mode cause this is a feature that they are showcasing on the AirPods Pro 2. And I am fairly certain than Apple will be saving this feature for the AirPods Max 2. And finally there are the PX7 S2’s, which just let in everything. So they are just simply going to blast your ears.
And another thing that the momentum 4’s have going for them that these other two headphones don’t have is a conversation mode, where you can quickly lower the volume of your music and pump in all of the ambient sound around you so that you can quickly talk to someone without having to remove you headphones, like this.
And then, the headphones will go back to normal again. Now this feature is extremely useful if you plan on traveling a lot with your headphones, and again, neither the PX7 S2 or AirPods Mac do this. So overall, I am going to have to say that the Momentum 4’s have the most robust ambient mode here… and it gets the job done… but its not my favorite cause it does prioritize noise pollution. Making it a little hard to understand people.
But finally here’s the microphone test. Now all of these headphones have decent sounding microphones on them to take phone calls with while in a quite room.
But I feel the Momentum 4’s do a better job of amplifying my voice
And I feel the AirPods max have the best clarity here.
However, I feel the AirPods Max do the best job here of dealing with noise pollution, cause right now, these headphones are blocking out this road noise and my voice is still front and center.
Where as with the Momentum 4’s, I feel that these are letting in more road noise, and these are interfering with my voice a little bit
And then there are the PX7 S2’s which are letting in more road noise and these are interfering with my voice even more.
Now when it comes to chatter, these aren’t interfering with my voice as much, but they do let in the most amount of chatter.
The Momentum 4’s do a decent job of blocking out this chatter without interfering with my voice too much
But I feel the AirPods Max are doing the best job here of dealing with this chatter. So overall, I feel that all of these headphones have decent sounding microphones on them for phone calls… but I feel the AirPods max do the best job here of dealing with noise pollution.
But with all of these being said… on paper and at first glance, the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s should be the best headphones here. They have a monstrous 60 hour battery life, they block out a ton of noise without a whole lot of cabin pressure, their ambient mode has the most amount of features, you can use them either an audio jack or USB C wired connection, and they sound great as well. However, the user experience here isn’t flawless, as it should be. These headphones won’t always automatically connect to you phone… and this is an issue that has been replicated on multiple devices, their wear sensors won’t always react, their touch pad is a little too sensitive for my taste, and they can get powered on and connected to your phone while they are in their case. But lets say Sennheiser does manage to fix all of these software issues… personally I don’t think these headphones are the most comfortable things out there. They have a very firm fit, their earpads can be a little cramped and their headband can create a pressure point. And plus, they don’t have their premium materials anymore. Personally, the PX7 S2’s are my preferred headphones here. I find these headphones to be more comfortable than the Momentum 4’s thanks to their looser fit, more spacious ear pads, and well padded headband. I also really appreciate the finer materials here as well.But I also appreciate the better instrument separation on these headphones, which make them sound more open than the Momentum 4’s. The only thing is, they don’t have as much physicality in their bass. But another reason why I am leaning towards the PX7 S2’s is cause their Bluetooth connectivity isn’t an issue. But finally there are the AirPods Max. Even there are some reasons to like and appreciate the AirPods Max, I find it very hard to justify getting the AirPods Max, and I still find their short battery life and battery drain to be an issue.