So these are the Bose QC headphones and these are Bose’s new mid Teir ANC headphones and these are really good to travel with cause they block out an impressive amount of noise, they are very comfortable to wear and they have a small case, which I feel is great for traveling. But the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s also block out an impressive amount of noise, and they sound really really good. But today we’re going to compare the Bose QC Headphones to the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s and we’re going to see which ones are right for you.
Regarding pricing, the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s have a retail price of $380… but since these are over a year and a half old now, they can be found on sale from time to time, sometimes they like to go on sale for around $280 and sometimes they’ll might even go as low as $250. Where as with the Bose QC’s these just came out and they have a retail price of $350… but they can sometimes be found on sale for $250. Nonetheless, if you want to pick either of these two headphones up they’ll be linked down below, or you can always try the YouTube shopping button.
Now first lets talk about these included carrying cases. Now both of these headphones come included with hardshell cases which is great cause they are going to remain safe even if you stuff them into a cramped back pack… my main critique here is, the case that comes with the Momentum 4’s has a large foot print cause these headphones have a lay flat design to them, and this case is also pretty thick. So I feel that traveling with the Momentum 4’s isn’t a convenient as with the Bose QC cause this case is just smaller and slimmer.
But something about this case is that if you take your headphones out, they will automatically power on, which is very cool… the problem is, at least with mine, is that if your case is vertical, the headphones can turn on and connect to your phone, which can be very annoying. And even after a year, it doesn’t look like any of the recent firmware updates has fixed this issue. Now I got these headphones when they first came out, so this might not be a problem on newer headphones… but just be warned that this could happen, which is very annoying.
But with the cases out of the way, lets talk about the headphones themselves. Regarding fit, this right here is very different between these two headphones and this can actually be a deicing factor for some people. Now both of these headphones are big head approved, but the momentum 4’s have a firmer fit to them. Where as the Bose QC’s has less clamping force to them. So if you like a looser fit, or if you have really big head and or if you like to wear hats, then you’re defentily going to want to go with the Bose QC’s. But then there are the ear pads on these headphones. Now both of these headphones have very spacious ear pads and they are both going to have no problem accommodating most ear types, and even if you have very large ears or ears that stick out a lot, both of these ear pads will have you covered. However, the earpads on the Bose QC’s are just more spacious… and also, these ear pads have less surface area coming in contact with your skin… so Bose’s ear pads are just able to stay cooler for longer. And then theres their weight… the Momentum 4’s weigh in at 295 grams…which isn’t bad… but it is a little heavier than your Bose QC Ultra and Sony XM4’s which weigh in at 255 grams, and the Sony 1000XM5 weigh in at 250 grams… and then there are the Bose QC45’s which weigh in at 237 grams and the Bose QC’s weigh in at 235 grams… So with the Bose QC, these are just a lot easier to forget that you’re wearing when you’re sitting still and you notice these shifting around a lot less when you’re walking around with them on. So overall, both of these headphones fit well, but the Bose QC’s are considerably more comfortable than the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s because they have a lot less clamping force, their earpads are a lot more spacious, their ear pads also stay cooler for longer and they’re a lot lighter as well.
But when it comes to techspecs… the Momentum 4’s dominate the Bose QC’s when it comes to battery life and connectivity. The Momentum 4’s have an advertised battery life of 60 hours with their active noise cancelation turned on which is very impressive and its also way above average.
Where as with the bose, this is one of their biggest weak points… the Bose QC’s have an advertised battery life of 24 hours with their active noise cancelation turned on… and since you cant use these headphones with their ANC turned off, you can’t extend their battery life. Now you also cant use the Momentum 4’s with their ANC turned off… but they still have a very long battery life.
And in order to charge these headphones, they both charge via a USB C port as they should… but the really cool thing here is, with the Momentum 4’s you can use their USB C port as a wired connection… where as with the Bose, their USB C port is strictly used for charging. But the good thing is, at least both of these headphones have an audio jack so you can always use them with a wired connection. And you can use both of these headphones passively… where as with the Bose QC Ultra, you cant.
But when it comes to wireless connectivity, both of these headphones can be connected to any two bluetooth devices which is good if you’re a power user cause you can easily hot swap from one device to another regardless of eco system.
And when it comes to overall performance, both 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 devices… and when it comes to audio codecs, the Bose QC’s have support for SBC and AAC where as the Momentum 4’s have support for SBC AAC and APTX Adaptive… however, if you want to take advantage of APTX you do have to be an android user cause iPhone top out at AAC.
But with all of that out of the way, lets talk about sound. Now first the Bose QC’s are a pair of neutral sounding headphones, as in these are going to be better suited for someone that likes a more neutral or vocals focused EQ. Now these headphones have bass, but the bass is mostly on the audible side, as in you can hear their bass, but you cant feel their bass. Now you can always go in and adjust the EQ on these headphones to your liking, but even if you were to crank the bass all the way up on these headphones, they aren’t going to physically rattle your head. So for this reason, some people will say that these headphones sound flat, but they dont sound flat they’re just different.
But then theres the Sennheiser momentum 4’s… now I still feel that the Momentum 3’s sound better than the 4’s… but the Momentum 4’s still sound great. And more importantly… the Momentum 4’s have very impressive instrument separation and detail… all on their own. They dont require an special software or tricky to sound as good as they do like with the Bose QC Ultra and their immersive audio and the AirPods Max and their Spatial Audio. But another thing about the Sennheiser is that they also have a decent amount of physicality in their… so if you want to feel your bass, the Momentum 4’s can do that and their bass also has a decent amount of resonance as well. So overall the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s easily sound better than the Bose QC… cause these are able to always sound great… and they also have some kick in their bass. Where as with the Bose QC’s, these also sound good but these are going to be better suited for someone that like a more neutral or vocals focused EQ.
But then there are the media controls on these headphones. Now the Momentum 4’s are using a touch pad. Now this touch pad is decent but it can be a little overly sensitive, which can be a little annoying at times. Where as the Bose QC’s are using physical buttons. And these phsyciall buttons are just a lot easier to find and they’re a lot easier to use.
However, something the Sennheiser Moemtum 4’s have over the Bose QC’s is that they have wear sensors. So they will automatically pause your music when you take them off, and they’ll start playing your music again when you put them back on. Now personally I dont really care for wear sensors on my headphones so I usually just turn them off, but they are there if you want them.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Now just as you’d expect, both of these premium ANC headphones block out an impressive amount of noise. But so that you can see for yourself, we’re going to jump into an ANC Test.
ANC Test
So like you may have just seen, both the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s and the Bose QC’s block out an impressive amount of noise. However, the Bose QC’s just block out overall more noise than the Momentum 4’s. So either of these two headphones are going to be good options to fly with cause they both block out a lot noise… however, the Bose QC’s are able to block out more lower frequency sounds like jet engine noise and they also block out more chatter… and most importantly, they don't have all that much more cabin pressure than the Momentum 4’s.
But also, both of these headphones have an ambient mode, and you can adjust the how much noise these headphones let in. However these ambient modes are a little different. Now the ambient mode on the Bose sounds more natural than the ambient mode on the Momentum 4’s cause I feel the momentum 4’s prioritize noise pollution, so it can be a little harder to understand people. But the microphone array on the Momentum 4 does a much better job of rejecting wind noise when walking out doors. Where as the Bose QC’s are much faster to pick up wind noise which can be very annoying.
But something that I do like about the Momentum 4’s is that if you have them set to pause your music when you turn on their ambient mode… then youll have a conversation mode where your headphones will 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 the headphones…
And when you double tap on the touch pad, they go back to normal again. Now with the Momentum 4’s you can kind have both… cause if you double tap on the touch pad you’ll get your conversation mode… and if you want to have your ambient mode turned on and play music at the same time… then you can just pinch to zoom on the touch pad… so you have access to both features… but with Sony’s headphones, their set up is a lot more seamless.
But more importantly, Bose’s headphones dont have a conversation mode, which is a very big shame cause their Bose NC 700’s do have a conversation mode… but for some reason bose didn’t add this feature to their newer headphones… so I hope bose adds a conversation mode to these headphones through a firmware update cause they can easily do so.
Mic Test Momentum 4
But finally heres the microphone test… now both of these headphones have decent sounding microphones on them to take phone calls with while in a quite room.
Mic Bose QC
But I do feel that the microphone on the Bose QC’s sound a little more natural than the microphone found on the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s
Mic Bose QC Road
But when it comes to dealing with noise pollution, both of these headphones to snuggle a little bit… cause if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone, you’re going to clearly hear all of this road noise, but if we were to switch over to the Bose QC’s it is slightly reduced.
Mic Senn Road
And its the same thing with the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s they manage to slightly block out some of this road noise.
Mic Senn Chatter
And it the same thing when it comes to blocking out chatter, the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s are blocking out some noise.
Mic Bose Chatter
And the Bose QC are also slightly blocking out some noise, but again, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone, you’re going to clearly hear all of this chatter, but if we were to switch over to the Bose QC’s its only slightly reduced. So overall both of these headphones have decent sounding microphones on them to take phone calls with while in a quite room and I think the Bose QC sounds better than the Momentum 4’s… but both of these headphones do struggle when it comes to blocking out noise pollution.
So with all of that being said, if you’re trying to choose between the Bose QC’s and the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s… the Bose QC’s are the better option here if you’re looking for a pair of headphones to constantly travel with cause they block out more noise than the Momentum 4’s, they’re a lot more comfortable and they have a much smaller case for traveling. But their biggest issue is their battery life… 24 hours is a little low especially for flying. Where as the Momentum 4’s are good for up to 60 hours. Now dont get me wrong, the Momentum 4’s are also good for traveling cause they also block out a lot of noise… but they aren’t as convenient as the Bose QC’s… but where the Momentum 4’s really shine is their sound quality… these truly sound really good.