Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless vs Sony WH-1000XM5

Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless

Adequate for office and light commuting, but falls short for frequent flyers.

• ANC is fine for office use but it's clearly a tier below Bose and Sony — you'll hear more airplane noise with these.
• The transparency mode is decent but doesn't match the natural quality of Apple or Bose's implementations.

Sony WH-1000XM5

The ANC on the XM5 is widely considered the best available, with eight microphones and Sony's Integrated Processor V1 delivering exceptional noise isolation.

• ANC is the best in class — airplane engine noise virtually disappears
• Auto NC Optimizer adapts ANC based on ambient pressure and environment
• Ambient/transparency mode is natural but not as good as Apple AirPods Max

Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless

Extraordinary battery life that's in a league of its own.

• 60 hours of battery life with ANC enabled is not a typo — I charged these once every two weeks with daily use.
• The battery life alone makes these worth considering — you genuinely forget they need charging.

Sony WH-1000XM5

Battery life is rated at 30 hours with ANC enabled, and real-world testing confirms this is achievable. Quick charge provides 3 hours of playback from a 3-minute charge.

• 30 hours with ANC is consistently achieved in real-world use — outstanding longevity
• Quick charge (3 hours from 3 minutes) is genuinely useful for last-minute top-ups