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Updated January 10, 2024·
The HifiMan Edition XS offers superior sound quality and an expansive soundstage due to their planar magnetic drivers, ideal for critical listening; however, they lack a built-in microphone, are not portable, and don't support wireless connectivity, which may limit their use in mobile or active scenarios. Conversely, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 provides very good sound quality with added convenience features such as active noise canceling, wireless connectivity with support for low latency codecs like AptX Adaptive, and a long battery life, making them more versatile for everyday use, travel, and different listening environments. If portability, wireless functions, and active noise canceling are high priorities, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 is the better choice, especially considering it's significantly less expensive than the HifiMan Edition XS. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the HifiMan Edition XS
Very good for music
Best in class for TV and video
Advantages of the Sennheiser Momentum 4
Excellent for gaming
Very good for air travel
Very good for podcasts and audiobooks
Key differences
Music
8.8/10
7.5/10
The HifiMan Edition XS is very good for music, while the Sennheiser Momentum 4 is good.
Gaming
7.4/10
9.0/10
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 is excellent for gaming, while the HifiMan Edition XS is good.
Phone Calls
5.0/10
6.8/10
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 is only fair for phone calls, while the HifiMan Edition XS is poor.
TV and Video
9.5/10
8.9/10
The HifiMan Edition XS is best in class for TV and video, while the Sennheiser Momentum 4 is very good.
Noise Reduction
2.5/10
9.1/10
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 is excellent for noise reduction, while the HifiMan Edition XS is poor.
Battery
N/A
59.0 Hours
The HifiMan Edition XS does not have a battery. The Sennheiser Momentum 4 has 59 hours of battery life.
Cost
$269
$250
$100
$150
$200
$250
$300
$350
$400
The HifiMan Edition XS has a price of $269 and the Sennheiser Momentum 4 costs $250.
Build Quality
8.5/10
9.0/10
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 has excellent build quality, while the HifiMan Edition XS has very good build quality.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Sennheiser Momentum 4 to be very good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the HifiMan Edition XS is good.
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How the HifiMan Edition XS and the Sennheiser Momentum 4 compare to other earbuds and headphones
"The Edition XS easily compete with headphones in their price range with a very high price-to-performance ratio. The XS are an amazing value and offer performance not far off from headphones more than twice their cost. These will be a mind-blowing revelation for enthusiasts and music lovers who have only heard standard big-brand mainstream headphones."
"If you're looking for a slightly more affordable set of ANC headphones in comparison to the Bose or Sony offerings: the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless is not a bad way to go. While its ANC is technically behind the other top-tier headphones, its sound quality is ahead of the pack—as is its battery life. Not bad for $350 USD."
Get a great deal on the HifiMan Edition XS or the Sennheiser Momentum 4
About HifiMan
HiFiMAN is a Chinese, high-end, audio product manufacturer, with 20 years of experience, that specializes in amplifiers, digital audio players and planar magnetic headphones, some of which have become a staple in the audiophile community such as the entry-level Sundara, the midrange Edition X, and the very well-regarded, high-end, Arya.
About Sennheiser
A family-owned company, Sennheiser is a German, high fidelity, audio equipment manufacturer founded in 1945. Their consumer audio division is now owned by the Swiss hearing aid and cochlear implant manufacturer Sonova. Sennheiser offers a wide variety of, very high quality, audio equipment solutions, from headphones to earbuds, full sets of monitoring speakers, amplifiers and microphones. They also make what is widely regarded as the best, and most expensive, headphones in existence, the HE-1 Orpheus, costing a whopping $59,000 dollars.
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This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec earbuds & headphones team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest earbuds or headphones information and makes it digestible for you.
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