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- Crisp, detailed and immersive sound
- Strong ANC
- Fantastic battery life and a user-replaceable battery
- Touch controls rather than buttons
- Heavier than certain rivals
- Sony and Bose still have superior ANC
We have all become used to the idea that many products are designed to have a short lifespan, aka “planned obsolescence”. Headphone manufacturers have been particularly guilty in recent years, releasing models without replaceable earpads or removable batteries. And, when things can be fixed, you’ll often need to send the device to a repair centre.
Sennheiser is bucking the trend. The new Momentum 5 Wireless have a user-replaceable battery, incredible stamina, and several notable improvements over their predecessors, the Momentum 4. All of this adds up to an upgrade you’ll notice, and one that’s designed to stick with you for a long time.
Arriving four years after the Momentum 4, this launch also hasn’t been rushed out (unlike some of the competition). So, are the improvements worth the wait? I’ve spent a week testing the Momentum 5 Wireless to find out how they measure up to the current crop of leading headphones from the likes of Sony and Bose.
How much do they cost?
The Sennheiser Momentum 5 come in Black, White or Denim finishes and cost £330. That’s slightly higher than the Momentum 4 were at launch, but they remain competitive with other top-tier over-ear headphones. They undercut the Sony WH-1000XM6 (£400) and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 (also £400), and they’re much better value than the £499 of Apple’s latest AirPods Max or Sony’s £550 The Collexion headphones.
What features do they have?
Epic battery life
The Momentum 5 Wireless’s 57 hours of audio playback beats all other flagship over-ear headphones I’ve tested, except the Momentum 4, which last 60 hours. Sennheiser told me that this is due to the power required for the extra microphones that improve ANC. In my testing, the claimed battery life seemed pretty much spot on: after six hours of playback, the headphones had only used 10% of their battery.
Better still, you can replace the 700mAh battery when it eventually degrades, making these headphones a future-proof buy. This only requires small Phillips-head screwdriver to access, and replacement batteries will be sold separately – the pricing on these is TBC. It’s not something you should have to worry about for a long time, though. Sennheiser told me that if you use the headphones for eight hours a day, you should only see a significant decline in about 10 years!
State-of-the-art connectivity and audio options
The Momentum 5 support Bluetooth 5.4, but will be upgraded to Bluetooth 6.0 via a firmware update soon. They support aptX Lossless for high-resolution streaming and lossless audio over USB-C and 3.5mm, and are compatible with the Smart Control+ app, which includes an eight-band EQ and Sound Personalisation feature. The latter allows you to set string instruments, bass guitars and drums at your preferred volume, and was an intuitive way to customise the sound.
Other feature upgrades on the Momentum 4 include improved active noise cancellation (ANC), Dolby Atmos spatial audio, sound-quality refinements, and a slimmer, more portable case.
This is as close to a full house of functionality as you’ll find on over-ear headphones: most rivals are found wanting in at least one area. Sony lacks USB-C audio, for example, while Bose has a more limited equaliser function, and Apple’s battery life is severely lacking. Crucially, none of these headphones has a user-replaceable battery or this much playback time.
How I tested the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless
I used the Momentum 5 Wireless as my main pair of headphones for a week, using them in real-world situations, like trips to the shops, journeys on public transport, and when working from home.
I listened to a broad range of music and podcasts on them via streaming services on my phone and Activo P1 high-resolution digital audio player. The headphones were worn for extended periods of time during my testing to assess their comfort, and I monitored their battery drainage versus listening time to get an idea of their stamina. To test their microphones, I made and received phone calls and made voice recordings with different levels of background noise.
I thoroughly explored every nook and cranny of the companion app, testing each feature and setting individually to get a comprehensive feel for all of the functionality available.
Why you can trust me
I have over a decade of experience writing about consumer electronics and have tested countless pairs of over-ear headphones in that time. I’ve written extensively for consumer-focused publications such as Esquire and Digital Spy, and was most recently Technology Editor at Good Housekeeping UK.
How easy are they to control?
Aside from the on/pairing button, the Momentum 5 Wireless rely exclusively on touch controls executed via the outside of the right earcup. This may please some, but I prefer good old-fashioned, reliable buttons or physical toggles.
As touch controls go, these work pretty well, however. A single tap plays or pauses audio, while spreading and pinching your fingers controls the level of transparency. The latter is novel, but not something I’m sure I’ll ever get used to.
The swipe actions for skipping tracks and adjusting volume are intuitive, and I appreciated the fact that double-tapping to engage transparency mode automatically pauses your audio, reducing the number of taps required to achieve ambient awareness.
If, like me, you’re not overly fond of touch controls, there is an option to turn them off, though you’ll then have to rely solely on using your phone.
How comfortable are they?
The fifth-gen Momentum Wireless don’t reinvent the Momentum 4’s design. They look very similar and weigh a comparable 290g, but the logo is placed more prominently on the headband, and there are shiny microphone accents on the sides. The headphones are clearly plastic, but still feel sleek, premium and considered, with a nice fabric headband covering.
The soft earcups were ultra-comfortable to wear the whole day long, and the headphones applied less pressure on the top of my head than the Momentum 4. I never found my ears touching the angled drivers in the roomy cups. But I don’t have the biggest ears; the fit may feel cramped if you do.
The carrying case is better than the Momentum 4’s, too. It’s 20% slimmer and has an integrated indent to easily grab, plus it comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable for charging/audio (it used to be USB-A to USB-C).
The Momentum 5 aren’t the last word in luxury, however. If you want premium materials, prepare to pay a lot more for something like the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 or Sony The Collexion. And, while I found them comfortable and super secure, they do get a bit hot. Granted, this wasn’t helped by the fact I tested them during a heatwave, but the difference between them and the Momentum 4 in this department was apparent and worth bearing in mind if you plan to use them a lot in hot conditions.
What’s the sound quality like?
You buy headphones to listen to music, and these headphones absolutely excel in that department. It’s no surprise, given the quality of the Momentum 4, but there have been some tweaks made to the tuning, resulting in improved vocal presence and a more natural sound overall.
Like their predecessors, they have a fantastically wide soundstage, but they now add spatial sound courtesy of Dolby Atmos, a more capable in-app equaliser, and support for the aptX Lossless codec, along with lossless support over a wired connection. Head tracking and LE Audio will be added in future firmware updates.
When testing the Momentum 5 with both my iPhone and digital audio player, I found the sound balanced and crisp, with a lot of detail and smoothness to the sub-bass. It’s what audiophiles would call a “consumer-friendly” tuning, but one of the best examples of this I’ve heard. They sounded tremendous with high-res sources like my Activo P1 player.
Warmth over neutrality
I listened to Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso, a bass-forward track, and found the low-end pleasingly detailed without ever intruding on the vocals. The Momentum 5 Wireless may prove a touch warm for audiophiles in search of absolute neutrality, however. They’re specifically tuned this way to appeal to a wider audience than their stablemates, the Sennheiser HDB 630, which seek to deliver musical insight over excitement.
The Momentum 5 still managed to deliver spaciousness, clear vocals and well-separated instruments on Noah Kahan’s Northern Attitude, but I definitely recommend leaving the Bass Boost option in the app switched off.
While the subtle implementation of Dolby Atmos enhances spatial music (albeit with a slight drop in volume), I actually found it most rewarding for films. I watched Dune: Part Two in the Dolby Atmos mode and found it considerably more immersive.
How effective is the noise cancellation?
More than good enough for most situations
The active noise-cancelling performance of the Momentum 4 was its most critiqued element. The ANC system has been overhauled for the Momentum 5, which uses four microphones in each earcup rather than two. Sennheiser says this has improved performance threefold, and I noticed a clear difference in testing both at home and further afield.
As a quick aside, those mics are also used for calls and performed decently overall. In quiet conditions, they sounded good, but with background noise played at around 65dB over my soundbar, my voice recordings ended up a bit muffled.
Back to noise cancellation, and in the London Underground, I found the headphones tremendous at fighting low-frequency rumble. When playing a 70db plane simulation sound at home, they silenced the whole thing. The great passive isolation helps a lot here.
In other environments, some occasional mid-range noise will sneak through, like clatter and chatter in a coffee shop, but it’s rare. The Momentum 5 Wireless are very good at silencing street noise and traffic, along with office noise, and I was able to freely enjoy both podcasts and music.
But not quite best in class
Despite the big improvement from the Momentum 4, the Momentum 5 are still a step or two behind the incredible attenuation abilities of Bose and Sony. I’d say their ANC is more at the level of the Sonos Ace and JBL Tour One M3.
Mid-range frequencies are their Achilles heel. In my café sound test, I still noticed the noise of the steam wand and occasional voices. One advantage of their less aggressive attenuation is that they don’t leave you with the fatiguing “cabin pressure” feeling that headphones that create near-silence often do.
The Momentum 5 have a solid transparency mode, too. It proved a little artificial-sounding at times, but it did the job when I wanted to hear what was going on around me or hold a conversation.
Should you buy the Sennheiser Momentum 5?
If you’re after excellent sound quality and an incredibly feature-rich package, I’d wholeheartedly recommend the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless. They’re very well-rounded and exactly what you’d hope for from a product line that Sennheiser has maintained for over a decade. Plus, they feel designed with longevity in mind, too, thanks to the extensive battery life and replaceable cell.
Overall, they’re great. But there’s a level above great. And, for me, their somewhat plain design, over-reliance on touch controls and noise cancellation that can’t quite match the best in the business, sees them fall narrowly short of that level.
