Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless Review: The Headphones for Life?

After nearly four years of waiting—the predecessor (our review) was released back in 2022, after all—Sennheiser has finally followed up. The Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless are being released at a time when almost all of the premium competition is already two product cycles ahead. I’ve been using these headphones in my daily life for several weeks, and let me say right off the bat: The most striking feature isn’t hidden in the sound, but under the ear cup. And: This thing is incredibly good!

Technical Specifications of the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless

Product	Momentum 5 Wireless
Headphone Type	Over-ear (closed-back)
Bluetooth Version	5.4 (6.0 planned via firmware update)
Bluetooth Codecs	SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, aptX Lossless
Noise Cancellation	Yes, adaptive ANC with 8 microphones
Battery life	Up to 57 hours (with ANC)
Special Feature	User-replaceable battery & ear cushions
Driver	42 mm (dynamic, HD-600-inspired)
Spatial audio	Dolby Atmos with head tracking
Equalizer (app)	8-band, sound calibration, sound zones (GPS)
Companion app	Smart Control+ (iOS & Android)
Weight	291 g
Connections	USB Type-C (audio up to 24-bit/96 kHz); 2.5-mm jack
Package Contents	Carrying case, 3.5-mm jack cable, USB-C cable
Color options	Black, White, Denim
Release Date	June 30, 2026
Price (MSRP)	399.90 euros

Design and Build Quality: A Clear Step Forward

Visually, the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless seamlessly follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, but to me, it looks a bit more premium. The headband is covered in fabric on the outside and synthetic leather on the inside; the oval ear cups look stylish and appear to be made from a single piece. The fabric headband, in particular, makes the headphones look higher-quality than they feel in your hands. The fabric exterior of the headband looks and feels premium, but the ear cups feel a bit cheap and plasticky to the touch. Anyone accustomed to the cool aluminum of Apple or Sony will notice the difference—but it never bothered me during my daily testing.

The heart of the device lies inside. If you remove the ear cushions, you can unscrew four Phillips-head screws on the left ear cup; after that, you can pull out the entire speaker unit in one piece to access the battery. This is more than just a gimmick: The battery can be replaced with nothing more than a standard screwdriver and a few minutes of your time, and the wear-prone ear pads are also replaceable, just like on the previous model. Sennheiser is thus staying ahead of a regulatory development—an EU directive requiring manufacturers, starting in mid-February 2027, to enable consumers to replace the batteries in headphones themselves.

When it comes to portability, however, there is one drawback. Unlike the Sony WH-1000XM6 (review) or the Bose QC Ultra 2 (review), the Momentum 5 Wireless cannot be fully folded. Because the earcups simply lie flat instead of folding in, the fabric-covered case is quite wide, though not particularly deep.

When it comes to comfort, however, the Sennheiser scores big again. It features generous padding and spacious ear cups that exert only light pressure on the head. During testing, hours could pass without even noticing that you were still wearing the headphones. However, wearing them isn’t entirely without its effects: At 291 grams, you can still feel the over-ear headphones, and over time, the synthetic leather causes your ears to get a bit warm. By comparison, the Sony WH-1000XM6, weighing 254 grams, feels noticeably lighter.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless Review: Top-Notch Features

At Sennheiser, sound quality has always been the top priority. Nevertheless, the Momentum 5 Wireless doesn’t skimp on features. The connection uses Bluetooth 5.4, though the manual lists the headphones as “Bluetooth 6.0 ready.” A future firmware update is expected to upgrade the standard to 6.0 later this year and introduce LE Audio—for lower latency, better battery life, and potentially better sound quality.

The headphones come with a wide range of codecs: In addition to AAC and SBC, the Sennheiser also supports aptX, aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, and aptX Lossless. That’s a total of six audio codecs, which even meet audiophile standards. The multi-device connectivity is practical for everyday use. Multipoint allows simultaneous connection to two devices. In my test, for example, I connected the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless to my smartphone and laptop, which worked flawlessly.

For fans of spatial audio, there’s Dolby Atmos with head tracking. With head tracking, the audio signal remains firmly fixed to the player. If you turn your head to the left, you’ll hear most of the music coming from just one earcup. And in my opinion, Sennheiser has integrated this feature exceptionally well. The spatial representation and head tracking work significantly more accurately than on many competitors’ models and, above all, greatly enhance the sense of space in live recordings.

If you prefer wired listening, that’s also an option: In addition to a carrying case, the package includes a 3.5-millimeter audio cable and a USB-C charging cable, which lets you connect the Sennheiser to a PC, for example, and play music via a wired connection. There is one small catch: The headphones must be turned on for wired operation to work, which is handled differently by Sony, for example.

Battery Life of the Sennheiser Momentum 5

This is where the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless really shines. In our test, the ANC over-ear headphones lasted a full 53 hours and 42 minutes on a full charge, at high volume, with noise cancellation enabled at the highest level, and using the aptX HD configuration. Sennheiser itself even claims up to 57 hours with ANC enabled at moderate volume. Both figures align with my hands-on experience: even several days weren’t enough to drain the Momentum 5’s battery. A full workweek without a charging cable is easily achievable.

Compared to the competition, the gap is dramatic. According to Apple, the AirPods Max 2 last up to 20 hours, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra up to 24 hours, and the Sony XM6 up to 30 hours. So Sennheiser outperforms the competition by nearly a factor of two.

One app feature that’s particularly valuable for battery longevity is one I highly recommend to everyone: Using the Smart Control Plus app, you can activate battery protection, which—by limiting the battery to a full charge of 100%—significantly extends the lifespan of the built-in battery. Combined with the replaceable battery, this results in a complete package designed for years of use.

App Connectivity and Operation

Controls are handled partly directly on the earbuds and partly via the app. Touch controls take center stage: Users can increase the volume or skip to the next track with tap and swipe gestures, and the touch surfaces respond very well to finger input. In everyday use, I found the controls pleasantly intuitive—unlike many competitors, the volume can be adjusted by several levels with a single slow swipe, whereas Sony’s XM6 requires multiple swipes. It’s convenient that ANC and transparency mode can be adjusted with two fingers right on the earcup—something that requires opening the app on many other models.

The Smart Control+ app itself is clean and feature-rich. Familiar from its predecessor, the app (for iOS and Android) stands out with its clear menu navigation and extensive feature set; it displays the charge level and offers a headphone finder. The location-based control is particularly clever: Using so-called “sound zones,” users can define a circular area and specify which mode the headphones should activate there—for example, when you arrive at work, the over-ear headphones turn on noise cancellation. This worked well in our test. Added to this is the personalized sound customization: Using the sound calibration feature in the app, you can tailor the sound to your own hearing.

For runners, the wind protection mode—which can be activated in the app—is likely to be the most useful feature. I do have to mention one limitation: The app only offers an 8-band equalizer. Sennheiser reserves the parametric EQ—which it certainly knows how to do well—for its more expensive models.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless Review: Sound Quality, ANC, and Microphones

In terms of sound, there’s been a noticeable improvement over the predecessor. The Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless delivers a slightly wider soundstage and slightly crisper bass that reaches nice and deep but deliberately stays in the background. The tuning is very balanced, almost understated. However, everything is perfectly balanced and in its right place.

The real highlight, however, lies in the midrange. The mids offer a naturalness and clarity that rival even more expensive alternatives. Vocals sound warm, present, and detailed. These are rich, smooth, yet precise and detailed headphones with a sound signature that makes listening refreshingly effortless. What they lack is that final bit of drive: Songs with a driving rhythm sound more relaxed on the Sennheiser than on the Sony WH-1000XM6, which has a forward-driving urgency.

But whether you like that is certainly a matter of taste. Personally, I’d describe it this way: The Momentum 5 Wireless are the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Comfortable, high-quality, and ideal for long-term cruising. The WH-1000XM6, on the other hand, are the BMW M5. Sharper, tighter, more forward-driving. But not quite as comfortable. Does that make sense?

Still, it doesn’t quite measure up to the brand’s flagship model. It isn’t as clear as the outstanding Sennheiser HDB 630, and the stereo image is slightly narrower. The Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless with Dolby Atmos attempts to compensate for this narrowness, though it only succeeds to a limited extent. The sound quality noticeably improves when using a cable, however. A USB-C connection supports files up to 24-bit/96 kHz and lends instrumental textures more richness and depth. If you like, you can also use the app’s sound calibration feature to tailor the sound to your own hearing.

Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)

Sennheiser has also made audible improvements to the ANC. The new headphones use twice as many microphones for, according to the manufacturer, “three times” better mid-range noise cancellation. The effectiveness of this feature is clearly evident in everyday use: In particular, low, steady noises like traffic or the hum of an air conditioner are significantly dampened, while the Momentum 5 doesn’t fully counter sudden, high-pitched sounds—though these are now quieter than with the previous model.

Two factors also contribute to this noticeable effect: Part of the improvement comes from deeper ear cups with better isolation, and the other from the more powerful ANC unit itself. Nevertheless, there’s still a gap between these and the top of the pack: The effect feels more like a softening of the noise than a complete blockout, which Sony and Bose achieve more effectively.

So the Sennheiser doesn’t quite measure up to a Bose QC Ultra (2nd gen.). I found it convenient that the ANC level can be adjusted continuously—both in the app and directly using two fingers on the ear cup. The transparency mode rounds out the experience nicely: It works well for situational awareness, though it sounds a bit artificial.

Microphones and Phone Calls

The Sennheiser surprised me the most when it came to phone calls. The call quality is among the best on the market. Wind and traffic noise are effectively reduced, voices sound clear and natural, and even make the WH-1000XM6 seem comparatively mechanical and over-emphasized. Even when used outdoors in windy conditions, my voice remained intelligible to the person on the other end. This is thanks to the eight built-in microphones, which, according to WiWo, deliver excellent call quality even for a device of this design—though dedicated headsets with a microphone positioned close to the mouth naturally provide even clearer transmission.

Microphone test recording, Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless:

Microphone test recording, Sony WH-1000XM6:

Despite good wind and echo suppression, the microphone doesn’t handle casual office noise quite as well. The Momentum 5 is therefore ideally suited for phone calls on the street or outdoors; in an open-plan office, however, performance can be a bit hit-or-miss when there’s a lot of background noise. Another handy feature for runners is the wind-blocking mode, which can be activated in the app to filter out wind noise from the headphones.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless Review: Conclusion

The Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless isn’t a pair of headphones designed to take the crown in every single category, yet the manufacturer has still taken a significant step forward here. The fifth generation impresses with clean, balanced sound reproduction and effectively filters out ambient noise. In both areas, it doesn’t quite measure up to the outstanding HDB 630, but it has the edge in battery life and even feels more premium in build quality than its sibling (and especially than its direct predecessor).

With an MSRP of about 400 euros, the Momentum 5 went on sale on June 30 and is clearly a contender in the premium class. In terms of sound quality and features, the new Sennheiser holds its own against competitors like Bose and Sony, though its rivals offer slightly better ANC. Those who prioritize maximum ANC and a foldable design might be better off with Sony or Bose. However, if you’re looking for a durable, comfortable all-rounder with outstanding battery life, excellent voice quality, and a repair-friendly design, this is an exceptionally well-rounded package.