Tag: Momentum

Sennheiser has taken its time with this one. The Momentum 4 Wireless arrived back in 2022, and in a category where most rivals refresh their flagships every couple of years, waiting close to four years for a sequel is unusual. The Momentum 5 Wireless is that sequel, and the company has been careful not to throw out what made the previous model a success. The same 42 mm driver carries over, the marathon battery life stays, and the warm house sound remains the headline. Most of what has changed sits around the edges, with one genuinely useful exception that I will come to shortly. I was sent the denim review unit ahead of the UK release, which lands on 30 June at £330. Before getting into the detail, I should be upfront about something. I have not used every recent flagship from Sony, Bose and Apple back to back, so I am not going to pretend I can rank these against the entire field with any authority. What I can do is tell you how they perform in normal daily use, where they sit on price, and whether the changes over the Momentum 4 are worth paying for. My interest here is practical rather than chasing the last few decibels of noise reduction. The standout change is a user-replaceable battery, which is rare at this level and matters more than the spec sheet suggests. I will explain why I think it does a lot of the heavy lifting in justifying the price. **Specification:** Here is how the Momentum 5 Wireless compares with the outgoing Momentum 4 on paper. The headline upgrades are the doubled microphone count, the move to an 8-band EQ, Dolby Atmos support, and the swappable battery. The one regression is a small drop in quoted battery life, from up to 60 hours to up to 57 hours. **Feature / Specification** - **Momentum 5 Wireless** - Transducer: 42 mm dynamic (built in Ireland) - Weight: Around 290 g - Max playback endurance: Up to 57 hours (ANC on) - Power cell architecture: User-swappable (700 mAh lithium-ion) - Bluetooth generation: Bluetooth 5.4 (upgradeable to 6.0) - Supported audio codecs: aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless, aptX, aptX HD, SBC, AAC - Microphone / ANC topology: 8-mic array - EQ: 8-band EQ, Sound Personalisation, Sound Check - Spatial audio: Dolby Atmos with active head-tracking - Ingress protection: None - Included accessories: USB Type-C cable, 3.5 mm analogue cable, slim protective case The battery drop is marginal, and going on the figures here you would struggle to ever notice it in practice. Everything else on the sheet moves in the right direction. **Sennheiser Momentum 5 vs Sennheiser Momentum 4:** If you already own the Momentum 4, here is what actually changes from one generation to the next. - **Better ANC:** Sennheiser has doubled the number of ANC microphones and reckons on up to a 3x improvement at suppressing background chatter. As always with “up to” figures, I would treat that as a best-case lab number rather than something you will hit in every environment, but more microphones generally does help with voices in particular, which is the hardest noise to cancel. - **Reworked transparency mode:** Voices are meant to come through more naturally for calls and general awareness, and there is a more capable anti-wind mode for outdoor use. - **User-replaceable battery:** This is the headline change for me. The battery can be swapped at home with no real skill needed, which is rare on headphones at this level and genuinely good news for longevity. Sennheiser still quotes around 57 hours per charge with Bluetooth and the new ANC circuit running, which is excellent. - **Slimmer case:** The case is noticeably thinner than the outgoing model, so it is easier to carry around. - **aptX Lossless:** Supported from launch on compatible source hardware, and the headphones carry Hi-Res certification. Worth flagging that you only see the lossless benefit if your phone or DAC actually supports aptX Lossless, so plenty of people will never use it. - **Spatial audio:** Dolby Atmos with head tracking is supported on Atmos content and devices, though it needs the launch firmware update to switch on. - **Improved on-head detection:** Twice the number of internal sensors for faster, more reliable auto-pause when you take them off. - **Simpler connection handling:** Powering on is now a single button press by default, which makes managing the active connection easier when you pull them out of the case. Auto-off and manual-off are both still supported. - **8-band EQ:** The EQ steps up to eight bands, with settings you can share via QR code, plus sound personalisation to tune the output to your own hearing. - **Bluetooth 5.4:** Ships with 5.4, and Sennheiser says 6.0 will arrive in a future firmware update. I would not buy on the strength of a promised update though, so treat it as 5.4 for now. **Unboxing / Design:** Upon opening the package, I was pleased to see that Sennheiser had sent me the denim colorway, which, from the images, appears to be the best-looking color in my opinion. The color is an attractive light navy blue, just like denim, with a cloth headband. The headband is not actually denim, but it looks like it at a passing glance. That fabric finish is the part that lifts the design above plain and functional, and it is one of the nicer touches. The rest of the build is mostly plastic with some metal accents, and while that keeps the weight down, the earcups themselves feel a little plasticky in the hand. At this price I would have liked a metal headband and hinges in the manner of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra and the AirPods Max, even if it added a few grams. The headphones lay flat rather than folding up, so the carry case is wide but shallow. Sennheiser says the case is around 20 percent smaller than the Momentum 4’s, and in practice it is easier to slip into a bag. There is also a useful indentation on the case that works as a handle. The packaging is plastic-free, and inside the case you get a USB Type-C charging cable and a 3.5 mm analogue cable for wired listening on planes, laptops and the like. Disappointingly, there is no ingress protection rating. Granted, I am not the sort of person who would wear this style of headphones in the rain or for fitness, but I see plenty of people wearing over-ear headphones at the gym, and I would not want to risk breaking my £330 headphones with my sweat. It is worth noting that competing options like the Sony WH-1000XM6 are also not IP-rated, so this is a category-wide gap rather than a Sennheiser failing. **Comfort / Fit:** I have a larger-than-average head with large ears, so I am usually a good test for clamping force and earcup size. Comfort is good overall. There is a generous amount of cushioning on the earcups, and the protein leather pads feel reasonably plush. The earcups just about cover my ears without clamping them down, although I did notice a bit of pressure around my ear lobes, as the cups could do with a little more internal depth. Plenty of people with average-sized ears will not notice this at all. After prolonged use, I started to notice that the clamping sensation was quite strong. This is the kind of thing that often eases as the headband loosens over the first few weeks, so I would not read too much into it on a brand new pair. As with all closed-back over-ear headphones, my ears also started to get warm after around an hour, which is normal for the type rather than a specific complaint. At around 290 grams these are not the lightest flagship on the market. The Sony WH-1000XM6 come in closer to 254 grams, so they feel a touch lighter on the head. That said, the weight is well distributed and the clamping force is judged well enough that the Momentum 5 stay stable when you move around. For seated listening at a desk or on a train, comfort has not been an issue for me. **Pairing with Windows and Android:** Pairing is straightforward. A single press of the button on the right earcup puts the headphones into pairing mode the first time with the quick pair popup allowing me to quickly connect. Once paired, I was prompted to install the app. I paired them with both a Windows laptop and an Android phone without any trouble. Multipoint is supported, so you can stay connected to two devices at once and switch between them. In my case, that meant a laptop and a phone, and the handover was clean enough that I did not have to think about it. The active connections are managed through the mobile app, which is where the first real limitation shows up. **On-Device Controls:** The right earcup carries a capacitive touch panel, and the gestures are about what you would expect. Swiping forward and back moves between tracks, swiping up and down changes the volume, a single tap plays or pauses, and a double tap switches between active noise cancelling and transparency. The combined power and Bluetooth button sits on the same earcup. In use, the touch controls are responsive, and I have not had many accidental triggers. You can reassign some of the gestures in the app if the defaults do not suit you. Touch panels are always going to be a matter of taste, but Sennheiser’s implementation here is one of the better ones I have used. **Sennheiser Smart Control Plus App – Mobile Only:** You are prompted to install the Smart Control Plus app when you pair with Android, and this is where you manage almost everything. There is no desktop app, so if you connect to a Windows machine, you cannot change any settings from the computer itself. You can still adjust everything from the Android app while connected to the laptop, but it does mean the phone has to be nearby if you want to change the ANC or EQ on the move. The app itself is clear and stable. You can set the exact level of noise cancelling or transparency, choose or build EQ presets, locate the headphones, manage the Multipoint connections, and toggle Dolby Atmos. Creating a Sennheiser account unlocks a couple of extras, including a hearing test that generates a personalized EQ profile, and a feature that switches settings automatically based on GPS location. The location feature is the sort of thing I would set up once and then forget about, since it is just as quick to change a setting by hand, but it is there if you want it. There are also two battery options worth knowing about. A slow charging mode reduces stress on the cell, and a battery protection setting caps the charge below 100% to extend its life. Paired with the swappable battery, these are sensible additions for anyone planning to keep the headphones for years. **Codecs / Audio Quality Settings:** On the wireless side, the Momentum 5 ships with Bluetooth 5.4 and a full set of codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, and aptX Lossless. The headphones are Snapdragon Sound certified and carry Hi-Res Audio certification. In real terms, the codec you actually get depends entirely on your source device. iPhone users are limited to AAC, while many recent Android phones with the right Qualcomm hardware will reach aptX Adaptive or aptX Lossless. I would temper expectations on the lossless side. aptX Lossless needs a compatible phone or transmitter at the other end, and a lot of buyers will never tick that box. If you want a guaranteed bit-perfect feed, you can go wired, either over the included 3.5 mm cable or over USB-C, with the USB connection handling files up to 24-bit/96 kHz. For most listening over Bluetooth, the difference between codecs is far smaller than the difference the EQ and the tuning make. **Sound Quality:** Sound quality is superb, but it is clearly consumer-oriented rather than studio-neutral. The default tuning is warm with rich, generous bass. Sennheiser describes the 42 mm driver as inspired by its HD 600 series, which is the kind of marketing line I take with a pinch of salt, since these sound nothing like a pair of open-back HD 600s. What is true is that the low end has real weight and slam without collapsing into the midrange, which is the trap a lot of bass-forward headphones fall into. Vocals stay full and clear, and the mids are one of the strongest parts of the presentation. The treble is smooth and slightly rolled off. The upside is that these never sound sibilant or harsh, even on bright recordings, and they are easy to listen to for hours. The downside is that if you like air and sparkle up top, the Momentum 5 can sound a touch reserved out of the box. This is where the EQ earns its place. There are preset EQ options to adjust the sound to your liking, and you can create your own presets. I would expect that after they have been available for a few weeks, some audiophiles will publish recommended EQ settings you can copy across if you want a more balanced or natural sound. The 8-band EQ is a step up from the 5-band version on the Momentum 4, although it is not the parametric EQ found on the pricier Sennheiser HDB 630, so there is a clear ceiling to how precisely you can dial things in. Compared with the Momentum 4, the 5 is warmer and fuller, with a smoother top end and more detailed mids. The Momentum 4 was the more V-shaped and energetic of the two. Whether that counts as an upgrade comes down to taste, but to my ears the newer tuning is the more grown-up of the pair, and it sits a little closer to the more expensive HDB 630 than I expected. Switching to a wired connection adds a bit more depth and definition again, so it is worth keeping a cable handy for serious listening. **Active Noise Cancelling / Wind Cancellation / Transparency:** The ANC is the area Sennheiser has worked on hardest, and it shows. There are now eight microphones handling noise cancelling and transparency, double the Momentum 4’s count, and the company quotes up to a 3x improvement in cutting voices. As I said earlier, I treat that figure as a best-case lab number, but the direction of travel is real. In day to day use the Momentum 5 do a solid job on the steady drone of traffic, trains and air conditioning, and they are noticeably better than the Momentum 4 at taking the edge off nearby chatter. What they do not do is erase the world entirely. The effect is more a softening of background noise than the near-total silence you get from the very best in the class. The Sony WH-1000XM6, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra and the AirPods Max sit above these for outright noise reduction, and I would not pretend otherwise. Some of the Momentum 5’s improvement also comes from the physical seal, since the deeper earcups isolate a little better on their own before the electronics do anything. Harsher, sudden sounds will still get through. Wind noise reduction is also excellent. Walking down the street with a moderate breeze without wind cancellation on, I found there was a constant high-pitched whistle, which was quite annoying. Switching it on completely eliminated it. The reworked transparency mode is fine for general awareness and for hearing announcements or a quick conversation, though like almost every transparency mode it has a slightly processed, artificial quality. **Spatial Audio and Firmware Roadmap:** Sennheiser is positioning the Momentum 5 as a product that improves after launch, and there is a fair amount riding on firmware. Dolby Atmos with head tracking is supported on compatible content and devices, but it needs the day one firmware update to switch on. There is also a promise of Bluetooth 6.0 and LE Audio arriving later, which should bring lower latency and small efficiency gains. I like the idea of headphones that get better over time, but I would buy these on what they do today rather than on what they might do later. Treat the Atmos support and the future Bluetooth upgrade as nice extras rather than reasons to buy. Spatial audio, in particular, remains a feature I find easy to live without, and it leans heavily on having the right content and the right source device. **Microphone / Call Quality:** This is true for most consumer headphones, but there is no built-in sidetone that lets you hear your own voice on calls. That rules them out for me when I am working at my MSP, as I struggle to regulate the volume of my voice without it. If you take a lot of calls and rely on sidetone, this is worth checking before you buy. For the person on the other end, call quality is reasonable. Transparency is fine for regular calls, and the microphone array does a decent job of holding back wind and traffic noise, which matters if you take calls outdoors. It is less convincing with general office background noise, where some of the room can creep in. On balance, the call performance is good rather than class-leading, and the sidetone omission is the part that actually affects how I would use them. **Battery Life:** One of the bigger selling points of these headphones is the user-replaceable battery. I doubt this is Sennheiser voluntarily making its products easier to repair, but rather a response to the EU Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 and the wider right to repair direction of travel. Whatever the motivation, this is the first piece of consumer tech I have used that clearly has a user-replaceable battery, and I think it goes a long way to help justify the premium cost. You can feel relatively confident that these should last several years, because the part that usually kills a pair of wireless headphones is now the one part you can replace yourself with a small Phillips screwdriver. The battery is 700 mAh and is claimed to last 57 hours with ANC enabled. I cannot say I have timed it, but the battery life is long enough that it is simply not a consideration for me. I am never away from a charger long enough to drain it. For context, that 57-hour figure is close to double what the Sony WH-1000XM6 and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra manage with ANC running, both of which sit around 30 hours, so even with the small drop from the Momentum 4’s 60 hours this remains one of the strongest in the class. These also support quick charging if you do run short, with a brief top-up recovering several hours of playback. Within the app you can enable slow charging to improve the lifespan of the battery, and there is a separate setting to cap the charge level for the same reason. Combined with the swappable cell, it adds up to a sensible approach to longevity. **Price and Alternative Options:** When I first looked at these, Sennheiser had only confirmed pricing for the US market, where they go on sale on 16 June for $399.99, which works out to around £298 on a straight conversion. UK pricing has since been confirmed at £330, with a release date of 30 June. That is a little better than the £350 I had feared,

Tag: Momentum

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