For a long time now, Sennheiser’s flagship active noise-cancelling (ANC) headphones have been part of the MOMENTUM line. However, with the release of the more audiophile-focused HDB 630 last year, some of us were left wondering how an eventual MOMENTUM 5 Wireless would fit into Sennheiser’s lineup.
After all, the MOMENTUM series has always been about offering a balance between sound quality, features, comfort and everyday usability, while the HDB 630 is clearly aimed at those who want to take their listening experience a little more seriously. So, where exactly does the MOMENTUM 5 Wireless sit?
Having spent a couple of weeks with Sennheiser’s latest wireless ANC headphones, there is quite a bit to talk about, from its familiar design and impressive battery life to its surprisingly serviceable ANC and a battery that you can actually replace yourself.
Unboxing
@gadgetmtech We just unboxed the #Sennheiser #MOMENTUM5Wireless headphones! #FYP #fypシ @sennheiser ♬ Little Things – Adrián Berenguer
Design
At first glance, the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 5 Wireless does not look dramatically different from what we have come to expect from the MOMENTUM family. It retains a relatively understated appearance, combining a lightweight plastic construction with metallic accents and a fabric-accented headband.
At 291g, the headphones are reasonably light for their class. They do not feel overly bulky when worn, and the construction strikes a good balance between keeping the weight down and maintaining a premium feel. There is still plenty of plastic here, but Sennheiser has done enough with the materials and finishing to make the MOMENTUM 5 Wireless look and feel like a high-end pair of headphones.
The control arrangement is also fairly straightforward. A physical power/Bluetooth button sits on the headphones, while the right ear cup features a capacitive touch panel that handles playback controls as well as ANC-related gestures. It is a combination that works well for everyday use, although some users may still prefer physical buttons for everything simply because they provide more tactile feedback.
One particularly interesting aspect of the MOMENTUM 5 Wireless is something you don’t normally think about when buying headphones: battery longevity. Sennheiser has made the battery cell user-replaceable, and it is surprisingly easy to get to.
Remove the ear pads, and you will find four Phillips-head screws on the left ear cup. Once those are removed, the entire speaker assembly can be pulled out in one piece, giving you direct access to the battery. It is an excellent approach for long-term ownership, especially considering how battery degradation is one of the biggest reasons why otherwise perfectly functional wireless headphones eventually become obsolete.
The bundled carrying case is also worth mentioning. It is a fairly robust plastic and fabric affair, with internal pouches for the included cables and other accessories. Since the headphones fold flat rather than folding into a much smaller footprint, however, the case is quite wide. Thankfully, it is not particularly deep, so it should still fit into most bags without too much trouble.
Features
The MOMENTUM 5 Wireless gets most of its smart features through Sennheiser’s Smart Control Plus app. The interface itself is fairly simple, but there is a surprising amount of functionality packed into it.
For starters, you can control the exact level of ANC or transparency you want, adjust the equaliser, select different EQ presets, locate your headphones and configure various connection preferences. It gives you considerably more control over the headphones than simply relying on the default tuning.
There is also a location-based feature that becomes available once you sign in to a Sennheiser account. This allows you to assign specific settings to particular GPS coordinates, so the headphones can automatically switch to a preset configuration when you arrive at a location. It is an interesting feature, although I suspect most users will still find it easier to manually adjust the headphones when necessary.
Signing into an account also gives you access to a hearing test. The headphones can use the results to generate an EQ profile that Sennheiser believes is better suited to your hearing compared with its standard presets. It is a neat addition, particularly for those who are interested in personalising their listening experience.
However, the built-in EQ itself is somewhat limited. The MOMENTUM 5 Wireless uses an eight-band equaliser, which feels a little disappointing when we know Sennheiser is capable of offering a more advanced parametric EQ on some of its higher-end products. Still, this is probably one of the compromises Sennheiser had to make to maintain some separation between the MOMENTUM range and its more audiophile-oriented models.
Connectivity
Connectivity is one of the stronger areas of the MOMENTUM 5 Wireless. The headphones use Bluetooth 5.4 and support SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX Adaptive and Snapdragon Sound, along with Bluetooth Multipoint.
That means you can maintain connections to multiple devices and switch between them without constantly disconnecting and reconnecting manually. For anyone who uses the same pair of headphones with a phone and a laptop throughout the day, this is a genuinely useful feature.
There are wired options as well. The headphones support standard analogue audio through the included 3.5mm-to-2.5mm cable, while USB-C can also be used for digital audio playback.
Having both options gives the MOMENTUM 5 Wireless a good degree of flexibility. You can use it as a traditional Bluetooth headset for everyday listening, connect it to a device through an analogue cable or take advantage of USB-C digital audio when you want to listen through a wired connection without relying on Bluetooth.
ANC & Audio Performance
Sennheiser has improved the ANC performance of the MOMENTUM 5 Wireless compared with previous generations. During testing, it was consistently able to reduce low-frequency noise below around 1.1kHz by approximately 20dB.
In practical terms, that means the headphones are particularly effective at dealing with the low, constant sounds you encounter on a daily basis, such as air-conditioning systems, fans, engines and general transport noise. It is not quite at the level of the very best ANC headphones available today, but the performance is still competitive with other premium models.
The transparency mode, meanwhile, does what it needs to do. It allows surrounding sounds through clearly enough to maintain situational awareness, which is useful when you need to hear what is happening around you without taking the headphones off.
Sound-wise, the default tuning is noticeably bass-heavy, with a darker presentation and slightly restrained high treble. This gives the MOMENTUM 5 Wireless a fuller and warmer sound that should appeal to listeners who enjoy a little more low-end impact.
Thankfully, you are not locked into that tuning. The app provides several EQ presets, including Rock, Pop, Jazz and Classical, making it relatively easy to adjust the sound to your preference. While an eight-band EQ is not as flexible as a proper parametric equaliser, it is sufficient for making fairly obvious changes to the headphones’ overall presentation.
One area where the MOMENTUM 5 Wireless performed particularly well during testing was distortion. The headphones recorded exceptionally low distortion across the various testing standards, which is a strong indication that the drivers are capable of reproducing audio cleanly.
Its microphone performance is also decent. Wind and room reverberation are handled quite effectively, although rejection of background chatter in an office environment is more average. In other words, your voice should remain reasonably clear in most situations, but the headphones are not going to eliminate a noisy office from the other end of a call.
Ultimately, the MOMENTUM 5 Wireless does not try to sound like a reference-grade audiophile headphone. That is important to keep in mind when considering it alongside something like the HDB 630. The sound is more consumer-friendly and accessible, with an emphasis on a fuller and more enjoyable presentation rather than absolute neutrality.
Battery Life
Battery life is arguably one of the biggest strengths of the MOMENTUM 5 Wireless.
Sennheiser rates the headphones for more than 50 hours of playback with ANC enabled, and my experience during the two-week review period certainly backs up the impressive endurance. I only had to charge the headphones once before I even started properly testing them.
That kind of battery life is extremely convenient. For regular users, it means charging becomes something you think about only occasionally rather than something that needs to be part of your daily routine.
More importantly, the battery is user-replaceable. As mentioned earlier, removing four Phillips-head screws behind the left ear cup gives you access to the battery itself. This is a huge advantage for long-term ownership because rechargeable batteries inevitably degrade over time.
Instead of throwing away the headphones once the battery no longer holds a useful charge, you can simply replace the cell and continue using them. That makes the MOMENTUM 5 Wireless a much more attractive proposition for anyone planning to keep their headphones for several years.
Final Words
At RM1,999, the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 5 Wireless sits firmly in the premium ANC headphone category. It may not deliver the absolute best audio performance available from Sennheiser, nor does its ANC completely dominate the competition.
However, that is not really the point of the MOMENTUM 5 Wireless.
If you want a pair of noise-cancelling headphones without spending an absurd amount of money on the very top performers, the MOMENTUM 5 Wireless makes a strong case for itself. It offers plenty of connectivity options, useful software features, solid ANC performance and very good overall sound quality.
The most important thing to remember is that Sennheiser has deliberately positioned this model differently from its more expensive, audiophile-focused offerings. It was always going to need some separation from products such as the HDB 630, and that becomes apparent in the way it sounds.
That does not make the MOMENTUM 5 Wireless a bad headphone. In fact, for a substantially lower price, it is a very compelling all-rounder.
Its ANC may not match something like the AirPods Max 2, but it is still competitive with many high-end ANC headphones on the market. More importantly, the combination of more than 50 hours of battery life and a genuinely user-replaceable battery gives the MOMENTUM 5 Wireless something that many of its competitors simply do not have.
Provided you take care of the USB-C port and the rest of the hardware, this is a pair of headphones that should be able to serve you for a very long time. And for many buyers, that practicality could ultimately matter more than chasing the absolute best audio performance available.
Yay
- Decent ANC
- Replaceable battery
- Impressive battery life
Nay
- Weak treble extension
- No IP rating protection
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