We may earn compensation from reviewed products. Learn about our editorial policies.
The Sennheiser Momentum 5 deliver a superb, grown-up sound with excellent ANC and a brilliantly slim case. The touch-only controls remain a genuine annoyance, but they're not enough to stop these being one of the best ANC headphones you can buy right now.
The Good
- Refined, emotionally engaging sound with a beautiful mid-range
- Excellent ANC performance
- Outstanding slim carry case
- Extremely comfortable for long listening sessions
The Not So Good
- Touch controls are frustrating and imprecise
- Slightly worse battery life than Momentum 4
- Transparency mode lags behind Apple
Sennheiser Momentum 5
$399.95
✅ Pros:
– Superb, refined sound with a beautiful mid-range
– Excellent ANC performance
– Outstanding slim carry case
– Very comfortable for extended wear
❌ Cons:
– Touch controls are frustrating and imprecise
– Slightly worse battery life than Momentum 4
– Transparency mode lags behind Apple
While getting ready to film the video version of this review for my YouTube channel, I had a bit of a moment.
I think it might have been because life has been a bit… full-on recently, not to mention that my son was set to finish nursery later that day (parents will understand). Or maybe I’m just 45-years-old and more emotional about everything these days. Regardless, at that very moment in time, while listening to Lady Gaga tear the you-know-what out of I’ll Never Love Again, I could feel myself welling up.
Audio can do this. More accurately, performances can do this; it’s down to the hardware you’re listening through to reproduce it the way the artist intended.
The Momentum 5 did just that for Lady Gaga. It says a lot about Sennheiser’s latest consumer ANC headphones, and I’m glad I grabbed a pair to review. Not least because I know if I didn’t, the Sennheiser Massiv would be after me with their pitchforks.
Specs and pricing
The Momentum 5 were launched at the end of June this year and cost £329.99/$399.95 at the time of writing.
They come in three colours – black, white, and the colour I was sent to review, Denim. Inside, there’s a 42mm dynamic driver, Bluetooth 5.4 with multipoint for up to two devices, a long list of compatible codecs (SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless, Snapdragon Sound), and the usual bunch of mics for ANC and voice pickup. Dolby Atmos with head tracking also comes along for the ride.
Battery life is rated at 57 hours with ANC on, and a 10-minute charge delivers around seven hours of playback.
In the case, you’ll find a 3.5mm to 2.5mm analogue cable and a USB-C to USB-C cable.
Momentum 5 vs Momentum 4 – Key Upgrades
The Momentum 5 adds Bluetooth 5.4, aptX Lossless, Dolby Atmos with head tracking, and replaceable battery and ear cups. ANC is promised to be up to three times better, though battery life dips slightly from 60 to 57 hours.
In terms of what’s different between the Momentum 5 and the outgoing Momentum 4, the Bluetooth has been upgraded, and the old pair didn’t have aptX Lossless support – or the fancy Dolby Atmos stuff.
The battery and ear cups are now replaceable (by Sennheiser), and we’re promised up to three times better ANC. The battery performance is actually slightly worse (the Momentum 4 were rated at 60 hours), but the driver size remains the same.
Oh, and, of course, the Momentum 5 are slightly more expensive than the Momentum 4 were at launch. Because it’s 2026.
Design
Just like their predecessor, the Momentum 5 are a light and extremely comfortable pair of headphones. They’re a bit plasticky in places, but not horribly so, and the Denim pair I was sent, mercifully, don’t have easily smudged earcups.
I’ve been wearing these cans consistently over the last couple of weeks and haven’t experienced any discomfort. The earcups have plenty of depth; there’s nothing protruding out of them, and the cushioning is superb all round.
They don’t look massively different from the Momentum 4, save for a new implementation of the logo, and some marginal weight loss (which, presumably, has contributed to the lesser battery life).
The case is absolutely superb. It looks good, it’s well made, and it is unbelievably thin for a pair of headphones that only fold one way. I’m not sure how Sennheiser has done it, but it’s a huge improvement over the Momentum 4 case, and immediately one of the best on the market.
What isn’t the best on the market is the control surface, which is dominated by touch. Just like the old pair, the Momentum 5 have only one button for power and Bluetooth pairing. Starting and stopping music, changing the volume, and interacting with the ANC controls has to be done via your fingers, on the ear cups, and it’s predictably horrible. I’m constantly mis-pressing stuff, the ANC controls are nigh-on unusable, and I just wish they’d implement buttons. Please.
If touch controls are a dealbreaker for you, the Sony WH-1000X ColleXion is worth a look. Check out our Sony ColleXion review for more.
Thankfully, it’s time to talk about the sound.
Sound
When I reviewed the Momentum 4, I said I had a “proper wow moment” while listening to them. I have no idea what I meant by that, but I did thankfully use some more descriptive language. “Confident”, “exciting”, and “a pronounced mid-range”, apparently.
Although they did struggle with my headphone-battering test track, Breathe Again by Pop Evil.
Good news. The Momentum 5 sound even better. They retain the confidence and excitement, but they’re also slightly more grown up. More refined. More indicative of just how accomplished the Sennheiser sound is.
The mid-range, in particular, is lovely. It’s what hit me in the face during that emotional Lady Gaga listening session, and great midrange is something I’ve come to appreciate more the older I get. It’s also what separates OK headphones from superb headphones. And Sennheiser seems to understand that.
EQ Tweaking in the App
The Momentum 5 pair with the Sennheiser Smart Control app, where you can adjust the EQ to dial in more low-end thud if the refined default tuning feels too restrained for your taste.
The Momentum 5 don’t have quite the death knell thud going on when big kick drums hit (see: AirPods Max 2), but this is, as I say, a grown-up, refined sound. And you can bring that low-end thud in, if you want, by tweaking the EQ in the app.
Oh, and they deal with Breathe Again just fine this time.
Noise cancelling
The Momentum 4 ANC was great. And it’s the same story with the latest pair. You’d really have to spend time A/B testing the two to hear meaningful differences, but that’s fine – I promise you won’t be disappointed with how quiet the world goes while wearing these cans.
The only thing I did notice on a couple of occasions was some weird flappage when travelling on the London Underground. It didn’t happen often, but the Momentum 5 were clearly struggling a little with sudden changes in air pressure. Not a deal-breaker, and I’ve heard similar things on other ANC headphones.
Transparency mode? It’s perfectly serviceable – which is exactly what I said about the Momentum 4. It’s nowhere near the levels achieved by Apple, but nothing is. You can still hear yourself on calls, and the world around you, regardless.
As for my famous mic test, well, you’ll have to watch the YouTube video of this review to see how they fared in that regard.
Torn between the Momentum 5 and Sony’s best? We’ve got you covered. Check out our AirPods Max 2 vs Sony comparison for more.
Conclusion
The Sennheiser Momentum 5 are one of the best pairs of ANC headphones on the market right now, and they deserve to be on your shortlist if you’re looking for a new pair.
They’re a great upgrade, too. They sound better than the Momentum 4, have a slightly nicer design, a much better case, and probably do have slightly better ANC (it’s nice to know that’s the case, eh?). I just wish Sennheiser would ditch those god-awful touch controls.
There’s another option you might be considering – the Sennheiser HDB 630. These are, in my opinion, for the audiophile crowd who want a great pair of ANC headphones for the road. They’re chunkier (in every regard) than the Momentum 5, and while they come with a very useful hi-res dongle, that shouldn’t be enough to steer you away from the sensible, convenient buy.
Let me know in the comments what you think about the Momentum 5.
