After wearing Sennheiser's Momentum 5, I'll never doubt the company's competitive edge again

pros and cons

Pros

• Detailed sound
• Marathon battery life
• Comfortable fit

Cons

• BT 6.0 not ready at launch
• ANC still weaker than Sony and Bose

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Sennheiser has been refining its flagship Momentum headphones for nearly 15 years, receiving acclaim for its minimalist design, marathon battery life, and clear, natural sound profile. The company's Momentum 4 from 2022 received similar praise, but competition in the noise-cancellation category was much stronger than it had been years before, posing a major pitfall for Sennheiser's headphones.

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However, Sennheiser returns with the fifth installment of its flagship headphones, and the Momentum 5 comes at the right time, with the right generational fine-tuning to compete. The Momentum 5 retains the line's hallmark minimal, sleek design, 42mm transducer, and long-lasting playtime while introducing Dolby Atmos support, enhanced noise cancellation, and audio personalization features. 

Sound

Sennheiser's strength has long been in delivering high-fidelity sound at a competitive price in its consumer headphones. This strength remains true in the Momentum 5. Their soundstage is wider than that of competitors from Sony, Apple, and Bose, with noticeable instrument and vocal separation, bright highs, and accurate mid-low to low frequencies. 

Like all consumer headphones, Sennheiser places a slight emphasis on bass, but not as much as Bose, which can get a little muddy at loud volume. Sennheiser's low frequencies are punchy and tight, while mid-low frequencies deliver that nice rumble you can feel deep in your ear. The Momentum 5's high-frequency reproduction isn't as shiny as Sony's, but it's sharper and more precise, helping avoid listening fatigue. 

The head-shaking bass in trap bangers like Future's "March Madness" doesn't overpower the rapper's vocals and ad-libs. On the other hand, the glistening piano melody in "The Way It Is," Bruce Hornsby & The Range's contemporary rock ballad, has minimal harshness and a touch of sparkle.

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If you prefer boomier bass, you'll need to make some touch-ups in the companion app's EQ. I turned the Bass Boost setting on because the Momentum 5's sound is on the neutral side. Overall, I think those who appreciate a less "consumer" sound will appreciate the Momentum 5's sound, as few sonic details go unnoticed.

The Momentum 5 supports wired listening via USB-C and 3.5mm jack, and a host of AptX codecs for higher-quality wireless audio, including AptX Adaptive, HD, and Lossless.

Let's talk audio features

The Momentum 5 debuts with Dolby Atmos support in a similar fashion to the Sonos Ace. If you have a subscription to a music streaming service that supports Atmos formats, it will technically work with any headphones, as the audio encoding occurs on your source device. It seems that Sennheiser licensed Atmos for headphones to create a Dolby-approved virtual 3D upmixer for stereo content, rather than using an in-house-made one, as JBL and Bose do.

Jada Jones/ZDNET

So, I assume that Sennheiser's Dolby Atmos licensing means users can virtually upmix any content they listen to and access head-tracking. According to Sennheiser, head-tracking is wrapped in a "day one update," and I received these headphones ahead of their release, so I wasn't able to test it.

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Dolby Atmos is already tricky to get right in headphones, though I believe the head-tracking feature would make an obvious difference. Sennheiser also teases consumers with a future Bluetooth 6.0 firmware update, potentially for improved device tracking and LE Audio activation, though it's unclear when this update will arrive. I would have liked to see these features at launch.

Better noise cancellation than before

Sennheiser made long-legged strides in improving its headphones' noise-canceling abilities, partly by beefing up the number of noise-processing microphones. The Momentum 5 features four microphones per ear cup, compared to the Momentum 4's two.

The Momentum 5's noise cancellation is considerably stronger than the previous generation, with improved reduction of mid- and low-frequency noise. Additionally, Sennheiser's transparency mode is much more natural than the Momentum 4.

I really appreciate that you can adjust the Momentum 5's noise reduction levels on a sliding scale rather than in preset modes. This level of customization makes it easier to filter environmental noise to your liking. There's still a capable adaptive ANC mode if you'd prefer the headphones to filter noise based on your environment for you.

Jada Jones/ZDNET

I wore the Momentum 5 to the gym and a busy grocery store on a Saturday afternoon. They did a great job in the moderately busy gym, but struggled more in the lively store. These headphones aren't as strong at canceling noise as Sony or Bose, but they're on par with Sonos, which is still good. 

Sennheiser is a strong leader in battery endurance, as the Momentum 4 boasted 60 hours of playtime. The Momentum 5 shaves off three hours, promising 57 hours of playtime with ANC on, which is still impressive. I'm not upset about this small decrease; even with 57 hours, Sennheiser promises 27 more hours than Sony's WH-1000XM6, 37 more than Apple's AirPods Max 2, and 27 more than Bose's QuietComfort Ultra 2.

I believe Sennheiser's improved noise-reduction algorithm and upgraded digital signal processor are to blame for the difference in battery life. However, it means they're consuming more power to accommodate more advanced systems.

App support & design

The Sennheiser Smart Control Plus app is a solid companion app: simple, clean, and useful. Here, you can adjust noise reduction levels and audio modes, tweak an upgraded eight-band equalizer, see where your headphones last connected to your device, and create sound zones, similar to Sony's Adaptive Sound Control.

Sennheiser didn't stray far from the Momentum 4's design; the Momentum 5 has clean lines and a nondescript look. Aside from a few more metallic accents here and there, the Momentum 5 looks nearly identical to the previous generation.

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Sennheiser prefers touch controls on the right ear cup rather than multifunction buttons, and though the company's implementation is simple to understand and reliable, they are very sensitive. Sometimes, my hair or a small adjustment of the ear cup would trigger an accidental response, so I opt to turn the touch controls off and use my phone instead.

On the comfort front, the Momentum 5 has supple earpads with sufficient cushion, and they were more than comfortable for me to wear for hours. Sennheiser's flagship headphones have a more relaxed clamping force than its midrange Accentum line. However, the earcups are on the small side, so if you have a larger head or ears, you might have an issue.

ZDNET's buying advice

The Sennheiser Momentum 5 debuts with several meaningful upgrades, including improved audio processing that delivers better sound and noise cancellation, as well as minor design changes that help it stand up to industry heavyweights. 

The Momentum 5's competitive $400 price makes them cheaper than Sony's and Bose's flagship headphones, though I think a $50-$60 difference accurately reflects the differences in noise-canceling performance. However, if you want to exchange smarter features and stronger noise cancellation for a refined sound profile, go with the Momentum 5.