Sennheiser - MOMENTUM 5 Bluetooth Wireless Adaptive Noise-Canceling Over-The-Ear Headphones - White

With the abundance of excellent noise cancelling wireless headphones available, making the “right” choice is daunting. I think the Sennheiser Momentum 5 makes this task a bit easier though. It has just about everything higher-end headphone should; clean audio, solid noise cancellation, adequate comfort and other interesting features. I’m fond of its understated design too. The kicker is the Momentum 5’s battery is user replaceable so the headphones can remain useful well past its essentially disposable and more expensive competitors. That’s good for the wallet and reduces e-waste. MOMENTUM 5 OR HDB 630? Technically, the Momentum 5 falls in the middle of Sennheiser’s wireless NC line up, but it’s really a unique product rather than a hobbled underling. The Momentum 5 even has features and codecs absent in the 630. So, if you are wondering which model best suits you, understand it’s not the usual “better,” “best” comparison. It really comes down to use case. I’m fortunate to own the 630 too and with months experience to understand the key distinctions between the two models. Surprisingly, the price gap isn’t that large. I think it’s because the sound difference between the two is narrow except if listening critically, which is the 630’s forte. The two really cater to different uses. I can’t go over all the differences here, but here’s a few of my key deciders. Where the 630 is authentically neutral out of the box the Momentum 5 comes ready to rock. The 630’s 5-band parametric equalizer helps users precisely adjust frequencies for critically listening. Momentum users get a more user friendly 8-band dynamic equalizer aimed at casual listening. There’re other ways to tweak the Momentum 5’s sound too, which I’ll note in the “App” section below, but nothing that can micro adjust like the 630 has. The flagship 630 includes Sennheiser’s BTD 700 Bluetooth dongle, giving wireless lossless audio capability to devices, like the iPhone, that natively are wireless lossy only. That’s not included with Momentum 5. Fortunately, the BTD 700 is sold separately and Momentum 5 compatible, so it’s an option. It’s been transformative in my in-home listening, but I’ve yet to use the BTD 700 with the Momentum 5 simply because I wear them during travel and walking around town and I find a dongle inconvenient in those situations. Then there’s the comfort factor. The Momentum 5 is comfortable to point but its compactness has a negative impact here, and I’ll detail in the “Fit” section below. For me, it does not compare to luxuriousness of the 630 with its bigger ear cups. The 630’s plushness has a cost in its scaled-up footprint. Its larger size looks goofy on my small head and bulky to wear in public or pack for travel. In sum, the Momentum 5 is an excellent “all around” headphone. It’s terrific for walking around and travel, and home too if it will be your only pair of headphones. The 630 shines at home when you want to enjoy each music note exactly as the artist intended. BUILD QUALITY AND DESIGN Construction materials differ between the two, but both have suburb build quality. They also share a similar design, with the Momentum 5 being more compact. I really dig my Momentum 5’s metallic Navy Blue “Denim” color with gray ear pads. It’s a dose of eye candy that sets the stage for the ear candy I’m about to experience. Blue is my favorite color so I’m biased here. The headband’s topside is knit fabric rather than faux leather. On the Denim Momentum it’s a fun, but stylish, black and blue pattern. I suspect the textured fabric is more difficult to clean. Smartly, the earpads and bottom of the headband is vinyl. The rest of the Momentum 5 is plastic, I’m guessing ABS. Overall it’s a joyful colorway. Pricier headphones employ plastic too so I can’t fault the Momentum 5 for matching industry standards here. The supplied zippered case is covered in a matching fabric. The Momentum 5 drops into place, no origami needed. This may seem like a minor point until you are in a rush and can’t remember which direction to fold a convolutedly designed headphone to get them to fit in the case. Included in the case are USB and 3.5mm headphone cables, each in their own compartment for a clutter-free experience. FAIR-ISH FIT & COMFORT My head is oval and small. I wear a size 6 7/8 or 7 baseball cap and only needed to slightly raise the Momentum 5’s yokes for a no-slip fit. They have plenty of extension. I measured a bit more than 1.25” per side. Widthwise, max spread from edge of the left cup to the edge of the right is about 6”. The headband is comfortable, but I’d prefer more padding. Clamping force is gentle; my head doesn’t feel like an orange being squeezed. During walks, workouts, or even a happy dance there’s little movement. However, they might shift during a run. They also are neither water nor sweat resistant. Any discomfort comes from heavy-ishness of the ear cups. I always know they are on. Fit and comfort is subjective though since everyone’s head and ears are different. This is my experience. While head is small, my ears didn’t get the bulletin. They stick out like Alfred E. Neuman’s. As such, my ears fit like they “just” fit. They aren’t used to such a cozy interior space. It not a deal killer but maybe don’t expect ultimate comfort here. I received the Momentum 5’s in the middle of heatwave and took them for a leisurely three mile walk in 93-degree heat, 80% humidity. Minutes after being outside my ears heated up ahead of the rest of my body and stayed warmer for the entire walk. It never became unbearable, but there is appreciable heat retention. I can’t wait to wear them in winter. CONTROLS AND USE Headphones are one device I detest touch controls. Unfortunately, that’s what the Momentum 5 offers, except for a single physical “multi-use” button for power, summoning a device’s voice assistant, and hear the battery level. There is also an LED battery indicator on the right earpad. All transport controls are by tap and gesture. My 630 works similarly, and Sennheiser did a laudable job. The gestures are all intuitive. For example, swipe up to increase volume or down to decrease. Incidental touching, like when I adjust the headband or lift the earpads to wipe some sweat, can trigger unexpected actions, but usually it just “beeps,” nothing more. Activating a voice assistant, like Siri is on par with my other non-Apple headphones/buds. There is a 10-20 second delay between pressing the multi-use button and hearing the Siri tone. After that Siri works like Siri. I have not come across an auto-pause setting. Music continues when I remove the headphones. However, when I set them down it does automatically power off. BATTERY The 57 hours battery life is impressive because it includes noise cancellation. Many headphones boast incredible battery life with a “noise cancelling off” asterisk. No hiding the ball here. I quasi-tested performance myself by letting it play for a day to see where the battery indicator would line up afterwards. No surprise it was near the middle. Of course, it’s not scientific proof, but I’m confident it’s accurate enough. Replacing the battery is child’s play. I tried it and if you can use a screwdriver, you have the skills to replace the battery. It literally involves pulling off the ear pad and removing four screws. It takes minutes. I posted a pic to give a visual of the replacement process. INITIAL SETUP Bluetooth pairing to my iPhone was no different than other Bluetooth devices. The SmartControlPlus app is not required for installation, so bonus points for that. I do recommend installing it though. It’s packed with useful features, not a portal for advertising and personal data. My Momentum 5 arrived with Bluetooth 5.4 installed. However, Sennheiser says Bluetooth 6.0 is coming in a future firmware update. Coupled with the replaceable battery, this makes it even more “future proof.” Multipoint pairing is supported to connect two devices. APP AND AUDIO QUALITY To my ears, the out of the box sound has slightly elevated bass and treble tuned for pop/rock music. It’s not “boomy” or over bright, so if you are looking for exaggeration, it might not suit you. It’s even hard to simulate the signature glass breaking bass of some other brands using the equalizer. But if you are looking for clean, tight bass, clear vocals, detailed string instruments with noticeable separation keep reading. That is how I’d characterize the Momentum 5’s native profile and app’s “Neutral” preset. It’s not “Neutral” in an audiophile sense, but a marker to return to the default sound. The 8-band dynamic equalizer allows customization from the default sound within limits. It’s an invigorating Sunday walk rather a risky adventure. A customization can be saved as a preset. For non-DIY people there’s presets for most genres along with a neat custom sound helper Sound Personalization that guides the user to an individual sound. There’s lots more but word count limits me. In short, the Momentum 5 + app makes customization easy, both in finding the right frequency levels and general functions. Lossy ACC files from my iPhone are enjoyable and some Android phones can take advantage of the 5’s Lossless codecs. While many devices, like the iPhone, don’t support wireless lossless playback it is available wired, using the supplied USB cable or wirelessly with the optional BTD 700 dongle. NOISE CANCELLATION & TRANSPARENCY MODE I’m no technician, but anecdotally, with noise cancellation at 100%, volume at 40%, virtually all outside sound is imperceptible. Only a jackhammer, church bel or overhead jet penetrated and then it was slight. Audio remains clean and appropriately vibrant to the song. There’s no artificial white noise permeating quieter sections or gaps being songs. Noise cancellation and transparency are customizable. An alternative automatic mode is also available.

I have been using the latest Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless headphones for everything from long commutes during the day to deep work sessions at my desk and they have been a godsend in the wear I’ve been able to put them through. Looking for the short answer: Sennheiser simply doubled down on what made the previous model great, addressed my number one gripe, and now packaged it in an amazing design that looks immacate in the real world. Talk about Denim, which is the best looking version of these types of headphones. The standard black and white versions might have a slightly corporate look and feel to them, while the Denim version features rich and deep blue denim on the headband and matching tan faux-leather ear-cup cushions. Has a very premium wellgroomed smart casual vibe without being too loud. They weigh 290g which gives them a nice weight for your head but not too much. The clamping force is adjusted beautifully not so tight as to cause a headache and not so loose as to fall off while walking or tilting the head. The ear cups are just a little bigger than on the older Momentum 4s and the soft padding makes for an exceptional passive seal. An eco-friendly gear featuring adaptive noise cancellation for a pleasant listening experience. If you were the owner of the previous model your aware that the sound was wonderful, but the noise canceling was "okay". Sennheiser definitely got the message and incorporated it into their design. They packed eight microphones into this chassis and ran a full-blown adaptation on that already with an active enhancement. It's a huge difference. The Momentum 5 was very good at eliminating midrange sounds, such as the low buzz of an airplane engine, an office, AC unit or the background noise in a busy coffee shop, among other things. The Momentum 5 is starting to make some serious headway in overcoming the top-tier competition. The best part? The ANC doesn't make your ears build up that uncomfortable feeling like "cabin pressure". Sennheiser will continue to put its foot down. It's no surprise inspired by their legendary HD 600 series open back headphones, the 42mm dynamic drivers play ball. Soundstage & Separation: Fantastic instrument separation The tracks do not trapped or compressed to your head. In the case of a rock song with a lot of acoustic tracks, you can hear the guitar, vocals, and percussion layers of the track in their own distinctive pocket. The bass is well handled, and has a good volume for the sub-bass and upper bass. It makes punch when needed but doesn't intrude on the vocals with punch and muddy. For the tech-savvy users, it supports Bluetooth 5.4 aptX Adaptive, and aptX Lossless. Streaming high-res audio sounds as impressive on playing through via an Android device or the PC as it is on a traditional wired connection if your device is compatible. Dolby Atmos: The headphones employ a 3D spatial audio (with head tracking). For regular stereo music I highly recommend NOT using it, however, when watching movies or t.v. it really adds a dramatic level of immerse. These have a playtime of 57 hours when ANC is enabled, which is not a misstatement and this has a user replaceable battery. The wireless headphones also typically come with an expiration date, given that the lithium-ion battery becomes fatigued after a couple of years, and thus, an expensive piece of tech becomes useless. The Momentum 5 features an easy to remove 700mAh battery and can be changed using a standard screwdrivers. Just for this reason alone, if you're planning to have your headphones for more than 3 years you should consider this as a worthwhile investment. Touch Controls: Both ear cups have a touch button which controls volume, track skipping and transparency toggle. This is generally sensitive, but has a minor learning curve as well as the occasional headphone head movement causing the detune and/or track skip effect. Case Design: They are folded over to a re-designed, slimmer zip-up case. While it's definitely portable, the ear cups are still pretty wide in the backpack and won't fold in towards the earband. But when you add class leading 57 hour battery life, heavy noise fading and signature-grade, audiophile quality sounds, plus Sennheiser's replaceable battery, this headphone is definitely much more valuable and long lasting than the competition. So if you love great music and your looking for a dazzling future proof tech for your every day listening needs, it's a superb choice no brainer.

I'm not a headphone snob, but I must admit this is probably the best pair of headphones I've ever owned. They are lightweight and, out of the box offer a good listening experience. The carrying case is thin as well and will not take up much space. It is a minimal design and can easily fit into a carry-on backpack for travel. The headphones look aesthetically pleasing to the eye. They don't look big and bulky, but they look like premium headphones. The genius part of the headphones is you can pop the ear piece off and replace the battery. So you can get a longer longevity out of the Momentum 5. I don't think this is a feature on most headphones, and if so I just learned about it with these. You get a 180-degree swivel if you ever want to take a break and rest them around your neck. The comfort is also top-notch. You get padding along the top portion as well. So for long sessions, this helped and worked very well. I have a large head, so I was kind of skeptical if this would fit well. I'm very happy to say they do fit very well and are comfortable. I do have to extend them to the largest adjustment as I usually do. Fresh out of the box, the Momentum 5 gave me exceptional audio. As soon as I put them on, I noticed a difference. The noise cancelling has to be the best I've tested and used. You can download the app to even enhance the experience. You get more adjustments like Anti-Wind, Immersive Audio, Bass Boost, EQ, etc. I also tested the noise cancelling by turning on a cordless vacuum while listening to audio. You still can hear the vacuum, but the experience was much better than other headphones I've tested. I even tested the Momentum 5 while gaming and again it was an exceptional experience. With Good audio and a clear, fun sound, which made the gaming session more alive. Almost too alive because I kept having to pull one ear off because the Headphones kind of draw you in with the noise cancelling. The Momentum 5 advertises 50+ hours of usage on a full charge. I don't doubt this claim but even if you start to see different results. You can always change the rechargeable battery. The only negative is that the touch keys are kind of sensitive. Sometimes I like to wear one ear out and uncuffed. I like to be aware of my environment. Well, while doing so I was constantly pausing my video. Something I'll have to learn and adjust to in the future. Yet, these are a fantastic pair of headphones. They are now my go-to because they are lightweight, comfortable, and offer a good audio experience.

I have had Momentum 3 and Momentum 4 headphones in the past. Both are great. The Momentum 5s continue in that tradition and even better. The new Momentum 5s are the most comfortable yet. I think the earcups are a bit more comfortable than the previous generation Momentum 4s. The ANC while improved from the previous Momentum 4 headphones, it still is not the best out there. I also own the Sony WH-1000XM6 which is hands down the ANC king, however the Sony XM6 apply so much pressure to my head I cannot wear them for more than 2 hours before I need to take them off for a while. I do not have this issue at all with the Momentum 5s. I can wear them for hours listening to music with no tight pressure on my head and ears. The Momentum 5s now also introduce user replaceable batteries! This is how all electronics with batteries should be. With just removing one of the earcups and using a small screw driver you can actually replace the battery yourself. If there is one area where all rechargeable batteries will fail, it is that those batteries will one day fail to hold a charge or last as long on a charge. Being able to do this on your own, even years down the line, I think is a huge step forward and I wish more manufacturers would do this. Props to Sennheiser here!! The sound quality with these headphones is really great. Especially if you like bass in music and tv shows / movies. You can customize the 8 band equalizer to your liking with the Smart Control Plus app, and even layer on more extra bass with a bass boost on and off option. I am using it on my Google Pixel 8 and a Microsoft Surface tablet with no issues with its multipoint connection option in the app. I also have it paired to my soundbar for watching movies and shows and it really shines here too. Battery life is listed as being 57 hours on a full charge. I lost track of how long I was on before my second full charge, but this sounds like it is correct. Overall, these are now my official favorite headphones in the last two years. They sound great, are super comfortable, have a user replaceable battery(!!!), and have solid build quality. They also look really nice too. Sennheiser did a really great job here.

Overall I found the Momentum 5 headphones to have excellent ANC and audio quality. The controls are accessed via touching the right earmuff and are fairly intuitive once you learn the motions. The mobile app gives you the ability to change equalizers, turn on/off immersive audio and set up sound zones. Note that because the controls are touch you do not have the ability to change or reassign them. I found the fit and feel to be good but like other Sennheiser’s I have owned they can feel a tad tight. The ear muffs are comfortable and help isolate ambient sound but the top support bar isn’t the most padded. Pros: - Excellent Adaptive Noise Cancellation - Immersive and high-quality audio - Customizable Experience via the mobile app - Intuitive Touch Controls with auto pause - Long battery life and nice carrying case Cons: - Limited voice prompts vs tones - Top support bar could have better padding Performance: The Momentums are quick to pair with my Bluetooth devices and connect to the Sennheiser Smart Control mobile app. The on/off button is the only physical button on the headphones but there is a line of LEDs that give you the battery level upon start up. The touch controls on the right earmuff are fairly intuitive and easy to use. The auto pause on removing the headphones work without issue. Sadly Sennheiser uses tones vs voice prompts for most of the notifications which at this price point is surprising. The overall sound quality is excellent and you can use the Smart Control app to customize the sound quality to your liking. Note that the app does not allow you to make changes to the touch controls so they are not customizable. The ANC is very good and with the tight fitting earmuffs it really isolates you from background noises. The audio quality is outstanding, the highs and mids are crystal clear and bass is as good as it gets in a headphone. The immersive effects are good and the sound separation adds to the over audio quality. The Smart Control has several preconfigured equalizers or you can create your own. The Sound Zone feature in the app allows you to create custom equalizers and setting for specific zones like home, commute and work. Fit: The Momentum 5 feels solid and looks like a premium headset. The fit is tight but that adds to the quality of the ANC. The earmuffs don’t interfere with my glasses and they feel relatively soft when wearing the headphones. The size of the earmuffs are smaller than other headphones I own but they do cover my ears completely. The top bar has padding but the padding is very soft thus the bar can become noticeable over time.