Sennheiser MOMENTUM 5 Wireless launch with replaceable battery, aptX Lossless, and improved ANC

The MOMENTUM 4 Wireless has spent the last few years as one of the best alternatives to Sony or Bose. They have great sound, absurd battery life, and a price that undercuts the competition. The one knock was always ANC, which didn’t quite match up. With the MOMENTUM 5, Sennheiser is fixing that, adding a ton more, and making a stronger case than ever for the top spot for flagship wireless headphones.

The headphones themselves look pretty much the same as the previous Momentum 4, with a lay-flat-only design and some new, nice metal accents. It would have been nice if the headphones could fold up for portability, but at least they come with a smaller, fairly robust carrying case for when you are taking them on the go. In particular, I really like the new indentation on the backside that serves as a handle for carrying them.

Under the hood, the MOMENTUM 5 doubles the mic count dedicated to ANC and transparency to four per side, which Sennheiser claims provides up to three times more effective reduction of ambient voice chatter compared to the MOMENTUM 4. We’re really excited to put that to the test in our lab. Call quality should improve too, particularly in windier, noisier environments. The doubled mic array should help deliver more natural voice reproduction on calls and improve overall handling.

The headphones house the same 42mm transducer from its predecessor, tuned in the tradition of the brand’s HD 600-series headphones. This generation adds Hi-Res Audio certification and Snapdragon Sound support, including aptX Lossless, which is a big addition. When paired with compatible devices, that means you’ll enjoy CD-quality audio over Bluetooth with little to no compression artifacts. The Smart Control Plus companion app also gets a new 8-band custom equalizer alongside a Sound Personalization feature that adjusts the frequency response to your hearing profile.

Plush ear pads and a padded headband prioritize long-listening comfort.

Claiming a whopping 57 hours of playback with ANC on, the MOMENTUM 5 pretty much sets a new standard for headphone battery life. But if that wasn’t impressive enough, the 700 mAh battery is also user-replaceable, which is a big win for repairability. It’s a feature that’s still frustratingly uncommon in premium wireless headphones, where sealed designs are the norm, and it’s a meaningful durability argument for a $400 purchase. Sennheiser is selling you a headphone built to last, not one you’ll need to replace after a few years of use.

The headphones ship with Bluetooth 5.4 out of the box but are built to support Bluetooth 6.0 via a future firmware update, which will also bring Dolby Atmos with head-tracking. No confirmed date yet for when that will be. The MOMENTUM 5 Wireless launches June 16 in Black, White, and Denim for $399.99 USD / $569.95 CAD.