I’m a fan of Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 5 for more than their repairability

Introduction

Upcoming regulation changes will soon force wireless earbud makers to improve their repairability game. With the Momentum True Wireless 5, Sennheiser has jumped before it was pushed – and stuck the landing like an Olympic gymnast, if my last few weeks of listening are any indication.

As well as rocking a fresh new design and support for lossless playback, these buds will happily give up their batteries to anyone wielding a screwdriver. They also build on the outgoing Momentum 4 True Wireless with head-tracking spatial sound.

At $300/£250/€300 they even undercut rivals including Sony’s WF-1000XM6 and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), which aren’t nearly as easy to repair. But has the more environmentally friendly approach led to regression elsewhere? Here’s my report…

Design & build

Earlier Sennheiser Momentum in-ears were a bit boxy, a little utilitarian. You can’t say the same of this new model, which looks luxurious in all five metallic colour options. I think the Copper I was sent for testing is the best of the bunch, closely followed by Denim; Lavender, Graphite and Cream are a little more mainstream.

The rounded outer shape, subtle Sennheiser logo and outer microphone grille add some visual appeal, though the materials are all plastic whichever you go for.

According to Sennheiser, 73% of testers reported that the more sculpted shape used here was more comfortable than the last-gen pair. I can see why. They twist into place and stay locked tight, without putting unwanted pressure on any one part of your outer ear. At 7g each they’re nice and light too.

I had to mix and match the included silicone ear tips as the pre-fitted Medium one was a little loose; once I’d swapped to a smaller one I had zero issues with fit or security. They never fell out, even while running on a treadmill. Passive noise isolation is excellent as well.

The charging case is now a narrow, more pocket-friendly affair with a fantastic low-friction finish. It doesn’t pick up fingerprint muck and flips open and closed with a satisfying snap. Sony’s XM6 case is slightly smaller still, but the Momentum was still suitably palm-sized.

Features & battery: screwdrivers at the ready

Flip the Momentum 5’s case over and you’ll quickly spot the exposed screw, hinting at its new repairable status. I’ve seen other charging cases with user-replaceable batteries, but it’s almost unheard of to be just as easy to swap cells on the buds themselves, at least from a major brand. Two equally tiny crosshead screws lurk near the charging pins, recessed enough so comfort isn’t impacted at all.

I’m all for this, as older wireless earbuds would effectively become e-waste once their batteries expired. That’s no concern here, for as long as Sennheiser will make spare parts available.

Based on my testing, battery life is generally good rather than great: I got between five and six hours per charge from the buds themselves when ANC was enabled, and around three or so full charges from the case. The class leaders are nearer eight hours. Quick charging meant I didn’t have to wait around when I ran low, at least – ten minutes in the case would usually add an extra hour of playback. Qi wireless charging is very handy too. Having the USB-C port on the bottom edge means laying the case on its side when plugged in, but the hard-wearing material hasn’t picked up any scuffs or scrapes in multiple weeks of use.

Elsewhere the buds have well-judged tap controls that are sensitive enough to register intended taps but not pause or skip tracks accidentally when adjusting the fit.

Connectivity is expansive, with Bluetooth 6.0 and support for both Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair. Multipoint makes bouncing between two devices a breeze, and you have a choice of high quality codecs topping out at aptX Lossless for 24bit/96kHz listening through compatible hardware. About the only thing missing is the audio transmission feature that makes the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 so handy for frequent flyers.

Interface

Sennheiser hasn’t evolved its Smart Control Plus companion app all that much since I last used it with the Momentum 5 over-ears. It’s as easy to get around as ever, with most of the major functions appearing as cards on the main screen, just below battery life and the current Bluetooth connection.

You’re still only able to adjust the ANC transparency level and toggle an anti-wind mode, rather than adjust the cancellation strength, but I liked the options to auto-pause music when transparency mode is enabled and have it turn on automatically when answering incoming phone calls. Smart pause and auto-power off are found in a separate settings screen; both worked just fine so I never felt the need to disable them.

There’s no shortage of sound adjustment here, with eight EQ presets, a bass boost toggle, an eight-band EQ for manual adjustment and two kinds of guided setup. I wasn’t sold on Sound Personalization, which splits up a demo track between drums, bass and strings, then makes you pick a preferred balance. It felt like I was merely tweaking the volume of each, rather than adding extra oomph to the frequencies I wanted.

The Sound Check mode, which lets you use your favourite tunes and offers several rounds of blind adjustments to narrow down your ideal listen, was much more intuitive.

Other goodies include a find headphones tool, fully customisable controls, and Dolby Atmos immersive audio, though you can only enable that one if you drop from the highest quality Bluetooth codecs first.

Sound quality and noise cancelling

With four microphones in each earbud, including a bone conduction sensor, the Momentum True Wireless 5 has definitely stepped up its noise cancellation game from the outgoing model. On a recent flight I was impressed by how well it cancelled the low frequency drone of the engines, while a busy trade show media centre was muted rather convincingly. Sudden loud noises don’t cut through as clearly as they did before either.

I do think speech and higher frequency sounds can still slip though the algorithms in ways the very best in class manage to tackle, but you’ll only notice when listening to podcasts or at very low volume levels. At 60% volume on my Google Pixel 11 Pro XL, KMFDM’s Hau Ruck fully isolated me from the clattering keyboards and nattering journalists. The gap to Bose and Sony is smaller now than it has ever been.

Sennheiser’s earlier Momentums were all good listens and that remains true here. The 7mm dynamic drivers have been tuned in line with the excellent Momentum 5 Wireless over-ears, aiming for a balance of precision and dynamics. The default EQ preset might be labelled ‘Neutral’ but I thought they still leaned more to a warmer sound that’ll please the majority.

Bass is ample without being overwhelming, helping electronic tunes carry real weight. Gorgon City’s The Truth balances thick sub bass with prominent mid-bass, but the Momentums were never tripped up. Mids generally have all the presence I wanted, across a range of genres. The soundstage may not be the widest, but tunes didn’t feel overly enclosed or narrow either.

The higher frequency snares and hi-hats on Dimensions’s Dark Lights avoided sounding sharp or sibilant, though personally I wanted a little more bite here than was on offer from the default tuning. Happily the Sound Check mode quickly sorted that, with a boost to the 6K and 15K frequencies.

Anyone searching for outright clarity or a more analytical listen will be better served by Bowers & Wilkins, but most will be very happy with how these earbuds sound.

Should you buy the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 in 2026?

If you buy your gadgets to last for the long haul, these true wireless buds should have real appeal. I would happily give up some ANC ability for the knowledge I won’t have to bin them later down the line due to battery failure. A charging case that’s slightly larger than the competition and a few visible screws are entirely minor sacrifices.

Other brands will have to follow suit eventually, but seeing a big name like Sennheiser do it now rather than later is very welcome.

In all other respects the Momentum True Wireless 5 is an excellent all-rounder, with enjoyable audio, very respectable battery life and effective noise cancelling. It doesn’t quite command a class lead in any of those areas, but gets close on every front. Unless you demand the very best ANC or extra sonic refinement, it should be near the top of your list.

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 technical specifications