Sennheiser's Momentum 5 headphones offer big battery life at $399.99

At $399.99, Sennheiser’s Momentum 5 headphones land in the middle of a crowded field of $300-$400 headphones, but undercut the pricier Sony WH-1000XM6 and Apple AirPods Max 2 while matching much of what those two competitors offer. The sound is balanced: vocals come through naturally, bass is strong without overwhelming the mix, and listeners can pick out details — a background harmony, a single guitar string — that cheaper headphones tend to smear together. The Momentum 5 also support Dolby Atmos, giving music and movies a sense of sound coming from all directions rather than just left and right.

Sennheiser doubled the microphone count on this generation to eight, aimed at improving active noise cancellation. Voices and nearby chatter — the type of noise that typically slips through weaker ANC — come through noticeably quieter, and Sennheiser claims the new pair is up to three times more effective than its predecessor at blocking that category of sound. It isn’t enough to silence something like a plane engine entirely, but it blocks noise effectively without the ear-pressure sensation that can come with more aggressive ANC systems.

Battery life is the headline feature: the Momentum 5 are rated for up to 57 hours, a figure that held up in testing — roughly twice the battery life of the Sony WH-1000XM6 and nearly three times that of the AirPods Max 2. A 10-minute charge adds up to seven hours of playback, and a full charge takes about two hours. The headphones also use a user-replaceable battery cell, letting owners swap in a new one once the old cell degrades instead of replacing the whole headset — a feature neither Sony’s nor Apple’s competing models offer.

The companion Smart Control Plus app adds an 8-band EQ, adjustable ANC intensity, an anti-wind mode, and a “Sound Personalization” feature that runs a listening test and builds a custom sound profile tailored to the listener’s hearing. The headphones don’t feel as refined to wear as some Apple or Sony models, and they’re heavier than the Sony WH-1000XM6, but the carrying case is unusually thin, fitting into bags where bulkier headphone cases don’t. At $399.99, the tradeoffs are modest enough that the Momentum 5 undercut both pricier rivals while still delivering strong sound, class-leading battery life, and a battery that can be replaced rather than discarded.

Why it matters

A user-replaceable battery cell — a feature neither the Sony WH-1000XM6 nor the AirPods Max 2 offers — gives Sennheiser a durability argument its pricier rivals can’t match, on top of a lower price.