Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 Review: The Battery Trick Works

The king is useless, lengthy dwell the king! With the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5, unveiled in August, the producer has claimed the throne as the most effective ANC in-ear headphones. This new model of the Momentum True Wireless 4 (our review) not solely affords vital enhancements in consolation and sound high quality but additionally introduces a primary: the batteries might be swapped out in each the earbuds and the charging case. Added to this are a redesigned, wingless housing, Bluetooth 6.0 with aptX Lossless, noticeably improved lively noise canceling, and Dolby Atmos with head monitoring.

Technical Specifications of the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5

Design, Comfort, and Fit

Visually, Sennheiser has actually streamlined the MTW5: The eye-catching stabilizing fin from the earlier mannequin is gone; as a substitute, the producer has opted for a wingless, bean-shaped housing. The charging case has additionally been fully redesigned. It now stands upright, is considerably slimmer, and is subsequently barely noticeable in a pants pocket. Instead of the material cowl used within the earlier era, the brand new mannequin options textured plastic, which felt pleasantly grippy in our take a look at, although not fairly as high-quality as the material cowl on the MTW4.

The new type issue has had blended results on weight: The earbuds have grow to be barely heavier at about 7 grams every (the MTW4 weighed about 6.2 grams), whereas the case is noticeably lighter and extra compact at 55 grams as a substitute of 66 grams. In our on a regular basis use take a look at, the earbuds sat comfortably in our ears for a number of hours with out inflicting any annoying strain. Despite the absence of the flange discovered within the fourth version, I discover them considerably extra comfy to put on. Although, after all, that’s a matter of private desire.

Important for sensible use: The match of the MTW5 clearly advantages from truly utilizing the app’s built-in match take a look at characteristic. It took us a number of makes an attempt earlier than the match was validated as optimum. Sennheiser itself factors out that in its personal consumer checks, 73 p.c of contributors discovered the brand new design extra comfy than the outdated mannequin with the fin. We would positively agree with that. To compensate, the MTW5 comes with 4 sizes of silicone ear suggestions (XS, S, M, L), and because of the spherical nozzle form, you may as well use third-party suggestions.

Replaceable Batteries: The Key Feature in Detail

In our view, essentially the most vital replace in comparison with the predecessor isn’t discovered within the controls or the sound, however within the design: The producer has constructed the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 in order that the batteries might be changed each within the charging case and within the earbuds themselves. For the case, the method is delightfully easy: Loosen a single Phillips-head screw (PH000) on the underside, slide the bottom to the aspect, pull out the battery cell—executed. That’s all it takes. With the earbuds themselves, a bit extra finesse is required: Two tiny screws on either side have to be loosened earlier than the housing might be rigorously prised open with the included software.

For us, it is a characteristic that goes past the mere testing interval: The most predictable reason behind failure for true wi-fi earbuds—the deteriorating, built-in battery after a number of years of use—is thus actually addressed for the primary time, reasonably than merely being glossed over with advertising and marketing guarantees of sustainability. However, there may be one downside on the time of this evaluate: The worth for the substitute batteries had not but been decided as of press time, and the elements weren’t but listed within the German Sennheiser retailer on the time of this evaluate.

How properly this promise truly holds up in observe subsequently additionally is dependent upon how accessible and reasonably priced Sennheiser finally makes the substitute elements. Still, the same development was already evident with its over-ear sibling, the Momentum 5 Wireless (our evaluate), which additionally marked a noticeable step ahead.

Features: Bluetooth 6.0, Codecs, and Connectivity

When it involves wi-fi connectivity, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 takes a noticeable step ahead: Instead of Bluetooth 5.4 like its predecessor, it now makes use of Bluetooth 6.0 Class 1, which ensured a persistently steady connection in our take a look at, even over higher distances from the paired system. In phrases of codecs, the MTW5 affords a variety of choices: In addition to SBC and AAC, it helps aptX, aptX Adaptive with as much as 24-bit and 96 okHz, in addition to the brand new aptX Lossless and Snapdragon Sound. Important for anybody who values lossless playback: In our expertise, Lossless and Adaptive modes ought to all the time be enabled collectively, as failing to take action can, in uncommon instances, lead to unintended mono playback.

The multipoint characteristic has additionally confirmed helpful in on a regular basis use, permitting us to attach the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 to each a laptop computer and a smartphone concurrently with out having to manually reconnect when switching between them. Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair every accomplished the preliminary setup on our take a look at units in a matter of seconds.

A word for anybody who insists on the newest connectivity requirements: According to Sennheiser, the {hardware} is already ready for LE Audio and Auracast, however these options should not but enabled at launch. The producer attributes this to the still-limited market acceptance of the brand new requirements. Those who often use the headphones in environments with heavy radio interference—akin to conferences or open-plan workplaces—may also profit from the switchable Robust Mode, which additional ensures connection stability in such conditions.

Battery Life and Charging within the Test

In phrases of battery life, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 performs solidly for its worth vary, although it falls barely in need of its predecessor when lively ANC is enabled: Instead of the MTW4’s roughly 7.5 hours, we achieved simply over 6 hours per cost with the MTW5 with noise canceling repeatedly enabled—near the producer’s specification. Without ANC, our take a look at outcomes clearly approached the promised 12 hours. With blended on a regular basis use and ranging ANC settings, we achieved a complete of about 8.5 hours of playback time earlier than we had to make use of the charging case. Together with the charging case, this provides as much as a complete of as much as 40 hours, although in observe we needed to recharge the case itself each few days on common.

The fast-charging characteristic is useful for on a regular basis use: In our take a look at, simply 8 minutes within the charging case offered about an hour of music playback. This is good should you’re working low on battery within the morning earlier than leaving the home. A full cost from empty to full took us about 90 minutes. In addition to the usual USB-C port, the case additionally helps Qi Wireless Charging 2.1, so the MTW5 might be conveniently positioned on a appropriate charging mat.

App Integration: Sennheiser Smart Control Plus

We managed and customised the MTW5 utilizing the Sennheiser Smart Control Plus app, which is on the market for iOS and Android. We discovered the Fit Test characteristic—which checks the earbuds’ match and recommends a special ear tip measurement if wanted—and the search perform for misplaced earbuds notably helpful in on a regular basis use.

One characteristic we haven’t seen on this type earlier than (except for Sennheiser) is Sound Zones: Based in your GPS location (with about 100-meter accuracy), EQ and ANC settings might be mechanically linked to particular areas. For us, for instance, this implies a quieter, ANC-heavy setting for the workplace and a extra transparency-focused one for the house workplace.

In phrases of sound, the MTW5 might be fine-tuned through an 8-band equalizer with a number of editable style presets, which proved to be a surprisingly efficient software in our take a look at for adjusting the manufacturing facility settings to your individual style (extra on this within the sound part). The app is rounded out by controls for Dolby Atmos and head monitoring, in addition to automated firmware updates, which ran reliably and with out problems within the background throughout our testing interval.

Sound Quality, ANC, and Microphones

In phrases of sound, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 builds on the strengths of its predecessor whereas noticeably gaining in depth and depth. With the manufacturing facility tuning, we hear a wealthy, managed bass that sounds natural—reasonably than boomy—even at very low frequencies. This is complemented by heat, full of life mids with good speech intelligibility and current however not straining highs. When listening to pop, rock, hip-hop, and digital music, the tuning persistently impressed us throughout testing. Basslines and string devices have sufficient physique with out overshadowing different frequency ranges.

Upon nearer listening and in direct comparability with extra impartial reference earbuds, we seen that the sound signature might be barely ahead within the 200 Hz vary, which often makes bass-heavy recordings sound much less ethereal. But that’s a element most listeners are unlikely to note. Even within the higher frequency vary—roughly between 7 and 15 okHz—the sound can often come throughout as a bit sharp or sibilant with very vibrant recordings or on cymbals and percussion.

Overall, although, it must be mentioned: The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 is without doubt one of the in-ear headphones with the most effective sound. It’s considerably higher than the competitors from Apple, Google, and even Sony. The sound comes throughout as far more refined and fewer intrusive than many different ANC earbuds with their out-of-the-box sound settings. In our expertise, should you use the app’s built-in EQ perform to particularly roll again the frequency ranges talked about above, you’ll obtain a noticeably cleaner, extra balanced sound.

The MTW5’s characteristic set additionally consists of Dolby Atmos with head monitoring. We have been pleasantly shocked by how properly it labored with motion pictures and movies: voices, results, and particular person sound sources might be clearly distinguished from each other, whereas bass drums stay pleasantly outlined reasonably than muddled. However, we nonetheless didn’t get the real sense that the sound was truly happening outdoors our heads—as with most head-tracking implementations on this worth vary, the impact stays a complement, not a substitute for true encompass sound methods. When listening to music alone, the added worth was noticeably much less for us than when watching motion pictures.

Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode

In our opinion, the most important enchancment over the earlier mannequin is in noise cancellation. The adaptive hybrid ANC operates throughout a broad frequency vary and, in our take a look at, considerably decreased low-frequency background noise akin to practice or turbine noise. It’s noticeably nearer to what we’re used to from Apple or Sony than its predecessor ever was. In direct comparability, reference fashions just like the AirPods Pro 3 nonetheless had a minimal edge for us, at most, within the very low frequencies, whereas the MTW5 performs exceptionally properly within the low and mid-frequency ranges. This is made attainable, amongst different issues, by automated wind noise discount in addition to newly developed ear suggestions that present a greater passive seal, supported by a micro-perforated microphone cowl that protects in opposition to wind turbulence.

Transparency mode additionally impressed us in on a regular basis use, even when it doesn’t fairly measure as much as the most effective opponents: voices and ambient sounds are blended in pleasantly, naturally, and authentically, although a faint background hiss stays noticeable, particularly in quiet environments. During conversations with Transparency Mode lively, we additionally seen that our personal voice sounds notably clear and under no circumstances muffled.

When strolling briskly with ANC or Transparency Mode lively, we often seen a slight crackling sound throughout heavier footsteps—akin to when strolling downhill—brought on by minimal lack of seal on account of vibration. This isn’t an issue for on a regular basis use within the workplace, on the practice, or throughout a leisurely stroll, however anybody who jogs often or is out and about in mountainous terrain ought to hold this in thoughts.

Microphone Quality and Call Performance within the Test

Our take a look at impressions paint an general constructive image with regards to voice high quality. In quieter environments just like the workplace or at dwelling, the folks we spoke with persistently described the voice as pure and clear, with little to no background music from our take a look at room being transmitted.

This is an effective outcome, attributable to the eight MEMS microphones mixed with the bone conduction microphone and AI-powered voice isolation. In noisier outside environments, akin to a busy avenue, voice isolation in our take a look at was noticeably much less efficient than with the most effective fashions in its worth vary. This is definitely enough for brief, non-public calls on the go, however anybody who repeatedly takes vital work calls from noisy environments shouldn’t count on miracles right here.

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 Review: Conclusion

With the Momentum True Wireless 5, Sennheiser solves an issue that has plagued your entire true wi-fi earbud class for years: the built-in battery that inevitably degrades over time. The incontrovertible fact that the batteries within the earbuds and charging case can now get replaced is, by far, crucial innovation for us.

But the newest mannequin has additionally made such vital technical strides that Sennheiser has actually earned its place on the prime of the in-ear headphone market. Technical advances in Bluetooth, ANC, and sound high quality reveal significant and vital enhancements. In our real-world take a look at spanning a number of weeks, we have been notably impressed by the mix of heat, highly effective sound, considerably improved noise canceling, and the well-designed Smart Control Plus app.

On the opposite hand, these anticipating most match stability for sports activities and train, flawless voice high quality in noisy environments, or LE Audio and Auracast proper at launch can be reminded of the MTW5’s limitations in some areas. However, for anybody primarily on the lookout for a future-proof, superb-sounding on a regular basis companion with a real dedication to sustainability, the Momentum True Wireless 5 stays, in our expertise, one of the vital compelling fashions in its worth vary.

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