Sennheiser’s latest Momentum Bluetooth headphones build on the German audio specialist’s renowned sound quality with improved noise cancelling, exceptional comfort and a user-replaceable battery to keep pace with rivals.

The Momentum 5s cost £330 (€400/$400/A$749) and directly replace their three-year-old predecessors, facing strong competition from Bose, Sony and Sonos.

The new Momentums look and feel very similar to the outgoing model, which is no bad thing. They are made from high-quality plastic, cloth and pleather. They are fairly compact for over-ear headphones and are very comfortable, staying put without undue pressure with plush ear cushions. The headband is well padded with a divot at its apex to relieve pressure on the ridge of your skull.

The Momentum headphones retain Sennheiser’s signature metallic ring logo on the arms, adding a premium finish. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

The right ear cup has LEDs, buttons and ports, including a touch panel for playback, volume and noise-cancelling controls operated with tap and swipe gestures, which work well. The USB-C port can be used for charging and wired listening while a headphones socket is available for analogue use, too.

The headphones support Bluetooth 5.4 with multipoint for connecting to two devices simultaneously. They support Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless Bluetooth audio formats for high-quality listening with Android or PC devices, alongside the standard SBC and AAC for everything else.

They also deliver an impressive 57 hours of battery life with noise cancelling enabled – three hours short of their predecessors but far longer than most rivals and enough for weeks of commuting or even round-the-world flights. A full charge via USB-C takes about two hours.

Five LEDs between the power button and the USB-C port light up to display the remaining battery level. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

Specifications

• Weight: 290g

• Drivers: 42mm

• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.4 with multipoint, 2.5/3.5mm, USB-C (charging and audio)

• Bluetooth codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive/Lossless

• Battery life: 57 hours (ANC on)

Quality Sennheiser sound with improved noise cancelling

Plush ear cushions create a comfortable seal for better sound quality. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

Sennheiser is renowned for making some of the best-sounding audiophile headphones available, and the Momentum 5 continues that tradition in a more consumer-friendly package with great sound, including excellent separation of tones and preservation of detail. They are the sort of headphones that have you discovering new elements in well-worn tracks with a pleasing balance of accentuated bass, warm mids and sparkling highs. A good equaliser and various sound modes are available in the Smart Control Plus app to tune the headphones to your liking.

The Momentum 5s also feature a Dolby Atmos mode, which is fairly subtle with stereo music but adds greater drama and immersion to TV and films. I found the head-tracking system struggled to recentre itself sometimes, which was distracting, so I turned it off.

The solid Smart Control Plus app for Android or iOS handles settings, customisations and updates. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

Their noise cancelling is good but doesn’t quite match the best from Sony and Bose. Though it is an improvement on previous Sennheiser models, dampening more of the annoying sounds in an office setting and the rumble of engines on a commute, it still lets in a fair amount of plane or engine drone.

The transparency and adaptive noise-cancelling modes work well, automatically adjusting how much outside sound is let in to keep you aware of your surroundings. Call quality is also very good.

Sustainability

The Momentum 5s fold flat, slotting into a fairly compact zip-up case for travel. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

The battery in the headphones will maintain at least 80% of its original capacity after 25,000 hours of listening and is user replaceable, with instructions in the manual. Spare parts including cushions (£29.90) and cables are available. The headphones do not contain any recycled material. Sennheiser consumer division’s parent company, Sonova, does not publish product environmental impact reports.

Price

The Sennheiser Momentum 5 headphones cost £329.90 (€399.90/$399.95/A$749.95).

For comparison, the Sony WH-1000XM6 cost £349, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 cost £399.95, the Sonos Ace cost £399 and the Nothing Headphone 1 cost £249.

Verdict

For the Momentum 5s, Sennheiser took everything that was great about their 2022 predecessors and revamped them with more modern technology and a replaceable battery.

They sound just as great as the originals, have improved noise cancelling and impressive battery life – you can even change the battery at home if it wears out. They are very comfortable for all-day listening, fairly compact and easy to live with – thanks to extensive connectivity, a good app for Android and iOS, and intuitive controls.

Although the noise cancelling is better than previous models, it trails similarly priced Sony and Bose models. The Momentum 5s also flatten but do not fold up for travel, making them harder to fit into a bag.

In short, they are a really good set of long-lasting, Bluetooth noise-cancelling headphones that fall just shy of greatness.

Pros: fantastic sound, decent noise-cancelling, 57-hour battery life, a user-replaceable battery, top-class comfort, Bluetooth 5.4 with aptX Adaptive/Lossless and multipoint, USB-C charging and audio, 2.5/3.5mm analogue cable, great controls, great voice quality, good cross-platform app.

Cons: noise cancelling not best in class, do not fold up as compact as the best, no water resistance, Dolby Atmos head-tracking hit and miss, not much of an upgrade on Momentum 4.

Little metallic accents elevate an otherwise understated design. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian