Odi Productions
In this article, I’m going to share my HONEST Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 review for those who are wondering whether they are WORTH IT. I’ll also be comparing the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 vs AirPods Pro 3, Sony WF-1000XM6, Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2.
I’m going to do my best to share whether these earbuds are worth it, and ideally who these earbuds are for.
I’ll be sharing my critical opinion with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, audio engineer, and tech journalist. I also run the RecordingNow YouTube channel with over 25,000+ subscribers and over 5 million views.
Let’s dive right in!
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Sennheiser for providing this early review unit for free. No payment was exchanged or brand input added. Our opinions are our own, as always. Please note that this early review unit may have different hardware and firmware from the official production release.
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 Review in Short
The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 sets a new standard for flagship sound quality with its wonderfully-balanced and neutral tuning, while significantly improving in noise cancelling and comfort over the previous Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4. Competes with AirPods Pro 3, Sony WF-1000XM6, Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen, Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro, Technics EAH-AZ100, Status Pro X, and Bowers & Wilkins Pi8.
Watch this Full Review on YouTube!
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Pros and Cons
- Best-in-class sound quality
- Elite comfort and fit
- Very good noise cancelling performance
- There’s better noise cancelling
- There’s better mic quality
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Disclosure: These affiliate links may provide a discount and in return, give us a commission in order to keep this website 100% independent to ensure honest unfiltered reviews 🙂
Comfort + Features
Comfort
The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 has a much-improved ergonomic design over the previous Momentum 4 earbuds.
The “MTW5” shares a “bulb” design like the Sony WF-1000XM6 earbuds, which is different from the “stem” design of AirPods Pro 3 and Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.
I find these to be very comfortable and quite easy to get a physical seal, without needing to go as deeply into the ear canal like the AirPods Pro 3.
I tested them working out for a week and was surprised that they mostly held in place during movements while retaining that seal.
My only critique is that these could slightly be more secure-fitting with the addition of “fins” like the Bose QC Ultra Earbuds 2 or Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro.
Features
The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 was originally released in September 2026, so it has many modern wireless earbud features:
- IP54 dust and water resistance rating (dust-resistant / sweat and light splashes of water)
- Built-in microphones for taking calls
- Bluetooth 6.0
- aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive support
- Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio
- Multi-point connection
- Adaptive Noise Cancelling
- Transparency Mode
- Native apps for both iOS and Android
- Qi Wireless Charging case
Microphone Quality
The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 upgrades to an 8-microphone array with more advanced AI compared to the 6-mic setup of the previous Momentum 4 earbuds.
The previous-gen MTW4 was not very impressive for call quality, but I’m happy to report that the new mic quality on the MTW5 is noticeably improved.
That said, the class leaders for mic quality are still the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro, AirPods Pro 3, and Sony WF-1000XM6, to name a few.
Battery Life
- With ANC on: 6 hours of battery life on a single charge
- With ANC off: 12 hours on a single charge / 40 hours total with charging case
- Fast Charge: 5 minutes = 4 hours of playback
This battery life is currently slightly above average of those we’ve tested to date, which tends to be around 6 hours with noise cancelling turned on, and 24-30 hours with the charging case.
Comfort + Features Score: 9.5 out of 10
Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) Performance
Noise cancelling was one of the weakest aspects of the previous Momentum True Wireless 4 earbuds.
Luckily, this is one of the biggest areas of improvement moving up to the Momentum True Wireless 5.
The improvements actually begin with the MTW5’s superior physical seal that stays more consistently in-ear, compared to the less ergonomic design of the 4 which struggled to maintain its seal.
This physical seal leads to higher passive noise isolation before ANC is even turned on.
Turning on ANC has an immediately noticeable decrease in ambient noise, especially in noisy environments like a busy gym.
I’m happy to report that the MTW5’s noise cancelling is clearly above average for the class, and a noticeable tier above most budget earbuds.
The Transparency Mode is also much more usable compared to before, although I still prefer the slightly more detailed and natural-sounding transparency mode of the AirPods Pro 3.
Overall, I do think they are just below the “elite” ANC tier of earbuds like Sony WF-1000XM6, AirPods Pro 3, Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2, and Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro, but a significant improvement upon the previous-gen.
Noise Cancelling Score: 8.5 out of 10
Sound Quality
Starting off with the technicals, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 features aptX Lossless codec support, a feature aimed at audiophiles to get the most sound quality wirelessly from these earbuds.
Neither iPhone nor most Android smartphones support aptX Lossless out of the box, so you’ll need a USB-C dongle like the one featured below.
To conduct this test, I used my Questyle QCC Dongle Pro 2 to unlock aptX and LDAC support:
![Questyle QCC Dongle Pro2 [MFi Certified] USB-C Bluetooth Audio Adapter with LDAC, LHDC, aptX Lossless & aptX-Adaptive, Auracast](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/21jT-Cm5ZVL._SL500_.jpg)
If you’re an iPhone user, or if your phone doesn’t support aptX codecs, then I highly recommend you pick up the dongle above which will cover both LDAC and aptX Lossless/Adaptive high-res codecs. It’s the only one of its kind that supports both, to my knowledge.
Alright, so the previous MTW4 had above-average sound quality, which is to be expected from a Sennheiser product.
Listening to the newer MTW5 for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised at a noticeable improvement in overall sound quality.
The MTW5’s stock sound profile is one of the most neutral, refined, and balanced tunings that I’ve heard on any of these wireless earbuds.
This is so refreshing and somewhat of a “palate cleanser”, as most earbuds are tuned quite V-shaped and overly consumer-friendly, in my opinion.
The MTW5 sounds quite “reference-like”, which is a term I reserve for studio-grade equipment and the higher-end audiophile headphones we’ve tested.
Without exaggeration, I think the MTW5 in aptX Lossless mode is on par with some wired IEMs, albeit more mid-fi ones as opposed to hi-fi.
Aside from the pleasantly balanced tonality, the open soundstage jumped out to me immediately.
I’ve just finished up testing many sub-$100 wireless earbuds that genuinely surprised me, but the MTW5 reminded me that there is truly levels to this.
In contrast, those budget earbuds just sound so flat without any real sense of spacing, imaging, or depth.
In terms of the MTW5’s sound quality peers, I put it up there with the Sony WF-1000XM6, Technics AZ100, Status Pro X, Denon PerL Pro, and Noble FoKus Rex5.
It’s in a level above earbuds like the AirPods Pro 3 and Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.
The ONE caveat that I will say is that if you love bass, I do think these are a bit leaner in the bass department stock, but can be tweaked via its 8-band EQ.
Sound Quality Score: 8.7 out of 10
Value
The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 retails for $299.95 USD.
As an overall package, I find that the MTW5 competes strongly with its direct peers like the AirPods Pro 3, Sony WF-1000XM6, Bose QC Ultra Earbuds 2, and Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.
The one advantage it has over all of the above is superior sound quality, and slightly better comfort/fit than the AirPods and Sony.
There is slightly superior noise cancelling and mic quality elsewhere, but I find the MTW5 to be more than serviceable and actually above-average in its own right.
I will say, having tested many competitive sub-$100 earbuds that have truly impressed me, that $300 is starting to look a bit steep these days.
I do think the MTW5 is worth its price today, but it would be really nice to see these get discounted down to around $249 and perhaps $199 in the future.
Value Score: 7.5 out of 10
Overall Scoring Breakdown
Comfort + Features (15% of score): 9.5 / 10
Noise Cancelling (25% of score): 8.5 / 10
Sound Quality (50% of score): 8.7 / 10
Value (10% of score): 7.5 / 10
Total: 8.65 out of 10
Is the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 Worth it?
Sennheiser has delivered with the massive improvements of the Momentum True Wireless 5 over the previous MTW4, which was simply not that competitive as an overall package aside from sound quality.
Out of the popular brands, the MTW5 sets a new standard in sound quality that is superior to the AirPods, Sony, Samsung, and Bose flagships, especially if you are an audiophile.
But what actually surprised me more than the sound quality is the very usable comfort/fit and noise cancelling performance, two areas that were sorely lacking in the previous MTW4.
This is easily a strong contender for best “all-in-one” package, especially if sound quality is your top priority.
Some very strong alternatives in this class of wireless earbuds are:
- AirPods Pro 3
- Sony WF-1000XM6
- Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen
- Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro
- Status Pro X
- Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4
- Technics EAH-AZ100
- Bowers & Wilkins Pi8
- SoundPEATS H3
- Denon PerL Pro
- Google Pixel Buds Pro 2
- Beats Powerbeats Pro 2
- Nothing Ear 3
- Sony WF-1000XM5
Order HERE for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):
Disclosure: These affiliate links may provide a discount and in return, give us a commission in order to keep this website 100% independent to ensure honest unfiltered reviews 🙂
How We Tested and Our Methodology
RecordingNOW.com is a 100% independent publisher with over 10 years of experience testing and reviewing consumer electronics and headphones.
We currently purchase the products we test with our own money, and are not paid by any company or manufacturer to influence our opinions or decisions.
After purchasing the product, we conduct up to hundreds of hours of detailed hands-on testing in a controlled, acoustically-treated environment.
ODi Productions is our resident expert and author of this article, with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, tech journalist, and audiophile.
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