Sennheiser just announced the Momentum True Wireless 5, and it’s basically borrowing the best bits of its full-size Momentum 5 Wireless headphones and squeezing them into a smaller, comfier earbud. The earbuds start shipping September 3rd for $299.95.
What’s new on the sound side?
The earbuds use Sennheiser’s 7mm TrueResponse dynamic transducer, manufactured and tested at the company’s facility in Tullamore, Ireland. They run on Bluetooth 6.0 with aptX Adaptive support, delivering hi-res audio up to 24-bit and 96kHz, including aptX Lossless for bit-perfect playback.
Noise cancellation gets updated too. A redesigned ear tip works with a four-microphone array for the adaptive hybrid ANC system, along with an automatic anti-wind mode and a transparency mode Sennheiser says is its most natural yet.
The earbuds also support Dolby Atmos with head tracking for spatial audio. On calls, six microphones and two bone-conduction voice accelerometers work with an AI speech-extraction algorithm to help isolate your voice in noisy settings.
The earbud housing has also been redesigned with a new shape, which Sennheiser says 73% of testers rated as more comfortable than the previous generation. They feature an IP54 rating for dust, sweat, and splash resistance. The charging case is narrower too, designed to fit pockets more easily.
Battery life comes in at 12 hours of continuous playback per charge, with the case holding two additional charges for up to 40 hours total. An 8-minute quick charge adds about an hour of playback.
What about the replaceable battery?
The bigger change is the battery system. Both the earbuds and the wireless charging case use user-replaceable batteries, so instead of replacing the earbuds when the battery degrades, you can swap the cells yourself using a small screwdriver.
I love my AirPods Pro, and the only reason I had to ditch them and buy a new pair was because the battery life degraded over the past three years, making them almost unusable. If I could change the battery, I would have preferred to do that instead of plonking the cash for a new pair.
That’s why the new Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 earbuds are a game changer for the industry. To be fair, they are not the first pair of earbuds to achieve this feat, but they are one of the first mainstream brands to do it, which should make other companies take notice.
The Momentum True Wireless 5 will come in five colors: Graphite, Cream, Copper, Denim, and Lavender. They’ll be available starting September 3rd from sennheiser-hearing.com and select retailers.