Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless rivals Sony’s 1000XM6 for less money

Sennheiser has taken direct aim at Sony’s WH-1000XM6 with the Momentum 5 Wireless, its refresh of its popular series that adds a user-replaceable battery, doubled microphone arrays, and Dolby Atmos head-tracking.

The hardware builds on the same 42mm transducer from the Momentum 4 Wireless, manufactured at Sennheiser’s facility in Tullamore, Ireland, and tuned to the same signature profile that earned the previous generation strong reviews across the audio press, with Hi-Res Audio certification and aptX Lossless support via Snapdragon Sound now extending that pedigree to lossless wireless playback.

The ANC system has been substantially reworked, with the microphone count doubling to four per side, a configuration Sennheiser that credits with delivering up to three times more effective reduction of voice-type ambient noise compared to the previous model, alongside improved transparency mode quality during calls.

Battery life holds at 57 hours with ANC (that’s with AAC streaming), a figure that remains competitive compared to the 30 hours the Sony WH-1000XM6 boasts. The addition of a user-replaceable 700mAh cell means the headphones take a more eco-friendly approach to replacing internal hardware with the EU laws regarding batteries set to come into effect in 2027.

Dolby Atmos with head-tracking arrives via a day-one firmware update rather than out of the box, with Bluetooth 6.0 support to follow down the line through a future firmware release.

The MOMENTUM 5 Wireless will be available in a choice of black, denim, and white colourways from 30 June, with a suggested retail price of £329 / $399 / €399.