At $399.99, Sennheiser's new Momentum 5 over-ear headphones land in the crowded $300–$400 tier, going up against the pricier Sony WH-1000XM6 and Apple AirPods Max 2. TechCrunch, which spent weeks with them, calls the sound balanced — natural vocals and strong but controlled bass — with Dolby Atmos support.
Sennheiser doubled the microphone count to eight this generation to sharpen active noise cancellation, claiming up to three times better blocking of voices and nearby chatter than the previous model; the reviewer found it effective without the pressurised feeling some ANC headphones produce. The headline number is battery life: a rated 57 hours, which held up in testing and is roughly double the Sony WH-1000XM6 and nearly three times the AirPods Max 2, with a 10-minute charge good for about seven hours. Unusual in this class, the battery cell is user-replaceable. The trade-offs are minor: the Momentum 5 feel less premium and are heavier than Sony's and Apple's flagships, but they cost less.
