🎶 “Blue Jean Child, L.A. Girl” 🎶 … tiny earbuds in my head. As a author in my second half-century, it’s anticipated, perhaps even legally obligated, that I play some Elton John on each new audio system I check. However I don’t have to love it. Besides in the present day, I prefer it. At this time, I like every part I play. It could possibly be that, as a September child, I’m having fun with the grounded readability that accompanies Virgo Season. Or it could possibly be that I’m having fun with the equally aware tuning of the brand new Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wi-fi 5.
Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wi-fi 5 ($299.95)
See It
“Tiny Dancer” pirouettes round my cranium. Listening to New Order’s “Remorse,” I’ve none. The Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wi-fi 5 (let’s simply name it the MTW5 any more) is acoustically articulate. Vocals are incisive. However the design selections converse equal volumes.
The construct
Gone are the considerably squared enclosures and silicone wing suggestions of the MOMENTUM True Wi-fi 4, which had been actually a should for that mannequin’s stability. Of their place, the redesigned MTW5 is a pair of 7g polished pebbles accessible in 5 metallic colorways: Denim (aka blue jean, child, pictured), Cream, Copper, Graphite, Lavender. And it’s formed to nestle extra naturally into the ear. I had no downside sporting them for hours, whether or not stress-free or working on treadmills and throughout concourses (these with smaller ears might have a special expertise). An IP54 ranking additionally gave me confidence that any sweat—and there was sweat—wouldn’t trigger points. Plus, this slimmer silhouette means a extra pocket-friendly case, which I actually respect.
Inside, six mics and two bone-conduction accelerometers complete (3+1 in every bud) deal with adaptive ANC (good!), Transparency Mode (tremendous), and calls (¯_(ツ)_/¯ … purposeful, however I don’t like calling individuals with any earbuds). Contact controls weren’t too fiddly, and could be turned off when you’re extra app-oriented. What actually stands out is the user-replaceable batteries in each the earbuds and the case. Battery life is rated at 12 hours ANC off/6 hours ANC on (40 complete with case), however will degrade over time, as do all rechargeable electronics. With a tiny Phillips screwdriver and a wedge instrument, nevertheless, you possibly can open the buds and/or case and swap in a substitute battery (bought individually). Upgradeitis is actual, however you shouldn’t be pressured to exchange/eliminate one thing completely. Longevity ought to be the brand new regular, so I applaud Sennheiser for the forward-thinking, eco-conscious method.
The sound
Put within the MTW5 and on first hear you’ll discover the inventory tuning leans on the marginally boomier aspect of balanced. When launched, the full-sized $399.95 MOMENTUM 5 Wi-fi headphones had been surprisingly punchy, extra mainstream with out completely sacrificing the midrange focus that anchors the model’s audiophile legacy. I went in anticipating a equally crowd-pleasing heat from the MTW5, and it’s there within the low-mids however with out congestion. The 7mm TrueResponse driver within the MTW5, produced in the identical Irish manufacturing unit as summit-tier private audio techniques, does a very good job guaranteeing intelligibility alongside influence. The presence band works as properly for podcasts, audiobooks, and films because it does for music.
Flip to the multi-tile SmartControl+ app, nevertheless, and you may entry EQ presets, Sound Personalization, and, most significantly, an 8-band graphic EQ to coax a curve that basically brings out the driving force’s potential. Sliders don’t supply the surgical precision of a parametric EQ, as you get with the $499.95 HDB 630 headphones, however you possibly can nonetheless dial in or again off areas you discover unfastened or edgy. Push some sub-bass, scoop some higher bass/decrease mids, nudge some high-mids/treble, and also you’ve received a fleshy-meets-refined response nearer in spirit to the IE 900 flagship in-ear screens. Now you possibly can hear the winding as a lot as you do the wobble in Peter Hook’s bass strings. There’s corrugated texture the place earlier than there was solely spherical resonance. The respiratory sidechain compression that defines “Fineshrine” by Purity Ring opens on a taper you possibly can hint, not only a throb you possibly can really feel. With the suitable tweaks, it’s a clear, clear tuning with a lifelike presentation that places it in dialog with audiophile choices such because the Standing GoldenSound Professional X relatively than purely consumer-minded ones. Between little screws and tonal tweaks, it is a tinkerer’s true wi-fi.
Two elements heighten the extent of element you possibly can extract from these earbuds: connection and energetic noise cancellation. The MTW5 options multipoint Bluetooth 6.0 with SBC, AAC, plus a Snapdragon Sound Sequence 5 Gen 3 chip for 24-bit/96 kHz aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless with appropriate {hardware} (similar to Sennheiser’s personal BTD 700 adaptor). And when it’s an possibility, it’s a deal with. Depth and definition are noticeably enhanced. It’s not that an ordinary Bluetooth connection is detrimentally boring; it’s simply that one prioritizing sound high quality is audibly extra expressive. Wi-fi comfort doesn’t should sacrifice nuance. The issue is that the connection can stutter in environments with heavy RF interference. And that’s virtually any public place in our trendy smartphone world. Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless good to have the ability to choose between a sturdy iPhone connection when commuting and one thing extra resolution-focused when sequestered.
There’s additionally an Immersive Mode with head-tracking for decoding Dolby Atmos content material, which may broaden the staging of a well-engineered observe however may make you’re feeling emotionally disconnected if you get a nasty upmix. As with all equally outfitted earbuds, the MTW5’s implementation, whereas stable, doesn’t impress me as a lot because the enriched immediacy the stereo picture conveys. In order for you a really useful A/B, examine one thing like the brand new Mastodon album, for example. The cavernous reverb and spacey modulations unfurling throughout the Qobuz model are extra evocative to me than the hovering sound objects of the Apple Music one. YMMV.
Additionally serving to reinforce that concentrated cocoon is perceivably improved ANC. The redesigned eartips play their half in passively mitigating a good quantity of environmental noise. On the identical time, new algorithms reap the benefits of that expanded mic array to strengthen discount to the purpose that the churning chaos of a latest unplanned extreme climate delay at Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport was extra bearable. Or a minimum of I used to be given a soundtrack apart from lots of of individuals yelling at customer support representatives. And the flight itself, when it lastly occurred, was only a mild rumble. I wouldn’t say the ANC produces the pitch-black background of the highest ANC trio—Bose QuietComfort Extremely (2nd Gen), Sony WF-1000XM6, and Apple AirPods Professional 3—as low-level hums endured. However extra distracting conversations had been hushed, and the hole is now slender sufficient that the MTW5 could be really useful for each sonics and solace.
The decision
Two years on from the MTW4, Sennheiser has provided extra polish, identical worth. Bodily extra compact and comfy, whereas additionally extra succesful, adaptable, and repairable, the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wi-fi 5 earbuds can have tunes twirling round your head for years to come back. Not simply the audiophile-of-a-certain-age ones (a minimum of it wasn’t “Rocket Man”).
2026 In style Science House of the Future Awards