Sennheiser's flagship true wireless earbuds, the MOMENTUM True Wireless 5, go on sale in Japan on September 3. The estimated street price is around 49,940 yen, and four colors are offered: Graphite, Cream, Denim and Lavender. The batteries in both the earbuds and the charging case can be replaced by the owner, and this is the first pair of Sennheiser true wireless earbuds to support Dolby Atmos 3D audio.

No need to replace the whole product when the battery fades

True wireless earbuds usually reach the end of their life the moment the built-in battery starts to weaken. The housings are small, so the cells are small too, and after a few years the playback time visibly shrinks. The MOMENTUM True Wireless 5 tackles exactly that problem.

The lithium-ion batteries in the earbuds (72mAh each) and in the charging case (760mAh) can be swapped out by the user with ordinary tools. A battery replacement tool is included in the box, and only the replacement cells need to be sourced separately. On a purchase approaching 50,000 yen, being able to change just the battery instead of retiring the whole product is a practical difference.

The box contains the earbuds, the charging case, a USB-C charging cable, ear tips in XS, S, M and L, the battery replacement tool, and the user manual.

A 7mm driver and lossless transmission

Sound comes from a single 7mm dynamic TrueResponse driver in each earbud. The stated frequency range is 5Hz to 21kHz, sensitivity is 107dB SPL (1kHz / 1mW), and total harmonic distortion is under 0.08 percent at 1kHz / 94dB.

Wireless connectivity is Bluetooth 6.0, with SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless codec support. Lossless transmission allows playback at up to 24-bit / 96kHz, and supported profiles are A2DP, AVRCP and HFP. Multipoint is supported as well, so a PC and a smartphone can stay connected at the same time.

Dolby Atmos and personalized tuning

This is the first Sennheiser true wireless model to support Dolby Atmos 3D audio. Head tracking is available too, so the sound field follows the movement of the listener's head. The difference is easiest to hear with films and games, where sound is placed to the sides, front, back and above.

Sound customization is handled by the Smart Control Plus app. A sound personalization feature developed together with the Fraunhofer institute walks the user through guided listening and shapes the tuning to their preference, and an 8-band equalizer is available for manual adjustment.

The model does not carry the Hi-Res Wireless certification from the Japan Audio Society. Sennheiser explains that it prioritized drawing out the character of the TrueResponse driver over meeting the specifications the certification requires. The company notes that its MOMENTUM 5 Wireless headphones and ACCENTUM Clip earcuff model do hold the certification, so it is not dismissing the program itself.

Noise cancelling and calls backed by a bone conduction sensor

Noise cancelling uses a hybrid adaptive ANC system that adjusts automatically to the surrounding noise. The ear tips have been redesigned with a thicker stem, improving passive isolation as well. For wind noise, which is the usual annoyance outdoors, there is a mode that detects wind strength and suppresses it automatically.

Calls rely on four microphones per earbud, eight in total. One of them is a bone conduction type that picks up the vibration of speech rather than the voice itself. Combined with beamforming and AI-based voice separation, the goal is to isolate the speaker's voice on a train platform or in a crowd. Microphone frequency range reaches up to 16kHz in super wideband call mode.

62 grams in total, and how long it plays

Playback time is up to 12 hours from the earbuds alone with ANC off, up to 6 hours with ANC on, and up to 40 hours in total with the charging case. A full charge takes about 1.5 hours, and 8 minutes of charging provides 1 hour of playback. Charging is over USB-C, without Power Delivery support, and Qi 2.1 wireless charging is also available.

Each earbud weighs 7g and the charging case weighs 55g, for a combined 62g. With the earbuds stored inside, the case measures 67.2 by 48.4 by 25.0mm. Dust and water resistance is IP54 for the earbuds only. The product is designed in Germany and made in China.

To mark the launch, purchases made between August 20 and October 20 receive an extra year on the standard one-year warranty, for two years of coverage in total.

Summary

The MOMENTUM True Wireless 5 covers what a flagship model is expected to offer: a 7mm TrueResponse driver, 24-bit / 96kHz playback over aptX Lossless, Dolby Atmos support, and eight microphones for call quality. What stands out in this price range is the design that lets owners replace the batteries in both the earbuds and the case themselves. It goes on sale September 3 at an estimated street price of around 49,940 yen.

Reference: Sennheiser official store, MOMENTUM True Wireless 5 product page