Now both the Sennheiser PXC 550 2’s and the Sennheiser Momentum 3’s are overdue for an upgrade… these things were revealed in the fall of 2019. But they are both great sounding headphones and I really like them for very different reasons. But nonetheless, today we’re going to compare Sennheiser’s ANC headphones… to the Sony 1000XM5’s. Maybe you’re thinking about upgrading or maybe you’re looking for a really good deal.
Regarding pricing, the PXC 550 2’s have a retail price of $350… however you can easily find them on sale for $265 these days and I’ve even seen them go on sale for less than $200 dollars on major shopping holidays. Then there are the momentum 3’s which have a retail price of $400… but you can find them on sale for $250 which is insane. And finally there are the 1000XM5’s which have a retail price of $400. Now like I mentioned earlier, both of Sennheiser’s headphones are pretty old and I feel that both of their upgrades are right around the corner. Nonetheless if you want to pick any of these headphones up they’ll be linked down below.
Now first lets talk about the carrying cases here, and this is pretty funny cause we’ve got very different cases here. Since the PXC 550 2’s have a fully collapsable design… they have the smallest case here. Which is great for traveling. However, the PXC 550 2’s case isn’t completely hard shell… you can still squeeze this case. So if you plan on traveling with the PXC 550 2’s then you’re going to have to be mindful of them. But then, there are the XM5’s. Since these headphones have a lay flat design, their case has a larger foot print than the PXC 550 2’s case and their predecessors case as well. So traveling with this case can be a hassle. But the XM5’s case doesn’t compress as much as the PXC 550 2’s case and its much sturdier. But finally there are the momentum 3’s. Since these headphones can only be folded… they’ve got a very big case as well. And to be frank, this case isn’t really going to do much to protect your headphones from being crushed if you throw them into a cramped backpack. And in general, the Momentum 3’s aren’t a great pair of headphones to travel with. Nonetheless, both of Sennheiser’s cases feel very premium and ultimately, I still prefer to travel with the PXC 550 2’s over the XM5’s… I just wish that the successors to the PXC 550 2’s will come included with a hard shell.
but with the cases out of the way lets focus on the headphones themselves. Now the momentum 3’s are using the most premium materials here. We’ve got new plastic on the ear cups, we’ve stainless steel arms on the headband, and we’ve got sheep skin leather on both the headband and ear pads. Overall, the Momentum 3’s feel very premium and they feel very sturdy while in your hands. But then, there are the PXC 550 2’s which have a mostly plastic body and they are using leatherette on both their headband and ear pads. Now, its not that they PXC 550 2’s don’t feel premium… its just different… and when we discuss fit, you’ll see the advantages that the martial choices on the PXC 550 2’s have when it comes to comfort. But then there are the XM5’s… which also have a mostly plastic body and they are also using leatherette on their ear pads and headband. However, the XM5’s are using recycled plastic where as the PXC 550 2’s are using new plastic. And simply put, recycled plastic just doesn’t feel as premium as new plastic. Plus, the PXC 550 2’s do have some soft touch surfaces which helps these headphones feel more premium. However, where the XM5’s do come out on top over the PXC 550 2’s is its new leatherette. The new leatherette on the XM5’s feels sort of like silicon, but with less friction to it. I think it feels nice, and it definitely feels better than the leatherette found on the PXC 550 2’s which does feel rather plastic-y. But then, there’s the sheep skin leather on the Momentum 3’s which simply feels amazing. Its soft, supple, and there’s a very nice grain to it. So overall, one of the selling points of the Momentum 3’s is its more premium feeling build quality.
However, the use of the more premium materials on the Momentum 3’s does mean that they are a little heavier than your average pair of ANC headphones cause the momentum 3’s weigh in at 308. Not bad, but for comparison sake, the Bose NC 700’s weigh in at 274 grams. Overall, with the momentum 3’s they aren’t too noticeable when they’re on your head… but you never really forget that you have them on. But then there are the XM5’s and these headphones weigh in at 250 grams… 4 grams less than their predecessors. And I would categorize these are light weight ANC headphones. But finally, there are the PXC 550 2’s and these headphones weigh in at 230 grams… and I would categorize these as ultra light weight. And with the PXC 550 2’s… you bearly notice them while they’re on your head. And in general, the PXC 550 2’s are a pair of very comfortable headphones. Even though all of these headphones are big head approved… the PXC 550 2’s have the least amount of clamping force, where as the XM5’s have the firmest fit here… and what really make these headphones stand out are their huge ear pads. These ear pads are going to have no problem accommodating very large ears or ears that stick out a lot. Now the ear pads on the momentum 3’s are also fairly spacious and they should also accommodate most ear types… but they aren’t anywhere near as spacious as the PXC 550 2’s. And finally there are the ear pads on the XM5’s. Now even though these ear pads have a very large diameter to them… they’re very shallow. They’re more shallow than the Momentum 3’s ear pads and way shallower than the PXC 550 2’s. So with the XM5’s, these ear pads do like to press down on my average sized ears, which does get uncomfortable after awhile. So if you have ears that stick out a lot… the XM5’s will might not be the best option for you. But ear pads aside, another issue the XM5’s is their headband. Since the XM5’s have a very thin and minimally padded head band… I found that after 45 minutes, this headband likes to create a hot spot on the top of my head. So at the 45 minute mark, I gotta take these headphones off. Now, the headband on the Momentum 3’s also has very little padding to it… but since it has a lot more surface area to distribute any pressure… this headband doesn’t create a hot spot on your hear. But finally there’s the PXC 550 2’s headband… and this headband has a whole lot of padding to it, so this headband also doesn’t create a spot on the top of your head. And in general, the PXC 550 2’s are just a pair of super comfortable headphones. They’re super light weight, they have super spacious ear pads, they have very little clamping force, and their earpads stay cool for a very long time. The only draw back about the PXC 550 2’s is that they are a little small. With these headphones I gotta extend their headband all the way out… where as with most other headphones, half way or ¾’s is enough.
But now lets talk about tech specs, and this is an area where the XM5’s clearly come out ahead. Regarding battery life, the XM5’s have an advertised battery life of 30 hours with their active noise cancellation turned on… and in general, this is a little above average. Where as the PXC 550 2’s have an advertised battery life of 20 hours and the momentum 3’s have an advertised battery life of 17 hours. Now a battery life of 20 hours and 17 hours is doable… but I’m going to need their successors to bring those number up.
And when it comes to charnging these headphones, both the XM5’s and momentum 3’s charge via a USB C port, as they should. Where as one of the biggest draw backs about the PXC 550 2’s is that they charge via a micro USB port. And I feel that for 2022, micro usb is a big draw back.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, all of these headphones can be connected to 2 any two devices at the same time which is great if you’re a power user. However, if you want to use this feature on the XM5’s you are going to have to sacrifice LDAC. Now if you’re an iPhone user this doesn’t matter cause iPhones top out at AAC, and even if you’re an android user, AAC is going to be perfectly fine if you’re streaming your music.
But when it comes to overall performance, all of the headphones have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or android device… but when it comes to audio codecs, both of Senhheiser’s headphones have support for SBC, AAC, APTX and APTX Low Latency. Unfortunately they don’t have support for any newer versions like APXT Adaptive cause these headphones are almost 3 years old. But then there are the XM5’s which have support for SBC, ACC, and Sony’s own LDAC which is their own in house high rise audio codec. But if you want to use LDAC, than these headphones will only be able to connect to one device at a time.
But if you want to you can always use a wired connection with any of these headphones cause they all have an audio jack. You just gotta keep in mind that the XM5’s are using a 3.5 millimeter audio jack, where as Sennheiser’s headphones are using a 2.5 millimeter audio jack. But the really neat thing here is that you can use the USB C port on the Momentum 3’s as a wired connection, where as with the XM5’s you can’t.
But now, lets talk about listening to music with these headphones. Now I’ve always said in the past that Sony’s headphones are people pleasers cause they sound good enough and if you want, you can crank up the bass on either the XM4’s or XM3’s and you will be able to physically feel the bass. And this is what some people just want from their headphones. However, with the XM5’s these headphones don’t have as much physicality in their bass as their predecessors, so these headphones aren’t going to rattle your head as much. However, what the XM5’s do have going for them is that they have battery instrument separation than their predecessors and as a result, they sound a little more open. However, the instrument separation on the XM5’s isn’t a huge difference from the XM4’s and XM3’s… and the XM5’s don’t sound as open as either the PXC 550 2’s or Momentum 3’s. Now personally, I like my PXC 550 2’s while their bass is set to rumble and with their spatial adjustment sent to near. With these settings the PXC 550 2’s sound very similar to the AirPods Max and they have a little more physicality in their bass than the XM5’s.
But then there are the Momentum 3’s which are on a whole other level. Now as a disclaimer… these have been my favorite sounding ANC headphones for the last 2 years. To me these headphones have amazing instrument separation and they have a very balanced sound signature where the mids are very well pronounced but without getting overly bright like the AirPods Max… and they have a good amount off physicality in their bass which comes in when it has to. But the thing about the Momentum 3’s is that if you want, you can always crank up the bass on them, and they are going to rattle your head a good amount… however if you do this then you’ll might want to crank up the mids so that vocals don’t get overpowered by the bass. Overall, from a performance stand point the Momentum 3’s are the best sounding headphone here cause they have the best instrument separation here and the instrumentals are much more pronounced and detailed with these headphones than with the XM5’s. And unlike with both the PXC 550 2’s or XM5’s… if you want, you can get these headphones to physically rattle your head much more than these other two headphones. Which is going to add another dimension to your music.
Now when it comes to controlling your music, both the XM5’s and PXC 550 2’s are using a touch pad. And both of these touch pads are very accurate and they’re easy enough to use. And what I like about both of these touch pads is that they’re both fairly easy to use when it comes to quickly cranking up or cranking down the volume. But if you don’t want to have to deal with touchpads on your headphones… then the Momentum 3’s are using physical buttons. Now these buttons are fine and they have a satisfying click to them, but I have always wished that they were metal.
But something that all of these headphones do have in common is that they all have wear sensors, so whenever you take off any of these headphones, they’ll automatically pause your music, and when you put them back on, they’ll automatically start playing your music again. But personally I don’t really care for wear sensors on my headphones, so I usually just turn that feature off… but they are there if you want them.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones… and simply put, this is an area where neither of Sennheiser’s headphones can compete with the XM5’s… but I think that’s okay given that these headphones are almost 3 years old and the XM5’s are now the kings of ANC again. But so that you can see for yourself, we’re going to jump into an ANC test.
So like you may have just seen, neither of Sennheiser’s headphones block out as much noise as the XM5’s. The ANC on the Momentum 3’s performs more like the ANC that you’ll find on a pair of mid tier ANC headphones like lets say the Sony XB910N… and even though the PXC 550 2’s do block out more noise than the Momentum 3’s… they still don’t block out anywhere near as much road noise as the XM5’s and especially chatter. However, the thing that Sennehsier’s headphones do have going for them is that they have very little cabin pressure… where as the cabin pressure on the XM5’s is a lot more noticeable… and if you’re sensitive to cabin pressure, then you’ll might want to be cautious of the XM5’s. But overall, the ANC on the XM5’s is on a whole other level when compared to these almost 3 year old headphones.
Now when it comes to the ambient modes on these headphones… the XM5’s have a very natural sounding ambient mode… where as the ambient mode on the Momentum 3’s does sound a little artificial. But more importantly with the XM5’s you can adjust the ambient to your liking, where as with the ambient mode on the Momentum 3’s you can’t. But at least the Momentum 3’s have a proper ambient mode where you can still be aware of your surroundings while you’re listening to your content… cause the PXC 550 2’s don’t do this. Instead the PXC 550 2’s have a conversation mode where they will quickly lower the volume of your music and pump in all of the ambient sound around you, so that you can quickly talk to someone without having to take your headphones off, like this.
And then when you double tap, they’ll go back to normal again. Now you can also set the Momentum 3’s to do this, but you won’t be able to play music at the same time. And the XM5’s have a similar feature to this called quick attention.
And then when you let go of the touch pad, they’ll go back to normal again. Now overall the XM5’s have the better ambient mode here cause it sounds better and you also have quick attention. Where as the PXC 550 2’s only have their conversation mode, and with the Momentum 3’s you gotta pick one or the other. But also, the XM5’s have speak to chat which works a little like this.
But personally, I’m not a really big fan of speak to chat because it is very easy to accidentally active. If you’re talking to yourself very quietly that can activate it, if you’re singing along to your music, that can activate it, if you start laughing that can active it, and on rare occasions loud enough outside noises can activate it. So that’s why I don’t use it.
But finally here’s the microphone test. Now all three of these headphones have good sounding microphones for phone calls. But I can’t help but feel that the microphone on the Sennheiser PXC 550-II’s sounds a little better than the microphone found on the Momentum 3’s.
With the Sennheiser PXC 550-II’s I can’t help but feel that my voice sounds a little clearer. But over all I would try to take phones calls with the Sennheiser’s in a quite environment cause they don’t do the best job of blocking out ambient noise.
And finally here are the XM5’s, after 5 generations Sony’s finally has a usable microphone on their headphones for phones calls. But I do gotta point out that there is some hissing in the background
But what really impressive is the amount of noise these headphones are able to block out. Cause if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone, you’re going to clearly hear all of this road noise. But if we were to switch back over to the XM5’s, it is severely reduced.
Where as with the PXC 550 2’s even though my voice sounds good… you can hear a lot of road noise in the back ground.
And the same thing can be said about the Momentum 3’s… you can hear a lot of road noise in the back ground as well.
And its the same story when it comes to blocking out chatter… you can hear a lot of chatter in the back ground.
And you can also hear a lot of chatter in the background with the PXC 550 2’s.
But then there are the XM5’s which are doing a really good job of blocking out this chatter. Cause again, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone you’re going to clearly hear all of this chatter… but if we were to switch back over to the XM5’s is it severely reduced. So performance wise, I gotta say the XM5’s have the best performing microphone here for phone calls.
But with all of that being said… the XM5’s are clearly the superior headphones here when it comes to active noise cancelation, ambient mode, microphone for phone calls, and battery life. However for me, the XM5’s really fall short when it comes to comfort cause of their minimally padded head band that does like to create hot spots, and their shallow ear pads that like to press down even on average sized ears. And then there’s their case… if you’re used to traveling with their predecessors… then this case is a noticeable hassle. Now even though Sennheiser’s headphones are almost 3 years old now… they still have their stand out characteristics. The PXC 550 2’s are a pair of very comfortable ANC headphones to wear. They’re very light weight, their ear pads are super spacious and their ear pads stay cool for a very long time. And these headphones continue to sound great. But then there are the Momentum 3’s which sound even better thanks to their improved instrument separation and more physicality in their bass. Overall, I still have a sweet spot for both of Sennheiser’s headphones… but right now, unless you can get a really good deal, I would hold of from getting them cause I feel both of their successors are right around the corner.