We are more than half-way through the year, so it seems like a good time to take a step back, survey the sonic landscape at our backs and take stock of what we’ve heard during 2026.

More specifically, which headphones we have had the privilege and often pleasure of hearing throughout the year. As somebody who works on the audio side of the great hi-fi/AV divide, I spend a lot of my time listening to headphones and earbuds, thanks in part to the fact that so many brands are desperately trying to make this massive market their own.

Whether it has been for reviews, comparisons or my own personal interest, these have been the headphones that have impressed – and occasionally frustrated – me over the past seven months.

A hero’s return: the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless

At last, the Momentum Wireless have returned. The fifth iteration of Sennheiser’s heralded Momentum over-ear line has been a long time coming, so when they arrived earlier this year, expectations were high.

Happily, Sennheiser has managed to deliver the goods. The Momentum 5 Wireless are excellent premium over-ears, acting as a timely reminder to the likes of Sony, Bose and Apple that Sennheiser is still here, and, crucially, still up for the fight.

They are a little different to their competitors, especially in the sound department, prioritising a rich, smooth and refined presentation that can take a little while to warm up to. Once you click with them, though, you’ll find this to be a deeply rewarding pair of over-ears, especially if you like the sort of expressive, detailed midrange the premium Sennheisers so effortlessly exhibit. Oh, that midrange…

The earcups could feel a little more luxurious, the noise-cancelling isn’t Bose-beating, and having them fold away completely would be nice, but this is a five-star return for a brand that was just slightly in danger of being forgotten by the mainstream market.

Rivals, take heed: Sennheiser is back, and it means business.

The sonic standounts: Sennheiser HDB 630

Technically, technically, we reviewed the Sennheiser HDB 630 last year; but the supremely gifted premium headphones only landed on my desk in 2026, so I think I’m still on relatively firm ground when I say that they are, unequivocally, the best wireless headphones I’ve heard this year.

Scratch that: they might be some of the best wireless cans I have ever heard, full stop. They might not look particularly special, but the sound they produce certainly is.

£400 / $500 / AU$1000 isn’t pocket change, I grant you, but our entire test team is rarely so effusive when it comes to heaping praise upon a product. From top to bottom, we are huge admirers of the HDB 630 – and if you hear them for yourselves, you’ll understand exactly why.

They are fun, dynamically adept and musically expressive – all ingredients that make listening to any set of over-ears a joy – but it’s the amount of textural detail and sonic precision the HDB 630 exhibit that really leaves us feeling bowled over. These are headphones that make the masterful Sony WH-1000XM6 sound almost vague and a bit slipshod by comparison, and that’s really saying something.

Part of that signature comes from Sennheiser’s clever BTD 700 USB-C dongle that you plug into your device’s USB-C port to give it aptX Adaptive powers. This means that any source device, including your iPhone, gains hi-res streaming up to 24bit/96kHz, even if it wouldn’t natively support it. Really clever stuff.

Add in 60 hours of battery life, very solid noise cancelling and a luxurious fit, and the HDB 630 are 2026’s headphones to beat.

The tricky second album: Apple AirPods Max 2

I didn’t end up testing the Apple AirPods Max 2, but I did spend a good deal of time listening to them when making comparisons with the likes of the Sony 1000X The Collexion (below) and similar premium contenders.

And you know what? They’re pretty good. The AirPods Max 2 give you that familiar Apple signature which blends smoothness and refinement with a crisp, sparkling treble that lovers of the original Max will recognise, all boosted by better punch, dynamics and precision than their predecessors.

They are also incredibly easy to use if you have an iPhone, thanks to their native integration within the iOS ecosystem, and they still have that look and feel of a premium product that you would be proud to own. We can see why the Max continue to enjoy such a stellar cultural cachet – they just look the business.

They’re not perfect, admittedly. The Max 2 are better than the originals, but they have fallen behind more recent rivals for dynamic punch, rhythmic precision and overall insight. Plus, we just cannot abide that ridiculous carry case, and rather wish that the battery life had been boosted a bit beyond 20 hours. The Sony WH-1000XM6 give you 30 hours, after all.

The thing is, the AirPods Max 2 feel like six of one and half a dozen of the other. They are certainly some of the best headphones, in objective terms, ever made by Apple, a brand that has only relatively recently started to trouble the class leaders when it comes to pure sonic performance.

On the other hand, the Max 2 had a chance to close the gap on their rivals. Instead, it feels as though that chasm has widened a little. For their failure to properly keep up with the pack, some might see this as a missed opportunity for Apple.

The in-ear kings: Sony WF-1000XM6

I have such a complicated relationship with the Sony WF-1000XM5 and, now that there’s a sequel, it is carried over to the Sony WF-1000XM6.

On the one hand, I really like them. I love how detailed, refined and musical Sony’s flagship buds are. I admire that Sony continues to push the sonic boundaries for its flag-bearing buds, and that it seems to improve their capabilities with every passing generation, both in terms of sonic performance and accompanying features.

The WF-1000XM6 are, in so many ways, the apex of what Sony can do from a form such as this, with a sound so textured and rich it practically glitters inside your ears.

My problem remains that fit. I couldn’t get the WF-1000XM5 to stay inside my ear holes, and I can’t get the WF-1000XM6 to do so either. Sony revamped the design of its sixth-gen buds, offering up a new charging case and dropping the teardrop design of the older model in favour of a more rectangular, boxy configuration; but it kept on with its memory-foam eartips.

It might be a personal thing, but I just cannot get them to stay put, especially if I’m walking, gymming or, heaven forbid, going for a run.

Fit issues aside, the XM6 really are something special. Of all the buds I have heard in my time at What Hi-Fi?, they rank somewhere towards the top, outshining the likes of the Technics EAH-AZ100, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) and the Apple AirPods Pro 3.

If you can get them to fit, breathtaking sound will be your reward.

The missed opportunity: Sony 1000X The Collexion

Ah, what could have been.

Sony billed its super-premium wireless over-ears as being “the best-sounding headphones it had ever made” when it lifted the lid on the 1000X The Collexion (£550 / $650 / AU$900) earlier this year. While there's an extent to which we agree with that statement, there’s also a lot we find hard to endorse fully.

These are some of Sony’s clearest and most spacious-sounding cans – we’ll give The Collexion that. I spent weeks with the premium headphones clamped over my ears, and their clarity, textural refinement and cinematic soundscape impressed me every single time I booted them up for a listen.

For that clean, open ‘hi-fi’ sound, these really are among Sony’s finest, and that’s before even mentioning their admirable noise cancelling and excellent voice calls.

Across all parameters, though, are these Sony’s best-ever wireless headphones? I’m not so sure.

When you can get the Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM6 for less money (£400 / $450 / AU$699), and get a good deal more punch, dynamism and rhythmic spark thrown into the bargain, not to mention a similar battery life and better noise cancelling, it becomes hard to see exactly how to justify buying the more costly Collexion cans.

For the What Hi-Fi? team, The Collexion are a great concept, but we can’t quite square the execution with the elevated price tag. Like England at every major international tournament, we are left wondering what could have been.

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These are the best headphones we have tested in 2026

Sennheiser has been enjoying a good few months.

The HDB 630 made its debut in late 2025 to acclaim from our reviews team, who dubbed them some of the best wireless headphones they had heard at this premium level. A few months later, the Momentum 5 Wireless landed and, at their slightly lower price, matched their bigger brothers in earning the full five-star haul.

Great news for Sennheiser, then. But, with both premium wireless headphones accumulating significant plaudits, which do you go for? To make the decision easier, we have broken down each pair’s strengths and limitations across a range of parameters so that you can be sure you’re getting the Sennheisers that suit your needs.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless vs Sennheiser HDB 630: price

These are both premium wireless headphones, so you’re not going to be able to pick up a pair for the same price as your morning coffee order. Well, unless you happen to frequent a very boujee coffee shop.

At £330 / $400 / AU4749, the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless are the cheaper of the two, with a price that undercuts that of many of the established cans at this level.

At £400 / $500 / AU$1000, the HDB 630 are slap bang in the middle of what we’d call classic premium territory – not overpriced, but certainly par for the course in the world of flagship wireless over-ears.

Still, they are undeniably more expensive than their younger siblings, so it’s the Momentum 5 Wireless winning this one.

**Winner: Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless**

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless vs Sennheiser HDB 630: design and comfort

Sennheiser tends to have a pretty distinct design language, one that’s very much on display with both of these premium pairs.

The large oval earcups of the Momentum 5 Wireless and HDB 630 will be familiar to anyone who has seen a pair of recent wireless Sennheiser over-ears. Little touches, though, such as the attractive fabric exterior, do make the Momentum 5 actually seem a little more premium than the rather plain HDB 630.

The Momentum 5 Wireless are also a little smaller and lighter than their bigger brothers, weighing in at 290g compared with the 311g of the HDB 630. Much of that weight is housed in the HDB 630s’ earcups, which are chunkier and sport a deeper profile than those of the fifth-gen Momentums.

Comfort isn’t a problem on either pair, though. The Momentum 5 Wireless do cause some mild on-ear heating past the hour mark (many premium headphones of this type do), but we rarely experience that dull aching that you might suffer from with rivals sporting heavier weight or higher clamping pressure.

They are secure and stable, too. Even when we’re walking pretty briskly with the Momentum 5 Wireless clamped over our head, there’s little on-ear rocking or instability thanks to the headphones’ well-judged clamping force.

In fairness to the larger HDB 630, they are hardly a chore to wear either. Yes, they’re heavier overall, but the more costly cans do have slightly plusher ear padding, as well as a nicely cushioned headband, making for a comfortable, amply sealed listen.

Both pairs use touch controls rather than a predominantly button-based system, and we struggle to find any complaints with how they are implemented. We like that every touch action is acknowledged with a sound, that controls can be switched off via the app, and that our commands are responded to promptly whenever we tap or swipe on the right earcup.

It’s a tricky one. The Momentum 5 Wireless are lighter and more appealing to look at, but the HDB 630 do win back marks thanks to their slightly more luxurious earpads and headband. A tie seems like a fair result.

**Winner: Draw**

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless vs Sennheiser HDB 630: features

Let’s start with the basics.

Sennheiser has gone big on battery life both both its premium players, with the Momentum 5 Wireless squeezing out 57 hours when active noise cancelling (ANC) is switched on and the HDB 630 just pipping them to the post with 60 hours under the same conditions.

On both, Multipoint Bluetooth is available for connecting to two devices simultaneously.

If you want spatial audio with the Momentum 5 Wireless, Dolby Atmos is on the menu when listening to supported Atmos content, with head tracking to be added via an upcoming firmware update. Be aware, conversely, that the HDB 630 don’t support spatial audio.

Dolby Atmos can be toggled on and off via the Sennheiser SmartPlus app, a platform which we find ourselves really admiring the more we use it. It’s clean and orderly, and we like the levels of customisation on offer, such as the eight-band custom equaliser and a slider for dialling up and down the strength of the ANC.

For the Momentum 5 Wireless, Bluetooth codec support is impressive, with support for the routine SBC and AAC codecs alongside higher-quality aptX HD, aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive flavours. The cans currently use Bluetooth 5.4, but an incoming firmware update later in 2026 will push this to 6.0 and include LE Audio.

With the HDB 630, codec support comes down to the inclusion of the headphones’ included Bluetooth dongle. The HDB 630 bundle in a BTD 700 USB-C dongle that you simply plug into your smartphone device’s USB-C port to give it up to aptX Adaptive superpowers, even if the source device natively doesn't support a higher-resolution codec.

That means you can stream in aptX Adaptive quality from the usually-AAC-only iPhone, for example. You can check the quality of the signal path in the Sennheiser Smart Control Plus app’s settings, and you’ll want to ensure the ‘Audio mode priority’ is set to ‘Hi-Res 24bit/96kHz’.

You don't get Dolby Atmos with the HDB 630, but there is a ‘Crossfeed’ feature to blend left and right channels for what Sennheiser calls a “more natural sound” with certain recordings. A bass-boost button, which does exactly what you think it does, is available for both.

A close one again, with solid showings across the board. But we feel that the dongle, plus a slightly better battery life, tip things over into the HDB 630s’ favour.

**Winner: Sennheiser HDB 630**

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless vs Sennheiser HDB 630: ANC and call quality

Noise cancelling is acceptable on both the Sennheiser HDB 630 and the Momentum 5 Wireless. It won’t be troubling the likes of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) or the Sony WH-1000XM6 class leaders, but each outshines the rather weaker efforts of the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3.

In fact, there isn’t a huge amount to choose between the two Sennheisers. Each pair is capable of dealing with the basic humming of an air-conditioning unit during a hot day in May, all but blocking out that droning sound so that it doesn’t intrude upon our listening in any meaningful way.

Traffic noises prove a little trickier, but again, there isn’t a huge difference between the two. We feel that the HDB 630 offer a little more passive isolation due to their larger, plusher earpads, but standing next to a busy road sees both pairs dampening, not eliminating, the swooshing of cars as they pass by.

Low-frequency rumbles are perceptibly reduced, but again, they don’t disappear entirely, while high-end sound such as tweeting birds will often pass through.

Call quality is excellent no matter your choice. We take the Momentum 5 Wireless out for a chat on a blustery day, and our headphones effectively reduce intrusive wind and traffic noise while making human speech sound clear and natural.

The HDB 630 do a similarly fine job, and once again, voices come across as articulate and human rather than mechanical or robotic. Isolation is decent, too, so no need to worry about having to shout to be heard over surrounding noises.

**Winner: Draw**

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless vs Sennheiser HDB 630: sound quality

If you like rich, smooth-sounding headphones that dig out plenty of detail and strike a fine balance precision and authority, the Momentum 5 Wireless could well be for you.

As we wrote in our review, the fifth-gen Sennheiser over-ears are “rich, smooth yet strikingly precise and detailed headphones, with an audio signature that makes listening a refreshingly undemanding experience. Sugar’s If I Can’t Change Your Mind can sound overly urgent or shrill... but the Momentum 5 Wireless have the poise and maturity to bring order to... chaos.”

If you’re after headphones that shine a sweet spotlight on your music’s midrange, the Momentum 5 Wireless demand an audition. The bass is full and a little on the rich side, but that poised midrange is a real highlight, offering a naturalness and insight that gives even more premium alternatives a run for their money.

Their qualities are further amplified when we use a wired connection, especially if you’re listening via USB-C for handling files up to 24-bit/96kHz. A wired connection lends further fullness and depth to instruments, while that outstanding midrange sounds sweeter and even more starkly defined.

In truth, the Momentum 5 Wireless never fatigue nor frustrate, instead letting music unfold naturally and precisely no matter the genre.

As you would perhaps hope, the step-up HDB 630 do take things up a notch. They’re a chunk more costly, but you’ll be rewarded handsomely by the sonic dividends that extra outlay grants.

In fact, these might well be the best-sounding premium headphones currently available – and that’s even before that clever Bluetooth dongle is in play.

Here, precision and analysis go hand in hand with drive and vigour, making for the most informative and entertaining sound we’ve heard from wireless headphones at this price, with or without the use of the dongle for higher-quality streams.

The HDB 630 are hugely natural and dare we say sophisticated-sounding wireless headphones, with a poise and precision that demands to be heard. As we wrote at the time, these Sennheiser premium cans are “wonderfully smooth and natural sounding headphones, full of shape and dynamism across the frequency range”.

Instrumental textures are replete with both depth and shape, and the HDB 630 are remarkably insightful at teasing out the emotional heart of our testing catalogue. Songs are conveyed with conviction and gusto, and the Sennheisers seamlessly switch emotional gears as they tackle our tunes with gusto and grace.

Yes, the Momentum 5 Wireless are detailed and well organised, but the HDB 630 really take things up a notch in practically all sonic departments. That becomes only truer when the dongle is called into action. And you’ll notice tangible gains in clarity and solidity when upgrading from, say, a standard AAC stream to full-fat aptX Adaptive.

However you listen, the HDB 630 are genuine benchmark-setters. The Momentum 5 Wireless are great, but the HDB 630 are ‘Great’ with a capital ‘G’.

** Winner: Sennheiser HDB 630 **

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless vs Sennheiser HDB 630: verdict

If you can’t stretch to the HDB 630, the Momentum 5 Wireless are the logical step-down choice. They still provide excellent sound quality and bring plenty of high-performance features to enjoy, all while saving you £80 / $100 in the process.

That’s not an inconsiderable amount of money, so we completely understand why money-savvy buyers would – indeed should – pick the Momentum 5 Wireless over their bigger brothers if costs are a factor.

If you’re happy to spend more, however, go for the Sennheiser HDB 630. They are essentially in a sonic class of one at the moment, outshining not only the Momentum 5 but practically anything else we can think of at their level.

If sound is your top priority, there’s no real excuse for not checking them out.

** Overall winner: Sennheiser HDB 630 **

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After more than five years of daily use, my AirPods Max recently stopped working.

I can't really complain. Between commuting, international travel and a house move, they'd spent years being stuffed into backpacks and suitcases before emerging to soundtrack thousands of hours of music and movies. They'd had a pretty hard life.

Rather than rushing to repair them, though, I saw an opportunity.

In the five years since I'd bought the AirPods Max, loads of exciting new headphones had launched. This felt like the perfect excuse to break away from Apple's ecosystem and find out whether anything could finally replace them.

Over the next couple of months, I spent time with headphones from Sony, Bose, Sennheiser and Bowers & Wilkins. Their relative strengths varied, but all of them sounded very accomplished with music. In the case of Sony's superb WH-1000XM6, I'd even argue the overall musical performance is better than that of the AirPods Max.

But this period of headphone flirtation had a surprising effect: my movie-watching almost ground to a halt.

For years now, I've used my AirPods Max at least as much for movies as for music. In fact, they've quietly become an essential part of my home cinema setup.

Once the rest of my family had gone to bed and it was no longer neighbourly to keep my Dolby Atmos system rumbling away, I had a simple routine. Rather than switching on Night mode and flattening every explosion, gunshot and orchestral swell, I'd put on my AirPods Max, tap the pop-up on my Apple TV 4K and carry on watching exactly where I'd left off.

The combination of the AirPods Max and Apple TV 4K remains astonishingly good. Their Dolby Atmos implementation, delivered through Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking, creates an experience that's surprisingly easy to forget is coming from a pair of headphones. It doesn't simply sound spacious; it sounds uncannily natural.

And that's the bit I hadn't appreciated until the AirPods Max disappeared from my life. Every alternative I tried excelled with music, but none recreated that movie experience.

The closest I came was pairing Sony's WH-1000XM6 with the Bravia 8 II TV. It produced an impressively open and fairly cinematic presentation, but because the connection relied on standard Bluetooth, what I was hearing was ultimately a cleverly processed stereo signal rather than the sort of binaural Dolby Atmos experience that Apple's solution provides.

The difference wasn't night and day, but it was enough that I found myself missing the AirPods Max every time I settled down to watch a film, and that had a surprisingly big impact on my viewing habits.

If the family was asleep, I simply wasn't getting the experience I wanted. I wasn't about to hobble my main home cinema system with Night mode, but neither were the alternative headphones convincing enough to tempt me away from it.

Whether it's children, a partner or simply considerate neighbours, I suspect lots of people end up watching films after the house has gone quiet, and losing that window meant the number of films I watched absolutely tanked over the following weeks. I missed loads.

The good news is that I'm now making up for lost time, because I've managed to get hold of another pair of AirPods Max.

The whole experience taught me something I wasn't expecting, though: I'd quietly built my entire late-night movie-watching routine around one Apple feature.

That's not to say Apple has the only solution. Sony, for example, offers the little-known WLA-NS7 wireless transmitter, which promises a similar binaural Dolby Atmos experience with compatible headphones. I'll be testing that very soon.

But until something else can recreate what the AirPods Max and Apple TV 4K achieve together, they'll remain my favourite headphones for movies – even if some rivals have at least matched them when it comes to music.

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Growing up in rural Wales, I spent my adolescence desperate for noise.

As a teenager, roaming the serene forests that surrounded my home in search of something – anything – to do, I was invariably accompanied by a headphone-rattling playlist of punk, rock and industrial music. My natural gravitation at the time was towards anything that shook things up, that challenged the serenity of my environment, and would, I suppose, give my folks a headache.

As I became an adult and my taste diversified, I nevertheless sought out places to live that fell in line with that desire for chaos. Naturally, London was my first choice: loud, relentless, sometimes frightening.

By that time, I was enjoying everything from Fela Kuti to Chopin, but amid the blaring interruptions of tube trains, traffic and street-preachers, I simply could not hear quieter tracks in my music library.

Inexplicably, I never considered seeking out noise-cancelling headphones. Having embraced the city’s clamor as an inalterable feature of my circumstances, I took up the habit of listening, almost exclusively, to music that was loud enough to drown London out. Back to punk, we go.

That all changed once I started writing about audio equipment for a living.

Within my first few weeks as a new staff writer at What Hi-Fi?, I took home a pair of Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless headphones.

A heatwave was in full force when I swapped my cheap earbuds for these more premium over-ear ANC headphones, and on the crammed train home from work, the air con was going hell for leather. Above the bustle and groans of commuters sweating through their work clothes, the AC was all but shrieking with the effort it took to cool the carriage down.

Usually, the cacophony would have droned through my music, even at full volume; but placing the Momentum 5 Wireless over my ears and then enabling their full active noise-cancelling mode, I was astonished to discover how completely the world fell away.

In our five-star review of the Momentum 5 Wireless, we mention that Sennheiser has taken pains to improve on the ANC of the Momentum 4 Wireless, using twice as many microphones (a grand total of eight) to achieve what it describes as “three times” better noise cancellation, particularly in the midrange. In our view, the improvements were a success, keeping “traffic, wind” and, crucially, “the hum of air conditioners” at bay.

As I’ve fallen into the habit of listening to music through the Sennheisers during my daily commute, an unexpected side effect of their excellent noise-cancelling has been that my appetite for sonic carnage has subsided.

In its place, I’ve started listening to classical music on a regular basis. I wasn’t formerly much of a classical listener, but with environmental sound cancelled so effectively, I have found myself enjoying the newfound ability to pick out the finer points in classical arrangements – and while commuting, at that. Needless to say, if not for trying these headphones, I would have remained oblivious to these details.

These days, among my daily listens are Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major, M.83: II. Adagio assai and Debussy’s La damoiselle élue, L.62: Prélude.

To my ear, each of these musical discoveries has been complemented by the Sennheisers’ sonic signature, which we describe in our review as “rich, smooth yet strikingly precise and detailed”. In La damoiselle élue, the reverberant piano conveys a striking sense of scale, giving you a sense of the space in which the piece is played, which only grows as the notes are struck harder.

But even at the gentlest touch, the Sennheisers remain expressive, thanks to the “naturalness and insight” of their midrange performance. Listening to these recordings, I even find that their bass reproduction, which we describe as “on the richer side”, lends a pleasant and proportionate weight to every note.

So, where once you might have found me blasting Black Flag, Einstürzende Neubauten and Swans, I will instead be exploring – and what’s more, thoroughly enjoying – the back-catalogues of Debussy, Wagner, Ravel, and even some ambient albums such as Thomas Köner’s Permafrost.

That’s not to say I’m ditching the punk, I get the feeling that our love affair isn’t quite at its end. But who knows, perhaps, thanks to excellent noise-cancelling and performance from headphones such as the Momentum 5 Wireless, I’ll get to keep my hearing intact for a few more moshpits yet.

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I've heard a lot of premium wireless headphones in the past few months. No, seriously, when I say a lot, I mean a lot.

The Sony WH-1000XM6, the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless, the Apple AirPods Max 2, the Sony 1000X The Collexion, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2; the list just goes on and on.

And yet, this Amazon Prime Day, I would pick one pair above all others. Those aforementioned headphones are all excellent, sometimes spectacular, in their own respective ways, but one pair stands head and shoulders above the rest: the Sennheiser HDB 630.

At £400 / $500 / AU$1000, they're not cheap, and discounts aren't exactly common, but if you see a drop this Prime Day, across any of the major retailers, I would urge you wholeheartedly to snap it up while you can.

In fact, even if they don't budge an inch, I'd still be urging you to get hold of the best wireless headphones Sennheiser has ever made.

It's going to be a crazy twist of fate if some of the best wireless headphones you can currently buy this Prime Day aren't currently available on Amazon. Well, it's their loss.

In truth, forget Prime Day and Amazon altogether. Forget discounts and price cuts, and even brand loyalty. Just remember one key fact: if you want the best premium noise-cancelling wireless headphones, you want the Sennheiser HDB 630. It's that simple.

Why? Well, mainly because these are sound-first headphones that have pushed the needle for how good Bluetooth over-ears can sound at this sort of price. The HDB 630 are exceptionally smooth and natural-sounding headphones, with a beautifully realised bass reproduction, a sweet, immersive mid-range and a crisp, sharply defined treble.

They're fun, dynamically adept and musically expressive, walking that tricky tightrope between analysis and entertainment with sure-footed precision.

Part of that quality comes from the Sennheiser's super-clever BTD 700 USB-C dongle that you simply plug into your device’s USB-C port to give it aptX Adaptive superpowers.

That means that any source device, including your iPhone, gains aptX Adaptive hi-res streaming up to 24bit/96kHz, even if it wouldn't natively support it. That is, quite simply, an absolute game-changer, and it works terrifically.

Plus, you get wired listening via 3.5mm and USB-C-ended cables, around 60 hours of battery life with ANC switched on, very solid noise cancelling, a luxuriously comfortable fit and very solid voice calls, all of which combine to make an exceptional all-around package.

We get that Prime Day should be all about Amazon and, of course, all about deals, but the HDB 630 are so exceptional that all sort of goes out of the window.

Discounts don't really matter (although they're great to see). Retailers don't matter. What matters is that, if you can, you pick up a pair of some of the best-sounding premium wireless headphones we've ever heard.

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Sennheiser has expanded its wireless mid-range Accentum roster with a brand new pair of clip-on earbuds.

The new Accentum Clip are the company's first-ever clip-on wireless buds, joining the Accentum Open from last year. They aim to offer Sennheiser's "signature" sound with a more "user-aware" form factor.

The Accentum Clip house is a set of 12mm dynamic drivers tuned "for clarity and punchy bass", with a "smooth treble that is delightful to listen to in long stretches".

The new Sennheiser buds use 'Dynamic EQ' tech, which aims to let the buds maintain sonic balance and prevent distortion, regardless of the volume they're playing at.

Similar to the configuration of the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds or the Huawei FreeClip 2, a flexible silicone bridge connects the main bud body with the battery cylinder. Sennheiser promises a "secure, barely there" fit from the new Accentum Clip thanks to each earbud weighing a measly 6.8g. For runners, an IP54 rating protects against dust and sweat.

Despite their clip-on design, the new earbuds still feature textured touch controls for handling the likes of volume adjustment and voice calls.

The latest addition to the Accentum roster boasts nine hours of battery life from the earbuds and a total of 36 hours with the case. Rapid charge technology lets you enjoy two hours of listening from 10 minutes at the mains.

The new clip-on buds feature Bluetooth 6.0, with standard SBC and AAC sitting alongside the higher-quality LDAC codec for streaming high-res audio up to 32-bit/96kHz from a compatible source device.

For voice calls, each earbud features a dual-microphone system paired with an AI noise reduction algorithm to isolate the wearer’s voice from background noise.

According to Friederike Menking, Accentum Clip's Product Manager: “In creating Accentum Clip, we wanted to elevate the standard of acoustic performance that open earbuds have traditionally struggled with. Whether you are tackling productivity, out on your own adventures, or managing the transitions in between, its thoughtful design empowers you to navigate your world without sacrificing the essence of your music.”

The Accentum Clip are available from 23rd July in Black or Cream colourways, priced at £149 / €179 / AU$290.

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We’re tempted to call Sennheiser the ‘dark horse’ of wireless headphones.

After all, our best buys have, in more recent times, been stacked to the brim with offerings from the likes of Apple, Bose and, more than any other, Sony, so it has been easy to forget the many qualities that Sennheiser brings to this particular slice of the audio terrain.

Let’s not forget, however, that this is a brand that has been around since 1945, a brand that, when not making the occasional microphone or soundbar, has built its reputation at the sharp end of both wired and wireless headphone production.

Perhaps ‘sleeping giant’ would have been a more apt moniker.

Admittedly, Sennheiser hasn’t quite been as prolific as its esteemed rivals when it comes to the actual volume of products sent to market. And the company’s ongoing search for a buyer since Swiss owner Sonova put its headphone division up for sale has naturally made waters all the choppier. From what we have seen of Sennheiser recently, though, it is still more than capable of taking the fight to the very best in the business.

The sound of success

We wonder if the release of the five-star HDB 630 will end up becoming something of a defining moment for Sennheiser.

Released just a few months before the announcement that the company’s headphone division was going up for sale – with some doom-mongers rather rashly predicting the death of entire brand – the audiophile-tuned HDB 630 now look like a major signal of intent.

We’ve always known that this is a brand capable of excellence in the wired space, though it had been a while since Sennheiser had properly flexed its wireless muscles. The soon to be phased out mid-priced Accentum line, including the Accentum Wireless and Accentum Wireless Plus over-ears, had failed to set the world alight, and it had been almost four years since we’d heard a hint of any addition to the premium Momentum Wireless range.

Rival standards were high, too. The Sony WH-1000XM6 looked unassailable at their £400 / $450 / AU$699 price, while the likes of Bowers & Wilkins, Bose, Apple and Dali were all also vying for the crown. Competition was, is, and probably always will be, incredibly fierce.

Yet the HDB 630 really pulled it out of the bag. Sennheiser’s outstanding cans set a new standard of wireless sound at this level, thanks in part to their clever bundled Bluetooth dongle, with a sonic performance that blew most of their competitors out of the water. Including Sony.

As we say in our review: “Here, precision and analysis go hand in hand with drive and vigour, making for the most informative and entertaining sound we’ve heard from wireless headphones at this price, with or without the use of the dongle.”

The Momentum 5 Wireless have repeated a similar trick, and while they’re not as boundary-pushing as the HDB 630, their aggressive price tag (£330 / $400 / AU$749) and rich, smooth sound make them a very fine alternative to the Sonys and B&Ws of this world.

Two five-star pairs with a strong focus on stellar sound and plenty of features in tow. If that isn't a warning to rivals to sit up and take notice, we don't know what is.

Take a chance on me

God loves a trier, but He also favours those who take a few risks.

It feels as though Sennheiser has recognised a need to innovate in order to get ahead of a crowded pack, and while the temptation to go in for zippy gimmicks and check-box features must have pulled hard, resisting such inclinations has paid dividends.

As has putting efforts into genuinely constructive innovation. We gave significant attention to the bundled Bluetooth dongle when reviewing the Sennheiser HDB 630 last year, and not without reason: it turned out to be the premium over-ears’ small-but-mighty secret weapon.

Essentially, it’s a clever little USB accessory that gives your phone or other audio source the same high-quality Bluetooth codec the headphones themselves support, meaning you have improved codec-support from devices which might not normally (we’re looking at you, iPhone) have supported them.

That’s a big deal, and as we wrote at the time, the “dongle proves a valuable accessory. When connected to an iPhone 16 and old Samsung Galaxy S21, upgrading their respective AAC and aptX connectivity with the headphones to aptX Adaptive, the presentation gains in clarity and solidity.”

The Momentum 5 Wireless have kept up with the times, too. There’s no dongle to be found, but with extensive codec support, wired listening via USB-C and 3.5mm, Dolby Atmos all on board, Sennheiser’s flagships have kept up admirably with the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM6 and the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3. 57 hours of battery life with ANC on doesn’t exactly hurt, either.

The new Momentum 5 Wireless don’t necessarily have the most features of any premium pair, but in terms of quality, they’re up there with the best.

A case of re-taken identity

Perhaps ironically, and certainly impressively, Sennheiser seems to have re-found and re-established its identity at a time of not-inconsiderable uncertainty.

While the likes of the Accentum line and the disappointing Sennheiser Momentum Sport earbuds seemed to play it safe with a flat, tonally grey sound, the premium Momentum 5 Wireless and HDB 630 feel like Sennheiser returning to a place where it is the most confident and comfortable.

In fact, when we spoke recently to the German manufacturer about where it saw its future, there was a clear statement that the Momentum Wireless line would be a prospective listeners’ “entry point” into the world of Sennheiser sound.

From there, they could progress to the HDB 630 and beyond into even more premium and high-end wired options. But the message was clear: Sennheiser would be providing audiophile-type performance to proper enthusiasts.

It appears to be a sensible move. Sennheiser does great work when it targets this more audiophile-centric side of the landscape – just see the wired Sennheiser HD 820 for proof – and with so many brands already targeting mass production of cheaper, spec-heavy wireless earbuds and headphones, it make sense to stick to more rarefied territory.

And, from what we’ve heard, it’s what the company seems to rather good at.

Sennheiser’s resurgence feels like a good thing for the wireless headphones industry.

It’s good for customers to have a healthy number of options when picking out a potential product; it’s good for the market not to be strangled for a monopoly; and it’s good for rival companies to compete with one another for supremacy in order to push the needle of quality ever forward.

When working as it’s supposed to, that’s sort of the point of a free market, isn’t it?

Producing two or three excellent pairs of headphones doesn’t suddenly make you the king, especially with the likes of Sony putting out five-star headphones across the cost spectrum, over many successive years. What they do indicate, though, is that Sennheiser feels like a company finding its groove again, and, in the midst of a potentially turbulent time, re-establishing its identity amid a sea of change and challengers.

If a worthy successor to the Momentum True Wireless 4 earbuds also ends up landing later this year, we might end up looking back at 2026 as being the year of Sennheiser.

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Sennheiser or Sony?

It's a tough question to answer, especially when both brands have put out two pairs of premium headphones – the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless and the Sony WH-1000XM6 – adorned with glowing five-star reviews. How do you choose between two sets of over-ears from two brands working at the top of their game?

That question is only made harder by the fact that the Sennheisers are a chunk cheaper than the Sonys, meaning that price is becomes a new dimension to this already tricky conundrum. The Momentum 5 Wireless are newer, too, so now age becomes a factor to add to the mélange, and that's before we consider the usual aspects of sound quality, features, build, comfort etc.

It's a lot to consider, but don't worry, we're here to help. We've broken down the virtues and vices of these outstandingly capable noise cancelling cans to put you in the best position possible to find exactly what you're looking for.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless vs Sony WH-1000XM6: price

Competition at this level is fierce, but the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless do have price on their side. At £330 / $400 / AU4749, they're cheaper than many of their premium rivals, and a good deal less than the £400 / $450 / AU$699 asking price of the Sony WH-1000XM6.

We'd caveat that slightly by mentioning the fact that the XM6's price can drop a little during sales events, though never so drastically as to come close to the price of the Sennheisers. Not yet, anyway.

In short, a clear win for the Momentum 5 Wireless for value.

** Winner: Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless **

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless vs Sony WH-1000XM6: build and comfort

We're keen on the build and design of these rival pairs, though not necessarily for exactly the same reasons.

The Momentum 5 Wireless may be the cheaper of the two, but if anything they exude a higher perceived value than their slightly functional-looking Sony WH-1000XM6. Little touches, such as the headband’s attractive fabric exterior, go a long way to making the Momentum 5 Wireless feel more premium, and while the XM6 are well made, they keep things functional and decidedly un-flashy on the aesthetics front.

The fabric exterior of the Sennheisers' headband and carry case grant them a suave appeal, and our only real reservation is that the earcups feel just a little cheap and plasticky to the touch.

The Sonys are made pretty much entirely of plastic too, but their overall construction feels more durable and robust. They have the added bonus of folding away completely, something which the Momentum 5 can't do.

The WH-1000XM6 weigh in at 254g, a good deal lighter than the 290g of the Sennheisers, while their nicely judged clamping force and firm-yet-forgiving earpads rarely put our our ears under any undue strain or causing excess overheating over time.

To be fair to them, the Momentum 5 Wireless are also comfortable. We spend a long time listening to the Sennheiser over-ears, and though we find some mild on-ear heating past the hour mark, we generally don’t suffer with that aching feeling that can make extended listening a miserable experience.

Both over-ear designs feature a combination of touch-capacitative controls on the earcups and physical buttons. In both cases, haptics are expertly implemented, responding quickly and effectively to our commands when controlling playback or activating noise modes. You will, though, enjoy deeper levels of control customisation via the Sony Sound Connect app than via Sennheiser's Smart Control Plus platform.

This is a close one. The Sennheisers are a little more luxurious to behold, but the Sonys win back serious points for their portability, durability and greater control customisation.

** Winner: Sony WH-1000XM6 **

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless vs Sony WH-1000XM6: features

Two pairs of premium headphones, two premium feature sets to match.

Bluetooth codec support is impressive across the board, with the Momentum 5 Wireless offering SBC and AAC codecs alongside higher-quality aptX HD, aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive flavours. The Sennheisers currently use Bluetooth 5.4, but an upcoming firmware update later this year will push this to 6.0 and include LE Audio for reduced latency, better battery life and potentially boosted audio quality.

Conversely, the XM6 grant standard SBC and AAC and, of course, Sony's LDAC codec for streaming hi-res music at higher data rates over Bluetooth from a compatible device.

On Bluetooth, Multipoint connectivity is available on both pairs, meaning you can connect to two devices simultaneously.

Both grant app support, with respective platform a pleasure to use. The Sony app isn't the fanciest in the world, but it's certainly one of the most in-depth and customisable around, offering the likes of a 10-band equaliser and access to touch control personalisation. The Sennheiser SmartPlus app isn't quite as in-depth, but outmatches Sony for its usability and ease of navigation, and you're still able to perform useful actions such as tweaking your EQ settings or adjusting the amount of ANC you're getting via a handy slider.

Battery life is reasonably strong for the WH-1000XM6, reaching around 30 hours with noise cancelling switched on. That number is roundly beaten by the Momentum 5 Wireless: a very healthy 57 hours when noise cancelling is on and you’re playing at a reasonable volume is a very nice feather in Sennheiser’s cap,.

If you're into spatial audio, neither set will leave you feeling glum. The Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless have Dolby Atmos on the menu when listening to supported content, with dynamic head tracking to be added via an upcoming firmware update.

The WH-1000XM6 support Sony’s ‘360 Reality Audio Upmix’ tech, although you will have to go through a short set-up and ear scan if you want to make proper use of it.

Happily, you can listen to either pair via a wired connection. The Sony WH-1000XM6 grant wired listening via an included 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable, whereas the Sennheisers offer a wired option via either 3.5mm to 3.5mm or USB-C to USB-C, with the latter method capable of handling lossless files up to 24-bit/96kHz.

A good showing from Sennheiser, but Sony's flagship cans do have a few extra tricks up their sleeve. 'Speak-To-Chat', which drops the volume level when you start talking, is available on the WH-1000XM6, as is 'Quick Attention Mode' for letting you hear ambient sounds straight away by placing a hand on the exterior of the right earcup.

The WH-1000XM6 also make use of Sony's DSEE Extreme sound enhancement engine to bring poor-quality digital audio files nearer to high-res quality.

These two are roughly neck-and-neck when it comes to features: Sony might have a few more tricks up its sleeve that make daily portable use seamless, while Sennheiser's substantially longer battery life and inclusion of USB audio are major strengths.

** Draw **

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless vs Sony WH-1000XM6: ANC and call quality

Sennheiser made a big effort to improve the noise cancelling for its new Momentum over-ears, with the fifth-gen cans using twice as many microphones (a total of eight) as their predecessors.

Those additions pay off. The Momentum 5's ANC doesn't clear the bar set by the Sony WH-1000XM6, but it will keep most noises – traffic, wind, air conditioners – at bay.

The overall effect does feel more like a softening of sounds rather than a complete exclusion, something which the Sonys do more effectively and more naturally. Take both pairs somewhere properly challenging, such as a public gym, and the XM6 will handle the full range of frequencies more effectively than their Sennheiser rivals.

Harsh sounds, such as clanking weights, are more convincingly filtered out by the XM6, and we feel more isolated from noises than when wearing the Sennheisers. Stand by a roadside with both pairs to hand, and the Sonys will all but eliminate those low traffic rumbles – the Momentum 5 Wireless, meanwhile, will soften rather than fully exclude them.

Call quality, meanwhile, is at a high standard no matter the cans you choose. Both pairs are excellent at reducing exterior sounds, especially the swirling bluster of wind noise, all while spotlighting human speech. The Momentum 5 make voices sound warmer and more natural, whereas the XM6 are impressively clear but can sound a tiny bit robotic by comparison.

Excellent call quality on each, but the XM6 have the noise cancelling talents to take this particular round.

** Winner: Sony WH-1000XM6 **

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless vs Sony WH-1000XM6: sound quality

The Momentum 5 Wireless are excellent premium noise cancelling headphones, and some of the finest wireless over-ears that Sennheiser has produced in recent times.

We hear much of the same sonic DNA from the superb five-star Sennheiser HDB 630 in these more affordable headphones, with the Momentum 5 Wireless sharing the same feeling of clarity, dexterity and richness as their bigger brothers.

Their midrange is arguably their greatest strength. While the Sennheisers can be a touch rich in the lower frequencies, their midrange reproduction is superb, offering a naturalness and insight that gives the Sony WH-1000XM6 a serious run for their money. If anything, they're even better with voices than their Sony rivals, and that's really saying something.

The Sennheisers are rich, smooth and brilliantly precise headphones, with a personality that makes listening a refreshingly undemanding experience, offering levels of poise and maturity that very few comparable alternatives can match.

As we said in our review: "We could spend days on end listening to the Momentum 5 Wireless and feel neither frustration nor fatigue. While words such as 'undemanding' or 'relaxed' might otherwise be used synonymously with 'boring' or 'bland', we in fact find that these are headphones that strike a great balance between refinement and fun."

That said, if you've got the money to spend, it's definitely worth seeking out the WH-1000XM6 for a proper step up in audio quality. The XM6 don't have the midrange sweetness of the Sennheisers, but they're a punchier, more entertaining pair with ample talent across the board.

As we enthused in our review, the WH-1000XM6 "deliver the most detailed, dynamic, precise and open sound we’ve heard from a wireless Sony flagship. The headphones just seem capable of diving into any track you play and extracting an unbelievable amount of information".

Precision meets power to thrilling effect, and leading edges of notes are sharply drawn and hit with precision and force. The XM6 are great at breaking things down so that you hear each individual element of a song, but they also make sure to put everything back together again into one cohesive, thrilling whole.

While their midrange isn't quite as sweet as the Sennheisers, and they might be a touch more fatiguing to listen to over longer periods, the XM-1000XM6 are the more entertaining, musically talented of the two. Their dynamics land with more verve and contrast, while their rhythmic abilities can make the Momentum 5 Wireless sound just a touch sluggish by comparison.

The Sennheisers are superb, but the WH-1000XM6 justify their extra outlay. For us, they're the sonically superior pick if you have a bit more cash to spend.

** Winner: Sony WH-1000XM6 **

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless vs Sony WH-1000XM6: verdict

The five-star Momentum 5 Wireless are a great reminder that Sennheiser is more than ready to take on all-comers in the premium wireless headphones space.

Their sound is easily worthy of its five-star accreditation, bolstered by a very healthy feature set, a huge battery life, and, perhaps most importantly, a lower price tag than that of the Sony WH-1000XM6. If you can't stretch to the more premium Sonys, the Momentum 5 are the logical step down.

If you do have the cash to spend and you want a great value return on your not-inconsiderable investment, we still recommending going for the Sony WH-1000XM6.

Not only are they more sonically exciting and engaging than the Sennheisers, but their massive bag of class-leading features, not to mention their effortlessly ergonomic design for daily portable use, make them the complete package. They're our current What Hi-Fi? Award-winners for a reason.

**Overall winner: Sony WH-1000XM6**

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Well, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?

If you can believe it, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless made their debut in the second half of 2022, meaning we’ve been waiting nearly four years for a fifth-gen sequel. In wireless headphone terms, that’s a long wait, especially when you consider that most manufacturers tend to update their premium lines every two or so years.

Think of the premium wireless headphones that have been released since the Momentum 4. The Sony WH-1000XM5 and the WH-1000XM6. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones and their second-gen successors. The Apple AirPods Max 2. The Dali IO-8. The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2, Px7 S3, Px8 and Px8 S2. That’s a lot of very impressive premium alternatives.

It might have been a long wait from one generation of Momentum Wireless to the next, but we know that Sennheiser can still compete with the best – just look at the benchmark-setting Sennheiser HDB 630 over-ears for proof. The Momentum 5 Wireless are a notch cheaper than their more audiophile bigger brothers, but if they share similar sonic talents, they might well make the case for the old adage that slow and steady really does win the race.

Price

As you might have gathered, the Momentum 5 Wireless have a lot of competition, but most of it comes at higher prices. The Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM6 are £400 / $450 / AU$699, while the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) started life at £449 / $449 / AU$700 but often drop to £349 in the UK.

Let’s not forget about the five-star Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3, which will cost you £399 / $499 / AU$699 at full price, whereas the Apple AirPods Max 2 are a step up at £499 / $549.

Build & comfort

We’ve occasionally criticised Sennheiser headphones for looking a little bland or functional in the past, but that’s not an accusation we could level at our stylish ‘Denim’ blue test pair.

True, the overall design language typified by those large oval earcups will be familiar to anyone who has seen a pair of recent wireless Sennheiser over-ears, but little touches, such as the headband’s attractive fabric exterior, go a long way to making the Momentum 5 Wireless feel more premium. They’re certainly a lot more desirable-looking than their rather plain HDB 630 siblings.

To hold in the hand, the Momentum 5 Wireless don’t impress quite so much. That headband exterior looks and feels the part, but the earcups feel just a little cheap and plasticky to the touch. They’ll swivel horizontally without much trouble, but unlike the Sony WH-1000XM6 or the Bose QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), they don’t fold up entirely.

Having earcups with large exterior surfaces does have its advantages, particularly when it comes to touch controls. Sennheiser’s system – customisable via the Smart Control Plus app – is really well implemented, and we find them to be intuitive and easy to manage. Whether we’re swiping up on the right cup to increase volume or across to switch tracks, everything responds crisply and quickly to what we want.

Controls aside, how are the Momentum 5 Wireless to wear? At 290g, they’re not the lightest premium wireless headphones you can find – the Sony WH-1000XM6 weigh just 254g – but they are comfortable. We spend a long time listening to the Momentum 5, and though we find some mild on-ear heating past the hour mark, we generally don’t suffer with that aching, ‘squashed ear’ feeling that can make extended listening a real chore.

They’re secure and stable, too. The Sennheisers accompany us on quite a few dog walks and the occasional trip to the shops, and even when we’re striding purposefully with our eager Labrador in tow, they don’t often feel as though they’re rocking on our ears thanks to the headphones’ well-judged clamping force.

Inside, the Momentum 5 Wireless house a pair of 42mm dynamic drivers, inspired by those found in Sennheiser’s HD 600 series of wired headphones and tuned for what the German manufacturer describes as a “full-bodied sound with dynamic bass”.

Features

When we visited their research and development labs, the team at Sennheiser described themselves as a “sound-first company". That may be so, but we’re pleased to see that Sennheiser hasn’t forgotten that wireless cans need a few mod cons to keep up with the times. As a result, we’re not left cursing a barren features list.

Bluetooth codec support is impressive, with the Momentum 5 Wireless offering SBC and AAC codecs alongside higher-quality aptX HD, aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive flavours. The cans currently use Bluetooth 5.4, but an upcoming firmware update later this year will push this to 6.0 and include LE Audio for reduced latency, better battery life, and potentially improved sound quality.

Speaking of Bluetooth, Multipoint tech is available for connecting to two devices simultaneously, with our test headphones switching easily between an iPhone 15 and our work laptop without much fuss.

Battery life is a highlight, reaching a very healthy 57 hours when noise cancelling is switched on and you’re playing at a reasonable volume. For comparison, the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) generally top out at 30 hours with ANC in play. A nice feather for Sennheiser’s cap, then.

For spatial audio fans, Dolby Atmos is on the menu when listening to supported Atmos content, with head tracking to be added via an upcoming firmware update. We test the tech out using a few Dolby Atmos tracks on Tidal – The Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter and Jimi Hendrix’s Crosstown Traffic to name a few – and there’s no doubt that the Sennheisers are able to harness their Dolby powers to craft a more three-dimensional listening experience.

Dolby Atmos can be switched on and off via the Sennheiser SmartPlus app, a stable and easily navigable platform which we find a pleasure to use. We’re particularly keen on the amount of customisation on offer, be it dialling in the amount of ANC we want to experience or tinkering with the eight-band custom equaliser.

ANC & call quality

Sennheiser has stated that, in response to customer feedback from the Momentum 4 Wireless, it has made a big effort to improve the noise cancelling for its fifth-generation follow-ups, with the new cans using twice as many microphones (a total of eight) for what Sennheiser describes as “three times” better midrange noise cancellation.

Those improvements add up to a pleasing experience. The Momentum 5’s ANC isn’t on the same level as the excellent Sony WH-1000XM6 or Bose QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), but it’s a good performance which keeps most noises – traffic, wind, the hum of air conditioners – at bay. Sennheiser does keep its promise of better midrange cancellation, with the Momentum 5 doing well to exclude the chatter of external voices.

The overall effect does feel more like a softening of sounds rather than a complete exclusion – something which the Sony and Bose manage more effectively – but it’s still a capable showing. Taking the Sennheisers to the gym, the ANC results in a softening of the hubbub of a busy public space, even if harsher noises, such as clanking weights, can penetrate through.

Happily, call quality is right up there with the best. We take the fifth-gen Momentum out for a test chat on a blustery day in May (thanks, British weather), and our headphones effectively reduce intrusive wind and traffic noise while spotlighting human speech. Voices are clear and natural, even making the WH-1000XM6 sound a little mechanical and bright by comparison.

Sound

For something a little different, let’s start with what the Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless don’t necessarily do quite so well.

The headphones’ bass reproduction is on the richer side, something which makes itself apparent when listening to Hans Zimmer’s Like A Dog Chasing Cars, and while it’s still of a high quality, some listeners might prefer a tauter reproduction at the lower end.

Further, songs with a propulsive central rhythm don’t quite clip along with the same sense of ‘momentum’ when playing via the Sennheisers as they do when switching to the more expensive Sony WH-1000XM6. Load up Radiohead’s Burn The Witch or Kid Cudi’s Day 'n' Nite, and you’ll hear what we mean – the Sonys have a forward-focused urgency to them, while the Sennheisers favour a more relaxed presentation.

Costlier alternatives, such as the WH-1000XM6 or HDB 630 will undoubtedly take things up a notch sonically, but if you’re not willing to spend that extra £80 / $50-100, the Momentum 5 Wireless are an excellent pick thanks to their plentiful sonic virtues.

Their midrange, for instance, is a real highlight. While the Sennheisers can be a touch rich in the lower frequencies, they are right at home in the midrange, offering a naturalness and insight that gives even more premium alternatives a run for their money. Marvin Gaye’s crooning on Mercy Mercy Me comes across as rich, smooth and soulful, with the Momentum 5 crafting a wondrous feeling of emotive intimacy as Gaye bemoans that “things ain’t what they used to be”.

Let’s be clear, however, that these are more than just midrange specialists. These are rich, smooth yet strikingly precise and detailed headphones, with an audio signature that makes listening a refreshingly undemanding experience. Sugar’s If I Can’t Change Your Mind can sound overly urgent or shrill via lesser alternatives, but the Momentum 5 Wireless have the poise and maturity to bring order to what could, in the wrong hands, have quickly descended into chaos.

Those qualities are only amplified when we listen using a wired connection. Both 3.5mm and USB-C options for wired audio are provided, with the latter capable of handling files up to 24-bit/96kHz. A physical connection adds fullness and depth to instrumental textures, and that lovely midrange becomes perceptibly sweeter and even more defined when we return to Mercy Mercy Me via USB-C.

Wired or wireless, dynamics are teased out ably, and the Sennheisers are subtle and delicate in the way that they communicate those key tonal shifts, with the Momentum 5's precise temperament bringing out small scale dynamic shifts superbly.

All told, we could spend days on end listening to the Momentum 5 Wireless and feel neither frustration nor fatigue. While words such as “undemanding” or “relaxed” might otherwise be used synonymously with “boring” or “bland”, we in fact find that these are headphones that strike a great balance between refinement and fun.

Verdict

With the HDB 630 and now the excellent Momentum 5 Wireless, Sennheiser has reaffirmed that it is still a key player in the premium wireless headphones space, with the Momentum 5 Wireless serving as a timely reminder of the quality the brand can produce.

If you’re willing to spend a touch more, it’s well worth considering either the Sennheiser HDB 630 or the Sony WH-1000XM6. If your budget doesn't quite stretch that far but you’re still keen on stellar sound, the excellent Momentum 5 Wireless are an obvious choice.

Review published: 25th May 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony WH-1000XM6

Also consider the Sennheiser HDB 630

"Sound comes first" – we speak to Sennheiser about German engineering, changing ownership, and 80 years of making music

Best noise-cancelling headphones tested by our in-house review experts

Sennheiser has announced the latest entry in its Momentum wireless over-ear headphones range.

The Momentum 5 Wireless follow the five-star Momentum 4 Wireless, and offer a host of sonic upgrades that should see them really challenge the ruling Sony WH-1000XM6.

Sennheiser says it has refined the experience "without straying from the formula" that made the M4 Wireless a favourite among the What Hi-Fi? team.

At their heart, you get the same 42mm transducer as in the previous model, which is tuned for "full-bodied sound with dynamic bass." But added to that are Hi-Res Audio certification and Qualcomm's Snapdragon Sound.

The former is an official seal of approval from the Japan Audio Society (JAS) that the cans have a frequency response of at least 40kHz and support 24-bit/96 kHz hi-res audio.

Snapdragon Sound is a blanket term for a few different technologies from Qualcomm that work together to optimise how smartphones and tablets transmit sound to audio devices like headphones.

The Momentum 5 supports the aptX Lossless Bluetooth codec for higher-quality listening, though sadly, there's no adapter like with the five-star Sennheiser HDB 630 that ensures your audio source is up to scratch on the quality front.

But you can tweak the sound using the Smart Control app, which has a new 8-band equaliser, bespoke presets and an intelligent Sound Personalisation engine.

The active noise cancellation (ANC) has also been improved. There are now twice as many microphones assigned to ANC duties – four per side.

We're promised "across-the-board improvements," though you'll have to read our Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless review to see if that's true.

Dolby Atmos with head-tracking will provide a more immersive experience when listening to spatial audio content, and updates are in the pipeline to further improve the cans' capabilities. A future firmware update that will add Bluetooth 6.0 and LE Audio (they ship running Bluetooth 5.4) has been confirmed, for example.

The Momentum 4 Wireless set a new standard in wireless cans with a 60-hour battery life. The Momentum 5 Wireless can't quite match that, but still last a very impressive 57 hours with ANC on. And the battery is removable, so you can swap it for a new one when it degrades in years to come.

The case, too, has had a refresh, and is now 20 per cent smaller and made with plastic-free packaging.

The Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless are out on 30th June in Black, White and Denim colourways. They cost £330 / $400 / AU$749, which is £30 / $50 / AU$200 more than their predecessors at launch. You can read our review (linked to below) to see if they're worth the extra cash.

MORE:

Read our Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless review

Check out the best wireless headphones we've tested

"Sound comes first" – we speak to Sennheiser about German engineering, changing ownership, and 80 years of making music

The ones to beat: Sony WH-1000XM6 review

Sennheiser is at a fascinating, potentially pivotal moment, in its history. The established German brand's headphone division is currently up for sale, with its current owner – Swiss hearing care company Sonova – looking to offload its stake in order to focus on its core market.

Sennheiser isn't some novice or niche brand that has failed to carve out much of a reputation. The 80-year-old company deals in microphones, soundbars and, most famously, headphones, and while that latter market has never been so richly competitive, Sennheiser has scored numerous recent successes to indicate that it is, in fact, more than ready to tackle the competition head-on.

Its stunning Sennheiser HDB 630 wireless headphones, for instance, set a new benchmark for wireless sound at their price, and when you're competing with the likes of Sony, Bose, Apple and Bowers & Wilkins, that's some achievement.

This is a brand, then, which clearly has the talent and resources to compete with, and even overcome, its key rivals, but with aspects of its future still uncertain, how it continues to compete and the resources it has available to do so remain somewhat up in the air.

To get a clearer picture, we headed over to the company's Hanover headquarters to see how Sennheiser operates, delve its working philosophy and, perhaps most importantly, find out where it is headed.

'German engineering' – what is the Sennheiser way?

Since its founding way back in 1945, Sennheiser has been guided by a principle which continues to guide its working culture: the idea of what head of research and development Stephan Lietz dubs "German engineering".

This being a German company – the story begins in a farmhouse near Hanover in 1945 and the production of the brand's first-ever microphone – you'd be forgiven for simply labelling this as a slightly jingoistic term espousing the superiority of Teutonic technical prowess.

Quite the opposite. German engineering isn't tied to a nation, but rather, it's an idea which refers to a pursuit of certain standards which transcend any particular place or person. In short, it's a desire to make everything better, all of the time.

As Lietz explains: "For us, we have a modern interpretation. You're never satisfied. You always strive for the best, and you look at all the different details. We have three locations, and in the R&D department, we have fourteen different nations, that means we are not a German group of people. This is about our culture and the way we work".

It's hard not to get that impression as you walk around the Hanover facility and chat to the company's engineers, most of whom reiterate, quite unprovoked, their relentless desire to make a good product better.

Much of the company's research and testing takes place in Hanover, but there's also a Sennheiser factory in Tullamore, Ireland, the main facility for manufacturing transducers found in the brand’s audiophile headphones which we visited back in 2023.

Having a taste of the precision that goes into assembling the HD 820/800S and the HD 650/660S2 wired headphones in Ireland, and then seeing the precise laser measurements required to ascertain minute variations in a drivers' air displacement in Hanover, it's easy to see how the concept of German engineering can transcend the bounds of mere geography.

"Sound comes first" – the Sennheiser philosophy

No, we're not expecting an established audio manufacturer to say that sound doesn't matter, but when we hear multiple Sennheiser employees, from engineers to high-level executives, enthusing that this is a "sound-first" company, it's hard not to feel relief and quiet pride in equal measure.

Stephan Lietz is again the one to emphasise this shared philosophy, but it's something we hear time and again as we tour around the Hanover facility: "High quality sound comes first. (We are discovering) new materials, new ways of using transducers – there is still a lot to do".

If, as we did, you get the chance to try out the iconic Sennheiser HE 1 headphones system, it's easy to see how that sound-first philosophy translates to actual production, albeit taken to the extreme in terms of performance and price. Sennheiser's integrated electrostatic headphone-cum-amplifier system costs north of £60,000, but as an expression of just how much detail you can squeeze out of a pair of headphones, there's not much else that comes close.

We dig a little deeper, keener to discover if there's a signature sonic philosophy acting as a North Star for how the German brand tunes its headphones. Again, it's gratifying to hear that Sennheiser's criteria for production correlates rather nicely with what we look for on the listening side.

That desire to reveal emotion clearly underpins all headphone and audio production, but what's interesting is how much wiggle room there is from product to product. As Lietz explains:

"It's always different. Let's say you're designing something like the HD 800, you assume the environment where the user is using this device. You have your studio, your amplifiers, your chair, you lean back, close your eyes and listen. This means the experience needs to be different".

"Momentum's use case is people on the move or sitting on your computer or couch, and therefore you have to tune differently, but haptics and materials also play a role. It should be comfortable all the time. Use case very heavily influences how you design the product".

There's an understanding, then, that different headphones serve different requirements, and while Sennheiser continues to view the Momentum line as an "entry-point" into the company's wider range, certain aspects of their tuning have been adjusted to accommodate a slightly different audience.

"If you look at Momentum, there's a lot more bass when compared with other audiophile headphones? Why? Because the user expects this and the typical music played back is mixed for this type of headphone, so our tuning is different".

Sound comes first, then, but the type of sound? That can vary enormously from headphone to headphone, person to person, use case to use case.

What is Sennheiser and where is it headed?

This is the subject that seems to rear its head time and again when chatting to the kind folk at the Hanover office: how Sennheiser communicates its identity, philosophy and vision to the customers to whom it wants to appeal.

In a world of Apples, Boses, Sonys and B&Ws, how does Sennheiser stand out for the crowd and, more importantly, ensure that it is finding a way of meeting its desired customers in the middle? It's all well and good producing great headphones, but making sure you're directing your customers to the products designed for them is a major challenge.

Much of that challenge lies more in education rather than merely marketing. As Tim Bosmans, head of portfolio management and marketing explains, there are so many potential customers who don't necessarily understand the major sonic gains available to them beyond their iPhone's tinny speakers or their £30 pair of cheap wireless earbuds.

"It's not just a matter of can we make the sound better, it's can we make it more accessible. That's where we need to play a part, and ultimately, it's about educating our consumers".

It's not an easy trick, and Bosmans is open and honest about the challenge of communicating exactly what a good pair of headphones will grant any potential customer. Better branding? More transparency with customers? Social media? Live events? Even we have to admit that, from the other side of the fence, we're sometimes left frustrated by 'proper' audio's struggle to communicate its benefits to the average person on the street.

Lilika Beck(President, Consumer Hearing) agrees, but hopes that once customers experience Sennheiser sound, there is, and increasingly will be, a clear path forward for experiencing better and better audio:

"You want to start with Sennheiser? You start with Momentum. Then for some consumers, we want to create a pathway to move into the audiophile journey. We will have more and more options from Momentum upwards".

Those are the customers to whom Sennheiser is keen to appeal, and the brand's strategy going forward looks set to realign to reflect its heritage as an audio-first manufacturer.

As Beck says: "We made the strategic decision to refocus the business on our core competencies – we are a leader in audiophile (products). There's this huge opportunity to build this for the next generation...who aren't yet introduced to these audiophile products".

What about the more affordable side of the market? It's no secret that the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless over-ears started life at £300 / $350 / AU$550, with the more mid-range Accentum line – including the £160 / $180 / AU$300 Accentum Wireless cans – filling the gap as some of the cheapest headphones Sennheiser has made in the last few years.

For Beck, Sennheiser's future lies in the more premium sphere, with lower-end manufacturing representing too many unwanted challenges:

"It's red ocean. It's a lot of competition and you need a certain level of scale. There are very low margins (and) it's all about volume, so there's higher return rates, and I find that very difficult from an environmental point of view. For us, this (premium market) seems like a very natural focus.

"I think our brand has a reputation of being more premium. We want to return to that positioning".

We're fascinated to see what happens next for Sennheiser. As one of the most established names in all of headphones, be they wired or wireless, this is clearly a brand with immense knowledge, resources and, most importantly, talent at its disposal, something to which recent successes, such as the HDB 630 over-ears and Ambeo Soundbar Max, attest.

New ownership is potentially on the horizon, and with that change in owners can come a new direction.

Certainty and stability are not bad things – neither is a potential injection of capital – but with Sennheiser seemingly getting so much right on the development side, the team recognises a need to make sure that it communicates its virtues to a wider audience.

As Tim Bosmans reiterates: "If we look at our campaigns, the one thing Sennheiser hasn't done enough recently is that we need to get out there to help people understand how much is out there and how much quality you can get out of your devices".

"We're looking for someone who is very interested in the consume audio space and what we will bring to our target consumers", says Lilika Beck. That someone is yet to be decided, but whoever those new owners end up being, we hope that they stay true to Sennheiser's principle aim: to keep putting sound first.

MORE:

Read our review of the Sennheiser HDB 630

10 of the best Mogwai tracks to test your hi-fi system

Check out our guide to the best wireless headphones we've tested and rated

On the hunt for some of the best wireless headphones on the market? We've watched these five-star Sennheiser headphones drop in price over the last few months, but now they're at an excellent price.

For just $227 at Amazon, you can pick up the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless for a mega $123 off!

It's worth noting a couple of things, though. This is a limited time deal so it won't stick around for long, and this discount price is only available on the Black model. Fortunately, it's only an extra $23 if you're after Graphite or White.

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless headphones may be an older model compared to their closest rivals, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra and Sony XM6, but they'll cost you less cash while still excelling as one of the best-performing pairs of ANC over-ears at their price.

While we miss the blingy look of the former Momentum models, you may like the more minimalist aesthetic of the well-made Momentum 4, more than fit for purpose and offering low-key discretion.

But it's the impressive, rival-crushing 60 hours of battery life that we really need to shout about – just one feature of the Momentum 4 Wireless's spec sheet.

Throw in support for aptX Adaptive, one of the highest-quality Bluetooth codecs around, Bluetooth 5.2-compliance, and the Sennheiser Smart Control app (a gateway to experimenting with EQ) and you've got quite the impressive pick.

There's also the opportunity to switch to wired listening – either through the supplied 2.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable or a USB-C to USB-C (not supplied).

Plus, the option to create 'Sound Zones' – essentially profiles characterized by specific EQ and noise isolation levels – that will automatically activate or deactivate when you and the headphones enter or leave a specific radius.

But, how do they sound? Well, our expert testers said: “To their credit, the Momentum 4 Wireless’s presentation is clear and direct in a way that demands your attention. When first playing music through them, we are also struck by their tonal balance, which has shed a layer or two of the richness that has characterised older Momentums, in favour of more neutrality this time round."

And the fourth-generation Momentum Wireless' ANC is very decent indeed, which our testers thus praised: "Walking along a busy road, we find traffic nicely shunned – reduced to being only a visual distraction, not an audible one. The Sony XM5 have the slight edge when it comes to thwarting louder noises, such as trucks passing by, when no low-volume or sparser music is being played, but nine times out of ten both prove just as effective in eliminating noise and keeping you in a music-consumed bubble during playback."

Ultimately, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless are still highly recommendable for those who can't afford the extra outlay for extra sonic transparency. And dropping down to just $227 at Amazon for a limited time is an even better price to grab them at.

MORE:

Read our full Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless review

Our pick of the best wireless headphones you can buy right now

And check out the best on-ear headphones: our expert pick of wired and wireless pairs

The best wireless earbuds usually attract a premium price, and there's little guarantee that they'll be discounted by anything noteworthy.

That is apart from the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4, which seem to attract a significant price reduction every few months.

Right now you can snap up the five-star buds for just £155 at Amazon. That's one of the lowest prices we've ever seen them at.

The Momentum TW 4 boast rich, dynamic sound, a nice fit and an ample feature set. At this price, I challenge you to find anything better.

Best Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 4 wireless earbuds deal

We tested the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 at £260, which means you'll save a sweet £105 from their original test price if you snap up Amazon's latest devilish deal.

You'll seriously want to consider doing so. Sennheiser's flagship buds have earned the right to sit at the wireless earbuds top table, and as we noted in our original review, “They offer a very different flavour of sound to their closest rivals, but it’s just as engaging and enjoyable, and this makes them very easy to recommend."

We spoke highly of their mature, rich presentation, stating that “there’s sophistication across the frequency ranges with a smooth, refined treble and midrange, and weighty, full-bodied bass”. Rhythmically, they make it all seem effortless, and they manage to stay in tune with the flow of a track no matter how complicated the arrangement.

The Sennheiser buds support Bluetooth 5.4, aptX Lossless and LE Audio. Battery life is an impressive seven-and-a-half hours, while the charging case provides three extra full charges to keep you topped up on your travels.

Their intelligent charging feature claims to help extend the life of the earbuds by slowing down the speed of the charge as they get closer to full capacity.

Add into the mix their extremely comfortable fit, responsive touch controls and a feature-packed companion app that includes an ear-tip fit test, a five-band graphic equaliser and a whole host of other features and customisation options, and you’ve got an attractive package that ticks a heck of a lot of boxes.

A properly impressive deal on a pair of buds that could be on their way out quite soon. Be quick and head over to Amazon for a major saving.

MORE:

Read our review of the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4

You might also like the Sony WF-1000XM6

Also consider the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)

The Amazon Big Spring Sale has kicked into full gear, with the second day themed around Easter essentials.

Why are headphones included in this theme? We're not quite sure, but we're very much for it.

• See the whole Amazon Big Spring Sale

This has led to several tasty deals, including savings on Award-winners such as the Technics EAH-AZ100 and the Sony WF-C510.

So if, like us, you view headphones as an essential, then check out the deals below:

Sennheiser's headphone division could soon have a new owner.

Its current owner – Swiss hearing care company Sonova – wants to sell Sennheiser's headphone division and instead focus on its core business of hearing aids and cochlear implants, Heise online reports.

Sennheiser has a rich history in audio. For over 80 years, it has been making audio devices like headphones, microphones and soundbars. Highlights include the world's first open-backed headphones and the HD 25 which set the standard for pro headphones.

More recently, the HDB 630 scored five stars and elevated sound quality for premium wireless headphones, thanks in part to their handy USB dongle accessory.

Sonova took over Sennheiser's headphone division in 2021. The CEO at the time – Arnd Kaldowski – said it would be business as usual for Sennheiser. But now that Eric Bernard has succeeded Kaldowski as CEO, the plan looks to have changed.

Sonova insists it wants to find Sennheiser's consumer division "the best possible owner". But what it could mean for the business, its workforce, and its products is as yet unclear.

We've contacted Sennheiser for comment and will update this if we hear back.

There have been a lot of acquisitions and sales in the hi-fi and home cinema world recently.

TCL is buying Sony's TV business, VerVent Audio (owner of Focal and Naim) is being bought by Belgian firm Barco, while Chinese firm Skyworth is buying Panasonic.

At the end of last year, Harman bought Masimo's audio brands (including Bowers & Wilkins, Denon and Marantz).

Uncertain times. Let's hope it all works out for the best for Sennheiser.

MORE:

The best wireless headphones around

The best Sennheiser headphones

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: which are better?

Spring has officially sprung, and to celebrate, Amazon is throwing a party.

Well, an online-only party with lots of great deals rather than music and balloons, but a celebration nonetheless.

So, in keeping with the theme of Amazon's Spring Deal Days sale, we've rounded up the best hi-fi and home cinema deals perfect for sunnier weather and the great outdoors. Think Bluetooth speakers, running earbuds, portable projectors and some of our favourite over-ear headphones.

There are a couple of lowest-ever prices below, as well as big savings on some of our Award-winners and top recommendations. And, as ever, every product below has been tried, tested, and compared to the competition by us, so you can purchase with confidence.

So check out the deals below, before the sale ends...

• See the whole Amazon Spring Deal Days sale

Amazon's Spring Deal Days are in full swing, but you'll have to be quick if you want to grab a bargain as these low prices are only sticking around until March 16th.

And while only a week ago the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless headphones were £199, they've now dropped to just £161 at Amazon for the occasion.

That's the lowest price we've ever seen, beating the £169 we saw during Black Friday. A slight caveat though, this discount is only on the Black/Copper model. If you're after just Black or White, you'll have to pay £30 more.

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless headphones may be an older model than their closest rivals, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra and Sony XM6, but they'll also cost you far less, especially at this discount price, while still offering a packed-out spec sheet.

Our expert testers remarked that they have the "same old supreme Sennheiser sound in a great-value package". And alongside that, they've also got effective ANC and a whopping 60 hours of battery life, blowing the competition out of the water.

There's also the opportunity to switch to wired listening – either through the supplied 2.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable or a USB-C to USB-C (not supplied).

Feature-wise, there's a lot on offer, too. There's support for high-quality aptX Adaptive, one of the highest-quality Bluetooth codecs around, which is backwards-compatible with aptX if you don’t own one of the handfuls of devices supporting the newer Adaptive codec.

Plus, they are Bluetooth 5.2-compliant, meaning you can connect to multiple Bluetooth devices simultaneously and switch between them with ease.

All of this can be managed via the Sennheiser Control app, a useful companion where you can experiment with EQ, adjust ANC settings and perform a 'Sound Check'.

And in terms of sound, they're a competitive offering. In our full review, we said: “They sound sharp and sprightly, and that added leanness hasn’t come at the expense of substance across the frequencies: highs are well-honed, mids are pleasingly plump, and lows strike a good balance between being taut and tubby.

"When first playing music through them, we are also struck by their tonal balance, which has shed a layer or two of the richness that has characterised older Momentums, in favour of more neutrality this time round. That’s no bad thing.”

At just £161 at Amazon, it's certainly a price that's hard to resist if you're in the market for some new wireless cans.

MORE:

Read our full Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless review

Our pick of the best wireless headphones you can buy right now

And check out the best on-ear headphones: our expert pick of wired and wireless pairs

We're only three months into 2026, and I've already spent most of my year listening to more soundbars than I can count from the likes of Sonos, LG, Samsung, JBL and Harman Kardon.

By that metric, I’ll have listened to hundreds of soundbars by the time 2027 rolls around. But after my latest stint with the LG Sound Suite H7, it doesn't matter how a manufacturer pitches their flagship performance if there are connectivity shortcomings.

While the wireless connectivity options found on the Sound Suite H7 are bountiful, including Bluetooth 5.4, wi-fi, Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, wired connectivity options are slightly less well served.

In fact, that soundbar has a single wired connection option, and that is HDMI eARC. This is an output socket only, and it isn't backed up by any sort of additional HDMI passthrough sockets.

In our full review of the new LG flagship soundbar, we noted that the lack of any additional HDMI socket "feels like a missed opportunity considering LG has prided itself on featuring four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets on its TVs for quite some time".

Now, this isn't an issue that's exclusive to the LG Sound Suite H7, as its main competitor and notable What Hi-Fi? Award-winner is also missing this feature.

The Sonos Arc Ultra, which is a superb Dolby Atmos soundbar by all our metrics, is also missing an HDMI passthrough socket. Now, this is easily the best soundbar that we have on hand, and I look forward to listening to it every time I'm reviewing one of its many competitors, but I'm not sure if I could live with it day to day.

HDMI sockets are a precious commodity in my house. My Sony OLED TV is already limited in that it only has two HDMI 2.1 sockets, and the four in total that I do have are currently occupied by a PlayStation 5, a Sony UBP-X700 4K Blu-ray player, a Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus, and a Sky Stream box.

That leaves the rest of my AV devices (I admit I probably have more than the average Joe), such as my Apple TV 4K and Nintendo Switch, without an HDMI socket to call home; so, I rely on the very useful HDMI passthrough sockets built into my Sennheiser soundbar to pick up the slack. It's taking up a precious HDMI 2.1 port, so providing a couple of sockets in return is the least it could do.

There are some limitations, such as the fact that these sockets are HDMI 2.0 and don't support the latest gaming functions; however, my ageing Nintendo Switch doesn't support VRR or ALLM, so I'm not too fussed.

We've seen plenty of other soundbars on the market that provide HDMI passthrough sockets too. I have to give Samsung some kudos here: the HW-Q990F offers two HDMI inputs, both rated to support up to 4K/120Hz signals and Dolby Vision and HDR10+. Now that's more like it.

While I really do rate the Sonos Arc Ultra highly, I think Sonos should really consider upping its game in this specific area.

We've seen comments and feedback from various online platforms, with people venting their frustration to Sonos and, more recently, to LG about the lack of HDMI passthrough.

The really frustrating part is that the last LG soundbar that we reviewed, the mid-range, four-star S70TY, featured an HDMI 2.1 passthrough that supported 4K/120Hz gaming. It therefore feels like LG has taken an unnecessary step backwards in this regard.

Controversially, I'm at the point where I probably wouldn't even consider a soundbar unless it had HDMI passthrough.

That might sound extreme, as sound performance is and always will be paramount, but people (myself included) are expecting more from their soundbars these days.

Therefore, functionality is becoming as important as performance, and I think a few soundbar manufacturers need to recognise that.

MORE:

Read our full LG Sound Suite H7 review

As well as our Sonos Arc Ultra review

And check out our picks for the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

To grab yourself a pair of five-star headphones, you might be worried that you'll have to part with some serious cash. Fear not, thanks to this excellent deal that we've found.

For just £199 at Amazon, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless can be yours for a seriously low price. No, it's not quite the lowest price we've ever seen, dropping to £169 for Black Friday, but it's still an excellent deal considering they would've once cost you £100.

Plus, if you don't want to wait until November to see if they drop £30 lower, now seems like as good a time as any to strike. It's worth noting that alongside the Black and Copper premium model, you can also grab them £199 in Black and White at Amazon.

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless headphones may be a little older than the likes of their closest rivals, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra and Sony XM6, but they'll also cost you far less whilst still offering competitive sound, effective ANC and 60 hours of battery life.

And it's that battery life that truly blows the competition out of the water, as well as the opportunity to switch to wired listening – either through the supplied 2.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable or a USB-C to USB-C (not supplied).

Then there’s support for high-quality aptX Adaptive, one of the highest-quality Bluetooth codecs around, which is backwards-compatible with aptX if you don’t own one of the handfuls of devices supporting the newer Adaptive codec.

Plus, they are Bluetooth 5.2-compliant, meaning you can connect to multiple Bluetooth devices simultaneously and switch between them with ease.

All of this can be managed via the Sennheiser Control app, where you can also experiment with EQ, adjust ANC settings and perform a 'Sound Check'.

So, they're packed with premium specs, but how do they sound? Well, our expert testers had a lot of praise to give in their full review: “They sound sharp and sprightly, and that added leanness hasn’t come at the expense of substance across the frequencies: highs are well-honed, mids are pleasingly plump, and lows strike a good balance between being taut and tubby.

"When first playing music through them, we are also struck by their tonal balance, which has shed a layer or two of the richness that has characterised older Momentums, in favour of more neutrality this time round. That’s no bad thing.”

We've enjoyed Sennheiser's Momentum wireless over-ear headphones range for over a decade for their superb sonic substance alongside class, sleek style. And right now, they've dropped to just £199 at Amazon, over £100 off the original launch price with the same premium features.

MORE:

Read our full Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless review

Our pick of the best wireless headphones you can buy right now

And check out the best on-ear headphones: our expert pick of wired and wireless pairs

If you're looking for a premium digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) and headphone amplifier for a pair of the best audiophile headphones, you should seriously consider the Sennheiser HDV 820.

Why? Well, it's one of our favourites, despite being awarded four stars. It delivers a refined, informative presentation with fluid dynamics. It also boasts a fine build and finish.

But there's one other reason you should consider it: because it is currently selling for £1499 at Richer Sounds. That's a not to be sniffed at £600 discount.

It has been seen at this price before, but because it's such a generous discount, we want to highlight it again.

In our four-star Sennheiser HDV 820 review, we used the amp with both the same brand’s HD800S headphones and the Beyerdynamic T1, a long-time favourite of ours. And our verdict?

“Regardless of headphones, the results are good. The Sennheiser has a crisp, precise delivery that sounds wonderfully refined,” is what we say in the review.

We are fans of the amp’s ability to “organise and interweave different musical strands to form a cohesive whole,” and “its pleasing dose of outright scale”. Adding to this, we say “large dynamic shifts are delivered with composure”.

It doesn’t quite have the bite or attack of the very best at the money, but it’s still a smooth and sophisticated performer – great if you like a huge dose of refinement from your headphone amp/DAC.

The Sennheiser ticks plenty of boxes in terms of connectivity. Unusually, there’s a traditional 6.3mm jack integrated into the three-pin XLR socket on the front of the unit.

You also get a four-pin XLR and a pair of 4.4mm Pentaconn jacks on the front, both of which allow a balanced connection to suitable headphones.

Another string to the HDV 820’s bow is that it can also act as a preamplifier thanks to the presence of both single-ended and balanced analogue inputs and outputs, plus a separate gain-adjustment to fine-tune the output for your power amp or active speakers.

The DAC functionality comes via a trio of USB, coaxial and optical digital inputs, with resolution limits of DSD256 and 32-bit/384kHz for PCM music files.

Add solid build quality and a great user experience to the mix, and you have a versatile amp with plenty going for it, not least a £600 discount over at Richer Sounds.

MORE:

Read our full Sennheiser HDV 820 review

Our pick of the best headphone amplifiers you can buy

And the best audiophile headphones we have tested

What is a headphone amplifier and why should you buy one?

The likes of the Sony WH-1000XM6 and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra are great for consumers who love smart features and excellent ANC. But what if you want the very best precision-engineered sound and are happy paying for it?

Well then, you need the Sennheiser HD 820. Retailing at £1799, the five-star headphones from Sennheiser are now a slightly more palatable £1239 at Peter Tyson.

As some of the best wired headphones we've reviewed, you're guaranteed a robust, full-bodied and detailed sound alongside an outstanding build quality. They're expensive, but given that they'll last a lifetime, we think the price can be justified.

If you are after serious audiophile headphones for home listening, we would normally point you in the direction of open-back models, such as Sennheiser's own HD800S.

But this superb HD 820 model has an eye-catching closed-back design that uses curved Gorilla Glass to cover the driver.

This design reflects the sound coming out of the back of the driver towards sound-absorbing chambers to combat some of the downsides of a typical closed design.

The result is the HD 820 deliver an impressive sense of scale and dynamic punch, with a sense of roominess that we get in traditional open-back designs.

As we said in our original Sennheiser HD 820 review, the headphones have "a smooth, full-bodied tonal balance that trades the last ounce of transparency and sonic agility for the kind of sound that’s easy to listen to for hours on end despite the quality of the recording".

Voices are delivered with crispness and a natural sense of expression, while the headphones have a tremendous ability to organise even the most complex recordings.

The durable build quality and comfortable earpads help too, and while they may look bulky, the HD 820 are surprisingly lightweight and roomy. If you enjoy long listening sessions, these Sennheisers – partnered with an appropriately talented source and headphone amplifier – will be great company.

These are premium audiophile headphones that are always worth considering if you have the budget at your disposal.

But with this significant £560 saving at Peter Tyson bringing the price down, it could be time to take the plunge.

MORE:

Read the full Sennheiser HD 820 review

Check out our guide to the best audiophile headphones

Open-back vs closed-back headphones: which type is right for you?

Sometimes less is more.

That’s certainly the case with the recent crop of cheap soundbars we have tested – and there’s one specific feature I don’t mind missing out on when I’m setting up a budget bar.

The tension of unboxing a soundbar, waiting to find out whether the app I need to test said ’bar will be usable or not, is usually unbearable.

I am, of course, in a unique position. As someone who has unboxed and set up countless soundbars, I have more applications taking up my iPhone’s storage than the average Joe.

Sonos, Sony, Samsung, LG, Sennheiser; each has its own application, and that's just to name a few.

They all vary greatly in quality, too. Samsung’s SmartThings app is intuitive, responsive, and mostly optional if you don’t plan on streaming music to your HW-Q990F from your phone. The LG Soundbar app, on the other hand, has been a bit of a buggy mess when we have used it in the past.

That app tended to crash mid-way through the setup process, forcing me to unpair the soundbar from my phone and restart the process completely when I reviewed the LG USE6S back in 2023.

Admittedly that was almost three years ago, so things may have changed; however, the LG Soundbar app currently sports an embarrassing two stars on the Apple App Store, so I'm not willing to bet it has made much progress.

Thankfully, it’s an issue that hasn’t presented itself with the last few soundbars I have looked at. None of them has an app to speak of. This is because they sit towards the more affordable end of the soundbar spectrum; and the most effective way to keep costs down, from what we've seen, is to make a soundbar “dumb”.

Cheap soundbars can teach the flagships a lesson...

Take the four-star Creative Stage Pro, which surprised us with its potent sonic performance despite its minuscule price. While we like its crisp dialogue and punchy bass, arguably its biggest draw is that it just works, and once you plug it in, you don't really need to think about it ever again.

It's a similar story for the Sony HT-SF150, which remains our reference cheap soundbar despite being more than six years old now. Its plug and play nature made it a quick and easy comparison tool to assess the Creative Stage Pro’s performance.

Stepping up in terms of price and complexity, I also helped to test the Sony Bravia Theatre System 6 (review coming soon), which also lacks wi-fi compatibility.

That soundbar does support the Sony Bravia Connect app, but it works over a Bluetooth connection and is simply an alternative way to access settings and features that can also be found on the supplied remote control.

Having an app that works with the soundbar, but isn't necessary to operate or get the best out of it, really is a best-case scenario in my opinion. In fact, it led me to a realisation.

I would take an optional or simple soundbar app over a badly optimised one that happens to be full of features any day of the week. The frustration of an app crashing mid setup can really sour the excitement of testing a new soundbar; I would rather sidestep the process completely if it’s going to be more hassle than it’s worth.

I understand that this philosophy really applies only to budget soundbars, as pricier models need a calibration system, or a way to connect external components such as wireless subwoofers and surround speakers. But that definitely leads me to wish that the flagship soundbars in question had better apps.

If I’m going to be forced to use a soundbar app, can these multi-billion-pound corporations at least make sure it’s a good one?

Maybe that’s too much to ask. So for now I’ll revel in the straightforward, plug-and-play simplicity of the budget soundbars that we’re currently testing.

MORE:

Read our full Sonos Arc Ultra review

Check out our picks for the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

As well as the best budget soundbars

If you want a great pair of premium wireless headphones, you are currently spoiled for choice. Many of the major audio brands are desperately vying for wire-free supremacy, with each sending its flagship champion out to bat armed with alluring designs, bulging feature sets and boundary-pushing sound in a bid to tempt would-be buyers into making a lasting commitment.

Sony’s What Hi-Fi? Award-winning WH-1000XM6 spent much of 2025 as the champions of the arena, but don’t think for a moment that this is a one-horse race. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) are still staking their claim as the active noise-cancelling kings, while Bowers & Wilkins’ Px7 S3 blend style and substance into one very appealing package.

Then there’s Sennheiser’s five-star HDB 630 flagship headphones which made a late play at the end of last year with one thing on their mind: knock Sony off its perch and take the premium wireless crown back to Sennheiser Towers.

We’re struggling to think of a time when this particular space has been so competitive. That’s great news for the consumer – higher standards and greater choice are never a bad thing – but all of that fierce competition can be a double-edged sword. After all, how are you supposed to know which cans deserve a place atop your noggin when they all promise potent performance and so many tantalising tricks?

That’s where we come in. Thanks to our exhaustive Group Test of the most talented premium headphones around, we're in the best position possible to let you know which wireless wonders are right for you.

We have tested the top four models across a range of criteria, including design, comfort, features and sound quality, putting you in the best position when it comes to picking your perfect pair of premium partners.

Each year, it seems, the needle is pushed further and further north, so that some brands which could once have expected a full five-star haul might find themselves outmatched by the sheer quality showcased by their talented rivals.

In isolation, Bose's flagship QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen are better than ever, and their punchy, entertaining sound is certainly a noticeable step up over their first-generation antecedents.

For their lightweight comfort, foldable design and class-leading noise cancelling, they have so much to recommend them, especially for frequent flyers and commuters who value noise-cancelling above all.

Bose’s problem is that it hasn’t quite kept up with the rest of the pack on the audio front. We can still see the appeal of the overall package they provide, but if you’re looking for the best sound available at this premium level, their price-comparable adversaries have widened the margin to such an extent that Bose is in danger of being somewhat left behind.

Partly responsible for such a growing divide are the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3. While the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Sennheiser HDB 630 advance things further in the sound quality department, we can’t deny that the B&Ws’ premium quality materials and design make them worthy of their high price tag.

Their noise-cancelling abilities may not be class leading, but they deliver a rich, full-bodied sound that drops you into the centre of your music to thrilling effect.

Bluetooth codec support is impressive. The higher-quality aptX Adaptive codec is on board, and of the four pairs of headphones tested here, the Px7 S3 are the only ones to offer support for aptX Lossless, offering CD quality (16-bit/44.1kHz) audio transmission from compatible sources.

The B&Ws’ sonic talents, combined with the sleek, prestige design, will make them an eye-catching proposition to anyone who values style as much as substance.

The Sonys push those sonic boundaries even further in nearly every area, all while boasting some of the most impressive all-around credentials you’ll find. Whether it’s their excellent noise cancelling, the superbly detailed and excellent dynamic presentation, effortless usability or superb comfort, the WH-1000XM6 are headphones built to please most of the people most of the time.

Topping the might of their predecessors was never going to be easy, but clever design and performance tweaks have elevated Sony’s flagship cans to the next level.

That next level is, on the sound front at least, not quite enough to overcome the fresh challenge of the Sennheiser HDB 630 – the HDB 630 have proved themselves to be a true force of nature.

Their standard sound quality is nuanced, spacious and a detail-rich delight, outstripping the Sony XM6 for textural insight, emotional engagement and the breadth of their soundstage.

The clever USB-C Bluetooth dongle that comes bundled with the headphones takes the sonic ability to new heights, as it lets you stream in hi-res aptX Adaptive Bluetooth quality from practically any source you plug it into, be it Android or iOS.

Plus, they don’t leave us feeling starved in other areas. While they might look a little bland for some (especially at this premium level), and they don’t quite reach the heights set by Sony or Bose’s noise-cancelling powers, they are still capable enough for everyday use. The HDB 630s’ plush headband and well-cushioned earpads make long listening sessions a breeze.

Additionally, a claimed 60-hour battery life and solid call quality only sweeten the deal. If only they folded away…

It’s gratifying to see the myriad ways the biggest headphone brands in the game have approached the premium wireless space, with each of these strong contenders bringing their own unique skillset to the table to appeal to specific needs.

For us, sound quality is king, so we’re giving the win here to the headphones that impressed us the most on the audio front. If you want the best-sounding wireless headphones you can get at this level it’s impossible to look past the benchmark-setting Sennheiser HDB 630 – for our money, they’re the cream of the current crop.

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Best noise cancelling headphones: rated and reviewed

It's the final week of the January sales, but it's safe to say they're going out with a bang.

Not content to let the discounts slowly peter out, retailers came back with a vengeance this week for a string of savings, including some of the best 65-inch TV deals we have seen in some time.

TVs were far from the only category seeing savings, though, and we have rounded up some of the best here.

This week we're seeing £700 off a huge five-star soundbar – the aptly named Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max – ten per cent off the multi-Award-winning Denon D-M41DAB and a new lowest price for the 42-inch LG C5, meaning you can get an Award-winning OLED for only £719.

As ever, these are all products we have tested ourselves, so have the What Hi-Fi? seal of approval. We recommend only the best, and we have in-depth reviews on all these products detailing our thoughts.

Now, you'd better take a look at these deals before the January sales run out:

Sennheiser has updated two of its budget wired headphone models with USB-C connectivity. The HD 400U over-ears follow the HD 400S, while the CX 80U in-ears follow the CX 80S.

The addition of a USB-C connector means they will plug into modern smartphones, tablets and other devices without needing an adapter.

The HD 400S and CX 80S both had 3.5mm headphone jacks – a connection no longer supported by most modern smartphones and tablets.

Both the new HD 400U and CX 80U support up to 24-bit/96kHz lossless audio through the USB-C wired connection. That's the same file resolution as Sennheiser's wireless (though much pricier) five-star HDB 630 headphones, which need a dongle in order to support that format over Bluetooth.

Sennheiser says that the HD 400U build on their predecessor's "bass-driven acoustics" and "backpack-friendly portability" (they can be folded up to stash away in a pocket or bag). They have a closed back for greater isolation and focus, though no active noise cancellation ability. They come with a storage pouch and detachable cable for keeping them safe on your travels.

The CX 80U in-ear wired headphones, meanwhile, have a "balanced-yet-punchy sound" with three sizes of eartip to get the best fit.

Both models have an in-line mic for handsfree calls.

The Sennheiser HD 400U over-ears cost £69.99 / $99.95 (around AU$138) and the CX 80U in-ears cost £34.99 / $39.95 (around AU$69). Both are available to buy now, in black finish only.

MORE:

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Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: which over-ears are better?

The best wired headphones around

2025 was a massive year for premium wireless headphones, with many of the big-name manufacturers pulling out all the stops in a bid to eke out a slender advantage in this hugely competitive market.

Such a standard was typified by the arrival of both the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 early in the year, before Sennheiser threw its oar in at the last moment with its unveiling of the HDB 630 flagship over-ears.

Fierce competition is clearly pushing brands to new heights of performance and innovation, evidenced by the ever-climbing quality of the premium arena. Both B&W and Sennheiser have staked serious claims to this contested territory, but which should you pick if you want the best premium performance possible?

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: price

The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 cost £399 / €429 / $449 / AU$699 at launch, placing them firmly into what we would term the 'premium' tranche of the wireless headphone market. Discounts have occasionally knocked that UK figure down to £329, but at the time of writing, we've never seen the Px7 S3 fall below the £300 mark.

The Sennheiser HDB 630 will set you back a good deal more cash, especially if you're buying them outside the UK. At £400 / $500 / AU$1000, they're also decidedly premium over-ears, and unlike their sometimes-discounted rivals, we don't expect to see major price cuts just yet – the HDB 630 were only reviewed in December 2025, lest we forget.

**Winner: Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3**

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: design and build

What our two head-to-head rivals prove, at least from the outside, is that there's more than one way to design a pair of premium wireless headphones. Both cost the same sort of money, yet from an aesthetics perspective, they walk decidedly different paths.

The Sennheisers are about as straight down the line as a pair of headphones can be, adopting the design language of recent Sennheiser Momentum cans via their chunky ovular earcups and complete lack of adornments or thrills. Functional is the word we'd be tempted to use.

The B&W Px7 S3 are a blingier, more eye-catching affair, and if you're into perceived value, this is where you'll find it. Every part of the cans' more complex construction has been lovingly realised, from the premium hinges adjoining the earcups to the textured woven fabric of the headband.

In terms of comfort, it's a closer affair. The Sennheisers aren't flashy, but they're also easy to wear, with a nicely judged clamping grip which, when combined with their nicely cushioned earcups and headband, means they're rarely an oppressive experience.

They offer a less plush, padded fit than the more all-encompassing Sennheisers, but we imagine many wearers will prefer their slimmer earcups and lighter overall profile.

It's the same when switching over to the Px7 S3. The clamping force is again well-judged, while the earpads’ blend of firmness and suppleness means our ears rarely feel as though they're being squashed into oblivion. We did experience some on-ear heat during testing, but nothing too disastrous.

Rather interestingly, the B&W opt for the more traditional physical buttons rather than flashy touch controls for their on-unit operations, but we've no gripes when the systems works as well as it does here.

The backside of the right earcup offers a play/pause button flanked by longer volume controls, whereas the left cup features a sliding Bluetooth/power toggle alongside a configurable ‘Quick Action’ button we currently have reserved for cycling through our test pair’s noise-cancelling modes.

For Sennheiser, it's mainly a touch-control affair, with the only proper button reserved for launching your phone's voice assistant. Happily, the HDB 630 offer solid touch integration, with controls which we find are responsive and work across a generous surface area.

Not a huge amount to choose from here, so this might depend on whether you have a preference for button or touch controls.

**Winner: Draw**

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: features

These are premium headphones we're dealing with, so naturally, both are equipped with premium-level feature sets as befits their status.

Let's start with the simple stuff. The HDB 630 are ahead of the game when it comes to battery life, clocking in at a maximum of 60 hours of playtime with ANC switched on when compared with the Px7 S3's 30 hours. A 10-minute fast charge will provide a further seven hours of life for the Sennheisers, while you'll get the same amount of playtime from a 15-minute boost to the Px7 S3.

Whichever over-ears you pick, you'll get access to Bluetooth Multipoint, so listening and switching between multiple connected source devices should be a doddle.

App support for the Px7 S3 is handled by the Bowers & Wilkins Music app, an admirably exhaustive platform from which you can adjust your user experience, tinker with the equaliser or checking your headphones’ key vitals, all while granting direct access to music streaming service libraries such as Tidal, Deezer and Qobuz.

With the HDB 630, you'll be handling similar functionalities from the SmartControl+ app, and while there's less all-in-one streaming integration here, excellent ANC, EQ and touch control customisation than make up for it.

Both pairs of headphones offer Auracast support, meaning that they can receive audio transmissions from compatible broadcast sources, although that's only true of the Sennheisers when they have their clever Bluetooth dongle plugged in. Speaking of which...

Right, let's talk about that dinky USB-C dongle bundled in with the Sennheiser headphones, shall we? Our full Sennheiser HDB 630 will give you a full rundown, but basically, the clever little accessory (BTD 700) grants superior quality codec powers to devices which might not have otherwise had them, providing hi-res streaming up to 24-bit/9kHz via aptX Adaptive. That means you can stream in higher quality when the dongle plugged into an iPhone, for example, which doesn't natively support the aptX codecs.

For the more straightforward Px7 S3, Bluetooth codec support comes courtesy of the standard AAC and SBC codecs living alongside higher-quality flavours such as aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless. Those codecs are higher than Sennheiser's, but they will only work with certain compatible smartphones, so if you have an iPhone, they won't be supported.

If you want to go all out on audio fidelity with the Px7 S3, USB-C and 3.5mm cable connections are provided straight out of the box for listening at rates up to 24-bit/96kHz.

Impressive on both counts, but for that clever dongle and a much more durable battery span, we're giving the win to Sennheiser here.

**Winner: Sennheiser HDB 630**

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: active noise cancelling and call quality

We'll be blunt: at this level, you can find better noise cancelling, with the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) both leading the charge in this regard.

Sennheiser's effort is far from bad, but it's what we'd term 'good' rather than 'great', and certainly not class leading. Still, as we said in our review, the cans' ANC "takes the sting out of disruptive surrounding noise, reducing the rumble of traffic and bus engine noise", so it'll do the job if your music is playing at a decent volume anyway.

With the B&W Px7 S3, we're a little disappointed. While the chic over-ears are capable of reducing the low-frequency rumbles of, say, road traffic, they're less able to match their rivals when it comes to muting traffic noise or the chatter of voices, while high-frequency noises will intrude on your listening with surprising insistence.

Voice calls are ably handled by both rivals. Calls via the Sennheisers are crisp and clear, albeit with a hint of that slightly processed sound some headphones are capable of producing, while the Px7 S3, thanks to their repositioned microphones and B&W’s ‘ADI Pure Voice’ voice processing technology, make speech sound a touch fuller and more natural without seeming muffled or mechanical. They're not quite as clear as the Sennheisers, but perhaps a little more personable.

Each set, be it the Px7 or the HDB 630, does a fine job of reducing background noise, and as we stand next to a busy road in the pouring rain, the splash of puddles and the pitter patter of the falling raindrops subside nicely into the background.

For their finer ANC talents, the HDB 630 take the win.

**Winner: Sennheiser HDB 630**

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: sound

When they landed last year (and before the Px8 S3 had been released), Bowers & Wilkins claimed that the Px7 S3 were its most “advanced and capable” wireless headphones ever.

Big words, yet thanks to their redesigned 40mm paper drivers furnished with a new chassis, voice coil, magnet and suspension, it's hard to disagree with what might initially have seemed like marketing hyperbole.

As we stated at the time, the Px7 S3 "are exceptionally refined and detailed headphones", a pair of cans that are capable of dropping you right into the heart of your music to rather thrilling effect.

Play Nick Cave & Warren Ellis’s Song For Bob, and you'll marvel at the bite and grip of those mournful strings, while the varying components of John Williams’ Duel Of The Fates blend authenticity with a thrilling sense of drama when pumped through the B&W over-ears.

These are muscular, forceful headphones, with grip and power in spades. There's more than enough lower-end clout to keep bassheads happy, and while headphones that go big on bass can often sound blobby or out of control, we remain impressed by how well the Px7 S3 are able to meld power and punch with control and bottom-end refinement.

The Px7 S3 are tremendously talented performers, and unequivocally entertaining, but even they aren't quite capable of outgunning the remarkable abilities of their Sennheiser rivals. As our review verdict summarises, the HDB 630 "move the goalposts for wireless sound quality at this level, while going the extra mile to upgrade iPhones and other audio sources to make it easier for people to benefit from it".

Plug in that clever USB-C dongle, get them playing from an appropriately quality source and the HDB 630 will reward you with arguably the most detailed and nuanced performance we've heard at this level. We perform much of our testing using an iPhone 16 and a Samsung Galaxy S21, with the dongle upgrading their connectivity to aptX Adaptive and helping us eke out news levels of clarity and solidity.

The dongle certainly helps, but however you listen, you'll find the HDB 63O to be strikingly smooth and natural sounding headphones that go big on dynamism and articulation across the frequency range.

Instrumental textures are replete with detail and body, while the rhythmic patterns are outlined with outstanding precision, all of which gives tracks a lush, emotional appeal that we find utterly gripping.

The Sennheisers are also capable of painting on a pleasingly expansive canvas, one that sounds much wider and more cinematic than the outgoing Momentum 4 Wireless over-ears can manage. Musical elements are cleverly and precisely placed, making even dense productions seem more easily digestible.

All of that lovely precision and analysis are wedded to a tangible feeling of drive and liveliness, making for, we think, "the most informative and entertaining sound we’ve heard from wireless headphones at this price". What a result!

**Winner: Sennheiser HDB 630**

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: verdict

There's no question that the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 are very, very good wireless headphones. These are five-star operators, and we completely understand their appeal given just how nice they look, how easy they are to use and, of course, how great they sound. That robust, punchy personality is never less than thrilling, all underpinned by outstanding levels of textural insight.

The Sennheiser HDB 630, however, are in a class of one. Put up against any price comparable rival we can think of, the Sennheisers are at the top of the leader board, and it's going to take something remarkable in 2026 to knock them from their perch.

If class-leading sound is your priority and you're happy to spend a decent sum to get it, there's simply no looking past what might be the best wireless headphones Sennheiser has ever made.

**Overall winner: Sennheiser HDB 630**

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Sony WH-1000XM6 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): which flagship wireless over-ears are best?

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: which wireless headphones should you buy?

These are the best wireless headphones you can buy

The four-star Sennheiser HD 560S headphones have just plummeted to £89 at Sevenoaks.

That's a return to the record-low price we saw at Black Friday, with the headphones previously only dropping as far as £129.

The HD 560S didn't quite perform well enough to earn a place in our best wired headphones when we reviewed them, but at their current price, we're more than happy to recommend them.

The HD 560S deliver better sound quality than most of the best wireless headphones in the same price point. In our testing, we loved their expansive, detailed presentation.

This makes them a fantastic choice for anyone wanting a dependable pair of reasonably performing headphones for a bargain price.

Our in-house reviews team weren't short of praise for the HD 560S's analytical sound and comfortable build.

They deliver an "unusually healthy dollop of spaciousness at this level" and "greater analytical accuracy than through most competing headphones", as we said in our HD 560S review.

Sure, they miss a touch of punch and energy, which ultimately cost them a fifth star in our score rating, but they are far from flat and may well have just the right sonic flavour for certain music genres and preferences.

Sound aside, the HD 560S are very comfortable thanks to their lightweight construction, velour earpads and ample headband padding.

They come with a 3m cable, with the 6.3mm plug designed to connect to hi-fi sources, while the bundled 3.5mm adaptor accommodates portable devices.

It's worth remembering that these are open-back headphones and therefore susceptible to ‘leaking’ sound by design, although our reviewers found that they actually bleed audio far less loudly than some, such as the Grado SR325e.

All in all, these Sennheisers are worthy wired headphones – not least with this discount at Sevenoaks.

With the HD 560S, Sennheiser promises ‘reference-grade’ sound on a budget – and it mostly delivers.

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Read our full Sennheiser HD 560S review

Check out the best wireless headphones rated by our in-house experts

And our pick of the best noise-cancelling headphones

If it's an easy, uncomplicated listen, then we highly recommend the Sennheiser HD 660S2. Thanks to their "charming smoothness", easy listening is guaranteed.

Better still, they've recently dropped in price to £399 at Sevenoaks. That's a generous £100 discount on the four-star performers.

These premium wired headphones are the latest evolution of Sennheiser’s iconic HD 600 series – a lineup that has set the gold standard for audio for over two decades.

For the money, the HD 660S2 offer an exceptionally smooth and easy listening experience that handles any genre with aplomb.

The 38mm driver with ultra-light aluminium voice coil, housed within an open-backed design, creates what we described as a ridiculously easy listen that excels with acoustic and vocal-heavy material.

During all our tests, the HD 660S2 painted a beautifully intimate picture with tracks like A-ha's MTV Unplugged version of Take On Me, delivering vocals that are super-smooth and ooze refinement.

The accompanying instruments, such as guitar and piano, become extra ingredients that add to the soothing experience.

At 260g, these headphones strike a comfortable balance between substantial build quality and wearability, too.

The generous velour earpads feel like slipping your feet into a pair of posh slippers, while the soft headband padding ensures extended listening sessions remain comfortable.

However, it's worth noting that the HD 660S2 do struggle somewhat with bass-heavy tracks that demand tight, controlled dynamics.

While they produce adequate bass weight, the delivery lacks the tautness and punch found in rivals such as the Beyerdynamic Amiron – something that can stifle the low-reaching dynamics of tracks like Billie Eilish's Bad Guy.

Despite this limitation, the HD 660S2 earned a four-star rating for sound quality, with perfect five-star scores for both build and comfort.

We only have two final, minor words of caution for you. First, the set's 300-ohm impedance means they'll benefit from proper amplification to reach their full potential.

Also, it’s worth reiterating their open-back nature – ideal for unwinding in relaxing, quiet, home listening sessions. Not so much for the commute, gym, or office.

For listeners whose preferences lean towards acoustic, vocal-heavy, or midrange-focused material with all the airy benefits of an open-back experience, though, this represents excellent value at a reduced price of £399.

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Read our Sennheiser HD 660S2 review

Our pick of the best wireless headphones you can buy right now

And check out the best on-ear headphones: our expert pick of wired and wireless pairs

Sennheiser has announced its new RS 275 TV Headphones bundle, which it describes as "a personal audio powerhouse" made to enhance your home audio experience in "undisturbed wireless bliss".

If your wired headphones' cable simply isn't long enough to plug into your TV for personal listening, this this could be a viable wireless alternative.

The new bundle comprises the wireless HDR 275 TV Headphones alongside a companion BTA1 digital transmitter, with the transmitter plugging directly into your television and beaming a wireless signal via Bluetooth to the over-ear headphones.

That transmission uses Auracast technology powered by the LC3 Bluetooth codec, with Sennheiser promising ultra-low latency synchronisation of sound and picture at up to 50 meters of range.

Thanks to Auracast, which allows for an audio source to transmit to any number of nearby devices wirelessly, you can hook up multiple pairs of wireless headphones, or companion devices such as tablets and smartphones, for versatile streaming across a range of platforms and devices.

The BTA1 unit offers both optical and 3.5mm inputs for connecting to sources such as stereo systems, laptops and game consoles (and TVs), while HDMI ARC is also available for TVs and AV receivers.

The headphones themselves house a set of 37mm dynamic drivers, tuned for greater vocal intelligibility and an "engaging bass response".

A single charge provides up to 50 hours of playtime, with charging provided via the the transmitter’s USB-C port. Both the ear cushions and battery are replaceable, so the headphones should last longer than even the most gruelling Marvel marathon.

The new cans have been designed to be lightweight and wearer-friendly, with breathable ear cushions built to keep ears cool over longer sessions. On-unit buttons, meanwhile, offer control of volume, power, and taking incoming calls.

The new bundle is controlled via the Sennheiser Smart Control Plus app for both Android and iOS, offering personalisation of facets such as transparency mode, switching hearing profiles and device-type audio modes, as well as a 'find my headphones' feature.

According to Irene Strueber, Sennheiser's Senior Product Manager: “As screens continue to get thinner, their speakers have to follow, making it harder than ever to enjoy full-range sound without disturbing others. The RS 275 TV Headphones unlock total listening privacy and impressive clarity".

The Sennheiser RS 275 TV Headphones bundle will be available for pre-order on the 3rd of February, priced at £220 / $300 / €250. The BTA1 TV Transmitter will also be available for standalone purchase, costing £115 / $130 / €130.

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The final day of CES 2026 is upon us, and as is the case every year, it brought with it a wealth of hi-fi and home cinema treats.

That ranges from Hisense’s new four-colour Mini LED and RGBY Micro LED TV sets, to Audio-Technica's AT-LP7X turntable.

In the realm of Dolby Atmos soundbars, however, we have been left a little deflated at the lack of products from key brands that in past years have delivered new sonic treats at the show.

That's not to say that there have not been a fair number of Atmos soundbars being teased at the event.

Samsung, for example, announced two new models, the HW-Q990H and QS90H. Our senior staff writer Lewis Empson got the chance to have a sneaky listen to the latter at CES, and was impressed by the powerful sound and booming bass coming from the neat all-in-one package. The Q990H is also a particularly big deal, as it's a direct successor to the Award-Samsung Q990F from last year.

LG also released its Dolby Atmos Flex Connect soundbar system, which includes the H7 soundbar, M5 and M7 wireless surround speakers, and W7 subwoofer. It looks to be quite a promising proposition, with the possibility of building a whopping 13.1.7-channel home theatre system through LG's new Sound Suite feature.

There have also been a smattering of other brands releasing Atmos products (take TCL's A65K Design Series, for instance), but we were hoping to see a few more companies taking on the category.

We've spoken plenty about how we are hoping to see a new Dolby Atmos entry from Sonos as a continuation of the success of its entry-level Sonos Beam Gen 2 and more premium Sonos Arc soundbars.

We gave the Beam Gen 2 a five-star rating for its detailed yet immersive sound performance, but this model hit shelves more than four years ago. Since then, we have been eagerly awaiting its successor. Sonos didn't have the Beam Gen 2 replacement we've been waiting for, but that's not a surprise considering the brand tends not to unveil new hardware at the show. The wait continues...

But we were unhappy at Sennheiser, which didn't even tease a new Dolby Atmos model at the show, as it's been quite a while since its last entry back in 2023, when it showed off the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini. The Atmos model received a three-star review from us, with its uninspired sound and lack of projection failing to impress.

But were still hoping to see a new model as its more expensive entries have blown us away when we had them in our test rooms. The Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max donned the crown for years as the best premium model in our Dolby Atmos soundbar guide (that is, until the KEF XIO knocked it off this post last year). And it would make sense for the firm to at least try to take its crown back in 2026.

We're hoping both it and Sonos are just biding their time and will unveil new models at separate events this year.

My fingers are certainly crossed for even more brands to jump on the category and deliver a five-star stunner, as Hisense did with its surprise hit, the AX5125H, last year.

MORE:

Here are the best Dolby Atmos soundbars at the moment

Check out our review of the Sonos Arc

These are the best budget soundbars

2025 has gone to the farm. And by that I mean it’s dead as a dodo. But, eager to send it off in style, our reviewers spent all of December continuing their hunt for the absolute finest hi-fi and home cinema hardware money can buy.

Yes, while most of you were fighting for Christmas jumper supremacy at the office party, mulling wine and wrapping presents, our reviewers continued to diligently review a steady stream of new hardware, eager to send 2025 out with a bang.

And thankfully, their efforts paid off, with our reviewers finding six incredible products worthy of our hallowed five-star rating.

Here’s what you need to know about them.

Audiolab D7

The Audiolab M-DAC from 2011 is a product many of us have fond memories of, with it being a class-leading digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) and a constant recommendation at the time. So much so that it still remains a firm favourite among certain What Hi-Fi? team members.

Which is why the appearance of the new Audiolab D7 in our listening rooms caused quite the commotion last month. Designed to replicate some of the magic that cemented Audiolab as a leader in the DAC space, but with a more modest price tag, smaller design and sprinkling of quality-of-life improvements, the D7 oozes appeal for its target audience.

And putting it through its paces with various price-appropriate active speakers and headphones, we’re pleased to report it’s an excellent performer. Across every genre we threw at it, streamed and via CD, the DAC delivered an even-handed performance with fluid dynamics and pleasing levels of clarity and insight.

Hence, our five-star rating and verdict: “If you are looking for a well-specified and talented outboard DAC at this level, it would be remiss if you didn’t consider this one seriously.”

Score: Five stars

Read our full Audiolab D7 review

BenQ W5850

The BenQ W5850 is a proper home cinema projector that targets a very competitive segment of the market. Its price puts it in direct competition with two heavy hitters, the five-star Sony VPL-XW5000ES and Epson EH-QB1000.

It’s also an interesting beast, being nearly identical to its sibling, the W5800, outside of its lens. This gives it an atypical short throw distance, making it possible to get a giant home cinema experience in surprisingly small spaces.

Is this enough to let it compete with its established rivals? Based on our testing, the answer is a firm yes. Though it’s beaten by the Sony for black depth, and there are some annoyances getting the most out of SDR content, if you take the time, it’s capable of delivering a mesmerising home cinema experience. As we said in our review:

“The BenQ W5850 is an excellent projector. The performance is very similar to that of the W5800, but the new lens adds flexibility and seems to create an even crisper image. Sony’s Award-winning VPL-XW5000ES remains the benchmark at this level, primarily thanks to its deeper blacks and superior processing, but the W5850’s beautiful warmth and richness make it a delight to watch and live with.”

Score: Five stars

Read our full BenQ W5850 review

Sennheiser HDB 630

There are a lot of wireless headphones to choose from right now. Which is why we were delighted to see Sennheiser add a twist to the formula for its latest pair of wireless cans.

Specifically, not only making sure they’re among the best sounding the company has yet made, but also adding a cool USB C dongle that adds hi-res codec support to any source you connect it to – making it quick and easy to elevate most smartphones' audio performance.

The combination makes the HDB 630 one of the best sets of wireless headphones currently available and an easy five-star recommendation. As we said in our review:

“Sennheiser’s most ambitious wireless headphones don’t only nail sound quality in their own right but also bless iPhones and other audio sources with a significant sound upgrade via a neat bundled accessory. The result? Sony XM6-beating sound performance in a well-built, feature-rich and competitively priced package.”

Score: Five stars

Read our full Sennheiser HDB 630 review

Philips OLED910 (65OLED910)

The OLED910 is the last OLED we tested in 2025. And what a way to end the year. The set is one of Philips’ finest in recent memory, undercutting competitors on price, while delivering a performance our TV and AV editor described as “close to the very best flagship OLEDs”.

Featuring an incredibly bright Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel, the flagship delivers a bombastic, blow-your-socks-off performance that will win over many movie fans. On top of that, though we still recommend investing in a price-appropriate soundbar for the best results, its in-built speakers are remarkably capable.

Hence, our five-star rating and glowing verdict: “The Philips OLED910 is a very impressive TV indeed. While it falls just short of the Sony Bravia 8 II’s picture greatness, it gets closer than most while costing a good deal less – and it sounds better, too.”

Score: Five stars

Read our full Philips OLED910 (65OLED910) review

JBL Bar 300MK2

There has been a bit of a drought when it comes to good-sounding, cheap soundbars. So much so that the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) has sat pretty as the affordable recommendation in our best Dolby Atmos soundbars guide for three-plus years.

And while it has managed to hold that place a little longer, last month it came a hair’s breadth from being toppled thanks to the arrival of the stellar JBL Bar 300MK2.

The affordable soundbar delivers a bombastic, energetic performance that, while not as refined as the Beam (Gen 2), is utterly engrossing, making it an excellent alternative for cash-strapped movie fans looking for a Dolby Atmos soundbar. We said as much in our review, where our testers reported:

“Ultimately, the Beam’s greater precision, detail and dynamics – and its musical ability – make it the better choice overall, but the JBL’s weightier, more bombastic and more room-filling sound will win it many fans.”

Score: Five stars

Read our full JBL Bar 300MK2 review

Sony Bravia 5 (K65XR55)

The Sony Bravia 5 is the entry-level option in the company’s current Mini LED range, sitting below the five-star Bravia 7 and four-star Bravia 9. Despite this, it's far from cheap, with pricing putting it directly between two of our current recommended Mini LED TVs, the cheaper, Award-winning TCL C7K and the moderately pricier, five-star TCL C8K.

The key compromise you need to accept with it compared with its more expensive siblings is fewer dimming zones. Despite this, when we ran it head to head with rivals, we found its potent XR processor, which borrows a lot of the features seen on Sony’s more premium sets, does an admirable job with what it’s got.

So much so that we actually list its backlight control and industry-leading motion handling as two of its main selling points, helping the set deliver an immersive, controlled viewing experience.

As we say in our Bravia 5 review: “Far from finally revealing a chink in Sony’s formidable current TV armour, the third tier of the brand’s latest LCD range is actually yet another star turn. In fact, while it may inevitably not hit quite the same performance heights as its more premium siblings, when it comes to value it’s the Sony set to beat.”

Score: Five stars

Read our full Sony Bravia 5 review

MORE:

We rank the best OLED TVs

Our picks of the best standmount speakers

The best DACs money can buy, picked by our reviewers

You don't always get everything you want for Christmas.

Some desired gifts can fall through the cracks, and while it's nice to have another set of novelty socks and a festive hamper from your estranged aunt who now lives over in Australia (doesn't she know you're a vegetarian?), sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands.

Grannies are great for knitting jumpers, but they don't know a huge amount about wireless headphones or budget amplifiers.

That's why we've compiled this list of the best hi-fi and audio products we're eyeballing in the post-Christmas sales – if you're flush with cash, it might be time to take matters into your own hands and get 2026 started on the right foot.

MORE:

These are the best wireless speakers in town

I tested a host of standmounts this year, and it proves there are endless ways to design a great speaker

Winners and losers of 2025: which companies and products soared this year, and which sunk?

Sennheiser headphones might not have dominated the headlines like Sony and Bose's models, but they have consistently scored very well, while also boasting a battery life of around double some of their rivals. Now Sennheiser's latest pair have another trick up their sleeve...

It's a little accessory that plugs into your audio source (like an iPhone) and ensures that it supports the same high-quality Bluetooth codec as the HDB 630 headphones.

It's undoubtedly a cool feature. But is it enough to lift them above the industry-leading Sony WH-1000XM6 as the best over-ear headphones around right now? Let's see.

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: price

In the UK, both the Sennheisers and Sonys launched at the same price, though their prices differ in other countries. The Sennheiser HDB 630 launched at £400 / $500 / AU$1000, to the Sony WH-1000XM6's RRP of £400 / $450 / AU$699. But that's not the full story.

The Sonys have already been discounted – Black Friday 2025 saw their biggest price slash yet, to £300. While they haven't fallen that low since, at time of writing, they're selling for £349.

Sony products are often discounted in the sales, made more likely by the fact that the XM6 are a few months old already versus the brand-new Sennheisers. So Sony takes this round.

**Winner: Sony WH-1000XM6**

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: design & build

Looks-wise, the HDB 630 resemble recent Sennheiser Momentum models – 'functional' is the order of the day. The chunky oval earcups are free of any adornments, and there's a distinct lack of flourishes. They only come in one finish too, sticking to Henry Ford's maxim that you can have any colour you like, as long as it's black.

But in terms of comfort, it's a big tick. The grip is judged very well, striking the fine balance of being secure but not too tight, and the pleather earpads isolate well. The headband is well cushioned enough to make the headphones comfortable even during longer listening sessions.

You can deactivate Sennheiser's touch-sensitive controls using the app, so you won't accidentally press them. Which is a nice touch.

The Sonys have much more going on in terms of design, with three finishes and hinges that allow them to fold up into a ball (though they have to be stored flat to fit into the carry case). We find that materials used and build quality feels more premium than the Sennheisers, too.

The headband is wide and flat and makes the headphones very comfortable, while the sliders for adjusting size are noiseless and stepless, which certainly adds to the wow factor. Like the Sennheisers, the grip is very well judged and the earcups don't cook your ears like some pairs.

Sony uses touch controls too, and again, these can be deactivated using the app. The XM6 feature a fingerprint-resistant material to stop them being marked by your paws, so they'll stay looking new for longer.

**Winner: Sony WH-1000XM6**

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: features

The most eye-catching feature about the Sennheisers is the BTD 700 Bluetooth transmitter dongle that makes sure both source and headphones are using the same Bluetooth codec. It plugs in via USB-C, so will fit most modern phones – to use it with older iPhones you'll need a USB-C-to-Lightning adapter.

It connects to the headphones automatically, showing a solid white light when connected and purple one when playing music. It's a doddle to use, and the dongle is tiny, though it is still a faff having to plug something into your phone.

Still, for the boost in sound quality, it's worth it. It means every compatible phone will support the aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec, meaning higher-quality listening up to 24-bit/96kHz supported through the HDB 630 headphones.

But the Sennheisers have plenty going for them besides this. They have the same 60-hour battery life as their Momentum 4 Wireless stablemates – that's double the 30 hours of the Sony WH-1000XM6.

These figures are with ANC enabled, though Sennheiser's figure does drop to a still excellent 45 hours with the dongle in use.

There's a comprehensive app too, which not only shows you the audio quality you're listening to and the signal path from source to headphones, but also lets you toggle on-head detection, handsfree controls, tweak the equaliser and ANC, and more. It also has extensive parametric EQ settings to allow you to fine-tune the frequency curve to your heart's content.

You can listen to the HDB 630 wired too, either using the 3.5mm headphone cable or USB-C, though you'll need some battery power for either. You can listen to the XM6 while they're charging using their USB-C cable, but only wirelessly – you can't listen to them wired via USB-C, but you can when using the 3.5mm cable.

The XM6 have a newly developed 30mm ‘soft edge’ dome driver and Sony’s new HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN3 processor which is a claimed seven times faster than its QN1 predecessor. There's also a ‘look-ahead noise shaper’ that improves the digital-to-analogue process by reducing distortion and improving dynamics.

They borrow Sony’s DSEE Extreme sound enhancement engine from the XM5 model, as well as the low phase noise crystal oscillator (to improve timing) from Sony's premium Walkman range. Like Walkmans, they have gold-infused solder in certain parts of the circuit, and optimised components and circuitry to minimise crosstalk and interference.

The Sonys don't support the various aptX codecs like the Sennheisers, but have Sony's own LDAC instead. And they add a new 360 Reality Audio Upmix for Cinema, which brings a spatial audio feel to any stereo audio content. Sony's Sound Connect app is comprehensive too, with a 10-band equaliser, Gaming EQ and more settings.

Both models feature Bluetooth Multipoint for pairing two wireless devices at once and switching between them seamlessly.

Both pairs are bursting with features, but the Sennheisers take this round thanks to their innovative dongle.

**Winner: Sennheiser HDB 630**

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: noise cancellation

At last, we find a chink in the HDB 630's armour: noise cancellation. It's still very good, just not up there with the class leaders.

Their ANC takes the edge off background sounds, especially low-end frequencies like traffic rumble. And in our experience, these tend to be the most distracting.

"Set ANC level to maximum and play music at a decent volume, and you’ll likely find yourself satisfyingly isolated," we noted in our review. It's when they come up against the Sony XM6 that they come unstuck.

The Sonys are just more effective, full stop. Wearing the Sennheisers, you're more aware of engine noise, whereas the Sonys "provide a more intense feeling of ‘dead air’ between the earcups, and it’s easier to switch off from the noise world while wearing them, particularly when listening to low/mid-volume piano pieces."

The Sony XM6 are some of the best noise-cancellers in their field. With more mics than their predecessors, a design aimed at reducing wind noise, and an NC Optimiser that constantly adapts the ANC to your environment, they're incredibly effective at silencing the outside world.

"Low-end and midrange noise are contained exceptionally well, especially as we try to navigate London's underground system," we wrote in our review.

"We found the Sonys to be wonderfully consistent in dealing with bass and midrange rumblings and just giving you a nice clear background on which you can place your music."

**Winner: Sony WH-1000XM6**

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: sound

So is the dongle a gimmick? Or does it actually help the HDB 630's sound? We're pleased to report it's very much the latter.

We tested them with an iPhone 16 and Samsung Galaxy S21, and found the jump in sound quality with the dongle to be night and day. With aptX Adaptive – enabled by the dongle – music played has noticeably more clarity and solidity, especially when listened to through the Sennheisers.

Indeed, the HDB 630 are "wonderfully smooth and natural sounding headphones, full of shape and dynamism across the frequency range," we wrote in our review. They excel in terms of midrange texture, dynamic expression and refinement, even showing up the Sony XM6 when it comes to Mountains (we met) by Christine And The Queens.

"The sparse piano notes drip with harmonics, while the percussive rhythmic pattern comes through with precision and purpose," we wrote of the HDB 630.

"Through the Sonys, the emotional impact is still there, but the presentation is that bit flatter, the percussion and vocal delivery less shapely and dynamic within a more compressed soundstage."

This isn't a one-off. With track after track, the Sennheisers take you closer to the music, going beyond the texture of the notes to tell you how a musician is playing their instrument. The HDB 630 have a wider soundscape, with greater separation between the various musical elements within it. It all adds up to a greater sense of scale, less congested arrangements and a more rewarding listen.

Not that the XM6 aren't superb in their own right. They're outstanding for detail, dynamism and precision, extracting an awesome level of information from any track you feed them. They have a great sense of rhythmic drive, with plenty of authority and a meaty yet well-defined bass.

Listening to Billie Eilish’s No Time To Die, you hear a great degree of intimacy conveyed by the XM6. "The amount of space around the individual key strokes means you can hear the full dynamic contrast," we wrote in our review.

"Her vocal oozes texture and emotion and you can picture just how close she is to the microphone when recording the track," we went on, while Eminem's Till I Collapse packs a powerful and solid bass hit.

The XM6 make for a fantastic listen. But heard side by side with the Sennheisers, they lose out.

**Winner: Sennheiser HDB 630**

Sennheiser HDB 630 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: verdict

Well well well. Our 2025 Award winners have been trumped in the sound department. The Sennheiser HDB 630 are a superb listen – dynamic, spacious, with an unbelievable level of texture. That they outgun the Sonys in this department is nothing short of a revelation.

Of course there's much more to a pair of headphones than just sound, but that's where our priorities lay. The XM6 are cheaper and certainly more exciting in terms of design, and they do cancel noise more effectively.

There's really not much to choose between them in terms of features, but the Sennheisers' dongle and higher-quality listening edge it for us. For superior sound, they're your best bet, though if it's an all-round excellent pair of wireless headphones you want, the Sonys more than suffice.

MORE:

Sony XM6 vs XM5: how do the Sony flagships compare?

Sony vs Sennheiser headphones: which are better?

The best wireless headphones you can buy

No matter how sophisticated the engineering behind wireless headphones, their wire-free performance is inherently bound by the Bluetooth technologies they, and the smartphone (or other audio source) they are used with, support.

Sennheiser recognises this, and with its latest flagship wireless noise-cancelling over-ears, the HDB 630, has sought to improve things. How? By bundling in a clever little accessory that blesses your phone (or other audio source) with the same high-quality Bluetooth codec the headphones themselves support.

It’s a simple yet ingenious idea that pays dividends. Allow us to explain…

Features

You see, every Bluetooth-toting audio source, such as a smartphone or laptop, supports one (SBC) or more Bluetooth codecs. In the context of wireless headphone listening, these are software formats that compress and encode/decode music so that it can be efficiently transmitted wirelessly from, say, a phone to wireless headphones.

The most efficient, highest-quality codecs – aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive and LDAC – retain the audio signal best (albeit not perfectly) during this process, allowing more of your music to be heard, but they aren’t universally supported by audio sources and headphones alike.

For example, iPhones, the audio source of choice for many people using Bluetooth headphones, only support SBC and AAC, the most basic, compressed, ‘lossy’ codecs. Android phones typically fare better on this front, although many don’t support the full codec suite. The flagship Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra in our best smartphones buying guide, for example, supports LDAC and ‘only’ standard aptX – not the superior aptX HD, Adaptive or Lossless codecs.

As for laptops and computers, Apple’s MacBooks don’t natively support aptX (like iPhones, they typically prioritise AAC) and only select Windows machines do.

Bearing in mind that both the device and headphones must support the same codec to benefit from its optimal transmission, you can understand that the scenario in which one lets the other down is common.

Finally, we get to Sennheiser’s solution. The HDB 630 bundle in a BTD 700 USB-C dongle that you simply plug into your device’s USB-C to give it aptX Adaptive superpowers.

Pop it into an iPhone 15, for example (older iPhones will need to use the Lightning-to-USB-C adaptor too), and you suddenly have a true aptX Adaptive handshake between it and the HDB 630. For audio transmission integrity, that’s far superior to the AAC one you would get between these devices otherwise.

The dongle is tiny – roughly the size of the top part of your finger – and upon being plugged in connects to the Sennheiser headphones automatically, with a solid white LED light indicating a successful connection, and a purple one displayed during music playback.

On an iPhone, the BTD 700 and HDB 630 both show as ‘Connected’ in the Bluetooth menu; on an Android phone, the dongle simply appears as a ‘USB’ device in the Bluetooth menu below the connected HDB 630.

You can check the quality of the signal path in the Sennheiser Smart Control Plus app’s settings (see the screenshot above or image below). Here, you’ll want to ensure the ‘Audio mode priority’ is set to ‘Hi-Res 24bit/96kHz’.

Sound

The dongle proves a valuable accessory. When connected to an iPhone 16 and old Samsung Galaxy S21, upgrading their respective AAC and aptX connectivity with the headphones to aptX Adaptive, the presentation gains in clarity and solidity.

It’s a good advert for the Bluetooth technology, demonstrating that higher-quality codecs do make a difference with hardware that is revealing enough to highlight them.

Indeed, the HDB 630 are such examples of capable hardware. The headway they make over Sennheiser’s former wireless flagships, the Momentum Wireless 4, somewhat take us aback during our first comparison. The HDB 630 are miles ahead when it comes to detail, dynamic expression and refinement.

These are wonderfully smooth and natural sounding headphones, full of shape and dynamism across the frequency range, and we’re no more than a song into our playlist before we begin to suspect that the Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM6’s days at the top of the leaderboard could be limited.

That song is Christine And The Queen's Mountains (we met), a piano ballad about a yearning for a past relationship that’s never coming back, and the Sennheisers pull you into Héloïse Adelaïde Letissier’s vocal longing with an incredible amount of midrange texture and dynamic attention to her inflections.

The sparse piano notes drip with harmonics, while the percussive rhythmic pattern comes through with precision and purpose. Through the Sonys, the emotional impact is still there, but the presentation is that bit flatter, the percussion and vocal delivery less shapely and dynamic within a more compressed soundstage.

It’s a similar story with Bon Iver’s S P E Y S I D E: the Sonys capture the textures of the acoustic strings and rich vocal and ably track their dynamic variety, yet the Sennheisers' more emphatically pursue their rises and falls, telling you more about how the strings are plucked. The viola gliding through the middle is thrust more into the spotlight, too.

Their bigger canvas and the more precise placement of, and greater separation between, musical elements within it make the dense production of Public Service Broadcasting’s Spitfire more easily digestible, and that commitment to space and scale never comes at the expense of musical cohesion either.

Here, precision and analysis go hand in hand with drive and vigour, making for the most informative and entertaining sound we’ve heard from wireless headphones at this price, with or without the use of the dongle.

Design & comfort

If the sceptic in you has been waiting for a ‘but’, it doesn’t come here. The HDB 630 adopt the design language of recent Sennheiser Momentums, defined by chunky, ovular earcups free of any decoration. They’re probably not far off what a primary school child would draw if given the task to draw headphones.

That may not sound particularly inspiring, and those looking for blingier headwear at this premium price range will undoubtedly be more impressed by the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 and Apple AirPods Max. But fans of discreet, minimalist design will more readily appreciate their subtly shiny matte finish and quality construction.

What arguably matters more about any headphones’ physicality is comfort levels, and the Sennheisers nail this criterion. Their grip is secure yet not too tight, the positive seal of their pleather earpads isolates well, and the aptly cushioned headband ensures that the relatively heavy (311g) headphones aren’t burdensome on the top of your head.

You won’t ever forget you’re wearing them, as you might with light, slimline over-ears like the Bose QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen), but they don’t feel oppressive either, even during longer wear.

While headphone manufacturers seem to be torn as to whether to deliver key functionality with buttons or gestures, Sennheiser has stuck with a touch-control affair here, the only button on the right earcup launching your phone’s voice assistant.

We wish it turned Transparency mode on/off instead, which is activated by tapping the right earcup twice, but at least the touch controls are responsive and work across a generous surface area.

We like that every touch action is signalled by a sound, and they can be turned off in the app to prevent accidental touch when, say, you’re lying down or wearing a scarf.

That single button and touch-capacitive area aside, the right earcup simply houses a 3.5mm jack and USB-C charging socket, both of which can be used for wired listening with the supplied 1.2m cables, though do note that the headphones require battery life for either method.

You have limited excuse to be caught short, however, with the HDB 630 offering a liberal 60 hours of audio playback with ANC on, reducing to 45 hours when the dongle is in the equation.

The app offers a generous suite of functionality beyond assuring you of the audio quality you’re getting, including activating on-head detection, smart pause and auto-answer call features for hands-off playback control; one of the most comprehensive parametric EQs we’ve seen for such a product; and noise cancellation adjustment.

Noise cancellation

Truth be told, there isn’t a ‘but’ to be found; the HDB 630 are a well-rounded package. That said, they aren’t class leading everywhere. Their active noise cancellation qualifies for ‘good’ rather than ‘great’ in a market where Bose and Sony are dogged in their pursuit of silence, though it should be said that the HDB 630’s physicality goes further than most designs to isolate you from the outside world in the first place.

Their ANC system certainly takes the sting out of disruptive surrounding noise, reducing the rumble of traffic and bus engine noise – those kinds of low-end frequencies are typically the most distracting in your everyday life.

Set ANC level to maximum and play music at a decent volume, and you’ll likely find yourself satisfyingly isolated.

But during a comparison, the Sony XM6 block noise slightly more effectively. You can more clearly detect revving engines through the Sennheisers, and we find that traffic whizzing by us catches our attention more.

The Sonys (and more so, the Bose QC Ultra 2) provide a more intense feeling of ‘dead air’ between the earcups, and it’s easier to switch off from the noise world while wearing them, particularly when listening to low/mid-volume piano pieces.

Price

More features, improved sound and the unique inclusion of an audio-enhancing Bluetooth dongle understandably translate to a pricier pair of headphones than the Momentum Wireless 4, which arrived in 2022 for £300 / $349.95 / AU$549.95.

Sennheiser has been much more ambitious in both designing and pricing its latest flagship wireless over-ears this time round, reflected in the HDB 630’s name and positioning within the lineup – they’re the first wireless pair to be included under the ‘Audiophile’ 600 Series umbrella – and their £400 / $500 / AU$1000 launch price.

That doesn’t put them beyond their closest rivals, mind you. In fact, they’re squarely in the firing line of the Sony WH-1000XM6 (£400 / $450 / AU$699), Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 (£399 / $449 / AU$699) and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) (£450 / $429 / AU$649), all of which are only notably more attractively priced than the Sennheisers in Australia.

Verdict

Sennheiser has reestablished itself within the noise-cancelling headphones market with the HDB 630, moving on from its competitive Momentum model to create something bolder, more ambitious and altogether better.

They move the goalposts for wireless sound quality at this level, while going the extra mile to upgrade iPhones and other audio sources to make it easier for people to benefit from it. And they also score well enough in the design, features and noise-cancelling departments to be considered a highly attractive all-round package.

For sound-conscious folk looking for convenience and audio quality, the Sennheiser HDB 630 are serious best-of-both-world propositions.

Review published: 3rd December 2025

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony WH-1000XM6

Also consider the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3

Check out our guide to the best wireless headphones we've tested and rated

Sennheiser might have played second fiddle to Sony and Bose in the consumer headphone space, but it still makes some awesome pairs. Like the Momentum 4 Wireless – they haven't dominated our Awards like their rivals, but they still earned five stars from us. And now they've hit their lowest price ever for Black Friday.

They're just £165 at Amazon – a discount of £135 on their £300 RRP. So you should buy them, right? Not so fast...

Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless best Black Friday deal

We first reviewed the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless back in 2022. They pack an immense battery life of 60 hours, which is yet to beaten from a mainstream pair.

Sennheiser has also equipped the Momentum 4 Wireless with high-quality aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec support – ensuring the best possible wireless audio quality when paired with compatible devices – and Bluetooth 5.2.

Should the battery ever run flat, they can also be used wired via the supplied 2.5mm to 3.5mm cable or through USB-C, with the latter requiring no battery power whatsoever.

We raved over their sound quality, describing it as "clear and direct in a way that demands your attention." But would you be better off with another deal? Let's see...

The Sony WH-1000XM5 are just £35 more, costing £200 at Amazon. They're not new either – they've been surpassed by the XM6 – but they are multi-Award-winners that pack an enormous sonic punch.

So which should you buy? It depends on your priorities. In our Momentum 4 Wireless vs XM5 head to head, we ruled that the Sennheisers win out in terms of battery life (doubling the Sonys) and price, with Sony emerging victorious for noise cancelling and sound quality. For the categories of features and build and comfort, it's a draw.

Not an easy decision, then. But we would recommend you pay the extra for the XM5 if you can – noise cancelling and sound being our priorities. But if you prize a marathon battery life above all else, or you can't spring the extra for the Sonys, the Momentum 4 for £165 at Amazon will do you proud.

MORE:

Read our Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless review

And our Sony WH-1000XM5 review

The best Black Friday headphone deals live

Black Friday quick links

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• B&W speakers: save £200
• Bluetooth speaker: 48% off five-star JBL
• Bose QC Ultra Earbuds: save £100
• Bravia 8 TV: save 34% on 55in Sony TV
• Denon AV receiver: save £500
• Dolby Atmos soundbar: down to £299
• ELAC Debut 2: five-star speakers now £199
• Headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 4 now £169
• LG C5 55-inch: lowest-ever price at Richer Sounds
• JBL soundbar: now better than half price
• John Lewis: £500 off LG and Sony OLED TVs
• Richer Sounds: browse Black Friday deals
• Sevenoaks: £150 off Award-winning speakers
• Sony headphones: now just £29
• Stereo amplifier: Cambridge Audio now £299
• TVs, movies, home cinema: browse the best deals
• Vinyl: 3 for £66 at Amazon
• Wireless earbuds: Award winners now £75

We like to consider our product reviews helpful not only for readers looking to make their next consumer electronics purchase, but also for the manufacturers of the products themselves; identifying a flaw, for example, gives them something to work on so that they can make an even better product next time around, and that’s a win-win outcome for everyone.

In our five-star review of the original Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, we highlighted a few imperfections in their design. You couldn’t listen to them wired over USB-C, their battery life fell short of that delivered by their closest rival, and their spatial audio was unconvincing. Well, guess what? Bose has addressed all three with its Ultra sequel.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) are, as a result, among the world’s most comprehensively featured noise-cancelling headphones. Recognising that performance cannot stand still for a moment in this cut-throat market, Bose has also dutifully elevated the Ultra’s already strong audio and ANC quality too. So has it done enough to keep its flagships in the conversation?

Price

The original Ultra Headphones launched in October 2023 for £450 / $429 / AU$649, so it wasn’t surprising that the sequels appeared exactly two years later, priced the same in the UK, albeit slightly higher in the US ($449) and Australia (AU$700).

Those figures put them in the ballpark of their closest noise-cancelling headphone rivals, the Sony WH-1000XM6 (£400 / $450 / AU$699), Sennheiser HDB 630 (£399 / $499 / AU$999) and Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 (£399 / $449 / AU$699).

While an even pricier tier of wireless headphones has emerged in recent years, the Ultra 2 represent Bose’s peak efforts and sit above the brand’s QuietComfort over-ears (£249 / $199 / AU$330), which forego some of the Ultra’s flagship features (such as spatial audio) and their performance heights.

Design & build

Where Bose could have gotten away with standing still in the evolution from its first-gen to second-gen Ultra Headphones is the design, and indeed the brand has more or less kept its feet planted here.

The QC Ultra 2 look pretty much identical to their predecessors, with their slimline frame and nicely chamfered, logo-brandishing ovular earcups. Their metal yokes are simply now a more striking polished mirror (rather than matte) finish, and the five available finishes now include a bold Midnight Violet (purple) and Desert Gold (black with gold accents).

No, they don’t have the Apple AirPods Max’s metal-heavy luxuriousness or the B&W Px7 S3’s attention to detail, but their sleek minimalism qualifies as ‘business smart’. And while that doesn’t necessarily score highly on the perceived value spectrum for a pair this pricey, their style does offer an alternative to the largely indistinct, blocky look adopted by the Sony XM6 and Sennheiser HDB 630.

Once again, the Ultra fit extremely well, the all-round pleather cushioning on the earpads and headband offering a good seal and level of isolation while easily managing the headphones’ unburdensome 250g weight. Add to that a well-judged grip that survives the head-shake test, and you have one of the most comfortable wireless over-ear pairs for longer periods of wear that we’ve come across.

We wouldn’t be surprised if the words ‘long haul travel’ featured on the Bose’s designers mood board when creating the Ultra Headphones – bolded, underlined and capitalised. The earcups still fold inwards, allowing them to scrunch up in a generous-sized coat pocket or in the compact hard-shell carry case. And despite looking flimsier than some of their rivals, their build quality appears to stand the test of time; our sample of the original Ultra still look relatively new despite having been frequently used by our reviews team for two years.

The controls haven’t changed, either. The right earcup simply sports a power/Bluetooth pairing button; a multifunctional button that can be used to control playback and calls and switch between listening modes; and a nicely responsive capacitive touch strip on the ridge for adjusting volume and accessing shortcuts (assignable in the Bose companion app).

The left earcup, meanwhile, houses 2.5mm and USB-C ports, and this time you can use the latter for wired listening as well as charging, meaning you only need to carry one cable. The USB-C connection supports ‘lossless’ CD-quality audio, too, which isn’t possible over the aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec supported by the Bose, despite it being one of the most proficient codecs out there. Just be aware that both cabled listening methods require the headphones to have battery life.

Spatial audio

Speaking of which, battery life receives a much needed boost here, from 24 hours to 30 hours with ANC activated, or 45 hours with it off. Those figures hold up in testing and more or less match the Sony XM6, though the juicepack does take a hit when the power-hungry Immersive Audio mode is used, dropping to 23 hours.

Immersive Audio is Bose vernacular for spatial audio technology, which the brand introduced with the original Ultra. We weren’t hugely convinced by the ‘spatial’ effect with all types of music, and in the QC Ultra 2’s ‘Motion’ mode (which tracks the sound to your head movements), being able to sense the processing at play still proves a little distracting. But ‘Still’ is more satisfying, opening up the soundstage and delivering a more dimensional (if a little less focused) presentation that some will undoubtedly enjoy – particularly if they use ANC headphones while watching movies.

Bose has now bundled its ‘Still’ Immersive Audio and most intense noise-cancelling settings into a new ‘Cinema’ mode, designed for – you guessed it – TV and movie watching, and this is where the technology proves most valuable. Dialogue and mid/upper sound effects are pulled into greater focus within the wider soundfield, though dynamics are quashed as a result, limiting its appeal with music.

Noise cancelling

Whether you’re listening to music or movie soundtracks, you can do so in peace. Bose has consistently set the benchmark for noise cancellation efficacy in wireless over-ears, and despite Sony having boldly closed the gap here with its WH-1000XM6, the Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) still just about prevail for outright sound-blocking intensity in their ‘Quiet’ mode.

Whether you’re riding public transport or walking past roadworks or construction, they provide a blanket of silence so that your music (or podcasts) can bask in the spotlight, eliminating the deepest rumbles and the majority of mid-band hubbub we encounter on our daily travels. On a plane, only the shrill, high-frequency sound of a baby’s cry penetrates that formidable shield.

If you don’t like the QC Ultra 2’s somewhat heavy-handed approach to sound blocking, you can select the ‘Immersion’ mode and dial down the effect more specifically to your liking in the app. Alternatively, consider the Sony rival, which blocks sound pretty much as effectively, albeit in a subtler manner that doesn’t feel as though they’re trying as hard.

As before, the ‘Aware’ mode effectively lets external sounds in so that you can remain aware of your surroundings without having to remove the headphones. Bose has tinkered away to upgrade the proprietary algorithm that impacts how the Ultra 2 respond to sudden loud noises when in this mode, allowing ANC to automatically kick in so that sharp spikes of noise don’t drown out your music. It seems to work; I turn on the hoover and each time I up the intensity settings (and decibels!), the headphones react quickly to soften the impact on playback.

Sound

While we have previously encountered Bose noise-cancellers that haven’t moved sound quality on from one generation to the next, the QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) aren’t one of them. Compared to the originals, the newcomers make small but meaningful gains when it comes to clarity and detail, while sounding that bit more solid and musically tighter and shedding a layer of excess richness. There’s a sliver more space between instruments, too. Considering we peppered our original Ultra review with words like ‘punchy’, ‘entertaining’ and ‘defined’, those improvements make an already entertaining pair of headphones even more so.

Play Charli xcx’s Von dutch, and the Bose rev their engines, launching themselves into the upbeat track with their best foot forward. The synths surge with low-end texture and impetus, the beat pulsates with snap and crispness. It’s the same pleasingly smooth, bass-rich character Bose has long favoured, simply more insightful and precise than ever before. So far, so good.

However, a conversation around whether these sequels are worth upgrading to for owners of the first-gen model should encompass the wider competition. When we tested the original Ultra, their natural rivals were the Sony WH-1000XM5, which sounded different to the Bose – leaner, more natural and capable of slightly greater insight, albeit not as rich or full. Ultimately, for many, personal preference will play a large role in deciding between the two.

The problem for the QC Ultra 2 is that they come up against Sony’s Award-winning WH-1000XM6, which aren’t just different sounding but categorically better sounding, and by a fair margin. Indeed, Sony’s latest generational sonic evolution has convincingly out-leapt Bose’s, the XM6’s delivering not only more natural, even-handed tonality than the Ultra 2 but also greater clarity, texture, drive and dynamic subtlety. Musically, they’re what we can confidently call ‘next level’.

Considering the similarly priced Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 and Sennheiser HDB 630 are at least of the Sony XM6’s quality, the Bose, while entertaining in their own right, now feel a little left behind in this increasingly competitive, progressive market.

Verdict

Bose has arguably approached the QC Ultra Headphones 2 as it should have, by plugging feature gaps and incrementally improving on the original’s strengths. Reasonable across-the-board refinements were expected and have indeed been delivered, making for a complete pair of headphones that justify ‘2nd Gen’ status.

But the barrier to that fifth star somewhat lies outside of Bose’s camp. Quite simply, the competition has progressed further sonically than Bose has in the past two years, so the pressure for the noise-cancelling kings to make more significant gains next time around is on.

Review published: 26th November 2025

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Build 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Sony WH-1000XM6

Also consider the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3

Bose QC Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) vs Bose QC Ultra Headphones (1st Gen): which headphones are better?

Best noise-cancelling headphones tested by our in-house review experts

How low are these buds going to go? It was only a few weeks ago that the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 fell to a new low of £155, yet they've outdone themselves by falling even further to a record nadir of just £150 at Amazon. Another £5 off for Black Friday? Ok, why not?

The best thing is, the TW 4 are genuinely great wireless earbuds that we've admired for a while now. Thanks to their rich, dynamic sound, nice fit and ample feature set, they're a stellar alternative to the best that Bose, Sony and Technics are offering. Plus, they're a heck of a lot cheaper.

Best Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 4 wireless earbuds deal

We tested the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 at £260, which means you'll save a sweet £110 from their original test price if you snap up Amazon's latest devilish deal.

You'll seriously want to consider doing so. Sennheiser's flagship buds have earned the right to sit at the wireless earbuds top table, and as we noted in our original review, “they offer a very different flavour of sound to their closest rivals, but it’s just as engaging and enjoyable and this makes them very easy to recommend". Not worse, then, just different.

We spoke highly of their mature, rich presentation, stating that “there’s sophistication across the frequency ranges with a smooth, refined treble and midrange and weighty, full-bodied bass”. Rhythmically, they make it all seem effortless and they manage to stay in tune with the flow of a track no matter how complicated the arrangement.

The Sennheiser buds support Bluetooth 5.4, aptX Lossless and LE Audio. Battery life is an impressive seven-and-a-half hours, while the charging case provides three extra full charges to keep you topped up on your travels.

Their intelligent charging feature claims to help extend the life of the earbuds by slowing down the speed of the charge as they get closer to full capacity.

Add into the mix their extremely comfortable fit, responsive touch controls and a feature-packed companion app that includes an ear tip fit test, a five-band graphic equaliser and a whole host of other features and customisation options, and you’ve got an attractive package that ticks a heck of a lot of boxes.

A properly impressive deal on a pair of buds that could be on their way out quite soon. Be quick and head over to Amazon for a major saving.

MORE:

How to avoid bad hi-fi and home cinema deals this Black Friday – top tips and tricks from our review team

Black Friday home cinema deals live: our experts’ picks of the best savings on TVs, Dolby Atmos soundbar, projectors and more

Black Friday 2025 hi-fi deals live: our audio experts picks of the top savings on speakers, headphones, vinyl and more

Black Friday quick links

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• B&W speakers: save £200
• Bluetooth speaker: 48% off five-star JBL
• Bose QC Ultra Earbuds: save £100
• Bravia 8 TV: save 34% on 55in Sony TV
• Denon AV receiver: save £500
• Dolby Atmos soundbar: down to £299
• ELAC Debut 2: five-star speakers now £199
• Headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 4 now £169
• John Lewis: £500 off LG and Sony OLED TVs
• Richer Sounds: browse Black Friday deals
• Sevenoaks: £150 off Award-winning speakers
• TVs, movies, home cinema: browse the best deals

Sonos has revived the much-beloved Arc Dolby Atmos soundbar for Black Friday, citing it as the "last chance" to buy this Hall of Fame-inductee. We've raved about the Arc ever since it first launched back in 2020, but now's the time that we finally have to conclude that you shouldn't buy it, especially when these alternatives are available for similar prices.

• Check out all of the Black Friday deals at Amazon
• Richer Sounds Black Friday event: huge savings on TVs and projectors
• Sevenoaks Black Friday deals: save up to £2700 on TVs
• Peter Tyson: save hundreds on a new AV receiver

Sonos is currently offering the Arc on its official web store for £719, down from the £899 price it retailed at before the launch of the Arc Ultra (more on that in a moment). It's a fine discount of £120, but there are better options available that come within touching distance of that price.

We'll start with the obvious one...

The Sonos Arc Ultra is a better buy...

The successor to the Sonos Arc is a better soundbar in every way. It takes everything we loved about the original, and improves it with a bigger, bolder and richer sound that includes hugely improved bass thanks to the new Sound Motion driver technology.

We compared the Arc Ultra to its predecessor during our full review, and agreed that those looking for a flagship Sonos 'bar should spring for the latest version as it presents a clear upgrade over the original.

There is, of course, the matter of price to consider. The Arc Ultra is newer and more technically capable, and therefore more expensive, but we've already spotted a Black Friday deal at Amazon that knocks the price down to £799 from £999.

With just an £81 difference between the two five-star Dolby Atmos soundbars, we think the smart move is to opt for the newer model.

The Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus is a superb Sonos alternative...

Looking to avoid Sonos altogether? The Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus is a great alternative as it offers a room-filling cinematic sound alongside a handful of creature comforts that many will appreciate.

This includes a thorough on-board calibration system that doesn't rely on your smartphone's microphone, a physical remote control as well as an app, and two HDMI passthrough sockets, though they are only rated at the HDMI 2.0 standard.

The Ambeo Soundbar Plus pumps out a rich, punchy and spacious sound, making it a worthy competitor to the Sonos Arc, and at just £750 at Amazon (down from £1299), it's only £30 more expensive than the Sonos Arc; making this an ideal choice for anyone who wants to steer clear of Sonos.

The Samsung HW-Q990F is the full package...

If you're looking for a full surround sound system that features the convenience of a soundbar, then look no further than the Samsung HW-Q990F. It incorporates a dedicated subwoofer and surround sound speakers, as well as multiple HDMI 2.1 passthrough sockets, which gamers will appreciate.

It also happens to sound simply superb, which is why we bestowed it with a coveted Product of the Year Award earlier this month. The wireless subwoofer produces rich, tuneful bass, while the rest of the system provides a spacious, engaging and three-dimensional cinematic sound.

This system hits its stride with Dolby Atmos content, with soaring height effects and sounds passing seamlessly between channels, and it even handles music with finesse.

It's a whole £100 more than the Arc, meaning it's currently at £819 at Amazon; however, that's half the price it launched at, and you get a lot more in the way of features and performance for that extra money. If you have the space and budget, we'd seriously recommend paying the extra for the HW-Q990F.

More of today's best early Black Friday deals

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• B&W speakers: save £200
• Bluetooth speaker: 48% off five-star JBL
• Bose QC Ultra Earbuds: save £100
• Bravia 8 TV: save 34% on 55in TV
• Denon AV receiver: save £500
• ELAC Debut 2: five-star speakers now £199
• John Lewis: £500 off LG and Sony OLED TVs
• Richer Sounds: browse Black Friday deals
• Sevenoaks: £150 off Award-winning speakers
• TVs, movies, home cinema: browse the best deals
• Wine, beer and spirits: save up to 34% on drinks

Black Friday has kicked off a week early, which is good news for deal hunters such as myself, as I now have even more time to locate and recommend the best products at the best prices.

While I often look towards the products that we've tested recently on my search for the most purchase-worthy discounts, I will also consult the products that I use every single day, and for good reason too.

• Black Friday 2025 hi-fi and home cinema deals live: our experts' picks of the top savings on speakers, headphones, TVs, soundbars and more

I have reviewed more TVs, soundbars, and video streamers than I can count at this point, which means my standards are, understandably, high. This means the products that I use on a day-to-day basis are ones that I can truly vouch for, as is the case with the five-star Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus.

It's a competitor to the Sonos Arc Ultra, which is an admittedly superb Dolby Atmos soundbar, but I think that the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus has its own benefits, which make it a fantastic alternative for those who are looking to avoid Sonos.

I'll start with the biggest advantage right now: the price. We tested the Ambeo Soundbar Plus at £1299, a substantial price tag no matter how you look at it. However, a Black Friday deal at Amazon knocks this price down to just £749.

That's a huge £549 discount, and it means that the Ambeo Soundbar Plus is now £49 cheaper than the Sonos Arc Ultra, which is currently down to £799 from £999.

While I have to admit that the Sonos Arc Ultra takes the edge when it comes to sound quality, thanks to its Sound Motion drivers for enhanced bass, and superbly spacious handling of Dolby Atmos height effects, the Sennheiser holds its own when it comes to delivering cinematic sound, and the feature set is a step above the Sonos.

We complimented the Ambeo Plus' wide and room-filling sound that envelops us in immersive Dolby Atmos audio, and its surprisingly potent bass is weighty and present without introducing distortion. Pair that with a warm, rich sound that makes movies and music alike shine, and the Sennheiser quickly becomes a very likeable soundbar indeed.

I've spent a considerable amount of time using both 'bars, and when it comes to design, I think that the Sennheiser is the nicer-looking soundbar. While audio quality is paramount, and design is ultimately subjective, the Sennheiser's grey fabric mesh and top-mounted capacitive buttons and light bar make it a bit more visually appealing.

It's in the features department that I find the Sennheiser soundbar to truly outshine the Arc Ultra. Unlike the Sonos, the Amebo Soundbar Plus features two HDMI passthrough ports that support signals up to 4K/60Hz with Dolby Vision. Furthermore, Sennheiser includes a dedicated remote in the box, whereas the Arc Ultra relies on the Sonos app.

Speaking of the app, Sonos has come under fire for its app issues within the last year, and as someone who had to set up a Sonos Beam Gen 2 just a couple of days ago, I can vouch that the Sonos app is still a bit messy. The Sennheiser Control app, on the other hand, is nicely laid out, simple and responsive.

It also allows users to access the automatic calibration system, which is combined wth the on-board microphone to adapt the sound to your listening environment. It's as easy as pressing a button, whereas Sonos' Trueplay system is a lot more complicated.

iPhone users can access an advanced version of the calibration system, which requires walking around the listening space, waving their phone around, whereas the quick version utilises the built-in microphone to take a less thorough measurement. You'll notice I singled out iPhone users; that's because the advanced version isn't compatible with Android devices.

If you're trying to avoid Sonos and want an alternative that delivers a competitive sound and even better features, then the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus is a great choice. And for £750 at Amazon, this is one of Black Friday's best soundbar deals yet.

Black Friday quick links

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• B&W speakers: save £200
• Bluetooth speaker: 48% off five-star JBL
• Bose QC Ultra Earbuds: save £100
• Bravia 8 TV: save 34% on 55in Sony TV
• Denon AV receiver: save £500
• Dolby Atmos soundbar: down to £299
• ELAC Debut 2: five-star speakers now £199
• Headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 4 now £169
• John Lewis: £500 off LG and Sony OLED TVs
• Richer Sounds: browse Black Friday deals
• Sevenoaks: £150 off Award-winning speakers
• TVs, movies, home cinema: browse the best deals

Five-star headphones can cost a pretty penny, but premium over-ears don't always have to break the bank – especially when there's an early Black Friday deal to be done.

At just £169 at Amazon, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless headphones have crashed to their lowest-ever price, a substantial £130 cheaper than launch.

The deal is for both the Black or White models, which have previously dropped to only £199; but if you've got your heart set on the Graphite finish, you'll have to pay only a fiver more.

So, if you're looking for headphones that boast impressive sound quality, a hefty battery life and effective ANC, this is a deal we can seriously recommend.

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless may be markedly older than more recent rivals, such as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones or the Sony XM6s, but they will also cost you less than half the price of those options.

And, despite their age, these five-star headphones still have a lot to offer aside from their seriously competitive price. Namely, the clear, direct, detailed and lively sound alongside a 60-hour battery life that blows most of its competitors out of the water.

And if that battery ever runs low, you can switch to wired listening – either through the supplied 2.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable or a USB-C to USB-C one (not supplied). A USB-C charging lead joins the single audio cable in the box, as does a good ol’ airplane adapter and a rather nice fabric hardshell case.

Sennheiser has also equipped the Momentum 4 Wireless with high-quality aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec support, as well as being Bluetooth 5.2-compliant, meaning you can simultaneously connect to multiple Bluetooth devices and switch with ease.

All of this can be managed in the Sennheiser Smart Control app, which also acts a gateway to EQ levels, ANC adjustment settings and a 'Sound Check' to give you a desired listening profile.

The ANC is effective – our expert testers called it “very decent indeed” – and will tackle busy roads and noisy traffic by automatically adapting to your environment.

Sonically, they are clear and direct in a way that demands your attention. In our review, we say: “They sound sharp and sprightly, and that added leanness hasn’t come at the expense of substance across the frequencies: highs are well-honed, mids are pleasingly plump, and lows strike a good balance between being taut and tubby.”

We have certainly seen discounts on the Momentum 4 Wireless over the years, but never as good as this. This offer of £169 at Amazon is by far the lowest price yet – and you don't even have to wait until Black Friday to grab it!

MORE:

Read our full Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless review

Check out the best headphones: tested by our experts

And the best on-ear headphones: our top pick of wired and wireless pairs

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• B&W speakers: save £200
• Bluetooth speaker: 48% off five-star JBL
• Bose QC Ultra Earbuds: save £100
• Bravia 8 TV: save 34% on 55in Sony TV
• Denon AV receiver: save £500
• Dolby Atmos soundbar: down to £299
• ELAC Debut 2: five-star speakers now £199
• Headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 4 now £169
• John Lewis: £500 off LG and Sony OLED TVs
• Richer Sounds: browse Black Friday deals
• Sevenoaks: £150 off Award-winning speakers
• TVs, movies, home cinema: browse the best deals

Looking for a light, comfy pair of wired headphones that offer an even, analytical listen? The Sennheiser HD 560S open-back headphones are currently on offer for £89 at AV.com.

That’s a remarkable £70 off their current £159 recommended retail price and £40 less than Amazon was selling them for at the end of September. AV.com is chucking in a free headphone stand as part of this early Black Friday deal too.

When we tested the HD 560S at £169 back in 2021, we gave them four stars and praised them for their “expansive, detailed presentation”. For a desktop system or home listening, these over-ear wired Sennheisers are a solid, affordable option.

Supplied with a detachable 3m cable, the Sennheiser HD 560S have a 6.3mm jack for connection to hi-fi sources, while a 3.5mm adapter is included to allow use with digital audio players, tablets and smartphones. Quite simply, they’re a great choice for a wide range of audio sources.

Thanks to their velour earpads and padded headband, we also found them “really rather comfortable” during testing.

They are equipped with a 120 ohm drive unit, which features a specialised polymer-blend diaphragm and high-strength magnet. The result is an even, clear and spacious presentation with agile bass, although there’s a little more of the latter available in the five-star Grado SR325e.

As these are an open-back design, you’ll find that these HD 560S leak sound a fair bit, making them more suitable for home use than on the go. However, they aren’t quite as leaky as the five-star Grados.

So, if you’re after a new set of wired over-ear headphones, it’s worth considering these Sennheisers at their early Black Friday bargain price of £89 at AV.com – it represents really excellent value.

MORE:

Check out our list of the best wired headphones

Or the best Sennheiser headphones currently available

The Sennheiser HD 599 headphones are back at their lowest ever price

If you want some decent wireless headphones, you’ve never been so spoiled for choice. I won’t go through every single pair available to you right now, mainly because I don’t think there’s sufficient room on the page – suffice to say, from top to bottom, you’re (generally) very well catered for.

You’ve got cheap options at the bottom, such as the Sony WH-C520 (£34 / $50 / AU$79 or the slightly costlier Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT (£129 / $179 / AU$269), then you’ve got premium options in the shape of the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 (£379 / AU$699 / $449) and Sony WH-1000XM6 (£379 / $450 / AU$699), or you could go the whole hog and blow a stack of cash on the luxurious Focal Bathys MG (£999 / $1299 / AU$2300). Something for everyone, then.

Well, sort of. The current wireless headphone market is a bit like a convertible with the roof down, or Darth Maul's two-handed lightsabre – a lot going on at the top and the bottom, but not much happening in the middle. If your budget is set at around £100-£250 / $125-$300, you’re not exactly spoiled for choice.

Look at how Sony structures its pricing. You can start at around £35 / $40 / AU$70 with the WH-CH520 and then £79 / $100 / AU$200 for the noise cancelling CH720N, before you jump all the way up to around £400 / $450 / AU$699 for the Sony WH-1000XM6, leaving a big old gap in the middle. Some brands, like Bose, don't even bother making cheap options, while many affordability-focused companies are the inverse: lots of cheap stuff, but very little in the premium market.

I’ve complained about this absence before, mainly with regard to the trials of finding a decent Christmas gift for someone looking to get themselves a pair of wireless cans at Christmas.

Spending £50 seems a bit miserly for a present, whereas £379 will have me living in penury until the next festive season rolls around, by which time I’ll have scraped enough cash together to dish out a handful of paperclips and a half-used bottle of shampoo.

The options that do occupy this strange market void remain, but as I’ve bemoaned before, they're disappointingly mediocre. We've never been fans of the rather bland Sennheiser Accentum Wireless (£160 / $180 / AU$300) or the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 (£229 / $279 / AU$479), and what's worse, there aren’t many alternatives available around to take over the reins.

By and large, most releases tend to be super-affordable or aimed at the premium end of the scale. This year has seen the launch of the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 and Px8 S2 (£629 / $799 / AU$1299), the Focal Bathys Mg, the Loewe Leo (£1299 / €1299), the Sony WH-1000XM6 and the second-gen Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (review coming soon).

If you want wireless earbuds, it’s been a similar story in 2025 – just look at the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) (£299 / $299 / AU$450) or the luxurious Bang & Olufsen Beo Grace (£1000 / €1200 / $1500). Okay, we had the launch of the AirPods 4 with ANC (£179 / $179 / AU$299) in 2024 and latterly the AirPods Pro 3 (£219 / $249 / AU$329) in 2025, but if you’re not an Apple fan, it’s rather slim pickings on the in-ear front.

Why does such a gap exist? My hypothesis remains the same, in that it’s the middle market that tends to get hollowed out whenever times are comparatively tough.

Manufacturers tend to produce super-cheap fare to monopolise the buyers who want to keep costs down, while the high rollers of this world can still be targeted with shinier products, safe in the knowledge that those big-spenders aren’t tethered by financial constraints.

It’s still frustrating to be writing about the same problem almost two years after I first noticed it, but perhaps that’s more of a reflection on the state of the market, and the wider economy, than any wilful negligence on the part of manufacturers.

Let’s be honest, economic factors are the main driving force for any business decision, and it isn’t in most companies’ best interests to be plugging gaps that won’t yield the highest returns.

Still, it would be nice to have a golden middle point whereby buyers can spend a reasonable amount of cash and get the performance to match their budget, especially as not every consumer wants to be forced to pick between a 30-day matured sirloin or a tin of cheap mince.

The solution, it seems, is to eschew newer products in favour of the timeless oldies. Okay, you won't get the same array of cutting-edge features, but the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM4 (£189 /$200) or the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e (£210 / $200) can be picked up for around half of what they originally cost at launch, and you're still getting excellent quality with our stamp of approval. Quite of few of those products are set to be even further discounted in the early Black Friday sales, by the way...

Until brands decide to target the mid-range market, the classic adage might well be true: old really is gold.

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We have tested the wireless headphones and turntable in the John Lewis Christmas ad – and they're both five-star stunners

Check out the 8 spectacular tracks lighting up our test rooms this month

These are the best wireless headphones you can buy

As the clocks go back and the nights get colder and darker, this is about the time we wish that we had some Class A amplifiers in for review to keep us toasty and warm.

We sadly don't have a valve amplifier in for testing, but we do have Rotel's high-end CD player that's built like a tank, a new Clearaudio turntable and Sennheiser's new hi-res wireless headphones that aim to please audiophiles – all in our test rooms to get the full review treatment by our experienced test team.

Our winners for the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025 have been announced across 24 categories, but that doesn't mean all the most exciting products have been covered for the year. Far from it – there are plenty of new hi-fi and home cinema products that are waiting for our review team in our test rooms this November, and you can see our top 5 picks for the month below. Along with the three hi-fi products mentioned, we are also looking forward to testing JBL's affordable Bar 300MK2 soundbar and the high-end BenQ W5850 projector.

If you have any questions about the products we are testing, comment below or email us at whathifi@futurenet.com, and we'll do our best to find the answer during our testing process and get back to you.

Clearaudio Compass

It's been a while since we have had a Clearaudio turntable in our test rooms, and we're curious to find out how the new Clearaudio Compass performs at its £1099 / €1290 price point. The belt-drive turntable is the brand's new entry-level model, and features precision-milled components, a new T1 aluminium tonearm fitted with a new N1 moving magnet cartridge, electronic speed change and a 20mm acrylic platter.

Like the previous five-star Clearaudio Concept model we tested over a decade ago, the new Compass is designed to be fairly plug-and-play; it is handmade in Germany and aims to deliver “accessible performance without compromise”. At this price range, it has the multiple Award-winning Rega Planar 6 to face off against. Let's hope it puts up quite the fight.

Rotel Michi Q5

The Michi Q5 is a beast of a high-end CD player. Weighing 23.5kg in total and just about fitting on to our hi-fi racks, as you can see from the picture above, this is a serious digital player for serious audiophiles.

It costs a hefty £5499 / $6999 / €5999, and every element of the product is meticulously designed for ultimate sound quality: dual toroidal transformers, fully balanced circuity and an eight-channel ESS ES9028PRO DAC split equally between the right and left channels for greater detail, wider soundstage and less distortion. The Michi Q5 plays CDs as well as hi-res PCM, DSD and MQA files, and features RCA and balanced XLR outputs, as well as optical, coaxial and type B USB inputs.

The highlight is the top-loading CD mechanism crafted out of aluminium and mounted on a custom floating spring assembly; taking the lid off to play a CD is an event in itself.

Sennheiser HDB 630

Sennheiser's new pair of wireless headphones aims high: it wants to bring high-res Bluetooth streaming and audiophile-level tuning to the masses.

Building upon the five-star Momentum 4 Wireless headphones' design, this step-up model features the kind of audio tuning normally reserved for the brand's HD 600 wired audiophile headphones, promising twice the detail resolution of the Momentum 4. It also comes with a USB-C Bluetooth transmitter that delivers up to 24-bit/96kHz quality using the aptX Adaptive codec when plugged into any mobile device – including an iPhone.

The accompanying app lets you customise the sound to your heart's content, from in-depth parametric EQ settings to crossfeed options, while battery life is quoted at 45 hours with ANC turned on and with hi-res files playing.

Priced at £399.90 / $499.95 / €499.90, can the new HDB 630 beat our current favourite at this price – the Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM6 – and deliver a whole new standard of quality for Bluetooth headphones?

JBL Bar 300MK2

We’re always on the lookout for great affordable soundbars, and we have a new contender from JBL in our test rooms right now.

This entry-level Dolby Atmos soundbar boasts a claimed 450W of power and HDMI passthrough, and it costs £100 less than a Sonos Beam Gen 2.

The previous model got four stars – can the new one go one star further and dethrone the Beam?

BenQ W5850

The Sony VPL-XW5000ES looms large over the £5000ish projector price category (it’s just won its fourth What Hi-Fi? Award in row), but other brands are still keen to take a shot at it.

First was the Epson EH-QB1000 which, despite its five-star performance, couldn’t quite topple the Sony. Now, it’s the turn of the BenQ W5850, which combines most of the hardware of the five-star W5800, and adds a new shorter-throw lens so you can get a bigger image from a shorter distance.

Has the Sony XW5000ES finally met its match? Stay tuned for our full review to find out!

MORE:

Rega and Pro-Ject lead the turntable winners at the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025, while Technics reclaims a trophy

8 of the best Bruce Springsteen tracks to test your hi-fi system

Bose is making its SoundTouch smart speakers dumb – and won't compensate customers

It might still be a month away, but the B word is well and truly upon us – with Black Friday starting to be mentioned at retailers across the country.

This does mean we've seen some great deals pop up, and while it might be tempting to wait, there's nothing wrong with grabbing a good deal early.

In celebration of The Boss' new film Deliver Me From Nowhere, we've mixed things up a bit and added vinyl as well as the usual AV tech – and we've put together a list of the best Bruce Springsteen tracks to test your hi-fi equipment too.

It may be Halloween, but there's nothing scary about these prices – see our deals of the week below.

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All four of the best 2025 flagship OLED TVs are on sale, and I have ranked them so you know which to buy

Seven things I wish I had known before having a bespoke TV cabinet made

These are the seven scarily good tunes we've been using for testing this month

If you’re a fan of soundbars, you have Yamaha to thank. The Japanese audio brand popularised the concept with the first commercially available soundbar back in 2005 with the YSP-1, which featured 42 drive units packed into an all-in-one audio solution.

A lot has changed since then; soundbars are available in all shapes and sizes, and a fair few of them now support this thing called Dolby Atmos (you may have heard us mention it once or twice).

Naturally, Yamaha wants to keep up with the times, and as the grandfather of soundbars, it hopes to establish its rightful place as the soundbar brand amongst fierce competition from the likes of Sonos, Samsung and Sony.

The True X Surround 90A is the company’s weapon of choice to stake that claim, and with some seriously impressive specs on paper, it could be enough to reinstate its position.

However, as we know well by now, specs don’t tell the full story. We’ll need to dig into the full capabilities of this soundbar system to see if it's truly worth its sizeable price tag – so, shall we?

Price

At £2116 / $3500 / AU$4499, the True X Surround 90A is a pricey bit of home cinema kit. You can forget the likes of the Samsung HW-Q990F or Sonos Arc Ultra, as they cost less than half the price of this system; instead, we look to the likes of Sennheiser and KEF to provide alternatives.

The KEF XIO is available for £1999 / $2500 / AU$3600, while the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max launched at £2199 / $2500 / AU$4000 – the latter can be picked up for closer to £1999 / $2000 in the UK and US respectively nowadays, though it seems to have retained its original price in Australia.

The catch here is that those options only include a Dolby Atmos soundbar, whereas Yamaha is offering a soundbar, two wireless surrounds and a subwoofer all in one package.

Build

The True X Surround 90A system can best be described as sturdy, as it’s frankly built like a tank. The main soundbar measures a sizeable 8.5 x 118 x 14cm (hwd) and weighs a hefty 11kg.

That weight is on account of it being constructed entirely of a rigid metallic chassis supported by two large resin feet – both of which have been implemented with the goal of minimising cabinet vibrations and unwanted distortion.

While the soundbar certainly has presence, it’s thankfully not too tall, allowing it to sit below most TVs without blocking the display. Yamaha kindly also provides the brackets if you wish to wall mount the ’bar.

There is a fabric mesh fascia running along the front of the bar that adds a touch of class to an otherwise fairly bulky and not very visually appealing soundbar. Mind you, the Ambeo Soundbar Max isn’t much of a looker either.

The fabric is only interrupted by a small display and a trio of interface buttons. A proper onboard display is a nice touch; however, the system also supports on-screen set-up menus, meaning you won’t have to squint at the miniature screen to get the system up and running.

Moving on to the WS-X3A surround speakers, these are an evolution over the wireless units included on the Yamaha True X Soundbar System from last year. These elongated cuboid speakers are wrapped in a similar grey fabric covering and feature buttons on the top for pairing and volume adjustment. Charging cradles are included in the box; however, each speaker also features a USB-C port for wired charging if you’d prefer.

The surround speakers look pretty smart and should blend into many living room environments. The fact that they can be used completely wirelessly will also allow for greater flexibility when it comes to placement. Measuring just 22 x 8.8 x 8.8cm (hwd) and weighing a mere 1kg each, they also shouldn’t take up too much space.

Last, but certainly no means least, is the subwoofer. We’ve seen trimmed-down subs designed for small spaces from the likes of Samsung and JBL this year; Yamaha, on the other hand, has decided not to follow suit. Weighing 12.7kg and measuring 38 x 24 x 41cm, the included subwoofer is a chunky black box that will require some dedicated space. Thankfully, it too is wireless.

Features

The Yamaha True X Surround 90A may look somewhat unassuming from the outside, but it's packed full of genuinely interesting technology that sets it apart from its rivals.

The main soundbar unit is home to 19 drivers, including a set of newly developed oval-shaped midrange drivers, which Yamaha says will introduce a wide range of sonic benefits.

They have been optimised to feature fewer components across the speaker structure and magnetic circuitry, which Yamaha says has resolved issues regarding cone rigidity and high-frequency response. As a result, these full-range drivers will, according to Yamaha, deliver a "powerful, balanced sound" with "rich midrange tones".

There are four of these drivers in the main soundbar – two in the centre, and one at each end handling the left and right channels – and three dome-style tweeters supporting them for higher frequencies.

That covers seven of the 19 drivers, so where are the rest? We draw your attention to the top of the soundbar to answer that question, as Yamaha has reintroduced a core component of its first soundbar and brought it into the modern era of Dolby Atmos height effects.

At each end of the soundbar, you’ll find an array of six beam-firing drivers derived from the YSP-1. They’re placed in a staggered arrangement and angled to project sound upwards and bounce it towards the seating position.

While the main soundbar is packed with drivers, the surround speakers have very few. Each of the WS-X3A units includes just two 58mm full-range drivers, backed by two passive radiators. The trouble here is that each speaker’s two drivers are positioned to face the same way, with no side-firing or up-firing drivers – we’ll come onto why that’s a bit of an issue later.

We’re also a bit unimpressed by how fiddly it can be to pair these speakers with the rest of the system. Holding down a button on the top of the speaker can put it into pairing mode, but you have to dig into the set-up menu to put the bar into its pairing mode for all of the components to recognise each other.

That same button also switches the speakers to the left or right position, and it can be a bit of a guessing game as to how long you need to press the button for, in order to get the desired outcome.

The bigger issue is that if you choose to disconnect the surrounds from the system to use them as individual Bluetooth speakers – a feature that Yamaha highlights as a bonus of using these wireless speakers as surrounds – you then need to put them back into pairing mode and re-pair them with the soundbar. It’s a bit of a slog, and it puts us off using them as individual Bluetooth speakers.

We thankfully get back on track with the subwoofer, which uses an 18-cm driver and a unique new Symmetrical Flare Port technology design. As the name suggests, the port features mirrored flared ends, which Yamaha says will ensure an “extremely smooth release of the strong air flow generated during bass reproduction”.

Better yet, this newly designed port system supposedly reduces port noise by 20dB, which results in “pure bass reproduction that is both powerful and deep”, according to Yamaha.

Taking a look at the outside of the bar, we find a serviceable, if slightly limited, connection selection comprising an HDMI eARC out, a 4K HDMI passthrough (disappointingly not a 4K/120Hz equipped one), an optical, USB (for updates only, not media playback) and Ethernet. That HDMI passthrough does, however, support Dolby Vision and HDR10+, which is a nice touch.

Wireless connectivity is solid, with Apple AirPlay 2 allowing us to beam music directly to the bar. Yamaha’s MusicCast Controller app handles the rest of the streaming duties, as you can link your preferred streaming service to the app or play music from a network server.

The True X Surround 90A doesn’t miss a beat where audio format support is concerned, as Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Auro 3-D are all supported.

On top of that are a selection of different sound modes, which are featured as shortcuts on the remote control. These include clear voice and bass extension modes, both of which are fairly self-explanatory, as well as straight and stereo sound modes, which are best used for listening to music. Auro 3-D gets its own button, which Yamaha highlights as being an ideal option for enhancing live music content.

Furthermore, Yamaha’s Surround:AI sound mode – which has featured on a number of its Aventage home cinema receivers – can be enabled to adapt the soundfield via content recognition algorithms and clever sound processing systems.

The system seems to default to Auro 3-D’s Auro-Scene upmixing regardless of the native format, meaning even Dolby Atmos content will undergo Auro 3-D processing as standard. Switching to the Dolby Surround setting on the soundbar prevents this, but it's not the default option, and wrestling with the bar to output the native audio format every time we switch discs gets a bit frustrating after a while.

The bar becomes even less user-friendly when we realise that it does not feature any sort of automatic calibration or room correction. Yamaha deemed this to be unnecessary, as only the upward-firing channels use beam forming technology, and the rear speakers can be placed in inconsistent positions.

There are settings within the soundbar menus to adjust how the upward-firing drivers position their sound, but they’re fairly complex, asking you to adjust beam angles and focal lengths. We’ve dealt with our fair share of complex home cinema audio kit, and even we’re struggling to make heads or tails of what each setting means.

After checking in with Yamaha, we’re informed that the beam angle refers to the sweet spot relating to the positioning of where the overhead audio effects should land, and the best way to calculate this is to deduct the height of the bar’s position from the ceiling height.

While that may sound like a simple process, it’s not made very clear by the detail-light descriptions attached to each of the settings options. We also question how deeply the average consumer would dig into these settings and processes, as getting this granular is often reserved for AVR and speaker package combinations.

Ultimately, we feel that microphone-assisted calibration (using either a dedicated microphone or mic built into the soundbar, à la the KEF XIO and Samsung HW-Q990F) would solve many of the headaches we experience here, and is something it’s fair to expect at this level.

Sound

While it may be slightly frustrating to set up, the good news is that the True X Surround 90A’s soundbar rewards us with a pretty impressive sonic showcase, and its subwoofer is among the best we’ve heard from a soundbar package. But one weak link in the system holds it back from achieving true sonic greatness.

We’ll start with the positives – the True X Surround 90A delivers a rich, weighty and powerful cinematic sound that’s easy to get immersed in. We fire up the 4K Blu-ray of Dune: Part Two and reach the sequence in which a Harkonnen spice harvester is ambushed by Fremen freedom fighters.

This sequence is conveyed with the necessary sense of drama and intensity thanks to the soundbar’s punchy and expressive characteristics. The slashes of Fremen swords are delivered with a clean and assertive effect, which sounds appropriately sharp without coming across as abrasive or thin.

As Chani and Paul strategise how to shoot the enemy ornithopter out of the sky, their commands are presented with superb clarity and authority, and the soundbar does an excellent job of capturing the muffled vocal effect created by their masks.

All the while, the subwoofer produces tightly controlled yet powerful bass that underpins the thunderous soundtrack. We have no trouble believing Yamaha’s claims regarding the benefits of the new port design, as bass refuses to distort or falter in even the trickiest scenarios – including Blade Runner 2049’s infamous Chapter 2 sequence.

The subwoofer plays a key role in ramping up tension here, as its tuneful and precise sound builds dynamically throughout the sequence. Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack – specifically the unnerving Flight To The LAPD track that plays over this scene – is conveyed with superb timing.

We switch to Civil War to test how the system handles Dolby Atmos effects, and find it to be a bit of a mixed bag. While the height and scale are both certainly present and correct in a scene in which a swarm of Chinook helicopters soar overhead to initiate the final battle of the film, we find ourselves wishing that the soundbar would project said height effects further into the room.

That “bubble of sound” that we experience with Samsung’s Dolby Atmos soundbar package isn’t really present here, which takes us out of the action somewhat. There’s unquestionably still height to the sound, and we tinker with the fiddly settings mentioned earlier to try and improve this, but we find tracking down a combination of settings that pushes the height effects towards our seating position to be easier said than done.

This lack of a truly encompassing Dolby Atmos sound is at least partly down to the lack of up-firing drivers in the surround speakers, and this is unfortunately not the only way in which they hold the overall system back.

Drivers that only fire forwards can, of course, still disperse sound fairly widely, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with those built into Yamaha’s surround speakers. Instead, there’s a rather ‘beamy’ quality to their delivery and quite an obvious gap in the soundstage between them and the soundbar at the front.

The surrounds are a bit of a tonal mismatch, too, with a lack of weight and dynamics making effects sound distracting as they’re passed from the front to the back of the room.

Ultimately, the surrounds rather take away from the overall package, when they should add to it. That’s a shame, because the rest of the package is superb.

We can’t help but feel that Yamaha would have been better off including surround speakers designed with surround sound/Atmos duties alone in mind, and hadn’t gone down the Bluetooth-speakers-as-surrounds route – particularly as they’re actually fairly thin and unengaging as portable speakers for music.

Thankfully, the rest of the system is very musical indeed by soundbar standards. Casting Aurora’s Churchyard to the system via Tidal, we’re met with that same rich, powerful and engaging sound we heard with movies, and we have absolutely no qualms about the subwoofer getting involved here either.

Bon Iver’s From, meanwhile, is underpinned by a smooth, decadent and textured guitar riff, while Justin Vernon’s tenor vocal cuts through with a crisp, sparkling quality.

Verdict

The Yamaha True X Surround 90A is mostly brilliant, but it falls frustratingly short of true greatness.

The Japanese audio giant has struck gold with the soundbar and subwoofer, which together produce powerful, detailed, tuneful and engaging sound with both movies and music. A little more Atmos-ness and greater usability would be nice, but these aren’t primarily why the system misses out on five stars.

That’s down to the surrounds, which take away from, rather than add to, the overall performance. You can simply choose not to use them, of course, but that feels wasteful – particularly as they’re not very accomplished as standalone Bluetooth speakers.

Ultimately, we wish that Yamaha had gone with surround speakers designed purely for that purpose, or left them out and reduced the price. In either scenario, we could be looking at a five-star system.

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Build 4
• Features 3

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Read our review of the KEF XIO

Also consider the Samsung HW-Q990F

Read our Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max review

Best soundbars: options for every need, recommended by our experts

Sennheiser is well known for producing some of the best headphones out there, but did you know it also designs and manufactures electronics designed to extract even greater performance from its premium audiophile headphones?

One of our favourites, despite being awarded four stars, is the Sennheiser HDV 820. It's a headphone-amp-cum-desktop-DAC, which is currently discounted down to £1499 at Richer Sounds. That's a generous £600 discount on its original price.

As much as Sennheiser would love you to pair the HDV 820 with its own brand headphones, in reality, you can use any brand's cans (or in-ears) to amplify your sound. Get it all now for just under £1500.

In our four-star Sennheiser HDV 820 review, we used the amp with both the company’s HD800S headphones and the Beyerdynamic T1, a long-time favourite of ours. And our verdict?

“Regardless of headphones, the results are good. The Sennheiser has a crisp, precise delivery that sounds wonderfully refined,” is what we say in the review.

We are fans of the amp’s ability to “organise and interweave different musical strands to form a cohesive whole,” and “its pleasing dose of outright scale”. Adding to this, we say “large dynamic shifts are delivered with composure”.

It doesn’t quite have the bite or attack of the very best at the money, but it’s still a smooth and sophisticated performer – great if you like a huge dose of refinement from your headphone amp/DAC.

The Sennheiser ticks plenty of boxes in terms of connectivity. Unusually, there’s a traditional 6.3mm jack integrated into the three-pin XLR socket on the front of the unit.

You also get a four-pin XLR and a pair of 4.4mm Pentaconn jacks on the front, both of which allow a balanced connection to suitable headphones.

Another string to the HDV 820’s bow is that it can also act as a preamplifier thanks to the presence of both single-ended and balanced analogue inputs and outputs, plus a separate gain-adjustment to fine-tune the output for your power amp or active speakers.

The DAC functionality comes via a trio of USB, coaxial and optical digital inputs, with resolution limits of DSD256 and 32-bit/384kHz for PCM music files.

Add solid build quality and a great user experience to the mix, and you have a versatile amp with plenty going for it, not least a £600 discount over at Richer Sounds.

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Read our full Sennheiser HDV 820 review

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Sennheiser is no stranger to wireless headphones – its Momentum 4 Wireless over-ears are strong contenders thanks to a pleasing combination of comfort, features and sound quality for the price.

But now the brand is aiming its sights higher, with the launch of the first wireless model in the long-running HD 600 audiophile wired headphones range.

The Sennheiser HDB 630 are positioned as the brand's "first high-res audiophile wireless product" and aims to combine the "unmatched audiophile precision" of the audiophile HD6 range with the portable convenience of the Momentum wireless range.

In a bid to ensure that everyone can enjoy hi-res audio on these new wireless headphones anywhere, Sennheiser includes a BTD 700 USB-C Bluetooth transmitter in the box, which grants hi-res streaming to smartphones and tablets that don't natively support the higher-quality aptX HD codecs.

This tiny dongle device lets you stream music at up to 24-bit/96kHz quality using the aptX Adaptive codec, which offers higher resolution and greater data transfer than the standard Bluetooth codec found on, say, an iPhone.

Sennheiser says: "With only an estimated 16% of smartphone hardware supporting native wireless high-res sound, the included dongle brings this capability to 80% of smartphone models in an instant through their USB Type-C port."

This transmitter also adapts according to your environment – for instance, scaling the resolution down if you're in a congested area to ensure the Bluetooth connection remains stable with minimal dropouts.

The aim for the HDB 630 is not just to deliver a higher-resolution sound quality for audiophiles on the move – we are promised twice the resolution of the five-star Momentum 4 – but also to ensure that connectivity is stable in all situations, including multipoint Bluetooth connections.

The 42mm drivers feature a "refined" acoustic design that balances the headphones' compact form with ample air flow behind the transducer. The headphones have undergone "pure audiophile tuning" to deliver a smoother response in the upper midrange and lower treble areas, with a claimed frequency range of 6Hz to 40kHz.

Listeners can also enjoy the full 24-bit/96kHz resolution in lossless quality by opting for a wired connection, with USB-C and 3.5mm audio cables included in the box.

Adaptive ANC is on board and aims to "block out distractions while preserving clarity and dynamics".

Battery life is claimed to be an impressive 45 hours with full hi-res streaming and ANC turned on. This extends to 60 hours if ANC is turned off and listening with non-hi-res codecs.

Sennheiser also offers detailed parametric EQ and crossfeed functions within the Smart Control Plus app, which lets you fine-tune the HDB 630's sound quality even further to your liking.

The standard five-band equaliser allows for changes within a fixed range; the new Parametric Equalizer offers far greater adjustments that allow for those audiophiles who really enjoy tweaking the sound quality to sculpt their preferred frequency curve. It even includes A/B comparisons to compare and analyse the changes you've made – which is a useful touch. After a future update, users will also be able to share their own tailored EQ presets via QR code with fellow Sennheiser fans.

The crossfeed setting is inspired by the brand's flagship HE 1 headphones, and digitally blends the left and right channels – when dealing with classic mono recordings or "hard-panned mixes", for instance – for a more "speaker-like" presentation that might be easier on the ears.

The HDB 630 are a closed design and takes ergonomic design inspirations from the Moment 4 Wireless, with earcups that are supposedly less prone to fingerprint marks. The adjustable headband is made of a "Japanese Protein Leatherette" material that aims to be comfortable and durable over long listening periods.

Sennheiser's Senior Product Manager, Wee Hong Kuan, says: “We set out to deliver a compelling option for audiophiles who want to keep the same level of quality they’re used to with their wired headphones while enabling them to enjoy it everywhere, and out of the box, the HDB 630 brings a truly unique combination of fidelity and customization.”

The Sennheiser HDB 630 headphones will cost £399.90 / $499.95 / €499.90. Pre-orders are now open, with global shipping starting from 21st October.

That's a step up from the Momentum 4's £300 / $349.95 / AU$549.95 launch price, and the new "audiophile" wireless cans will see competition from five-star premium rivals such as the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3.

MORE:

Read our Sennheiser Momentum 4 wireless review

Inside the Sennheiser factory: assembling audiophile headphones and listening to £60k electrostatics

Best Sennheiser headphones 2025: 7 brilliant options tested by our team

The best wired headphones, in general, offer superior sound quality when up against the best wireless headphones. You'll be sacrificing portability, but if you're looking for a pair for home use only, then wired wins out a lot of the time.

That's why we're pleased to let you know that the four-star Sennheiser HD 560S headphones have just dropped 24 per cent in price, meaning you can snap them up for only £129 at Amazon.

If your budget can stretch further and you like the idea of a more premium offering, then the Sennheiser HD 660S2 are still discounted down to £389 at Peter Tyson.

Even at their launch price, though, our in-house reviews team weren't short of praise for their analytical sound and comfortable build.

They deliver an "unusually healthy dollop of spaciousness at this level" and "greater analytical accuracy than through most competing headphones", as we said in our HD 560S review.

Sure, they miss a touch of punch and energy, which ultimately cost them a fifth star in our score rating, but they are far from flat and may well have just the right sonic flavour for certain music genres and preferences.

Sound aside, the HD 560S are very comfortable thanks to their lightweight construction, velour earpads and ample headband padding.

They come with a 3m cable, with the 6.3mm plug designed to connect to hi-fi sources, while the bundled 3.5mm adaptor accommodates portable devices.

It's worth remembering that these are open-back headphones and therefore susceptible to ‘leaking’ sound by design, although our reviewers found that they actually bleed audio far less loudly than some, such as the Grado SR325e.

All in all, these Sennheisers are worthy wired headphones – not least with this 24 per cent discount at Amazon.

With the HD 560S, Sennheiser promises ‘reference-grade’ sound on a budget – and it mostly delivers.

MORE:

Read our full Sennheiser HD 560S review

Check out the best wireless headphones rated by our in-house experts

And our pick of the best noise-cancelling headphones

Another week, another selection of tempting savings to muse over the weekend.

Even when we're not wrestling with Black Friday deals or the Amazon Prime Day sale, our expert deal hunters and editors are always on the trail of the best savings out there on the finest gear that we wholeheartedly recommend.

This week, we've seen major deals on everything from fantastic projectors to talented wired headphones to Bluetooth turntables.

We've even spotted an unbeatable saving on a five-star OLED TV which shouldn't be missed!

If you're after the finest prices on a range of stunning gear, read on for the best TV, home cinema and hi-fi deals we've found over this past week.

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Two pairs of excellent over-ears have smashed down the door to our best headphones guide

3 fun and useful music streaming features I've been checking out this week

The Sennheiser HD 660S2 open-back headphones have dropped to £389 at Peter Tyson – a substantial £110 discount from their usual £499 asking price.

The HD 660S2 won us over when we put them through their paces in our strenuous review gauntlet, thanks to their wonderfully relaxed presentation and refinement, particularly with midrange frequencies and vocals.

Part of Sennheiser's storied HD 600 series – a lineage that's remained a cornerstone of the headphone market for over two decades – these premium wired headphones represented the latest evolution of a proven formula when they launched in 2023.

For the money, the HD 660S2 offer an exceptionally smooth and easy listening experience that handles any genre with aplomb.

The 38mm driver with ultra-light aluminium voice coil, housed within an open-backed design, creates what we described as a ridiculously easy listen that excels with acoustic and vocal-heavy material.

But how do they sound, we hear you ask? Based on our testing, the HD 660S2 paint a beautifully intimate picture with tracks like A-ha's MTV Unplugged version of Take On Me, delivering vocals that are super-smooth and ooze refinement.

The accompanying instruments, such as guitar and piano, become extra ingredients that add to the soothing experience.

At 260g, these headphones strike a comfortable balance between substantial build quality and wearability, too.

The generous velour earpads feel like slipping your feet into a pair of posh slippers, while the soft headband padding ensures extended listening sessions remain comfortable.

However, it's worth noting that the HD 660S2 do struggle somewhat with bass-heavy tracks that demand tight, controlled dynamics.

While they produce adequate bass weight, the delivery lacks the tautness and punch found in rivals such as the Beyerdynamic Amiron – something that can stifle the low-reaching dynamics of tracks like Billie Eilish's Bad Guy.

Despite this limitation, the HD 660S2 earned a four-star rating for sound quality, with perfect five-star scores for both build and comfort.

The package includes both a 1.8m cable with 6.3mm connector, and a 1.8m balanced cable with 4.4mm jack, plus a 6.3mm-to-3.5mm adaptor.

Note that the 300-ohm impedance means they'll benefit from proper amplification to reach their full potential.

Also, it’s worth reiterating their open-back nature – ideal for unwinding in relaxing, quiet, home listening sessions. Not so much for the commute, gym, or office.

For listeners whose preferences lean towards acoustic, vocal-heavy, or midrange-focused material with all the airy benefits of an open-back experience, though, this represents excellent value at this reduced price.

MORE

Read our Sennheiser HD 660S2 review

Our pick of the best wireless headphones you can buy right now

And check out the best on-ear headphones: our expert pick of wired and wireless pairs