Too High-end But Not Enough

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus Wireless in a nutshell

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus Wireless has been available since Q1 2024 for $229.90 a pop. The Accentum range is Sennheiser’s entry-level/mid-range Bluetooth headset with Active Noise Cancellation. Prices are more affordable than those of the Momentum range, whose current flagship is the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless (review). The model I reviewed here is an upgraded version of the Sennheiser Accentum Wireless (review) which sold for around $180.

Design

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus Wireless has a simple but clean design. Plastic is omnipresent but thankfully, the finish is meticulous. Touch controls are responsive and wear detection worked reliably.

Pros:

• Clean look with nothing outstanding.
• Comfortable to wear.
• Responsive touch controls.
• Wear detection is supported.

Cons:

• No IP certification.
• Lots of plastic.
• Unable to fold the headphones for easy transportation.

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus Wireless are not premium headphones, let’s get this straight from the beginning. The design relies heavily on the use of plastic. If this look seems a little too simple at first glance, the very clean finish gives the headphones a rather harmonious monolithic appearance. Nothing protrudes, nothing squeaks or creaks when the headset is handled.

It is not IP-certified for water and dust resistance. Thankfully, we do have wear detection that pauses music and automatically switches off the headset when you remove it.

The earcups feature touch-sensitive surfaces for controls. I found them to be very responsive, even if I prefer physical buttons. The ear cushions are very large and thick. The silicone headband padding is also well-filled. The headset is comfortable to wear, not too tight on the head but still very supportive. It’s not very breathable, however. If you sweat a lot as I do, this is a negative point.

I also regret that the headset cannot be folded. The saving grace is how you can rotate the earcups to lay them flat.

Audio quality

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus Wireless offers very good audio quality with its 37 mm drivers. The default audio signature is rather neutral, which is already very good. When you activate the Sound Personalization mode, the headphones’ audio takes on a whole new dimension.

Pros:

• Neutral audio signature by default.
• aptX Adaptive codec (24-bit/ 48-96 kHz at max. 420 kbps).
• Sound Personalization function lets you create your own audio signature.
• Wired operation via 3.5 mm jack or USB-C.

Cons:

• No true HD codec supported.

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus Wireless supports AAC, SBC, and adaptive aptX codecs (also CVSD and mSBC, but the latter are dedicated for voice for calls). No proper HD codecs, then. It’s a pity, as some less expensive headphones support LDAC.

Basically, you can listen to tracks with a bit depth of 24-bit, a sampling rate of 96 kHz, and a maximum bit rate of 420 kbps. In short, there is no lossless audio supported. For my review, I used the headphones with an iPhone 15 Pro Max in AAC and a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in aptX. I also used Apple Music with the audio quality set to “Lossless” (24 bits/ 48 kHz). Unfortunately, I don’t have an available device that supports aptX Adaptive.

In terms of audio signature, the Sennheiser Accentum Plus Wireless is very neutral by default. This is a good thing, as the rendering is balanced and will suit most users.

On the other hand, you can try out the “Sound Personalization” feature. You’ll need a Sennheiser account in the Smart Control application. Think of it as an enhanced equalizer. Sennheiser will play you a song via the headphones. You’ll be able to modulate the volume of certain types of sound. I’m not just talking about frequency ranges via the equalizer. Rather, you can choose to emphasize the bass or the strings here while managing the balance between these different parts of the track.

In other words, you can create your own audio signature and adjust it at will. What’s interesting is how these changes are immediately perceptible to the ear. I really like this feature. If you do it right, the audio quality takes on a whole new dimension.

Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus Wireless features Active Noise Cancelling (ANC). This is perfectly adequate. The transparency mode, which amplifies ambient noise, is quite natural.

Pros:

• Good Active Noise Cancellation performance at its price.
• Natural transparency mode.
• Practical Sound Zones function.

Cons:

For Active Noise Cancellation, the Sennheiser Accentum Plus Wireless relies on two microphones built into each earcup. The passive isolation of Sennheiser’s headphones is already very good. Needless to say, the quality of the Active Noise Cancellation is excellent.

You’re not totally cut off from the world like with Apple AirPods Max (review), Bose QC Ultra headphones (review), or Sony WH-1000XM5 (review). However, these headphones are also far more premium than the Sennheiser Accentum Plus Wireless.

Constant structure-borne noise is very well attenuated. More fluctuating airborne noises, such as voices, are considerably less attenuated. As for the transparency mode, it’s quite natural. In any case, it offers more than I expected in this price range.

Finally, a word about the Sound Zones function. You can create presets for Active Noise Cancellation within a specific perimeter, such as the office. The headset will automatically change its behavior depending on whether you enter or leave that zone. Personally, I’ve defined a 200-meter perimeter around my office.

When I enter it, the headset automatically activates Active Noise Cancellation so that I can ignore my colleagues and save them from my bad morning mood. When I leave the office to take public transport home, the transparency mode is activated so I don’t get mowed down by a cyclist.

Features and applications

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus Wireless can be operated with the Smart Control app. It’s available free of charge on
Android and
iOS and offers fairly comprehensive settings. Feature-wise, Sennheiser’s headphones are generous with multipoint, wear detection, and a five-band equalizer.

Pros:

• Smart Control app is available on Android and iOS.
• No account is required (except for certain functions).
• 5-band equalizer, multipoint, wear detection.

Cons:

• Touch controls are not customizable.
• Sound Zones and Sound Personalization functions are blocked if you don’t have an account.

I’ve already mentioned several features of the Sennheiser Accentum Plus Wireless that I appreciated. Sound Zones, Sound Personalization, so I won’t go into those again.

Sennheiser’s headphones support multipoint Bluetooth connectivity and can connect to two devices simultaneously. The five-band equalizer is very nice and precise, and you have quite a few presets at your disposal.

Wear detection is equally effective. Music pauses when the headphones are removed, making it reliable and responsive. Touch controls are not customizable, but they are very precise. Sennheiser uses a swipe gesture to control volume incrementally (the slower you swipe, the more precise it is).

Battery life and charging

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus Wireless offers a very solid 50 hours of battery life. That’s considerably more than what most more expensive high-end wireless headphones offer.

Pros:

• Very solid 50-hour battery life.
• Can be used in wired mode without any battery drain.

Cons:

• Slow 3.5-hour full charge.

Sennheiser claims its headphones can last for up to 50 hours of listening with Active Noise Cancellation activated. That’s a very good score when you consider how Bose and Apple are content with just over twenty hours at most. Even Sony’s top-of-the-range headphones are limited to around 30 to 40 hours.

Of course, I didn’t use the Sennheiser Accentum Plus Wireless for 50 hours straight. By using it during my office hours, i.e. 8 hours a day, and a little in the evening at home, I was able to last a whole week, i.e. 5 days, before having to plug in the headphones to charge them. Just be sure to activate the automatic sleep mode when you remove the headset.

Technical specifications

	Technical specifications
Device
Image
Design	Circum-aural | weight 227 g | port detection | touch controls
Audio	37 mm drivers
Frequency response	10 – 22,000 Hz
ANC	Yes, always active 2 microphones per headset Transparency mode
Bluetooth	5.2 | codecs SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX Adaptive | Multipoint
Battery life	50h with ANC Quick charge 10 min = 5h autonomy 0 to 100% in 3h30
Price	$229.99

Conclusion