Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless.
Sennheiser is known for high-quality but pricey products, like the Momentum lineup of headphones and true wireless earbuds. But the Accentum line is the company’s offering for people who want flagship features and performance at a more accessible price point.
We liked the Accentum Plus headphones even though we felt they were still expensive. So how do the new Accentum True Wireless earbuds stack up?
The TL;DR version:
The Accentum True Wireless earbuds sound pretty decent and come with nice features like full touch control customisation, but it's still a little expensive.
Note: You can find the Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless earbuds on Amazon, Lazada, Shopee, and the Sennheiser Online Store.
Design & wearing experience
The USB-C charging port is still on the front of the case.
While the plastic charging case might not be as premium as the fabric-covered one for the flagship Momentum True Wireless 4, the case is lightweight and slips into pockets easily thanks to the low-profile square design. Sennheiser is continuing the odd design choice of keeping the USB-C charging port on the front of the case, but there’s the option to charge wirelessly if you don’t fancy fiddling with cables.
The earbuds resemble the Momentum True Wireless 4 but with a slightly curvier shape. Sennheiser says thousands of ear models were analysed to get the right balance of comfort and stability. While the design doesn’t make for a very secure fit due to the shorter nozzle, it’s incredibly comfortable in the ear. I’ve worn these for around six hours on a plane ride with zero discomfort.
Similar to Sennheiser’s other true wireless offerings, there’s a large touch-sensitive area on either earbud for controls. However, I found these areas can be a little too sensitive at times. Oftentimes, it would register ghost inputs when I was simply adjusting the earbuds in my ears and not intentionally trying to get it to do something.
There’s IP54 dust and water resistance, so these can be taken to the gym or out for exercise without too much concern.
Features and Usability
Smart Connect app.
Smart Connect app.
As always, Sennheiser’s Smart Connect app is the companion app that you’ll be using with these earbuds. We’ve covered the app in a number of reviews before, so we won’t go too deep into it.
You get the same features like a five-bar equaliser, Transparency, and Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) settings, the ability to create Sound Zones which automatically apply settings when entering or leaving locations, and touch control customisation.
Touch control customisation.
Touch control customisation.
Sennheiser’s touch control customisation has been one of its strong suits for many years and it’s no different here. You get to customise every single touch control to perform any command you want, which is much more flexible than some other earbuds that group controls together or only offer limited options. The only controls that can’t be customised are the phone call controls, which aren’t a big issue.
In the Settings tab, you’ll be able to select between standard resolution or low latency mode for gaming. There are also options to turn off Smart Pause, auto-accept calls, deactivate aptX, adjust auto power off times as well as turn on Battery Protection Mode, which slows down charging and doesn’t allow the earbuds to charge to 100% in order to prolong the battery’s lifespan.
Touch controls are a little sensitive, as mentioned before, but the earbuds are responsive and there’s no lag when using the touch controls.
A short nozzle makes for a comfortable wearing experience.
Depending on your ears, the short nozzle of the Accentum True Wireless can impact the amount of passive noise isolation achieved, and consequently the overall amount of noise cancellation with ANC. For me, I felt that earbuds could use a deeper fit.
As a result, I could still hear cars whizzing by or people chattering if they were close. That said, I felt that the low-frequency noises like rumbles and hums were quite effectively dampened. If your ears are shaped like mine, and you are looking for earbuds that have excellent ANC to drown out the noise around you, you might want to try these earbuds out first before you decide.
There's a transparency mode, which lets you hear your surroundings. It has three strength levels (low, mid, and high) and I'd recommend only using the low or mid-levels, as the high level boosts higher-pitched frequencies a bit much. Environmental sounds are generally conveyed faithfully, although voices can get a bit tinny.
The Accentum True Wireless connects via Bluetooth 5.3, and they support Bluetooth LE and Auracast. However, there are so few opportunities to use Auracast at the moment that you’ll most likely rarely, if ever, connect to an Auracast stream. Supported codecs include SBC, AAC, aptX, and LC3. Crucially, these earbuds can do multipoint and up to two devices can be connected at once for seamless and quick switching.
Battery Life and Endurance
Sennheiser claims up to eight hours in the earbuds and up to 28 hours total with the charging case if you turn off ANC. This drops to six hours in the earbuds with ANC on and using the AAC codec. These estimates are relatively accurate since I got slightly under six hours while listening to them with ANC on and with the AAC codec.
While the Accentum True Wireless earbuds' battery time is rather average, at least there’s quick charging that gives you an hour of playtime with just 10 minutes of wired charging. These earbuds also support Qi wireless charging, which is a nice inclusion.
Audio quality
Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless.
Most of us need no introduction to Sennheiser’s 7mm TrueResponse dynamic transducer as it’s been used in many of their products over the years – including in the Momentum True Wireless 4. That same driver is in the Accentum True Wireless but it's tuned differently here.
There’s a bit more energy here, with a V-shaped tuning that sees the bass and treble boosted. The bass is punchy and tight, although there’s a lack of rumble and texture in the sub-bass region that makes bass-heavy songs like The Hills by The Weeknd a little underwhelming.
There’s a noticeable dip in the mids which results in instruments in this region sounding a little subdued. Thankfully, the boost in the treble helps to provide some much-needed energy and liveliness. Vocals in this range are sharper and crisper, and instruments like flutes and string instruments feel a little more detailed. That said, the soundstage is a little too compressed.
Despite that, we would say the overall sound signature works well for the general listener, and whatever minor misgiving they have about the way it sounds can be tweaked using the equaliser feature in the app.
Our take
Not bad, but still a little too pricey.
The Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless aren't bad earbuds, but neither are they outstanding in any way. They are comfortable and have a pleasant (if somewhat safe and boring) sound signature. The ANC and battery life are also both decidedly average and could be better if we are going to nitpick.
It's understandable that some areas had to be trimmed back to keep it at the S$299 price point. But many other competitors offer the same, if not better performance at that price or lower. The Nothing Earbuds, for example, is comparable to the Accentum True Wireless and costs S$229. Clearly, Sennheiser needs to price the Accentum True Wireless earbuds more competitively if it really wants to distinguish itself in this highly competitive segment.
The Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless earbuds come in Black, White and Blue colours, and are now available at S$299 from these retailers:
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