Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus wireless headphones – the middle child tries harder! (AV review)
As a middle child does, the Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus wireless headphones strives to gain attention and prove its worth in the market. In everyday use, they are hard to tell apart from its older MOMENTUM 4 sibling.
With a price tag of $399.95, the Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus wireless headphones fall in the mid-range category, offering a competitive price point compared to the premium MOMENTUM 4 from $469 to $639.95 (depending on colourways) and the more entry-level $319.95 HD450SE.
So we will start with a little comparison
Sennheiser ACCENTIUM Plus is first, and MOMENTUM 4 is in brackets:
- Over-ear (same)
- Closed back (same)
- Speaker 37mm/10Hz-22kHz (42mm 6Hz-22kHz)
- Bluetooth 5.2 multipoint (same)
- SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX Adaptive (same)
- Adaptive Hybrid ANC (Adaptive ANC)
- Mic/Handsfree/Voice assistant (same)
- Mics: 2+2 (2+2 per side)
- 19.3 x 17.7 x 4.8cm x 225g (19.2 x 18.9 x 4.6cm x 292)
- Touch controls (same)
- Battery: 800mA Up to 50 hours (700mA up to 60 hours)
- USB-C Charge Time: 2.8 hours (2.2 hours)
- 3.5mm and USB-C DAC play while charging (same)
- App: Sennheiser Smart Control (same)
- Case: hard sides and device lays flat (same)
Please don’t confuse this with the standard $299.95 ACCENTUM, which lacks features like a 2.5mm/3.5mm cable connection, touch controls, wear detection, angled drivers, hybrid ANC, and a carry case.
Spoiler Alert: Overall, the Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus offers an excellent sound signature and a similar App experience to the premium MOMENTUM 4.
Joe and Jan Average will not notice the few cost compromises. However, if money is not the object, the MOMENTUM 4 remains the king of the heap with superior noise cancellation and better mid-bass.
Australian review: Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus wireless headphones
All prices are RRP as of 16/03/2024, exclusive of any promotional discounts.
| Website | Product Page and Manual |
| Price | $399.95 – free delivery and 30-day return Black or Whte colourway. |
| From | Sennheiser online, Harvey Norman, Officeworks, Qantas Marketplace, Addicted to Audio, Amazon AU |
| Warranty | 2-year warranty (exceed) |
| Made in | Designed in Germany and made in China. |
| Company | Sennheiser (Founded in 1945) is a privately held German audio company that designs and produces a wide range of high-fidelity products, including microphones, headphones, telephone accessories, and aviation headsets for personal, professional, and business applications. Sonova Holding, a global medical hearing solutions provider based in Switzerland, now owns its consumer audio business. |
| More | Cybershack Sennheiser news and reviews |
We use Fail (below expectations), Passable (meets low expectations), Pass (meets expectations), Pass+ (near Exceed but not class-leading) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. You can click on most images for an enlargement.
First Impression – Pass+
It is a scaled-down version of the MOMENTUM 4 with slightly scaled-back performance. Having said that, we won’t make too many more comparisons because you buy these if you can’t afford MOMENTUM 4 – read Sennheiser Momentum 4 BT, ANC over-the-ear headphones – how do you improve on perfection?
We can see where dollars have been saved – hybrid Adaptive ANC versus Full Adaptive ANC, smaller speakers, tighter frequency range, and 10 hours less battery life. Still, if you did not know these things, you can’t help but be impressed with the sound quality and value.
They both use the Sennheiser Control App and offer very similar features. Only one physical button acts as the Bluetooth pairing, voice assistant, on/off and reset. Voice prompting is available for Bluetooth connection, battery status, and volume/mute.
Inbox – Pass+
Sennheiser offers a generous 1.2m cord length USB-C to USB-A cable and a 2.5mm to 3.5mm 4-pole (stereo headphone and mic) cable. They fold flat to fit the hard-sided case (16.5 x 19.5 x 4.8cm) but do not fold in for a smaller footprint.
Setup and Sennheiser Smart Control App (V 3.14.9) – Pass
You can use these as Bluetooth headphones on a smartphone, PC, Mac, etc. Depending on your BT host device (it remembers up to six), you can change the Codec. Otherwise, it will default to SBC. Android users can download the Bluetooth Codec Changer, which allows you to select SBC, AAC (Apple), aptX, aptX HD, and aptX Adaptive, as well as 24-bit/4800Hz. It also has mSBC (compressed SBC) and CVSD codecs for teleconferences.
A Sennheiser account is not required to use the headphones, update firmware, or access the main features of your companion app. However, some features, like the new Sound Check, require a login. Settings, like custom EQ presets, are saved in your account and available on other devices.
The privacy policy is at the end of the review, and as it is subject to strict EU GDPR, it is very safe. Data is stored in its Asian (not China cloud). You can opt into marketing emails.
Touch Controls – Pass+
The right earcup has touch and tap controls for play/pause, Transparency mode, and forward/rewind/next/previous tracks. When a phone call occurs, the right earcup changes to accept/reject/end and toggle between calls.
Closed-back – Pass
All ‘proper’ noise-cancelling headphones are closed-back. This is necessary for maximum acoustic isolation from external noises and limits soundstage to ‘inside your head’. The sound stage is good for this type of headphone thanks to the angled speakers.
Pulsatile tinnitus (hearing your heartbeat in your ears) and tinnitus sufferers should probably avoid these, although it does have some app occlusion control (transparency slider).
Handsfree – Pass
A physical inspection reveals two external mics (right earcup) for beamformed voice, two external mics (right/left earcups) for noise hybrid reduction and two internal mics (for hybrid noise reduction).
Callers felt the voice was clear enough and commented on the lower background noise. The app has a stronger anti-wind setting.
Battery 800mAh – Exceed
It claims 50 hours with BT and ANC. After 5 x 8-hour days (70% volume), it still had >10% battery. We let it run down (a real chore), and the 0-100% recharge was about 3.5 hours from a 5V/1A/5W charger (or PC/Mac USB port). It is PD/PPS-compatible but won’t charge any faster. It has a fast charge— ten minutes for up to five hours.
MOMENTUM 4 has about 10 hours more usable time.
Charge and Play – Exceed
Sennheiser has an inbuilt DAC that allows you to charge and play simultaneously or use it as a USB-C or 3.5mm headphone (on a smartphone or PC). Sony WF-1000XM5 (and earlier) do not. This is a significant advantage found in very few headphones.
Comfort – Pass+
While these are comfortable at 225g, I found the clamping pressure (about 500g) slightly heavy. This will reduce over time as the headband wears in. The earcups are snugger than the MOMENTUM 4.
ANC – Pass
It is Adaptive (set in the App) with Auto Wind Noise Reduction. It is hard to tell the difference between the ACCENTUM Plus and MOMENTUM 4 in everyday use.
In extreme use, the MOMENTUM 4 have softer earcups that envelop the ears and cut even lower frequencies (aircraft noise).
Transparency Mode – Pass+
A double tap implements Transparency mode, and a two-finger pinch varies the level of ANC and Transparency.
How do they sound?
Overall, the 37mm angled drivers do a great job, but there are a few things to know.
Out of the box, its native signature is more ‘bright vocal’ (bass recessed, mid/treble boosted) – for vocal tracks and string instruments but can make them harsh.
Mid-bass is there from 50-100Hz (flat – good), and high-bass is flat from 100-200Hz (flat). It continues to build to 1kHz, where it is flat to about 5kHz, offering nice crisp and clear vocals and dialogue. It then dips to avoid harshness and is relatively flat to 20kHz, adding the sense of ‘air’ – of being there.
The result is satisfying but not as clean, with a little less bass than the neutral sound signature of the MOMENTUM 4.
The App has many equaliser presets (Rock, Pop, Dance, Hip Hop, Classical, Movie, and Jazz) and allows you to develop a custom preset based on your tastes after listening to a test track. It also has Bass Boost and Podcast settings.
We found Bass Boost, and the Classical preset brings it close to the neutral sound signature (Nirvana). For the hearing impaired, the Jazz setting accentuates the 1-4kHz and recesses bass and treble.
Voice Assistants – all – Pass+
You need to press the multi-function button to hail the voice assistant of the connected phone.
Maintenance – Exceed
Sennheiser makes replacement ear pads available for many years. Sennheiser/Sonova can replace the internal rechargeable battery.
CyberShack’s view – Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus wireless headphones – great sound for a little less than MOMENTUM 4.
While I have a soft spot for the MOMENTUM, the new ACCENTUM Plus is a great all-rounder. I was surprised by side-by-side testing at how good they really were.
It gets our buy recommendation. If money is not an object, the MOMENTUM 4 adds just a little extra.
Rating
- Features: 95 includes USB DAC (charge and play), excellent 50-hour battery life and a customisable sound signature.
- Value: 90 – About on par with other brands’ mid-range offerings
- Performance: 85 – Almost as good as MOMENTUM 4 (90)
- Ease of Use: 90 with Sennheiser Control App (not required for use) and spare parts make Sennheiser the brand to buy.
- Design: 80—The quintessential German/Sennheiser individuality of earlier models has disappeared. These have no outstanding design features.
