Sennheiser Accentum Review

Sennheiser’s Bluetooth headphones have always been solid, with the Momentum 4 being one of the best on the market. They’ve been a strong competitor to Sony, and usually focus more on their sound than their features, while also supplying great features. Now Sennheiser has launched their new Bluetooth headphones, which aim to be a less expensive version of the Momentum 4. It costs $179 and carries a lot of similar features to the Momentum. Does it match the same heights?

What You Get

• ACCENTUM Wireless headphones
• USB-C charging cable
• Quick guide

Look & Feel

You can think of this as a smaller and more plasticky version of the Momentum 4. It’s the same basic design with smaller earcups and no mesh material on the headband. It loses some style points, but makes sense for a more budget-friendly headphone. Even though the earcups are smaller, it still encapsulates your full ear. They have a good seal and never feel too tight. When worn, the Accentum doesn’t pinch down on your head, and I was able to wear them with no issue for hours.

Design & Functionality

The Accentum houses a 37mm dynamic driver that provides sufficient loudness for the price, but still only offers little headroom. Noise-canceling gives you a bit more room, and is mostly effective for the price. It’s not going to be as strong as the Momentum 4, but gets pretty close. Other features can be used through the smart control app, like EQ, sound zones, and a new custom EQ feature called sound check that uses presets to tune the music to your ears.

Bluetooth

The Accentum uses Bluetooth version 5.2, and retains a consistent signal with no dropouts during my testing. It offers standard CODECs like SBC and AAC, while also supporting aptX and aptX HD.

Battery Life

If you liked the massive 60 hour battery life of the Momentum 4, the Accentum doesn’t make any sacrifices for its reduced price. You still get 50 total hours of playtime with the Accentum, which makes it one of the best wireless headphones for battery life in this price range.

Soundstage 

It’s hard for a Bluetooth headphones to have a soundstage that really sticks out, but the Accentum gives you more than what’s normally offered. The Accentum adheres to a wide stereo field for wireless headphone in this price range. You can tell where instruments and effects are supposed to be coming from, as the soundstage does its best to provide accurate positioning. The left and right channels are very distinct and maintain good balance. It even provides some appreciable height that extends the imaging ever so slightly. Separation and layering don’t convey any great depth, but you do get some slight spatial qualities from vocals specifically.

Low End 

Sennheiser’s wireless headphones usually provide a boosted low end, and the Accentum gives you just that. Although a lot of the bass tone is made up of surface-level textures, you do get some rumbly detail from underneath. It’s mostly a bodied timbre that supplies a lot of thick frequencies, but they never feel muddy. You can even add more bass gain through EQ, but I don’t think it needs a ton of extension to be punchy or impactful.

Mids

This is a mainly v-shaped sound signature that feels especially hollow. You get some emphasis on the low and high mids, but there’s a lot of detail scooped out in the middle that takes away from certain arrangements. Specific genres that are hard-hitting might not be too affected by this, but more dynamic tracks don’t feel as well realized through the Accentum. There are a lot of wireless headphones in this price range that operate this way, but the Accentum still feels different with its roomy response.

Highs

I was not expecting the Accentum to have this much brightness to it, and thankfully it’s a brightness that is easy to digest. Of course, if it is still too much you can adjust it with EQ, but the highs add a good amount of detail to this sound signature. The frequencies appear with a slight tininess, but everything still feels clean and expressive. Nothing is ever harsh, even with its noticeable peaks.

Summary

The Sennheiser Accentum is almost exactly what I expected it to be. While it might not reach the height of the Momentum 4 sound-wise, it holds its own in its price range. It has a fun bass with surprisingly expressive highs, but the midrange just leaves too much dullness in the middle. There are plenty of features, good ANC, and the battery life is incredible for $179. It’s perfect for those who can’t quite afford the Momentum 4 and are okay with it not being totally the same sound.

The Sennheiser Accentum is available at Audio46.