Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless review: Sennheiser sound at an affordable price

Sennheiser has always been one of the most premium audio brands on the planet. The company makes not only consumer headphones, speakers, and audio products. But they also make professional and commercial grade gear. But Sennheiser has always commanded a higher price, and for good reason. So many users have not been able to enjoy the company’s fantastic sound due to not wanting to spend that much on headphones. However, the new Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless aims to change that.

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

The new Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless are the company’s first sub-$200 wireless headphones that deliver that quality Sennheiser sound. You might be asking, what’s the catch? Well, there are some things you are going to sacrifice over buying the more expensive MOMENTUM 4 wireless headphones, but you may not mind at all, once you hear them. Let’s dive into the full review of the Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless.

The Quick Take

I would say that the Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless is a heavily scaled back version of the company’s MOMENTUM 4 wireless headphones. While the MOMENTUM 4’s are still better in terms of sound, ANC and some features. The ACCENTUM manage to capture the point of making a pair of affordable headphones, better sound at a great price.

You’re not going to get the hard shell case, the bigger battery, the plusher feel of the more expensive big brother. But you will get sound that’s nearly as good. For the price point of $179.99, and if you can overlook not getting the accouterments found on the higher priced Sennheiser headphones, you cannot ask for a better pair of headphones with Sennheiser tuning than the ACCENTUM Wireless. If spending less than $200 on a pair of outstanding headphones is your goal, then the Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless are for you.

Specifications

The Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless has the following features and specifications:

• Article number (SKU) Black: 700174
• Article number (SKU) White: 700175
• Wearing style: Headband stereo headphones
• Ear Coupling: Around-the-ear, circum-aural
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2 compliant, class 1, 10 mW (max)
• Transmission frequency / modulation: 2,402 MHz to 2,480 MHz; GFSK, π/4 DQPSK, 8 DPSK
• Supported Profiles: A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP, GATT
• Supported codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX™, aptX HD™, mSBC, CVSD
• Speaker principle: Dynamic
• Speaker type/size: 37mm diameter
• Speaker frequency range: 10 Hz to 22 kHz
• Speaker sensitivity: 106 dB SPL (1 kHz / 0 dBFS)
• Speaker THD: <0.3% (1 kHz / 100 dB SPL)
• Active Noise Cancellation: Hybrid ANC
• Mic principle: MEMS
• Mic frequency range: 50 Hz to 8 kHz
• Mic pick-up pattern: 2 mics, beamforming for noise reduction
• Battery lifespan: Up to 50 hrs music playtime via Bluetooth and with ANC (test condition: iPhone, medium volume level)
• Charging time: Approx. 3 hrs for a full charge; After 10 min charging up to 5 hrs music playtime
• Battery type: Built-in Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery, 800 mAh
• Power Supply: 5 V⎓, 700 mA max, USB charging via USB-C socket
• Magnetic field strengthark: 3.0 mT
• Product weight: 0,222 kg
• Dimensions: Approx. 16,5 x 19,5 x 4,8
• Temperature range (operation): 0 °C to +40 °C
• Temperature range (charging): +10 °C to +40 °C
• Temperature range (storage): -20 °C to +60 °C
• Relative humidity (operation): 10 to 80%
• Relative humidity (storage): 10 to 90%
• App support: Sennheiser Smart Control app for iOS™ and Android™

What’s In The Box

• Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless Headphones
• Charging Cable
• Manuals and Documentation

Design

The Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless is similar to that of the MOMENTUM 4. The basic shape and design is the same but smaller, perhaps 20-25% smaller. The entire headphone structure is made of plastic. This is not cheapo garbage plastic, but it’s also not as premium as you’d find on Sennheiser’s higher end headphones. Cost savings have to be had somewhere. The Sennheiser logo is embossed on either side of the headband, black on black.

The earcups articulate to fold flat, and they pivot in and out to help form to your head. They do not fold into themselves. The earpads are cushy, not as cushy as higher end Sennheiser’s but still not bad. The clamping force is high on these headphones. This will be a big personal preference thing, but I do not like too much clamping force as it causes me to get headaches. I thought the clamping force on these headphones was above average.

The left earcup houses some mics while the right earcup also has mics but also the controls as follows:

• Volume up
• Pause/Play/Calls
• Volume down
• Power/Bluetooth
• USB-C port

All the buttons are clicky and easy to feel and use. The headphones themselves are super lightweight and easy enough to toss in a bag. There is no case or soft bag included, another cost-cutting measure, so you’ll either have to invest in one or just be careful with them.

Overall, the design follows Sennheiser’s other headphone designs, but the quality of materials is noticeably not as good as their higher end headphones. That being said, they do feel better than some other cheap Amazon headphones you can buy for $100. In other words, yes the materials aren’t as good as the premium line, but they are far better than cheapo off – brand crap from Amazon.

Ease of Use

The Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless are straightforward to use. Make sure you charge them to full, there is a small LED near the USB-C port that will flash orange when plugged in to show they are charging and then turn green when charged.

Once charged, press the power button for 5-seconds to enter pairing mode, find ACCENTUM in your Bluetooth settings and connect. You can stop right here if you like, and go on enjoying the music. But if you want more control and an EQ, you’ll need to download the Sennheiser Smart Control app.

Once you’re connected via Bluetooth, the app will see that you have connected and your headphones will be available to control. More on the app in the next section.

Overall, there’s really no issues with using these headphones. They are straightforward and simple that even grandma can use them.

App

The Sennheiser Smart Control app is available for iOS and Android and is where you will find many of the great features of these headphones.

Once you’re connected via Bluetooth, the app will detect your headphones and connect to them. When you first use the app, it will offer to give you a tour of the features you can use. You can take the tour or skip it. In the app, you can do the following:

• Connections: Manage connections, the Sennheiser ACCENTUM can be connected to two devices at once.
• EQ: Use the 5-band EQ, Bass Boost, Custom Presets, or Podcast Preset
• Sound Check: Requires registration and is supposed to allow you to personalize your listening experience by guiding you through the best settings for your music.
• Sound Zones: Requires registration and uses geolocation to create different sound profiles based on your location, and it auto-applies them when entering those locations.
• Modes: Toggle between ANC and Transparency Modes
• Sidetone: Is supposed to give a more natural voice call experience
• Settings: Firmware updates, Auto Power Off control, Tone and Voice Prompts, Codec, Factory Reset

The app is great to have, but once you have your settings in place, you’re likely never going to use it unless you need to make some big change. I still recommend you download it and use it if you want to change the sound and add more bass or more mids etc.

I did not try the features that require registration and geolocation, these are not essential to me and I don’t need Sennheiser to know where I am at all times. You may feel differently and enjoy these features, so they are here for you.

Overall, the app is useful and it is laid out nicely. Most people will end up using it a few times and stop once they have settings where they want them. I do recommend checking for firmware updates every six months, though. Just to keep your headphones updated.

Sound

OK, here we come to it. The sound of the Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless headphones is really excellent. Better than other headphones in this price range, still not quite as excellent as the MOMENTUM 4 or other higher priced headphones.

But given the price point, we were not expecting the excellence of the premium headphones Sennheiser offers. What we were hoping for was better sound than you get from a pair of off – brand Amazon headphones in the same price range, and we got it.

What surprised me with the Sennheiser ACCENTUM is just how neutral the soundstage is. I was expecting to be hit over the head with big BASS. Often, brands tune these lower priced offerings with more BASS than is needed. But Sennheiser stuck to their neutral and balanced soundstage here. Kudos for that!

You can go into the EQ and push the bass up if you wish, and these drivers do a good job of handling all of it. The ANC does a good job of canceling surrounding noise, it’s not up to par of something like the MOMENTUM 4 or AirPods Pro Max, but at this price point, it does an impressive job.

The Transparency Mode works good, as with most other headphones with this feature, it does sound artificial, but it does the job.

Overall, Sennheiser has done an impressive job of bringing its balanced soundstage to a more affordable pair of headphones.

Reception/Call Quality

The Bluetooth reception is typical on the Sennheiser ACCENTUM, 30- 40 feet from source before you lose connection. Walls and obstacles always play a part in reception, so your results may vary.

Call Quality is great and the Sidetone feature seems to work a little magic, making things sound more natural. Overall, no complaints here.

Battery Life

Sennheiser claims 50 hours of battery life. There are exceptions, of course, and the way you use your headphones is going to impact your results.

I rarely push the volume up past 60% on any of my headphones, and I always have ANC mode on. I was able to get almost 48-hours of use on a charge. So not right at 50, but not far off.

Overall, the battery life is great, and your mileage will vary.

Price/Value

The Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless are priced at $179.99. The value is here if all you care about is the sound and sound alone. If you’re looking for the creature comforts of really nice materials, a hard case, and premium build quality, you probably won’t like these headphones. But if you’re after just the sound, the ACCENTUM are some of the best at this price point when it comes to sound.

Wrap Up

If you choose to buy the Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless, you will be giving up some typical creature comforts in terms of build, materials, and luxury. But that’s not why these were made. These were made to deliver excellent sound in an affordable package. And Sennheiser has accomplished this goal.

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Last Updated on March 13, 2024.