Sennheiser’s keenly priced range wants to put the cat among the big-brand pigeons, but they lack attack
Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless: Two-minute review
The Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless form part of what appears an increasingly important trend for true wireless in-ear headphone manufacturers to have a range of products that cover a fairly wide spread of prices – that is, at least, where the more established and high-profile manufacturers are concerned. Sennheiser has enjoyed a reasonable amount of success with its midrange(ish) ‘Accentum’ range, so this variant seems a logical move.
Initial impressions are, it’s fair to say, mixed. On the page, the Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless look specified to compete with the best noise-cancelling earbuds in the business (even if the most up-to-the-minute codec they’re compatible with is plain-vanilla aptX). In the hand, they don’t look or feel anything special at all. Once you’re wearing the earbuds, though, you’ll appreciate the carefully ergonomic shape and the long-term comfort provided.
But while there’s plenty to enjoy about the sound the Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless make, performance is just as mixed as the first impressions. The presentation is spacious, confidently organized and tonally balanced, with smoothly realized frequency response, too. A lack of animation and energy undermines this good work, though, and noise-cancellation that doesn’t do all that thorough a job seals the Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless’ fate… Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless review: Price & release date
Released in May 2024
List price: $179 / £169 / AU$349
The Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless are on sale now – they officially launched on 21 May 2024. They’re priced at $179 in the United States, £169 in the United Kingdom, and AU$349 in Australia. Which, let’s not pretend otherwise, puts them up against some pretty stiff competition…Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless review: SpecsSennheiser Accentum True Wireless review: Features
Up to 28 hours of battery life (earbuds plus charging case)
7mm ‘TrueResponse’ dynamic drivers
Bluetooth 5.3 with SBC, AAC, aptX and LC3 codec compatibility
As far as wireless connectivity is concerned, the Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless have plenty going on. They use Bluetooth 5.3 as a base, and there’s compatibility with aptX and LC3 codecs as well as the more common SBC and AAC alternatives. Meanwhile, a firmware update is promised that will bring Bluetooth LE and Auracast to the party, too.
No matter the specifics of how you get your digital audio information on board, though, it’s delivered by a couple of Sennheiser’s TrueResponse dynamic drivers. They’re 7mm each in this application, and they’re good for a frequency response of 5Hz to 21kHz – at least according to the manufacturer.
As long as you don’t get carried away where volume levels are concerned, you should be able to eke as much as eight hours’ performance from the earbuds before they need recharging. That’s with noise-cancellation switched off, of course – switch it on and you’re looking at more like six hours. The palm-sized little charging case holds more than two further full charges, which means you’re looking at a best-case scenario of, Sennheiser says, 28 hours before you have to visit any mains power. Recharging is available via the USB-C slot on the case, and the Accentum True Wireless are also compatible with Qi-certified charging pads.
The active noise-cancellation that’s available here is a hybrid system that can be set to ‘off’, ‘on’ or ‘anti-wind’ – there are three ‘transparency’ positions, too (‘low’, ‘mid’ and ‘high’).
Control of the ANC, and plenty more besides, is available in Sennheiser’s exemplary Smart Control app that’s free for iOS and Android. It may not be much to look at, Smart Control, but it’s stable, logical and reliable – which puts it ahead of any number of nominal rivals. Here’s where you can manage your connections (the earbuds can connect to two devices at the same time), create custom EQ settings using a five-band equaliser (with presets for ‘podcast’, which forces the midrange forward, and ‘bass boost’, which does exactly what you’d expect), and rearrange the layout of your touch controls.
