Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus Review: Great sound and impressive comfort
Today, we delve into the realm of premium audio with the new Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus Wireless Bluetooth headphones.
Building upon the success of its predecessor, the Accentum, the Sennheiser Accentum Plus presents a host of upgrades, including enhanced connectivity, intuitive touch controls, and an advanced acoustic treatment system.
Sennheiser, a venerable name in the world of headphones, continues to push the boundaries of audio technology. Teaming up once again with the Fraunhofer Institute, renowned for its expertise in audio research, Sennheiser brings forth a headset that promises not just superior sound quality, but an immersive listening experience akin to being in a live concert hall.
While the Accentum Plus headphones may not boast Dolby Atmos support, it compensates with dynamic stereo sound and an expanded soundstage, thanks to sophisticated digital post-processing techniques. The result is a captivating auditory journey where every note, every instrument, resonates with lifelike clarity and precision.
But as with any technological marvel, there are bound to be both strengths and weaknesses. In our review, we’ll explore the merits and demerits of this headset, providing insights into its performance and suitability for various use cases.
Sennheiser Accentum Plus: Video Review
| Specs | Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus |
| Wearing style | Headband |
| Ear coupling | Around-the-ear, circum-aural |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.2, class 1, 10 mW (max) |
| Transmission freq. | 2402 MHz to 2480 MHz |
| Supported profiles | A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP, GATT |
| Supported codecs | SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX adaptive, mSBC, CVSD |
| Headphone Principle | Dynamic, 37mm |
| Frequency range | 10 Hz - 22 kHz |
| Sensitivity | 106 dB SPL (1 kHz / 0 dBFS) |
| Impedance | 560Ω (active) | 95Ω (passive) |
| ANC | Hybrid Adaptive ANC |
| Microphone Principle | MEMS |
| Frequency range | 50 Hz - 8 kHz |
| Battery | 800 mAh |
| Battery lifespan | Up to 50 hrs music playtime via Bluetooth with ANC |
| Charge time | 3.5 hrs for full charge | 5 hrs playtime with 10 minute charge |
| App support | Sennheiser Smart Control app for iOS and Android |
| Dimensions | 16.8 x 19.5 x 4.8 cm/6.5” x 7.7” x 1.9” (folded flat) |
| Weight | 227g/8 oz |
| Colors | Black / White |
Sennheiser Accentum Plus: Design and Comfort
The Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus is a circumaural headset that epitomizes sleek design and exceptional comfort. Its aesthetic allure lies in its minimalist matte black finish, exuding an aura of understated elegance. Every aspect of the headset, from the leather earpieces to the headband and yoke, maintains this uniform sophistication, evoking a sense of premium craftsmanship.
One distinctive feature adding a touch of originality is the thick silicone padding beneath the headband, eschewing the conventional memory foam for a unique comfort experience.
Comfort is where the ACCENTUM Plus Wireless truly shines. Weighing a mere 220 grams and boasting excellent weight distribution, coupled with generously sized pads, it ensures prolonged wear without any discomfort. Whether you’re immersing yourself in music or engaged in vigorous activities, these headphones stay securely in place, without generating any distracting inertia. The accommodating design even caters to those with larger ears, providing ample space within the plush foam padding.
Functionality is seamlessly integrated into the design, with playback controls conveniently located on the right shell, allowing for intuitive operation. From adjusting volume and changing tracks to toggling ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) or transparency mode, all essential functions are easily accessible. Moreover, the power button doubles as a means to initiate Bluetooth pairing and activate the voice assistant on your smartphone. An intelligent feature ensures automatic playback cessation upon removing the headphones, thanks to an optical port detector.
Its USB-C charging port not only facilitates quick charging but also supports lossless digital audio playback from compatible devices. For traditionalists, an analog line input is available, enabling seamless connection to portable music players or any device with a headphone output.
Included with the headset is a semi-rigid storage case for added protection during travel, along with two cables (USB-C and 3.5mm to 2.5mm mini-jack line), ensuring versatility in connectivity options.
Control
The Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus is not just a headset; it’s an intuitive audio experience tailored to the modern user. Its touch control area sets a new standard in user-friendly functionality, responding intelligently to gestures for seamless control.
Adjusting volume is a breeze with the ACCENTUM Plus. A vertical finger slide determines the intensity of the correction, with the length of the gesture dictating the increment. A quick swipe yields a subtle adjustment, while a longer swipe results in more significant changes, offering unparalleled convenience.
Changing tracks is equally effortless, accomplished through horizontal sliding motions. The touch zone also responds to presses, with a single tap pausing playback and a double tap activating transparency mode, ensuring effortless interaction with your audio environment.
To unlock the full potential of the ACCENTUM Plus, users can delve into the Sennheiser Smart Control application, a versatile tool that extends control beyond the headset to include Sennheiser soundbars as well. The app’s standout feature is its Sound Optimization function, developed in collaboration with the renowned Fraunhofer Institute. This sophisticated process enhances audio by selectively reinforcing frequencies and highlighting or removing specific sounds, reminiscent of the acclaimed Sennheiser Ambeo Plus or Mini bars.
Within the Smart Control app, users can fine-tune their audio profile by manipulating a cursor across a cloud of points, yielding immediate and remarkable results. The increased dynamic headroom and enhanced clarity make for an immersive listening experience. However, it’s worth noting that the app interrupts music from third-party applications during the personalization process, although this can be circumvented by using an alternative music source.
Additionally, the Smart Control app offers a traditional equalizer with five frequency bands and multiple presets tailored to different music genres, such as rock or pop. This comprehensive suite of customization options empowers users to tailor their audio experience to suit their preferences effortlessly.
Sound Zone function
One standout feature is the Sound Zone function, which enables users to create customized listening profiles based on their location. This functionality proves invaluable for seamlessly adjusting settings like active noise reduction or transparency mode depending on your surroundings. For instance, you can set the headset to automatically activate noise reduction when leaving home and disable it upon returning, ensuring an uninterrupted audio experience tailored to your environment. Moreover, each zone can be associated with a specific equalization profile, ensuring optimal sound quality wherever you go.
Bluetooth connectivity is robust, supporting multipoint pairing for simultaneous management of two devices. Users can effortlessly switch between devices without the need for manual disconnection. The connection remains stable within the advertised 10-meter range, even across thin partitions or wooden floors. While some latency is noticeable, particularly in gaming scenarios, video playback maintains perfect synchronization, allowing for immersive movie and series viewing without any disruptions.
The ACCENTUM Plus supports a range of audio compression technologies, including SBC, AAC, aptX, and aptX Adaptive, ensuring compatibility with various devices and delivering high-quality audio performance.
ANC
To immerse yourself in your music without distractions, the headset features an effective active noise reduction system. While not reaching the same level of noise attenuation as market leaders like Bose or Sony, the ANC of the ACCENTUM Plus effectively suppresses ambient noise in most situations, offering a comfortable listening experience. Whether at home or on the go, the ANC ensures that everyday noises fade into the background, allowing you to focus on your audio content.
Additionally, the transparency mode provides clear awareness of your surroundings, enabling natural conversations without the need to remove the headset. The intensity of the transparency mode is adjustable via the Smart Control app, allowing users to fine-tune their listening experience according to their preferences.
Sennheiser Accentum Plus: Sound quality
The Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus transcends the boundaries of conventional audio experiences by offering users a plethora of acoustic signatures, each meticulously crafted to cater to diverse tastes and preferences.
At first glance, the default settings present a precise and neutral sound profile that’s undeniably captivating. However, delving deeper into the Sound Personalization system unveils a realm of sonic enhancement akin to Sennheiser’s renowned Ambeo spatialization technology found in their soundbars. Engaging this feature transforms the listening experience, infusing the audio with newfound depth, clarity, and dynamism. Instruments come alive with heightened dynamics, and voices resonate with unparalleled precision, creating a truly captivating auditory journey.
Throughout rigorous testing, the ACCENTUM Plus has proven its mettle, effortlessly handling even the most demanding tracks with finesse. From the atmospheric melodies of Muse’s “Hysteria” to the raw intensity of Rage Against The Machine’s “Wake Up,” the headset delivered a powerful and impeccably arranged sound that left listeners craving for more. Even at high volumes, where lesser headphones falter, the ACCENTUM Plus remained organized and composed, ensuring an immersive experience devoid of distortion or discomfort. Yet, it’s equally adept at handling more delicate tracks at moderate volumes, showing its versatility across various genres and listening preferences.
Examining the response curve reveals a balanced performance across the bass and midrange frequencies, with a subtle emphasis around 1500 Hz that enriches the depth of instruments and vocals. While the high frequencies exhibit a gentle rise towards the upper end of the spectrum, the overall perception remains neutral, ensuring a faithful reproduction of the original sound. However, activating the Sound Personalization mode introduces a transformative shift, with bass becoming more pronounced, treble gaining greater presence, and the entire soundstage evolving into a more expressive and brilliant rendition of the audio.
The ACCENTUM Plus excels in delivering a visceral audio experience characterized by robust bass with excellent impact and depth, analytical midrange rendering that accentuates the nuances of both male and female vocals, and treble that, while slightly lacking in finesse, nonetheless contributes to an immersive sonic landscape The 37mm transducers powerfully propel the sound, exhibiting remarkable dynamic range and delineating sound planes with precision, even at elevated volumes.
While the headset may not excel in microdetail reproduction, its ability to delineate sound planes with clarity ensures an immersive and expansive soundstage that captivates the listener, drawing them into the heart of the music or cinematic experience.
Calls
When it comes to making calls, the ACCENTUM Plus provides an enjoyable experience, particularly in quiet environments. The headset features an excellent pickup microphone, ensuring crystal-clear voice transmission to your callers. Feedback from various test calls revealed that recipients consistently praised the clarity of the sound, highlighting the headset’s prowess in conveying your voice accurately. Moreover, the Smart Control app offers an option to enable voice feedback in the headset, enhancing the calling experience further.
However, the experience is marred when attempting calls in noisy environments. Despite the headset’s active noise reduction capabilities, the suppression of ambient noise around the user appears to be subpar. This limitation detracts from the overall effectiveness of the headset in noisy settings, where background noise can interfere with call quality.
Battery life
In terms of battery life, the ACCENTUM Plus exceeds expectations with Sennheiser boasting up to 50 hours of usage on a single charge with Bluetooth and active noise reduction activated. Charging the headset from empty to full requires approximately 3.5 hours, while a quick 10-minute charge yields around 5 hours of usage time. In practical testing, the headset lived up to its claims, with nearly 48 hours of playback time achieved at 50% volume on an iPhone, with Sound Optimization active. Such impressive battery performance provides users with ample usage time, ensuring uninterrupted enjoyment of their favorite audio content without the need for frequent recharging.
Sennheiser Accentum Plus: Conclusion
The Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus stands out as an exemplary portable audio headset, boasting a harmonious blend of comfort, user-friendliness, and unparalleled acoustic performance.
One of its standout features is the sound personalization system, developed in collaboration with the esteemed Fraunhofer Institute. This innovative technology adds significant value by enhancing dynamics, refining sound imaging, and delivering robust bass with remarkable precision.
While the active noise reduction feature enhances comfort by minimizing external distractions, it falls short of industry benchmarks. However, this minor drawback is overshadowed by the headset’s superb audio quality and overall performance.
Calls are transmitted with exceptional clarity, thanks to the high-quality microphone. Despite this, the headset struggles to filter out background noise effectively during calls, detracting slightly from an otherwise flawless experience.
Overall, the Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus is a testament to the brand’s commitment to excellence in audio engineering.
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