Review: Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless Earbuds

It’s a sign of just how feral the market for true wireless in-ear headphones has become that even a brand with nothing to prove has it all to do every time it launches a new product.

Sennheiser is just the latest manufacturer to realize there’s no laurel-resting available where true wireless in-ears are concerned. Its new Accentum True Wireless arrive in a sector of the market where “pretty good” is nothing like good enough. And it doesn’t matter who you are, what your reputation is like, or how long you’ve been a player. The question is always: “What have you done for me lately?”

And on first acquaintance, Sennheiser doesn’t seem to have done itself any favors with the Accentum True Wireless. They are certainly helpfully compact; the charging case in which the earbuds travel is just 1.1 x 1.9 x 2.0 inches and 40 grams, and each earbud weighs a mere 5.4 grams. But the plastic from which each component is made feels hard and slippery, and not in any way premium. The fact that the quality of build and finish is typically Sennheiser—which is another way of saying it’s beyond reproach—doesn’t help the Accentum True Wireless look or feel even remotely upmarket.

Surprisingly, considering the above, these have managed to win a Red Dot design award. Perhaps this is down to the shape of the earbuds being carefully ergonomic? While the “lozenge” section looks unpromisingly chunky, the security of the fit is reassuring, and long-term comfort is all but guaranteed. Four pairs of different-size silicone eartips in the packaging don’t do any harm in this respect, either.

Photograph: Amazon

Clear Control

The Sennheiser claw back a bit of that “premium” aura with a glance at the spec sheet, too. Battery life of up to 28 hours (eight from the earbuds) with active noise cancellation switched off isn’t too shabby, and compatibility with Qi-certified wireless charging pads isn’t to be sniffed at, either. A flat-to-full charge takes 90 minutes, while a 10-minute pit stop should be good for more than an hour of playback.

Wireless connectivity is via Bluetooth 5.3, and in addition to the usual SBC and AAC codecs, there’s LC3 and aptX compatibility too. It would have been nice to see compatibility with one of the even-more-accomplished Qualcomm codecs, but at least Bluetooth LE and Auracast are coming in an imminent(ish) firmware upgrade. Sound, once it’s on board, is served up by a couple of 7-mm versions of Sennheiser’s TrueResponse dynamic drivers; frequency response is claimed to be 5 Hz to 21 kHz.

One area where Sennheiser can always be confident of its leading-pack status is control—and the Accentum True Wireless are no exception. Admirably unflashy, the Smart Control app (free for iOS and Android) is a paradigm of stability, logic, and all-around good sense, which puts it a notch or two above any number of nominal competitors.

Photograph: John Lewis

It allows for EQ adjustment via a five-band equalizer (with presets labeled “podcast” and “bass boost,” both of which are self-explanatory). It allows you to manage your connections (the Sennheiser can pair with two devices at any one time). It allows you to rearrange the way the touch controls work (each earbud has a capacitive surface, from where all playback and telephony functions can be controlled).

The app is also where active noise cancellation can be controlled. The Accentum True Wireless feature an adaptive ANC system, and the app allows it to be switched on or off, with a third option of “anti wind.” If you’d prefer more rather than less of the outside world, though, the app also features a “transparency” setting (choose between low, mid, and high) that amplifies rather than reduces ambient sounds.

Beautiful Balance

An IP54 rating means the Sennheiser are fine in every realistic environment, and in addition to handling telephony and ANC, the beam-forming mic arrangement in each earbud puts you in touch with your source player’s native voice assistant. So while they may not look or feel the asking price, the Accentum True Wireless would seem to have plenty where it counts.

And in some ways, the Sennheiser have plenty to recommend them where performance is concerned. Wirelessly connected to an iPhone 14 Pro loaded with the Tidal music streaming app, and with a decent-size FLAC file of Caribou’s “Broke My Heart” playing, the control and authority that the Accentum True Wireless demonstrate is considerable.

Photograph: John Lewis

They create a large, well-organized soundstage with plenty of space on it, so the numerous individual elements of the recording have more than enough room in which to express themselves. This rigorous separation is not at the expense of focus or unity, though—the recording is presented confidently, as a coherent whole, rather than as a collection of disparate occurrences.

Tonality is nicely judged, in a Goldilocks kind of way: not too cold, not too warm. And where the integration of the frequency range is concerned, the Sennheiser prove accomplished, too—from the deep, properly shaped low frequencies to the substantial, politely shiny top end via the open and revealing midrange, the journey is smooth and refined. No area of the frequency range gets overlooked, and none gets more emphasis than it deserves. “Balance” is the word, and the Accentum True Wireless have more than enough of it.

Enervated Animation

What the Sennheiser are short of, though, is animation and energy—and they’re not overburdened with dynamism, either. A big file of “Your Queen is a Reptile” by Sons of Kemet should, by rights, fairly motor along. The whole recording is packed with light and shade, with big dynamic shifts and palpable vigor, but very little of this attitude or attack makes the cut when the Accentum True Wireless get hold of it.

Any sense of momentum or straightforward vitality is sucked away, leaving a rather colorless and bland facsimile in its place—which, I think we can all agree, is not ideal when you’re expecting to have your metaphorical socks blown off by some full-on modern UK jazz. All of which means the Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless sit firmly in the “also-ran” section of the long, long list of true wireless headphones that are currently available.

As I said, it doesn’t matter what your reputation is like as a brand, or the number of times you’ve previously hit it out of the park. Everyone starts from zero with every new product—and when even pretty good isn’t good enough, something as forgettable as the Accentum True Wireless is doomed.