Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless Review

The $199.95 Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless noise-canceling earbuds should appeal if you enjoy a sound signature that combines clear sub-bass with bright highs. Their active noise cancellation (ANC) performs well against deep low-frequency disturbances but can be a bit shaky against various high-frequency noises. A high-quality companion app lets you take charge of the audio and get a premium experience. Overall, the $229 Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 earbuds remain our Editors’ Choice winners because they offer comparable audio and ANC in a more durable, workout-friendly design, but if you want to spend a little less, the Sennheiser pair is worth considering. .

Design: Understated look

Available in blue, white or black, the Accentum True Wireless earbuds and case have a semi-matte finish and feature the Sennheiser logo. The in-ear fit is secure and comfortable, thanks to four pairs of silicone eartips. Internally, the 7mm dynamic driver provides a frequency range of 5Hz to 21kHz.

The earbuds support Bluetooth 5.3, AAC, AptX, LC3, and SBC codecs and multipoint pairing with two devices. Google Fast Pair is not an option. It’s a fine range of Bluetooth codecs, though I would have preferred higher-resolution options like the $149.99 Nothing Ears (LDAC and LHDC 5.0) or the $199.99 Sony LinkBuds S (LDAC).

Touch panels on the outside of each earpiece are easy to operate — audio prompts accompany a successful tap, with pitched beeps making it easy to determine the number of presses. Tap the left earbud right once to toggle transparency mode or control playback. Press twice to navigate the track (left for back, right for forward). Triple tap left to toggle ANC or right to invoke your device’s voice assistant. Long press controls the volume level (left for down, right for up). A single tap on either earpiece answers incoming calls or controls the mute function during them, while a double tap ends a call or accepts a second incoming. Finally, hold the outer panel of each to add a second device.

An IP54 rating means the earbuds can withstand a good level of dust and water splashes from any direction. Submerging them is out of the question, but you shouldn’t worry about a sweaty workout or light rain. While most noise-canceling models have similar ratings, the aforementioned Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 buds are much better for running and other activities thanks to their top-notch IP68 rating.

The round case is quite compact and has a flip-top lid. On the front, a status LED sits to the left of a USB-C port that connects to the included USB-A-to-USB-C charging cable. The case also supports wireless charging.

Sennheiser estimates the earbuds can last roughly 8 hours per charge, and the case holds an additional 20 hours of battery life with ANC turned off. If you enable ANC, those numbers drop to 6 and 15 hours, respectively Your results will vary depending on your typical listening volume level and codec choice. The company says the battery takes 1.5 hours to fully charge from empty, and 10 minutes of charging gives about an hour of playback. The Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 earphones can last up to 8 hours per charge, and their case adds up to 24 hours (both with ANC on), so they have a significant advantage here.

App experience: Highly customizable

The Sennheiser Smart Control app (available for Android and iOS) is clean looking and easy to navigate. It shows an image of the earbuds at the top of the main device screen, along with battery life readouts for the buds and case.

Further down is a connection management tile for paired devices. The Equalizer tile contains presets (such as Dance, Hip Hop, Movie and Rock) as well as five adjustable bands between 63Hz and 8kHz that you can use to create a custom sound signature. You can enable Bass Boost or Podcast mode, though not at the same time. Meanwhile, SoundCheck Tile creates a custom listening profile—you’ll need to create an account for that. Sound Zone is another option that requires an account, but you probably don’t need the location-based automation it enables.

Scroll down to reach the Transparency Level and Active Noise Cancellation tiles. For the former, you can select between low, medium and high levels, as well as adjust the mode’s behavior during calls. You can enable the ANC tile only when the transparency tile is turned off. Here, you have three choices: On, Anti Wind (which reduces any wind noise from the ambient mics), and Off.

You can disable the Touch Control tile if you want, but it otherwise lets you assign any gesture to almost any function. Just remember that the app locks the call control.

Go to the Settings menu to download firmware updates, adjust auto-power-off behavior, toggle audio prompts, enable Smart Pause (audio stops when you remove an earbud), or turn on Battery Eco mode (saves long-term battery life by). This section also shows the current audio codec, as well as lets you toggle between standard and low latency playback. The Discover section only links to other Sennheiser products.

Noise Cancellation: Good against low quality

The Accentum True Wireless earbuds delivered above-average noise cancellation in tests. They dial back significantly stronger low-frequency rumble, as well as significantly cut lows and mids from more challenging recordings of a busy restaurant. That high sounded almost louder than the previous one that had made it past the circuit from the second recording. Wind noise mode does a good job of eliminating any wind gusts that hit the ambient mic. Overall, they’re mostly on par with the Elite 8 Active Gen 2 here, although the latter sometimes eliminates the lows. Apple’s $249 AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) performed more consistently than either in these tests.

The transparency mode is useful, and I like the option to adjust its level. High mode noticeably widens the exterior, while Low mode presents surroundings more naturally. All three modes accentuate slightly higher frequencies.

Sound Quality: Sculptural but balanced

I tried the Bass Boost feature and EQ faders during testing, but I restored the default sound signature for my evaluation below.

On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the earbuds deliver a fuller, lower-frequency response. I don’t hear distortion at top volumes, and the bass still sounds strong at medium levels. Layering on the bass boost effect or pumping out the lower EQ bands leads to mixed results: the lows seem stronger at moderate volumes, but the digital signal processing (DSP) kicks in at the high levels to keep everything under control. This happens on all types of tracks but is more noticeable on deep descents

The earbuds have no problem reproducing sub-bass at the 34-second mark of Kendrick Lamar’s “Obeyment.” However, unlike some in-ears that try to dial in these sub-bass frequencies, the drivers don’t let these notes blend. Boosting the EQ doesn’t affect this progression but can beef up the drum loop and lower the overall track volume. Various vocals bring excellent high-mid clarity and plenty of room to breathe.

A track with a much less deep bass, the drums on Bill Callahan’s “Drover” get some extra depth and body, while Callahan’s baritone voice has a pleasant mix of low-mid richness and crisp treble edge. Acoustic strums and high-register percussive hits sound bright and clear. Overall, the presentation has plenty of definition without going overboard with the high and low sculpting.

On orchestral tracks, like the opening scene of John Adams Another is the Gospel according to Mary, the lower-register instrumentation takes a step forward, but the high-register brass, strings and vocals retain a bright presence. It’s not exactly a sound signature that purists will enjoy, but it favors balance and clarity over booming bass.

The voice mic array works decently. I could understand every word from a test recording on my iPhone, although the signal sounded a bit weaker than most competing models. I didn’t notice much in the tuning process, either. By comparison, audio captures sound less bright, crisp, and closer than those of the AirPods Pro.

Verdict: A sound midrange choice

The Sennheiser Accentum True Wireless earbuds offer balanced, adjustable audio and average ANC in a comfortable design, and we love the full-featured app that lets you customize their sound signature and control layout. They are definitely worth buying if they fall within your budget, though top competitors offer a bit more at almost the same price. The $229 Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 earbuds perform similarly across the board, lasting longer per charge and sporting a class-leading IP68 rating, so they earned our Editors’ Choice award.