Sennheiser Accentum Plus review: good sound quality, even better battery life

Published On: February 21, 2024

TWS earphones have taken over the consumer audio segment in a big way, but headphones still have a market. Headphones cater to buyers seeking superior sound quality, solid battery life, and comfort over compactness. The Sennheiser Accentum Plus are one such pair of headphones. The pair comes with hybrid ANC, supports a range of audio codecs, and is rated to deliver up to 50 hours of playtime between charges, among other things.

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus headphones are priced in India at Rs 15,999. Keep reading to find out whether the headphones justify their cost.

Table of Contents

Design and comfort

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus headphones might not give you a very premium vibe, but they look sturdy. From the headband to the cans, the headphones are fashioned out of durable plastic which can flex quite a bit and does not creak. There is cushioning on both the cans and the headband to provide maximum comfort. The cans are moderately wide and should cover most ears out there without causing any discomfort or fatigue. With a weight of 227 grams, the headphones should be comfortable to wear for prolonged usage as long as you don’t wear glasses. I had to readjust the headphones periodically to prevent temple tips of my glasses from digging into my skin.

Moving on, the Sennheiser Accentum Plus is available in a couple of colour options: white and black. I received the black variant for review, which has a matte finish on top to keep fingerprints and smudges at bay. Furthermore, the headphones come in a nicely woven case, which also fits the charging and 3.5mm cables. However, I wish the case also had a lanyard to conveniently carry it around.

Features

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus boasts 37mm dynamic drivers and Bluetooth v5.2. The headphones support multipoint connectivity for seamless pairing with more than one device simultaneously. Additionally, they are equipped with a range of audio codecs, including SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX adaptive, mSBC, and CVSD, providing a diverse listening experience. The audio accessory also offers Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), Hybrid Adaptive ANC, and transparency mode.

There is a 3.5mm headphone jack on the Sennheiser Accentum to listen to music through supported devices using an aux cable. This works even when the battery runs out of the headphones. Furthermore, the device supports built-in 5-band EQ and a customisable sound profile. The touch controls are present on both cans to seamlessly pause/ play music, change track, adjust volume, answer calls, and more, without reaching out to the smartphone. They are pretty intuitive and responsive.

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus also boasts wear detection, automatically pausing/ playing music when the headphones are removed or put back on the ears.

App support

Smart Control is the companion app for the Sennheiser Accentum Plus headphones, available for download on both Android and iOS devices. The app doesn’t require a login to proceed. You can simply connect the headphones to the app after they are paired via Bluetooth to jump to their settings. The app is pretty intuitive, with most of the controls right there on the home screen.

It lets you customise EQ settings or personalise sound and enable/ disable Adaptive ANC, which adjusts the noise cancellation based on the environment. Additionally, the app offers Sound Zones, which can automatically apply your sound settings when entering or leaving a particular area like your office or home. The feature requires a login and access to your location.

Sound quality and ANC

When it comes to sound quality, the Sennheiser Accentum Plus headphones keep things balanced out of the box. The pair will require some tweaking via the app if you are a bass enthusiast. I’m the kind of person who likes to groove to the beats without sacrificing the clarity of vocals and other elements in songs. While I did enjoy the default sound profile of the headphones, it was only after adjusting the EQ settings from the app I was able to find my ideal listening experience.

The headphones did justice to almost every song I played across genres, including Do I Wanna Know? by Arctic Monkey, ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ by Foster The People, ‘Thinking Out Loud’ by Ed Sheeran, ‘Lut Put’ by Arijit Singh, and ‘O Maahi’ by Arijit Singh. Even though the soundstage seems to be lacking a bit, it is still quite impressive the way the headphones handle sounds across frequencies. Furthermore, the headphones deliver movies or series dialogue with utmost clarity even at maximum volume. There was hardly any wireless latency, but you still have the option to listen to high-res wired audio through the headphones. While this feature is appreciated, good luck finding a smartphone with a 3.5mm headphone jack in 2024.

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus ANC is good, but not quite effective cancelling out the background noise. I was still able to hear the sounds in the background while working out at the gym with headphones on. Nevertheless, I must mention the transparency mode of Accentum Plus, which makes the environment sound as it should be without any obstructions. As for the adaptive ANC, it doesn’t work as I anticipated since the noise cancellation on the headphones is not that impressive.

Battery life and call quality

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus is rated to provide up to 50 hours of battery life with ANC with its 800mAh battery. While I didn’t time it, the battery life was quite like it during my time with the headphones. I went on for more than 10 days with an average usage of 3-4 hours daily. The audio product also supports fast charging, adding up to 5 hours of playback time with just a 10-minute charge.

The call quality of the Sennheiser Accentum Plus is decent, if not remarkable. Your voice comes through clearly to the other person in a relatively quieter environment. The microphones also do well to restrict the background noise to an extent.

Verdict

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus headphones provide good value for their asking price, even though the design may not scream premium and ANC seems underwhelming in noisy environments. That said, the headphones offer a versatile set of features and sound quality. While their default sound profile might lack the thump some of the bass-heavy headphones deliver, it can be tweaked and personalised with the companion app, which is relatively easy to use. This is nicely complimented by the headphones’ solid battery life and comfort.