2024 is huge year for the German-based Sennheiser brand. Following up the announcement of a new series of upper midrange headphones called ACCENTUM, the audio manufacturer launched the flagship Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 along a pricier variant of the ACCENTUM Wireless headphones called the ACCENTUM Plus Wireless. That means you have three pairs of headphones to choose from if you are looking for a more premium listening experience. Picking the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 is the obvious choice if money is no object and you’ll be rewarded with a host of features and excellent audio quality for doing so. But Sennheiser made picking a midrange product a wee bit more difficult. Does the ACCENTUM brand really need the early fragmentation? To find out, I tried out both products for comparison.
Review + Comparison: Sennheiser ACCENTUM and ACCENTUM PLUS
In this review I’m going to use both the Accentum and Accentum Plus; both of which are wireless over-ear headphones. I’ll talk to you about what the similarities and differences are and I’ll definitely cover off sound quality and how well the features work. I’ll wrap things up with the pros and the cons and let you know if there’s a clear winner between these two.
Let’s start with the base-tier ACCENTUM.
About the Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless Headphones
Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless over-ear headphones are basically a stripped-down version of the MOMENTUM 4 in just about every aspect from the build quality to the audio fidelity and feature set.
When it comes to MSRP, the Sennheiser ACCENTUM is $100 USD less than the flagship MOMENTUM 4 and here in Canada, it’s near half the price.
While a direct comparison against the MOMENTUM 4 could make the ACCENTUM less appealing to buyers looking for a premium audio experience, the real value of the ACCENTUM branding lies on its comparison against the rest of the Sennheiser headphones models – particularly the ones that don’t have an extra branding attached such as the Sennheiser 450BT I reviewed last October.
Key features : ANC & Transparency
Not only does the Sennheiser ACCENTUM promise detailed audio through the headphones’ 37mm drivers and custom-made transducer system, but it also offers hybrid Active Noie Cancelling or ANC which utilizes the built-in microphones to listen for and then cancel out any noise bleed.
The flip side of ANC is Transparency Mode which uses the microphone to capture ambient sound and amplify it to your ears. It is important if you are listening for a flight or announcement at the airport, or you need to keep an ear on the door for deliveries.
Use Sennheiser Smart Control app for adjustments
If you don’t like how a particular track sounds on the headphones, you may also tweak it using the Sennheiser Smart Control app which gives you access to a 5-band equalizer complete with dB values.
Controls: buttons
These headphones have a series of buttons on the underside of the right earcup for on-device control
Fit & comfort
The overall build quality and comfort of the ACCENTUM Wireless doesn’t quite reach the MOMENTUM 4 level, but it seems close, and the ACCENTUM weighs about 70 grams less which could add some comfort to long listening sessions. These hold fairly securely without pinching from too much clamping force.
Overall these are pretty comfortable headphones with large ear cups and soft squishy ear pads. I might rate the earcups a tad on the thin side since they come quite close to the surface of my ears. But this may only be an issue for those whose ears stick out a little bit.
Sound quality
Sound quality is good; and it should be; these are Sennheisers after all. They’re not as detailed and intricate as some higher end options and they might seem a bit flat, but they boast solid bass and good balance across the sound spectrum. The good audio quality combined with the noise cancelling is a great combination. If something like the MOMENTUM rates at a 9 or a 10 out of 10 on the overall sound quality scale, I’d rank the ACCENTUM a solid 8.
Battery life & charging
If you are prone to long listening sessions, these have the battery life to go the distance: You’re getting up to a whopping 50-hours of life.
About the Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus Headphones
The Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus Wireless Headphones have the same DNA as its non-Plus sibling (same 37mm drivers, same 50 hour battery life) but adds a few enhancements to put it a little closer to the MOMENTUM 4 in feature-parity. The bulk of the improvements primarily benefit travelers and commuters.
Adds adaptive ANC
Sennheiser upgraded the hybrid active noise canceling to an adaptive one which means it will automatically adjust the ANC settings according to your surroundings. The other toy is that you get adjustable Noise cancelling and Transparency, by using the slider bar in the Sennheiser Smart Control app. I do like this feature a lot because it really allows you to dial in your listening experience. Like the ACCENTUM, the quality of the ANC is great and it blocksd out almost every distraction.
Sound quality: improvements
The build and drivers are the same as the ACCENTUM, so you’d expect that the sound quality would be the same, and in reality, it is. But even so I found a bit more to love in the Plus, for a couple of reasons. For one I found the bass to be a bit more detailed in the PLUS version; a bit more resonant and less bangy. I also read that Sennheiser adjusted the position of the drivers in the Plus (perhaps making way for the touch control interface) and I found this made the overall sound a little bigger, if that makes sense. Now these are probably differences that are really only perceptible to those with pretty fine audio tastes… Or people like me who review a heck of a lot of headphones. Either way the sound quality is very good but I might notch the um plus up to an 8.5 or a nine here overall.
Adds fast charging
If your headphones are running out of juice after a long commute or flight, you can charge ACCENTUM Plus faster with a 10-minute charge providing an extra 5 hours of listening time.
Adds Auto pause
Taking off the headphones while its playing back music will automatically pause the music – a feature that was previously exclusive to the MOMENTUM line.
Adds carrying case
For better protection, you can put them in the included carrying case which Sennheiser doesn’t include in the non-Plus model.
Adds Personalized sound settings
While the equalizer found on the Sennheiser Sound Control app lets you fine tune the sound, you might experience a slight drop in volume levels. Sennheiser partially addresses this by adding the MOMENTUM’s Sound Personalization feature to the ACCENTUM Plus. Think of this feature as a professional calibration tool that offers fitting instructions and a series of samples where you can make audio and balance adjustments to the bass and individual instruments. This personalized setting is saved directly to the ACCENTUM Plus headphones so you can enjoy your personalized experience across various devices.
Adds connectivity options
Speaking of devices, you get more connectivity options with the ACCENTUM Plus thanks to the added 3.5mm audio jack and included aux cable. While it might not sound like a compelling addition in an era where phones and even tablets are removing their headphone jack, PC users will love this feature. At the time of writing, Windows 11 doesn’t the advanced audio codecs like aptX adaptive so Bluetooth listening on a laptop won’t offer the best experience. Having that option for wired listening solves all that. Connecting the ACCENTUM Plus to a headphone amp could also drive up the audio quality, but don’t expect MOMENTUM 4 levels due to the smaller drivers.
Adds touch controls over buttons
While the regular ACENTUM has clickable buttons, this iteration uses touch sensitive controls on the outside of each earcup.
Overall Thoughts: Which pair is best for you?
Overall both of these are great headphones. Where you’ll have to make a decision is whether or not you want to use the PLUS features.
The Sennheiser ACCENTUM Wireless Headphones are a terrific value at $199 USD / $250 CAD as it provides a marginally better audio experience than lower-priced midrange products and some ANC features tacked on. It is the ACCENTUM Plus where I have some mixed feelings because Sennheiser is asking $50 USD or $70 CAD more for a carrying case, faster charging, slightly smarter ANC, a headphone jack, Sound Personalization, and a small notch up in the sound quality.
Whether or not these added features are worth the extra cost is up to you to decide.
But here’s my biggest gripe with the ACCENTUM Plus; the MOMENTUM 4 exists and while it costs $70 USD more, you get far better audio quality and noise cancellation on top of the Sound Personalization, longer battery life, and superior comfort which all bring out the very best of Sennheiser feature set. Canada shoppers might be an exception though since the MOMENTUM 4 commands an eye-watering $180 CAD premium over the ACCENTUM Plus.
Finally, you have to take sales prices into account. If you find a rare deal on the MOMENTUM 4 that narrows the price gap, you might as well go all in on the flagship. Your ears will thank you!
The ACCENTUM Plus remains as a nice choice for niche buyers who are on a budget and need specific features while the original ACCENTUM is the value king… at least in the Sennheiser sphere!
