Sennheiser Accentum Plus Review: Ergo & Tech

An enhanced version of the Accentum, the Accentum Plus doesn’t aim to transform the technological formula of Sennheiser’s model but rather to rectify a few ergonomic shortcomings. As a result, it’s more comprehensive, yet also pricier.

Key Points to Remember

The Accentum Plus has been available since February 2024 at an official price of 229 euros, compared to 179 euros for the Accentum. With its focus on the ‘Plus’, this enhanced Accentum doesn’t seek to revolutionize the mid-range series, particularly as the classic model remains in the catalogue. Due to the similarities between the two devices, we recommend reading the Accentum review first. Therefore, the only changes openly announced by Sennheiser are not in the substance (active noise reduction, sound quality, microphone, battery life) but in the form, which now closely resembles the flagship Momentum 4.

A small-sized Bluetooth headset, the Accentum Plus maintains the same level of seriousness in design and construction as its predecessor. The frame is plastic, well-assembled, and fairly robust. It lacks the refinement of its higher-end sibling but offers a very comfortable experience at this price level. Moreover, its light weight (227 grams, just 5 grams more than the Accentum), combined with circumaural pads, ensures excellent comfort. The Plus version gains an advantage for portable use with its semi-rigid fabric carrying case featuring compartments for cables. While a hard case would have been preferable, this accessory is still of good quality.

The rest of the improvements are reflected in the broader user experience. Sennheiser modernizes the controls by introducing a touch-sensitive area for navigation and volume adjustment. Intuitive and quite responsive, these controls follow the Momentum 4’s approach: a tap for play/pause, two taps to switch between RBA and Transparency mode, vertical swipes for volume, and horizontal swipes for track skipping. The only missing feature is pinch support for adjusting the noise cancellation.

Moving away from physical buttons, now reduced to a single multifunction appendage (on/off/call assistant/battery level), Sennheiser makes the experience more intuitive. A wear sensor has been added to pause and resume music when the headset is removed or put back on the ears. The Smart Control app enhances the experience with a few tweaks, such as a five-band graphic equalizer, and precise noise cancellation adjustment, a feature the normal Accentum version lacks.

A glaring omission in its predecessor, the integration of an analog input, is finally addressed. Although Sennheiser favors a 2.5 mm jack connection over a 3.5 mm jack, it’s better than nothing, especially since the Accentum Plus functions when turned off.

The manufacturer maintains the audio interface for the USB-C port (with active microphone) and offers a Bluetooth 5.2 chip nearly identical to that of its predecessor, compatible with multipoint. The slight optimization of the Accentum Plus in this regard comes from supporting AptX Adaptive, whereas the Accentum supports only AptX HD.

Is there an improvement in isolation? No. The new model almost exactly matches the classic version in practice, which also holds true for sound feedback. The observation is of weak noise attenuation in the low frequencies, but quite good across the rest of the spectrum, while the sound feedback is correct, albeit muffled.

The hands-free kit of the Accentum Plus shares the same characteristics as the previous version. The capture is slightly robotic and not very natural, but intelligibility is assured, even in very challenging conditions. Unsurprisingly, the battery life is on par, measured at 46 hours with RBA (under AAC codec), compared to 48 hours for the Accentum. This minor difference is more about small volume variances in use.

Finally, the sound aspect concludes the series of similarities with the original Accentum, with both models being very close in performance. The Accentum Plus is a headset that favors warmth, with a pronounced but reasonable emphasis on the bass.

Effective across all types of music, this Bluetooth headset unfortunately lacks detail and openness. Resembling a mini Momentum 4, as it’s less expansive and less rich, it’s nothing exceptional in its price range but has no major flaws. Using it in passive wired mode (headset turned off) follows the same negative trend as its high-end sibling: the output is usable, but not exceptional.

Conclusion

Although it shares the same technological base as the Accentum, the Accentum Plus justifies its existence with reworked, more modern, and intuitive ergonomics. A complete headset, without major faults, but its price is dangerously close to the Momentum 4, which is substantially more premium.