Sennheiser has been going all in on their true wireless offerings as of late and boy have we been impressed.  

First the MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 produced the best quality sound we had ever heard in true wireless earbuds but are priced at $500.  This was followed not long after by the MOMENTUM Sport which, while not quite offering the same quality of sound, offered great sound but also temperature and heart rate monitoring simultaneously, this time at $550.

Now we have their more consumer-focused level true wireless earbuds to test out, the ACCENTUM True Wireless.  These are available from today for $349.95 AUD / $369.95 NZ, making them more of a competitor for the Jabra Elite 10 which have a RRP of $379 AUD.

We came away super impressed with the Jabra Elite 10 and although they were blown out of the water by the MOMENTUM TW4 they are one of the best value for money high end earbuds we have ever used so it will be interesting to see how an equivalently priced set of earbuds from Sennheiser compare.  

Read on to hear our thoughts on the new Sennheiser ACCENTUM True Wireless and where they sit in our ranking ladder of true wireless earbuds.

Design and fit

These ACCENTUM true wireless are the third pair I’ve tested in the last couple of months and they are the third different design, not just in earbud shape but also charging case size and shape.

Take the ACCENTUM TW out of the box and you will be surprised at just how small the case is.  At just 49.45mm x 51.72mm x 28.95mm it seems tiny in comparison to other charging cases I’ve used.  Even with the smaller case, it still supports Qi Wireless charging.  

Smaller size also means smaller battery storage unfortunately with the ACCENTUM TW case having only 420mAh as opposed to the 820mAh in the MOMENTUM TW4 – but there is only 2 hours difference in listening time between the two though so the ACCENTUM TW are obviously incredibly efficient.

With ANC on the earbuds have up to six hours of listening time stored but there is another 22 hours in the charging case should that be required.  The case has fast charging support as well with just 10 minutes of charging giving you another hour of listening.

With my use I was able to get close to these figures relatively easily – most companies are pretty accurate with their charging times and battery life estimations and Sennheiser is no different.

Also in the box are obviously the earbuds, four sets of ear tips (XS/S/M/L), one USB-C charging cable and a quick guide and user manual.

The next shock is when you take the earbuds out of the box is that they are a different shape yet again with a more rectangular shape that sits out of the ear with a small tip and in-ear structure that is shaped to the approximate ear canal entry shape.

This design results in an incredibly comfortable fit that is still stable in the ear, although you may struggle with excessive exercising, but strenuous walking and cross training was not an issue.  The earbuds are not fully waterproof but an IP rating of IP54 means that they are splash resistant.

The outside of each earbud is once again capacitive touch buttons which are incredibly sensitive, so you do need to be careful when removing or inserting them.  Unfortunately, unlike the MOMENTUM Sport you cannot adjust the touch sensitivity of the earbuds, so you just need to be careful with your hands near the headphones – mostly if using them on a business call because who really cares if you accidentally pause your music?

Inside each earbud is a TrueResponse dynamic 7mm driver, the same as the ones in the MOMENTUM TW4 earbuds, with the same frequency range.  The ACCENTUM TW earbuds support SBC, AAC, aptX and LC3 but do not support the aptX Adaptive/Lossless that the MOMENTUM TW4 do.  

The ACCENTUM TW also only support Bluetooth 5.3 as opposed to 5.4 in the MOMENTUM TW4 but who’s devices use Bluetooth 5.4 at this stage, and do you  really think there is all that much difference between 5.3 and 5.4 at this stage.  Unlikely.  The ACCENTUM TW were able to maintain a consistent, high quality connection with first my Pixel 8a and then my Pixel 8 Pro at all times.

How do they sound??

Sometimes it is difficult to test headphones from one manufacturer to another, especially when they each have their own app and equalisers.  For the purpose of this review I listened to them straight out of the box using the Equaliser in the PowerAMP app on the same settings for each set of headphones and used FLAC files only.

These $350 earbuds are some of the best sounds I’ve heard from a set of earbuds in this price range.  

When comparing them to the Jabra Elite 10 the bass is punchier but also crisper making the low end of the sound have true impact and clarity without being too overpowering.  The mids were clean and precise with the Jabra not having the brightness of sound in this area.  The Jabra’s fared better with the highs but still didn’t have the depth and range of the Sennheisers.  

Remember though, the Jabra Elite 10 are nearly a year old now and by no means any slouch when it comes to sound quality, it’s just that the Sennheiser ACCENTUM TW are just better in my ears and for the songs I used to test them.  Sennheiser is known for its audiophile sound quality so it should come as no surprise.

So how do they compare to the $500 MOMENTUM TM4?  Good but not as good.

The Jabra Elite 10 were closer to the ACCENTUM TW than the ACCENTUM TW were to the MOMENTUM TW4.  This really speaks to the quality of the MOMENTUM TW4s though rather than the ACCENTUM TW.

The MOMENTUMs just had a louder sound, a wider soundstage with more depth across all areas of the sound.  Now they aren’t as comfortable in the ear as the ACCENTUM TW but the sound was exquisitely better.  

By themselves, the ACCENTUM TW earbuds sound amazing and it is only quickly comparing side by side with the MOMENTUM TW4 that you will notice a difference.  On their own they sound amazing with a crisp sound that has great, crisp bass and a great upper shelf and decent mids.  

ANC

Unfortunately there were no flights in my testing phase for the ACCENTUM TW earbuds but plane noise is something that most earbuds and headphones can easily cope with as it is a consistent noise.  The newer ANCs, the Adaptive noise cancellation, that these earbuds use specific frequencies of common noises and filter/cancel those out if they occur while you are listening.

The Sennheiser ACCENTUM TW earbuds offered amazingly good ANC, better than that in the Jabra’s, without affecting the quality of music much at all.  You can use the Smart Control app to alter the amount of ANC you apply to the earbuds based on where you are listening to them along with removing wind noise.

Software

The Sennheiser Smart Control app is nothing that other manufacturers have not done already to support their products, but the Sennheiser app removes the fluff and adds options that improve the quality of music. Interestingly, and it shows forethought by Sennheiser, each set of Sennheiser earbuds I own have different options activated within the same app.

Although I’m not normally a fan of adjusting the EQ in these apps (would rather adjust it inside PowerAMP or whatever I’m listening with so I can quickly adjust to what music is playing the options in the Smart Control app are great. 

Not only can you adjust the EQ using their presets but you can make your own custom EQs along with having the app do one based on all your listening preferences that it runs through with you.

Transparency levels can be adjusted and should be if you want to hear around you.  I would adjust this for your surroundings and the ANC levels most for quality of music.  The adaptive noise control uses smart features to adjust to certain sounds such as wind noises.

Final thoughts

Sennheiser has a reputation for high quality audio products and it is easy to see why. They do not make cheap products but they do make very good products. Now they are venturing into the consumer hardware section more and with the ACCENTUM True Wireless earbuds they have entered the crowded true wireless marketplace.

The ACCENTUM True Wireless are still at the higher end of consumer products at RRP $349.95 but when comparing them to similarly-priced products they compare extremely favourably. They are as comfortable as them with an ANC to match while at the same time offering even better sound quality.

The ACCENTUM True Wireless have an extremely high quality sound across the entire soundstage with crisp punchy bass that does not get muddy at all. The mids are also excellent but the highs are amazing with crisp high end sounds well differentiated and accurate.

If you are shopping in this price range for true wireless earbuds you could do a lot worse than these Sennheiser ACCENTUM True Wireless earbuds. They are now available at all decent tech stores and online for RRP $349.95 in Black, Blue and White colourways.