So these are the Sennheiser Accentum, they are Sennheiser’s new entry level ANC Headphones that look very similar to the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s. Now the Accentum have some big upgrades over their predecessors, the HD 450BT’s like better Active Noise Cancellation, a longer lasting battery life and much more spacious ear cups… but there were some mistakes made here that a little hard to ignore. Nonetheless, lets see what the Sennheiser Accentum are all about.
Regarding pricing, the Sennheiser Accentum has a retail price of $180… the same as the HD 450 BT’s when they first came out. Making them a pair of entry level ANC headphones. Now I do except these headphones to go on sale on a regular basis, nonetheless if you want to pick these headphones up they’ll be linked down below or you can always try the YouTube shopping button.
Now first lets talk about the included carrying case… and unfortunately the Accentum dont come included with a carrying case, which honestly is a disappointment cause the HD450BT’s do come included with a case. Now its a soft shell case… but at least its something. And I do think that its a big deal that the Accentum dont come included with a case cause there are plenty of other entry level ANC headphones out there that do come included with a case. But if you do decide to pick these headphones up and if you do want to buy your own case, just keep in mind that the Accentum are a pair of lay flat headphones.
But with the case out other the way lets talk about the headphones themselves, now like I just mentioned the Accentum are a pair lay flat headphones. And these ear cups swivel 180 degrees. Now these headphones are mostly made out of plastic, this headband glides in and out, underneath this headband, there is some moderately padded silicon and the leatherette on these ear cups actually feels very nice for a pair of entry level ANC headphones. Overall, the Accentum are very well built and they are built like a tank, just like with their predecessors the HD450BT.
But when it comes to their fit, thats a whole other issue. Now my main problem with the Accentum is that they have a lot of clamping force, these are perhaps one of the tightest headphones that I have ever owned. And I have already tried multiple different ways to loosen these headphones, and they still remain tight. So when it comes to their clamping force, I am going to have to say that these are definitely not big head approved, these are only going to be suited for people with smaller heads or just women. And personally I really do feel that the clamping force on these headphones is a very big shame, cause fit wise about these headphones is a very big upgrade from the HD 450BT’s. First, the headband on the Accentum’s has a lot more surface area and padding than the HD450BT’s… so hotspots are no longer an issue, the earpads on the Accentum are also a lot more spacious now so even if you have very large ears, these ear pads will have you covered, cause the ear pads on the HD450BT were very narrow for some reason. And the Accentum are also very light weight weighing in at 222 grams, so weight wise, these headphones are very easy to forget that you have on when you’re sitting still, and you dont notice them shifting around all that much when you’re walking around with them on. Overall, one of the biggest upgrades on the Accentum over the HD450BT’s is their improved fit cause of their larger and more padded headband and much more spacious ear cups… but the clamping force on the Accentum just ruins everything cause it really feels like these headphones are just squeezing your head.
But now lets talk about tech specs, regarding battery life, this is one of the biggest selling points of Sennheiser headphones in general. The Accentum have an advertised battery life of 50 hours with their active noise cancelation turned on, which is very impressive and way above average. The only thing is, you cant use these headphones with their ANC completely turned off. But given their already long battery life, I guess thats okay, but having the option would still be nice.
And in order to charge these headphones, they charge via a USB C port as they should. And when it comes to the fast charging numbers on these headphones, if you were to charge them up for 10 minutes from a dead battery, they are going to get you 5 hours of playback time. Not amazing, but still not bad. But just given the long battery life on these headphones, you wont be chargning them as often as with other headphones out there.
But unlike a lot of other headphones out there… the Accentum don't have an audio jack… however, you can use their USB C port as a wired connection. Now I think its great and all that you can use the USB C port on these headphones as a wired connection, and you can use them while they are charging… but since the Accentum dont come included with an adaptor or audio cable in the box… if you want to use them with a wired connection… maybe you want to connect them to an airplane’s entrainment system… you’re going to have to buy your own cable or adaptor.
But when it comes to overall connectivity, these headphones can be connected to any 2 bluetooth devices at the same time which is good if you’re a power user cause you can easily hot swap from one device to another regardless of eco system.
And when it comes to overall performance, these headphones have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device… and when it comes to audio codecs, they have support for SBC and AAC but they also have support for APTX HD. Just keep in mind that if you want to take advantage of APTX you do have to be an android user cause iPhones top out at AAC.
But with all of that out of the way, lets talk about sound. Now in general, Sennheiser has been one of my favorite brands cause their headphones sound really good. Now the momentum 3’s are still my favorite sounding ANC headphones… but the momentum 4’s are up there with the likes of the PX7 S2’s and AirPods Max, and even though I don like how the Accentum’s fit, they sound very impressive for a pair of entry level ANC Headphones. Now the Accentum’s have what I will call is a fun neutral sound signature. As in, they sound very balanced and they have very impressive instatement separation… and nothing is over emphasized here… but the bass on these headphones is mostly on the audible side. As in they aren’t going to rattle your head all that much, but you will hear their bass. But the reason why I say that these have a fun neutral sound signature to them is cause when their bass comes in, theres a lot of it… and there is a good amount of resonance in this bass. Overall I really enjoy how these headphones sound with their stock EQ, and even if you’re someone that wants to physically feel their bass… you’ll still might want to give these a try. But the Accentum’s do have an adjustable EQ… but personally I dont really like to use these headphones with an adjusted EQ cause for some reason, as soon as you raise of lower any of these sliders, the Accentum’s just start to sound off, they sound like something is missing and they just don't sound right. But also, I do have to point out their volume. Now at max volume, the Accentum get more than loud enough… But I found that if you use these headphones anything lower than 87% volume… they sound quiet. So volume wise, I have found that it is a little hard to find that sweet spot with these headphones. Either if you use them at a higher volume, they are going to get little ear piercing depending what you’re lisenting to, or if you use them at a safe volume… then they’ll sound a little quite or you’ll might not be able to enjoy the instrumentals and instrument separation on these headphones. So overall these headphones sound good, but they might not be the best option for someone that is hard of hearing, these headphones sound best with their stock EQ… and with their Stock EQ they have a fun neutral sound signature, they sound balanced and they have a lot of bass and that bass has resonance to it, but they aren’t going to physically rattle your head. But their bass has so much resonance it that even if you’re a bass head, you’ll might want to give these a try. And their bass is perhaps the biggest upgrade that you’ll notice if you go to the Accentum from the HD450BT’s.
But then it comes to the media controls on these headphones, the Accentum’s are using physical buttons. And the really nice things about these buttons is that they are very easy to tell apart, but the best part is that they have a very satisfying click to it.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Now the Accentum’s block out an adequate amount of noise for a pair of entry level ANC headphones. They block out more noise than their predecessor and they block out almost as much noise as the more premiumly priced Beats Studio Pro, but so that you can see for yourself, we’re going to jump into an ANC test.
ANC Test
So like you may have just seen, the Accentum block out noticeably more noise than the HD450BT’s and they do a decent job of keeping up with the Beats Studio Pro. Now overall, the active noise cancellation on the Accentum is useful for like lets say a chatty office or cafeteria, or for your bus ride commute… but I wouldn’t recommend these headphones for flying cause these aren’t going to block out all that much jet engine noise… plus theres that whole other thing where they dont have an audio jack. But overall, the Accentum’s block out a decent amount of noise for a pair of entry level ANC headphones and they do so without a whole lot of cabin pressure.
But also, the Accentum’s have an ambient mode, which is something their predecessors dont have, and this ambient mode sounds fairly decent and this microphone array does a decent job of blocking out wind noise when walking outdoors. My main critique about this ambient mode is that there is a very slight hiss in the background. You wont hear it if you’re playing music, but if your watching a movie, you’ll might hear it. And also, you cant adjust the ambient mode on these headphones to your liking. But nonetheless, the ambient mode on these headphones is good enough to get the job done and its good enough for commuting around the city.
But also, if you have the Accentum properly set up, in this case, having them set to pause your music when you turn on your transparency mode, then you will have a conversation mode which is very useful if you’re flying with these headphones cause you can quickly talk to someone without having to take your headphones off, like this.
And then when you double press on the main button, they’ll go back to normal again. And this type of feature is very useful if you’re going to fly or commute with these headphones. The issue here is, Sennhesier doesn’t allow you to have both. Either you can have a transparency mode… or you can have a conversation mode, but not both.
Mic Accentum Quite
But finally heres the microphone test. Now overall this microphone sounds a little robotic but it sounds decent enough to take phonically with while in a quite room.
Mic Accentum Road Noise
But this microphone does struggle to block out noise pollution. Cause right now, even though this microphone is trying to reduce this road noise, a lot of road noise is still getting in.
Mic Accentum Chatter
And its that same thing when it comes to blocking out chatter. This microphone is letting in a lot of chatter. So overall, the microphone on the Sennheiser Accentum is decent enough to take phone calls with while in a quite room, but you do sound a little robotic… but you defneitly dont want to take phone calls with these headphones if there’s a lot of noise pollution around.
So overall, the Sennheiser Accentum has some major upgrades over its predecessors, the HD450BT’s… they sound better cause they have a lot more resonance in their bass, their active noise cancelation blocks out a lot more noise, they now have an ambient mode, and they have a longer lasting battery life. They also have some major design improvements like a wider headband with a lot more padding and much more spacious ear cups… but the main draw back about the Accentum is their clamping force. These are not big head approved, these are going to be better suited for guys with smaller heads or for women. Also theres the volume on these headphones… it is very hard to get that sweet spot… either you have to use them at higher volumes and risk damaging your hearing… or you have to use them a lower volume and miss out on a lot of that great instrument separation.