With a familiar shape and several new features, Sennheiser’s newest wireless headphones — the Accentum Plus — are a much-needed ption between the excellent (but bare-bones) Accentum ($180) and the company’s flagship Momentum 4 Wireless ($350). Announced at CES 2024 and priced at $230, the Accentum Plus will be available on February 20 in black and white color options.
The Accentum Plus are essentially identical to the regular Sennheiser Accentum, with the same fold-flat design and a lightweight, plastic chassis. But the Plus takes a page from the Momentum 4 Wireless in the controls department — now, instead of buttons, you can use taps and swipes on the outside of the right earcup to control everything from playback to volume.
Speaking of controls, the Accentum Plus possess wear sensors for auto-pausing your tunes when you remove the cans — it’s not a must-have feature, but one that’s undoubtedly convenient.
Internally, the Accentum Plus use the same 37mm transducers as the Accentum. Battery life is unchanged at a respectable 50 hours, and Bluetooth Multipoint lets you connect two devices simultaneously.
Active noise cancellation (ANC) also gets a bump in capability with the use of adaptive technology. Now, the wireless cans can automatically adjust for wind noise (with the Accentum, it’s a manual setting) and you can also adjust the amount of sidetone (how much of your own voice gets transmitted back to you during calls).
The Accentum make use of aptX HD for hi-res audio over Bluetooth, and I had no complaints when I reviewed them. Still, the Accentum Plus go further, with aptX Adaptive, a codec that is more efficient and can adjust its quality in increments as your wireless signal changes.
Another welcome addition is the inclusion of a 3.5mm analog input, which is handy for a variety of music sources, like airplane seatback entertainment systems. You can still use USB-C audio for a fully lossless connection.
Finally, the Accentum Plus get a color-matched zippered travel case, an accessory that the Accentum lacks. It might be a small thing, but having to buy a case from Amazon after the fact just doesn’t seem right.
Sennheiser has also used CES 2024 to announce its latest Momentum True Wireless 4 earbuds and the new Momentum Sport earbuds with built-in heart rate and temperature sensors.
