Sennheiser ACCENTUM Plus Wireless Bluetooth Headphones, Adaptive Hybrid ANC, Smart Adaptive Features. - White

I recently added the new Sennheiser Accentum Plus to my existing collection of Sennheiser headphones, earbuds, and soundbars. Sennheiser has always impressed me with its design and sound quality. As an audiophile, I am constantly on the hunt for the best headphones with unmatched sound quality and features. Sennheiser has been my go-to brand for the best audio quality that doesn't break the bank. The technology is constantly evolving in the headphone space, especially with advanced noise cancellation features. Updating headphones to take advantage of these new features is not a bad idea. This headset is a great mid-range option priced at the lower end but boasts better features and audio quality. Design, Comfort, and Fit The headphones are made of plastic with a smooth finish and are lightweight. The headband is padded with large, comfortable ear cups that are not too tight on the head, making them comfortable to wear all day. They feature intuitive touch controls on the right earcup. The controls are very responsive without any lag. The headphones have on-head detection, pausing the music when you take them off, and automatically turn off after a while. I didn't find any IP rating on the headphones so avoid exposing them to dust or water. They support the latest Bluetooth 5.2 version and have quite a bit of connectivity range. They also have a 3.5mm jack for airplane use. Sound Quality These headphones fall in mid-range category but priced lower compared to other brands, yet they still offer great audio and a few unique audio settings. The equalizer settings on the app now have 5-band settings, which used to be three-band. There are a few interesting and unique features that I haven't seen in other headphones: • Podcast setting: The podcast setting on the app enhances voice for clear narration, which is an amazing feature for avid audiobook and podcast listeners like me. This feature also works well with the adaptive ANC setting in noisy environments. • Sound Personalization Mode: This feature tailors the audio experience to the listener's individual preferences. It allowed me to fine-tune the audio on the Smart Control App Grid to match my sound preferences, dynamically adjusting string and bass volumes for different parts of the track. I am still exploring this feature, but so far, it has provided an immersive audio experience, especially while watching movies with soundtracks. • Sound Zone: Another setting that lets you choose different settings to match the environment (gym, home, office, etc.) you are in. This feature uses your location to switch to user-defined settings. Though not essential for my use, it's an innovative addition. Battery Life Promising 50 hours of listening with ANC before needing a charge. I used it for 15 hours during my travel and still had 60% battery life remaining. The battery life on this headphone exceeded my expectation and is on par with what I have or that's currently on the market. It uses a USB-C port for charging, and it took about 45 minutes to fully charge from 60%. Noise Cancellation It features ANC (active noise cancellation) and an adaptive setting that automatically adjusts the ANC based on the background noise. The audio quality outdoors was good. The person on the other end of the call did hear light background traffic noise, which he said wasn't bothersome. Also, it has an interesting setting called "sidetone" that lets you hear your own voice while on a call, so you're aware if you're speaking too loudly or quietly. App Sennheiser upgraded the "Smart Control App" with improved features and made it a lot more user-friendly than before. However, it's still not on par when it comes to navigating different settings or accessing multiple devices. Overall, this headset is a standout in the mid-range category, offering advanced features typically found in the higher-end models. Its main drawbacks are the lack of an IP rating and HD Codec support, but these are minor when weighed against its overall performance and value

Verdict. The Sennheiser Accentum Plus are excellent headphones with very good sound, effective Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), responsive touch controls, and a capable app that enhances the convenience and capabilities of these headphones. Setup. I downloaded the Sennheiser app to test the full capabilities of these headphones. After turning on the headphones, the app detected the Accentum Plus, but I could not add them this way. The app mentioned an error and advised to open the Bluetooth menu to add the headphones. Once I added the headphones through the Bluetooth menu, I could see the Accentum Plus device in the app. While setting up on my phone, my laptop also detected the headphones, so if your computer Bluetooth setting is on, it looks like you can easily pair it with a computer as well. You can connect these headphones with two different devices at a time. Sound. Overall, music sounds very good in these headphones. Lows are very impressive, especially with “bass boost,” which can be activated through the app. Mids and high are very good too, with lots of clarity. I would give the sound a 4.5 out of 5. When combined with ANC, the sound really shines. ANC works very well, but I have heard better from higher price point headphones. I give ANC 4 out of 5. App. The app allows easy management of connected devices, adjustment of equalizer (including bass boost and podcast mode), setup of sound zones to automatically adjust sound settings when entering or leaving certain areas, adjustment of adaptive ANC (including wind noise reduction, transparency during phone calls, and auto pause when transparency is activated). The app provides great explanations of each feature right up front when clicking on a setting. You can also select the language of voice prompts and adjust auto-pausing music, auto-answering phone calls, and more. The app takes the headphones to the next level of convenience. Really well done! App is 4.75 out of 5 (points deducted for initial setup error). Controls. The touch controls are very responsive, accurate, and reliable. They are easy to remember, so the learning curve is minimal. I also noticed that the level of volume change depends how much you swipe up/down vertically, which is very cool. So, for a large increase in volume, slide your finger from the bottom to the top of the ear cup; for a small adjustment, you slide up only partially. There is only one button on these headphones, which serves three functions: hold 3 secs for on/off, hold 5 secs for Bluetooth, and single quick press to activate the voice assistant. Tactile feel of the button is great. My favorite feature, by far, is transparency, which can be activated very quickly with two taps on the earcup. Transparency pauses the music, opens the external microphones, and turns up the volume so you can hear the outside world. It works very well. Accessories. The headphones come with a simple zipper case that provides good cable management and storage for the quick start guide. It’s convenient but not high quality. The headphones also come with a USB-C charging cable and a regular headphones cable so you can plug into a computer or into the entertainment system of an airplane. Comfort. The headphones have a plush top support and plush ear cups. They feel very nice, but slightly tight on me. I have tried more comfortable headphones (at higher price points). It’s worth noting that the tight fit significantly improves passive noise cancellation. I rate comfort at 3.5 out of 5. Things I love: - Very good sound - Very good ANC - The touch controls work quite well; no false positive or errors - Small or large volume adjustments are possible depending on how big of a vertical swipe you make; never seen that before! - Bass boost is excellent! - Easy access to voice assistant at the touch of a button - Thank you for include a protective case! - Excellent quick start booklet that neatly fits into the case - Charge for 10 min to get 5 hours of battery, or charge for 3.5 hours for 50 hours of battery life! - Excellent phone call quality. The microphone performance if exceptional Things I don’t love: - Setup through the app didn’t work perfectly for some reason. I needed to go to the phone Bluetooth setting; from there it connected right away. Once that was done, I was able to see the headphones in the app - The headphones are comfortable for sure, but they feel a little tight on me. I wonder if they would get uncomfortable after a few hours - ANC is good, but I have tested better ANC headphones before (at much higher price point) Conclusion. These are very nice headphones, especially for the price. Of course there are headphones with better sound, comfort, ANC, and features, but those come at almost double the cost of these. I highly recommend these headphones for everyone looking for high-quality full-feature headphones at a decent price. The Sennheiser Accentum Plus are excellent value. I rate these 5 out of 5 for value for money, and overall 4.25 out of 5.

About the Accentum Plus Headphones The Accentum Plus headphones by Sennheiser are a feature rich headphone in the under $250 price range. They boast an up to 50 hour battery life, have Active Noise Cancellation, and touch controls. A downloadable app allows for additional controls and features. What They Come With Inside the box you will find the headphones, a carrying case, a USB-C to USB-A charging cord, mini plug cable, and instructions. Set-up The set-up was really easy. Headphones were already partly charged, but it’s recommended to charge for at least 10 minutes prior to setting up. Pair the headset with your phone. These use Bluetooth connectivity, and paired really easily for me. There’s a Sennheiser Smart Control app to download for more control of the headphones. Upon establishing an app connection a firmware notification was listed. I always recommend starting with the latest firmware. Quality Disclaimer – I tend to buy headphones that retail for twice as much as these do, so I am used to higher-end products. My opinions here may be pickier than most folks. The headphones had a cheaper build/feel to me. These are mostly plastic instead of metal. It made for a lighter feeling over the ear experience (which isn’t necessarily bad). They are smaller than some of the other premium brands which may actually be better for a younger/smaller individual. There’s a carry case with these headphones. It has a cheaper feel to me as well. The case is soft, so there’s not as much protection as I’d like. Storage for the USB cord is a fold and jam under a loop type. I think that could have been done better. Having this case is better than not including a case. Comfort I found these to be pretty comfortable. Lightweight design is easier on the neck. The headband has a soft top and stiff sides. The ear pads were good, but not the most comfortable I have used. Overall it had a good feel. Charging As I mentioned, you need to charge these before setting up. When fully charged, the manufacturer states that you should get up to 50 hours of use. I have not put 50 hours in with these yet, but I am still on my first charge. 10 minutes of charge should get around 5 hours of use. To get the maximum, it may take around 3.5 hours of charging. Audio Quality The sound quality was surprisingly good. Great bass and capable of playing some very low frequencies. One thing in particular that I noticed was that turning up the volume turned all the frequencies up equally. Usually, even in some of the more expensive headsets, you get to a certain volume and the higher frequencies get louder, but the bass doesn’t. These headphones did not do that. If you wanted more, you got more of everything. The presets weren’t that great, and the bass boost was pretty bad. If you turned any of those on, they seem to diminish the upper sounds to make the bass heavier. It was an overall loss of sound trying to use these features. You can make your own preset to work around this. These headphones have an Adaptive Noise Cancellation (ANC) feature which can help you hear only the sounds from your headset. The Accentum Plus headset uses a slide bar to adjust how much of the Transparency sounds (outside noises) you want to hear. You can tune out coworkers or allow the ambient sounds of traffic for safety. Your choice. These headphones had the best ANC of any headphone I own, and it was easy to control. The app has something called Sound Zones, where you could preset the ANC or Transparency a certain way for specific locations. Examples of sound zones could be home, work, gym, walking, etc. Whatever you want to create. Controls The controls for the Accentum Plus were almost exactly like my higher-end Sony headphones. Slide your finger up or down the right ear piece to change volume. Slide it forward or back to change the track. Touching the center pauses or interacts with calls. Overall These headphones seem to be good at their price point. They have a great bass production and an awesome noise cancelling feature. Battery life seems good, and I do like the lightweight feel while wearing them. The build quality could be better and so could the carry case. Presets and bass boost features weren’t very good. I give these 4 out of 5 stars for a headphone in the under $250 range.