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Sennheiser Headphones

Scott Armstrong

November 15, 2024

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Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG, simply known by many as Sennheiser, is a German company, established in 1945 as an audio equipment manufacturer. Almost 80yrs later, the brand has grown to become one of the leaders in this industry.

Today, when you see the name “Sennheiser” on any gear, you immediately have a minimum expectation from that equipment. How has this expertise translated into its consumer headphones? This is what we are about to find out as we review 5 of its current consumer Sennheiser headphones.

We shall be looking at the following products:

1. Sport True Wireless
2. CX Plus True Wireless
3. CX Plus SE True Wireless
4. Accentum Wireless
5. Momentum 4 Wireless

Score by Specs

Quick Overview

• Bluetooth Version – 5.2
• Battery Life – 9hrs (Earbuds), 27hrs (Charging case)
• Quick Charge – Yes (10-minute charge = 1-hr playtime)
• Companion App – Yes
• Waterproof – IP54
• Charging Port – USB-C
• Controls – Touch control
• Active Noise Cancelling – No
• Weight – 6.8g (Earbuds), 41.6g (Charging case)

We start this review with the Sennheiser Sport True Wireless earbuds. These earbuds were designed specifically for athletes or anyone who engages in intense workouts. This much is obvious in the ruggedness of its build and the effort put into achieving a perfect fit.

The pack comes with two different sets of ear tips. One is the closed tip while the other is the open tip. The idea is that these tips will operate like the open and closed back headphones. Each of these tip-types comes in 3 sizes, so you have a pair of each size for both the closed and open ear tips.

In addition to the different tips, Sennheiser also adds 4 wings, which it calls “ear fins”. These wings also come in different sizes and are meant to help keep the buds in place. So, the first thing you need to do is find the correct size of both the eartips and the wings to ensure a perfect and secure fit.

These earbuds do not offer active noise cancelling. The best you can therefore hope to enjoy is the isolation offered by the eartips. This is another reason why you need to use the tip size that fits the best.

Now let’s get to the main purpose of the earbuds which is sound reproduction. As one will expect from a brand such as Sennheiser, the sound production from these buds is top notch. While audiophiles will note that there is a slight low frequency boost, casual listeners will give it a thumbs up for the same reason. Hey, who doesn’t like a good amount of bass pumping into their ears as they workout? Besides, with the companion app, you can make EQ adjustments to suit your taste.

Connection to your source device is via 5.2 Bluetooth which ensures a quick and reliable connection across different devices. Its support for the SBC, AAC, and aptX codecs further improves the quality of connection you get to enjoy.

The Sennheiser Sport True Wireless promises a battery life of 9 hours which can be extended to 27 hours with the case. This gives you more than enough time for your workout and even other activities of the day.

With a retail price of less than $100, these earbuds offer real value. The only major complaint for many is the absence of active noise cancelling. If ANC is not something you really need, then these earbuds are worth a try.

Score by Specs

Quick Overview

• Bluetooth Version – 5.2
• Battery Life – 8hrs (earbuds) 24hrs (Charging case)
• Quick Charge – Yes (10-minute charge = 1-hour playtime)
• Companion App – Yes
• Waterproof – IP54
• Charging Port – USB-C
• Controls – Touch control
• Noise Cancelling – Yes
• Weight – 6g (earbuds), 37g (Charging case)

Sennheiser decided to up the game a notch with the CX Plus True Wireless. While retaining most of the features of its predecessor, the CX True Wireless and even the Sport True Wireless that we reviewed above, the CX Plus added the much requested active noise cancelling function.

The design of the CX Plus True Wireless is much the same as the Sport True Wireless. They both have the same boxy look with the Sennheiser logo conspicuously branded on them. However, the CX Plus True has a shiny or glossy top finish.

To ensure a good fit, this brand only comes with 4 sizes of ear tips. No wings or ear fins are included. You get to choose from XS, S, M and L. Remember that choosing the best fitting tip is crucial for the efficient use of the earbuds. With the right fit, you can achieve impressive isolation, especially with high frequency sounds. Add the active noise cancel function to this isolation and you get a much more robust noise reduction.

When it comes to sound, you can always count on Sennheiser to deliver good quality sound. As with the Sport True Wireless, there’s a slight boost in the low frequency, resulting in a bit more pumping of the bass. This is something that most casual listeners love and even look out for. For the audiophile who wants a more transparent audio reproduction, the Sennheiser app affords you the opportunity to tweak the EQ until you achieve the sound you want. These custom EQ settings can be saved and recalled when needed.

Interestingly, these more expensive CX Plus True Wireless earbuds have a lower battery life than the Sport True Wireless. It promises up to 8 hours of playtime and this is of course without ANC turned on. With the charging case, you get a total of 24 hours of playtime. Some users have however noted that they have not been able to achieve these numbers.

There’s no doubt that the CX Plus True Wireless earbuds offer good value. Aside from the addition of the ANC function, it may be difficult to really explain the price difference between it and the Sport True Wireless. That said, for a set of earbuds that retails for less than $150, it’s surely a worthy contender for anyone looking for earbuds with ANC for less than $200.

Score by Specs

Quick Overview

• Bluetooth Version – 5.2
• Battery Life – 8hrs (earbuds), 24hrs (Charging case)
• Quick Charge – Yes (10-minute charge = 1-hour playtime)
• Companion App – Yes
• Waterproof – IPX4
• Charging Port – USB-C
• Controls – Touch control
• Noise Cancelling – Yes
• Weight – N/A

In early 2022, Sennheiser launched a Special Edition model of the CX Plus True Wireless, which it named CX Plus SE True Wireless, where the “SE” stands for Special Edition. As at the time of writing this review, this special edition cost about $70 more than the regular edition. So, what exactly is so special about this special edition?

After carefully looking at the features offered by both models, it’s really unclear what’s exactly special about the SE Plus. The only difference that one will notice is the brushed matte finish of the CX Plus SE as against the glossy finish of the CX Plus. While it does look nice, we don’t know if this is really worth the price difference.

The CX Plus SE True Wireless earbuds offer the same sound profile as the CX Plus True Wireless. With access to the Sennheiser Smart Control App, you can access the bass boost feature or simply create your own custom EQ. This is the same as the CX Plus True Wireless.

With all the same features as the CX Plus True Wireless, we don’t know if anyone will be eager to pay $70 extra just for a brushed matte finish. That said, it’s all an issue of personal preference. There’s no doubt that even at this price, it still offers more value than some earbuds that cost more than it. If this difference is something that’s worth it for you, then hey, go ahead and check it out.

Score by Specs

Quick Overview

• Bluetooth Version – 5.2
• Battery Life – 50 hours
• Quick Charge – Yes (10-minute charge = 5-hour playtime)
• Companion App – Yes
• Waterproof – No
• Charging Port – USB-C
• Controls – Buttons
• Noise Cancelling – Yes
• Weight – 222g

Moving away from earbuds, we come into the realm of wireless headphones; that is earphones that are worn over the head. The Accentum Wireless is designed as an option for folks looking for over the ear headphones that offer all the features we’ve come to expect from the modern day wireless headphone but do not have the budget to peel out hundreds of dollars for the purchase.

These headphones come in at less than $200, making them far cheaper than some of the models we’ll find out there. Given this relatively cheap price, are they any good?

For starters, these headphones are well-made. They may not have as much paddings as some other models, but they are comfortable even over long listening periods. The fact that they are lightweight reduces the pressure on the head and thereby increases the comfort it offers.

The earcups offer good isolation which takes care of a significant amount of external noise, especially in the higher frequency range. With the active noise cancelling feature activated, more external noise in the lower frequencies is cut off, resulting in a reduction of up to 70% of external noise.

In the sound department, you cannot but expect something good from Sennheiser. These headphones sound great even if they seem to have a bias for the sub low frequency. Well, these headphones are for casual listening and not for music production or mixing. The average listener will therefore enjoy the sound profile that it offers. Of course, with Sennheiser’s companion app, you can further tweak the EQ to get a sound that suits your taste better.

Connection to media sources is either via Bluetooth 5.2 or USB audio. It does not offer any aux inputs for your 3.5mm jack. You either use the wireless connection, which is its primary option, or you listen passively via a USB connection which will also deliver lossless audio.

Sennheiser promises that these headphones have a playtime of 50 hours on a single charge when played at an average volume. It requires 3 hours to be fully charged though its fast charge delivers about 5 hours of playtime after 10 minutes of charging.

As with all the other products we’ve looked at, you can make calls with these. With the featured pair of microphones using beamforming to improve the pickup of your voice, background noises are reduced, improving the clarity that the person on the other end will enjoy. While there are many models that do a lot better at this, these get the job done.

Like we stated at the beginning, the Accentum Wireless has a specific target market and for this target market, this is a great product. If you’re not satisfied with quality of its offerings, then you’d have to significantly increase your budget to get a much more expensive model or brand to beat this.

Score by Specs

Quick Overview

• Bluetooth Version – 5.2
• Battery Life – 60 hours
• Quick Charge – Yes (10-minute charge = 6-hour playtime)
• Companion App – Yes
• Waterproof – No
• Charging Port – USB-C
• Controls – Touch control
• Noise Cancelling – Yes
• Weight – N/A

The Momentum 4 Wireless is Sennheiser’s offering meant to compete in the higher end of the wireless headphones market. Costing almost $400, these headphones are designed for those who want more and don’t mind paying for it. So how well is the Momentum 4 Wireless playing in this space?

Starting from the build of these headphones, you can immediately see the quality and craftsmanship that went into it. It also comes in a protective case along with a few interesting accessories that can also be stored safely in the case.

These headphones offer ample comfort. The padded cups and headband make for comfortable extended listening. Even folks who wear glasses have found that the padding accommodates their glass handles, removing the discomfort that some headphones cause users who wear glasses.

Thanks to the well-padded earcups, the isolation that is achieved is impressive. To this, you can add the active noise cancelling feature to further reduce external noise. When you use Sennheiser’s Smart Control app with these headphones, a wide array of ANC options are opened to you. You can choose the amount of ANC you want, locations that you want it activated and much more.

The battery life on these headphones is very impressive. Sennheiser boasts that these headphones have a playtime of 60 hours with ANC turned on. It takes about 2 hours to get it fully charged while a 10 minute charge will deliver about 6 hours of playtime.

Of course, connection is primarily by Bluetooth and it runs version 5.2 with support for SBC, AAC, aptX™, aptX adaptive™ codecs. You can also connect to your media source via the included aux cable or USB. Connection to any device is fast and stable.

When it comes to the sound, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless rates high up there with the best in this market. It offers a more balanced sound profile than the previously reviewed models, though there’s still a slight boost in the low frequency. At this point, this is a standard in the wireless headphones market. As with the other products previously reviewed, you can go into the companion app and tweak the EQ to your heart’s content.

Finally, the call quality here is also greatly improved. At least it is as good as you can expect from wireless headphones. It features 2 microphones per side, beamforming to deliver a call quality that boosts your voice while reducing ambient noise.

If you want a high-end wireless headphones but do not want to go overboard in your spending, you can get these, enjoy the same quality and save yourself some money.

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Scott Armstrong

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