The Xcentum Wireless are Sennheiser’s latest true wireless earbuds and also the first earbuds under the new Xcentum brand. Priced at $200, these are a more affordable option than the premium Momentum range, with many of the same features, just toned down a bit.
The Xcentum True Wireless feature active noise cancellation with Transparency mode, Bluetooth LE audio, 7mm TrueResponse drivers, and Qi wireless charging. The design has been created in collaboration with Sonova’s hearing aid division for ultimate comfort. And you also get access to the Sennheiser Smart Control app, which brings features like Sound Check for great personalized audio.
design
The Accentum True Wireless has a somewhat unusual design that is more vertically oriented than the usual rounded shapes. The earbuds are somewhat thick and protruding and I don’t particularly like the way they look in my ears. The white model is particularly good at attracting attention and if you don’t appreciate that you may want to consider the black or dark blue.
Like the recently reviewed Momentum True Wireless 4, the Xentum True Wireless also has a large touch-sensitive surface on the outside. And like the Momentum, this model also has the problem of the touch sensors activating every time you take the earbuds in your hand. It’s nearly impossible to wear or remove the earbuds without triggering a single tap gesture and just like the Momentum I ended up disabling them to keep my sanity.
Apart from that, the earbuds are well designed with a pleasant soft-touch plastic. The body is curved in all the right places and fits comfortably to the shape of your ear. The inner side of the earbuds has optical sensors for wear detection as well as LED lights to indicate power and connectivity status. The earbuds are also IP54 dust and splash-resistant.
Unlike the Momentum True Wireless 4, the Accentum True Wireless are very comfortable. Their insertion depth is very shallow and they sit just inside the outer ear. This makes them very easy to put on or take off and once they are on you almost forget they are there. It also means they are probably not the most securely attached to your ears and while they didn’t fall off during my testing, I would be a little cautious walking around with them.
Another improvement on the Momentum True Wireless 4 is the case design. While the USB-C port is still misplaced on the front, along with a hidden LED next to it that’s only visible when lit, the case is noticeably smaller in every dimension than the one you get with the Momentum. This makes it much easier to fit in your pocket, and while it doesn’t have the same plush fabric exterior, it’s still well-built. The case also supports Qi wireless charging.
Overall, while the design could be a bit different, the Accentum True Wireless is extremely comfortable to wear with a well-designed case.
Software and Features
The Xcentum True Wireless supports the Sennheiser Smart Control app. We have already covered this app in our recent Sennheiser review, so I will keep it brief this time.
The app lets you adjust the sound profile, ANC settings, touch controls, and paired devices. For sound, you get a five-band EQ and Sennheiser’s great Sound Check feature that creates a custom profile but is unfortunately locked behind a mandatory Sennheiser login. As for ANC, it’s once again dynamically adjusted but you can manually enable a wind mode, which works pretty well at the cost of less ANC, or turn it off completely. The transparency level can be adjusted, though.
The touch controls are customisable, which is again a must, especially because the first thing you should do is disable the single tap gesture. Finally, one of my favourite features is the battery protection mode, which prevents the earbuds from charging to 100%, as well as charging at a slower rate, to prevent faster battery drain.
Sennheiser Smart Control App
Besides making a mandatory Sennheiser login necessary to access a key feature, the other drawback of the app is that it can be very slow to load, especially on Android. The Android app can’t stay open in the background for more than a few minutes while the iOS app can stay open for several days. Some optimization is definitely needed, especially on the Android app. And for the holy love of Sennheiser, get rid of the account requirement to access Sound Check.
Display
audio quality
The Xcentum True Wireless feature Sennheiser’s 7mm TrueResponse dynamic drivers. These seem to be the same drivers that Sennheiser uses in its other models, including the Momentum True Wireless 4, but I couldn’t find any confirmation on this. The earbuds are Bluetooth 5.3 compliant, with SBC, AAC, aptX, and LC3 codecs and Bluetooth LE audio support.
The Accentum True Wireless has a peppy, upbeat tuning with a classic V-shaped tilt. It’s definitely a lot brighter than I expected from Sennheiser, which, as those familiar with the brand know, prefers a darker tuning.
The low end has decently boosted the mid and upper bass regions, resulting in punchy bass notes and warm tones. The low bass isn’t as enhanced, so you don’t get that deep low-frequency extension that adds heavy rumble and thump to the sound.
There’s a slight step back in the mid-range soundstage and the upper mids in particular are a little blurry. Almost to compensate, the treble region sees a sharp increase in energy. This creates a lot of excitement in the upper regions of the sound, with sharp cymbal hits and clear T and S sounds. This goes some way to overcoming the dull mid-range and slight muffledness in the bass, and creates a semblance of detail and resolution in the sound, even if it doesn’t look as resolved in practice.
Overall the sound is very vibrant, with punchy bass notes and crisp treble hits at the top, and while the mids are a little disturbed, you still get decent timbre and tonality, so vocals and instruments sound natural.
Compared to the more expensive Momentum True Wireless 4, the sound is definitely more vibrant and exciting. The Momentum can naturally resolve a bit more detail in the sound but the darker tuning makes the sound a bit muddy. The Accentums are not as resolving but the brighter tuning makes them sound clean and clear. This tuning works well with rock, jazz and classical music while pop and rap sometimes sound a bit too bright. I like the tuning of the Accentums more than the Momentums as I like a brighter sound and it complements the music I like to listen to but your mileage may vary. Through the app you can create the sound to your liking.
Microphone
The Accentum True Wireless has good microphone performance. Any issues we had with our Momentum True Wireless 4 unit were not present here. It’s not the best sounding microphone ever, but it’s easy to understand what the speaker is saying in a quiet environment. However, background noise cancellation isn’t great, so in noisy environments you’ll hear the caller’s background noises quite a bit.
noise cancellation
The Xcentum True Wireless has average noise cancellation performance that doesn’t reach the level of the more expensive Momentum series. The culprit here is the design of the eartips, which don’t go particularly deep into your ears. While this is great for comfort, it does impact noise cancellation performance.
This means that the Xentum True Wireless isn’t as effective at blocking ambient noise. Most of the time, I was aware of things going on around me, like the sound of the air conditioner or cars passing by outside. It’s not too distracting and is still better than having no ANC, but it’s not nearly the total silence you get on some other models on the market.
Delay
The Xcentum True Wireless has mediocre latency performance. It’s fine when you’re watching videos paired with your PC, but it’s not good enough for gaming. The low latency mode in the app had no appreciable effect on latency and it wasn’t clear what it actually did.
Connectivity
The connectivity performance of the Xcentum True Wireless was good. During my testing, there were no dropped connections or stutters in sound. The multipoint feature also works well, as you can stay connected to two devices at the same time and the earbuds automatically switch between the two for audio and calls.
battery life
Sennheiser claims that the battery lasts up to 6 hours when using AAC. In my testing, I used aptX and lasted 5 hours and 33 minutes. The company also claims 1 hour of playback after a 10-minute charge. This claim proved to be true with aptX as well as I got 1 hour of continuous playback.
The good thing is that this case supports both wired and QI-wireless charging.
conclusion
The Xcentum True Wireless is priced at $200, which is a bit on the high side, although more palatable in markets like India (Rs 12,990). The most important thing is comfort, which is excellent on these earbuds. Audio quality is good and so is battery life. However, noise cancellation performance was decent, as was microphone quality and latency performance.
Unfortunately for Sennheiser, there are plenty of models on the market today that can do the same or better at a lower price. We’ve seen the mid-range in TWS audio drop closer to $100 thanks to stiff competition from brands like OnePlus, Oppo, and Nothing. So while the Xentum True Wireless isn’t a bad product, it will need more aggressive pricing to stand out from the crowd.
