It’s a sign of just how feral the market for true wireless in-ear headphones has become that even a brand with nothing to prove has it all to do every time it launches a new product.

Sennheiser is just the latest manufacturer to realize there’s no laurel-resting available where true wireless in-ears are concerned. Its new Accentum True Wireless arrive in a sector of the market where “pretty good” is nothing like good enough. And it doesn’t matter who you are, what your reputation is like, or how long you’ve been a player. The question is always: “What have you done for me lately?”

And on first acquaintance, Sennheiser doesn’t seem to have done itself any favors with the Accentum True Wireless. They are certainly helpfully compact; the charging case in which the earbuds travel is just 1.1 x 1.9 x 2.0 inches and 40 grams, and each earbud weighs a mere 5.4 grams. But the plastic from which each component is made feels hard and slippery, and not in any way premium. The fact that the quality of build and finish is typically Sennheiser—which is another way of saying it’s beyond reproach—doesn’t help the Accentum True Wireless look or feel even remotely upmarket.

Surprisingly, considering the above, these have managed to win a Red Dot design award. Perhaps this is down to the shape of the earbuds being carefully ergonomic? While the “lozenge” section looks unpromisingly chunky, the security of the fit is reassuring, and long-term comfort is all but guaranteed. Four pairs of different-size silicone eartips in the packaging don’t do any harm in this respect, either.

Clear Control

The Sennheiser claw back a bit of that “premium” aura with a glance at the spec sheet, too. Battery life of up to 28 hours (eight from the earbuds) with active noise cancellation switched off isn’t too shabby, and compatibility with Qi-certified wireless charging pads isn’t to be sniffed at, either. A flat-to-full charge takes 90 minutes, while a 10-minute pit stop should be good for more than an hour of playback.

Wireless connectivity is via Bluetooth 5.3, and in addition to the usual SBC and AAC codecs, there’s LC3 and aptX compatibility too. It would have been nice to see compatibility with one of the even-more-accomplished Qualcomm codecs, but at least Bluetooth LE and Auracast are coming in an imminent(ish) firmware upgrade. Sound, once it’s on board, is served up by a couple of 7-mm versions of Sennheiser’s TrueResponse dynamic drivers; frequency response is claimed to be 5 Hz to 21 kHz.

One area where Sennheiser can always be confident of its leading-pack status is control—and the Accentum True Wireless are no exception. Admirably unflashy, the Smart Control app (free for iOS and Android) is a paradigm of stability, logic, and all-around good sense, which puts it a notch or two above any number of nominal competitors.