CES 2024: Sennheiser takes wraps off a trio of new headphones

Sennheiser has unveiled a trio of new headphone products at CES 2024: the in-ear Momentum True Wireless 4 for audiophiles, Momentum Sport for athletes, and the Accentum Plus for anyone who likes headphones but doesn’t want to spend a fortune.

The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 are the most expensive of the three and, like their predecessors, the Momentum True Wireless 3, they sit at the top of Sennheiser’s true wireless range and bring with them a host of new features and improvements.

They look similar to the previous version, with a chunky textile-clad charging case and squat, squarish earbud bodies finished in an attractive “black copper”, “metallic silver” or graphite  colourways. I prefer the the look of the black copper model but they all look attractive in their own ways.

The upgrades are all hidden away inside the new headpones with a new antenna design ensuring fewer dropouts than before, support for aptX lossless, Bluetooth 5.4, low latency connectivity, and Auracast. The latter is a new technology that allows the headphones to receive broadcasts from sources in your local area.

The system will require third-party support, of course, but the idea is that it will eventually enable things like airport and train station announcements to be piped straight into your ears while you listen to music or podcasts. You may never need to worry about missing your flight or train again.

The new Momentum True Wireless 4 also come with improved adaptive ANC and better battery life than their predecessors, delivering a total of 30 hours from the charging case and earbuds themselves. There’s a huge 7.5 hour from the earbuds themselves, too, so you shouldn’t need to keep dropping them into the case to keep them topped up during the day.

The Sennheiser True Momentum Wireless 4 will be available to pre-order from 15 February and will set you back $300 or around £230.

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Sennheiser Momentum Sport

The most interesting of three new products, however, is a pair of in-ear sports headphones – the Sennheiser Momentum Sport. They’re interesting, not because of anything to do with sound quality, but because they can also monitor your heart rate and body temperature, via sensors built into the left earbud.

Sennheiser says that heart rate measurements taken from the inner ear are more accurate than those recorded from your wrist because there’s less likelihood of light leakage in the ear from the optical sensor. The inner ear is also the best and least invasive place, apparently, to get accurate body temperature readouts.

That’s not all, though. Courtesy of a partnership with Finnish fitness firm Polar, the earbuds also have full, unfettered access to the Polar Flow platform so you can view your stats on your Polar watch or phone while you’re working out, and analyse your performance afterwards. It’s even possible to get audio instructions from the Polar smartphone while you workout.

Support isn’t just restricted to Polar. You’ll be able to connect the earbuds to other devices and platforms, and use them just as you might a heart rate chest belt. However, the body temperature measurements are only available via the Polar Flow ecosystem.

Elsewhere, the earbuds look like a pretty capable set of earbuds. They come with adaptive noise cancellation and support for the SBC, AAX, aptX and aptX adaptive audio codecs. Water resistance is rated at IPX5 so they should shrug off the sweatiest of workouts, and battery life looks fairly good at 5.5 hours for the buds themselves and 24 hours overall from the slim, matte finish charging case.

The Sennheiser Momentum Sport come in three colours – “Polar Black”, the rather natty “Burned Olive” and “Metallic Graphite” – and they will cost $330 or around £259 when they’re released on April 9.

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Sennheiser Accentum Plus

Last but by no means is the Sennheiser Accentum Plus, a third addition to the mid-priced Accentum range. These headphones deliver chunky 50-hour battery life to go with adaptive active noise cancellation (ANC) and a fold-flat, over-ear design.

They come with a carry case, which is a bonus – other headphones in the Accentum range lack this – plus support for Bluetooth 5.2, multipoint connectivity and the aptX Adaptive audio codec. Fast charging support means ten minutes of charging will get you up to five hours of playback while 37mm transducers should deliver sound with plenty of impact.

The Accentum may be mid-priced, but they have plenty of audio mod cons, with touch-based controls on the outer surface of the earcups and wear detection that pauses what you’re listening to when you take the headphones off, and resumes it when you put them back on.

The Accentum Plus will go on sale from 20 February and will cost $230 or in the region of £199.

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