Everyone — and I mean everyone — and their mothers seems to have their sights set on our best open earbuds list these days. And now (not before time), audio heavyweight Sennheiser has joined the cuff-style craze.
The product is the new Sennheiser Accentum Clip, released as part of the brand’s more affordable Accentum line. Believe it or not, these are the brand’s first true open earbuds, not counting the Accentum Open which were AirPods-alike wireless earbuds sans tips, (so an ‘open fit’ option, rather than truly open in design).
Clip-style earbuds are designed hang around the lower part of your ear — yes, like an ear cuff — keeping the driver near your ear canal but not entering it and thus blocking out some background sounds. They’re great for cycling on busy roads or running in populated areas, while staying aware of your surroundings. The first big iteration of the form factor? The splendid Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, launched in February 2024.
Naturally, if you can hear traffic and crowds, audio quality often takes a hit. Added to this the lack of seal betwixt ear canal and driver and historically, people like me have knocked the bass clarity and impact that such a design is able to deliver. But times have changed, tech has improved, and you can trust the company behind the HDB 630 to address this. In its announcement of the Clip, the brand says it’s addressing the “sonic compromises” of the open form factor.
That’s definitely an issue I’ve faced historically with sports hook-style open earbuds and bone conduction options, but I’ve found the clip model reliably delivers solid sound, thanks to the drivers being much closer to your ear canals. The likes of the Shokz OpenDots One and Soundpeats Clip1 impressed me in the past, so I can’t help but feel that Sennheiser is addressing a problem which was fixed a relatively long time ago.
Accentum-uate the positives
Sennheiser has kitted the Accentum Clip out with 12mm drivers, which is on the large side for this style of kit. That’s paired with its own audio tuning and Dynamic EQ, which it says adapts your equalization based on the volume, to ensure a natural sound and avoid distortion no matter how loud you’re listening.
Thanks to Bluetooth 6.0 compatibility, the buds can support LDAC as well as AAC and SBC, and the brand’s app offers a 5-band equalizer as well as presets.
Looking at the practicals, the buds weigh 6.8g and last for 9 hours of playback on a single charge. The small carry case boosts that to 36 hours.
Bad news for some prospective buyers: the Accentum Clip aren’t set to sell in the US, at least when they first go on sale on July 23. You can buy them elsewhere for £149 / AU$289 (about $120), but it’s unclear at the time of writing whether they’ll ever sell in the States or not.
The best open earbuds for all budgets
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