After years of rumors and leaks, Sonos has finally revealed its highly anticipated entry into a new product category. Today, Sonos announced the Ace Headphones: a set of meticulously designed, feature-rich premium cans from the company that has made a name for itself with multi-room audio and stellar sound. But that reputation was built on speakers and soundbars, and now Sonos is lending its blend of aesthetics, acoustics and technology to headphones. The Ace is first and foremost a set of noise-cancelling Bluetooth headphones that can be used on the go, but it also has unique home theater features that work in tandem with its soundbars. You’ll have to wait a little longer to try the $449 headphones, but you can pre-order them now if you’re already convinced.
Design-wise, these Sonos headphones have a refined look that’s partly inspired by the company’s speakers. Sonos opted for a mix of matte finishes, stainless steel, and leather for its premium look, keeping all black on one version while using white with silver accents on the other. Even with the premium materials, the Ace weighs 11 ounces (312 grams). This is lighter than the AirPods Max which weigh 13.6 ounces (385 grams) thanks to the use of plastic.
“It’s all in the interest of doing something that will make this light and comfortable for the customer,” Sonos CEO Patrick Spence told Engadget. “We knew it had to be high-end, like all the speakers we designed, but we felt like we could do it in a different way than everyone else.”
A key aspect of the Ace’s design is the hidden hinge that Sonos placed in the earpiece. The company says this puts less strain on the wiring than a folding mechanism, but it also says it just looks better. Sonos chose physical controls over a touchpad, assigning these functions to a multipurpose button it calls Content Key. Here you have volume and playback controls as well as the ability to switch between ANC and transparency modes. A single button on the opposite side handles power and pairing. Like Apple, Sonos uses removable magnetic ear cushions on its headphones and plans to sell replacements in the future.
Inside, custom 40mm dynamic drivers power the Ace’s sound. Sonos promises “impeccable precision and clarity” on the EQ with spatial audio and dynamic head tracking for increased immersion. These headphones also support lossless audio over Bluetooth if you’re streaming from a device with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound. They also offer lossless listening via USB-C if you prefer a wired connection for this purpose. And if the stock setting doesn’t suit you, the company lets you adjust the bass, treble, and volume from the Sonos app.
Active noise cancellation (ANC) is built into the Sonos headphones, and there’s an Aware mode for when you need to let ambient sounds in. The company says the Ace is equipped with eight beamforming microphones that pull double duty with ANC and voice targeting, so you’ll be able to use them during calls. The earbuds also have wear-detection sensors that automatically pause movies or music when you remove them. Sonos says you’ll be able to use the Ace for up to 30 hours on a charge with ANC enabled, 10 hours more than the AirPods Max and on par with Sony’s WH-1000XM5. The latter is our current top pick for the best wireless headphones.
None of this is a surprise given how many details were released before the official reveal, but Sonos managed to keep how the Ace would interact with its other products under wraps. Although the company’s app contains key features for headphones, interaction with other Sonos speakers is unique here. The Ace has a feature called TV Audio Swap that sends audio from a Sonos soundbar to the headphones as long as you’re in range. To achieve this, the company says the Ace switches to Bluetooth LE to maintain a connection with the app for controls and settings, while Wi-Fi allows it to sync with a soundbar. At launch, the swap feature will only work with the Sonos Arc, but the company says it will affect both generations of Beam and Ray in the future.
“What we realized is that for the majority of the population and for the many use cases of headphones, the best way to do it is to use Bluetooth first with connectivity to the system” , Spence said. “Because what is most important to the customer is energy management and battery life.”
There’s also a version of the company’s TruePlay setting on the Ace, but it’s called TrueCinema. When it arrives later this year, the feature will map the room your soundbar is in to create a complete virtual surround system inside the headset. The goal here is to mimic the acoustics of the room you’re in so you might forget you’re even wearing headphones.
“It’s more natural, because often the headphones will be tuned to a perfect room,” Spence explained. “We thought it was best to tailor it to the room you’re actually in, because that would create the effects you’d expect.”
After listening to music and video clips on the Ace, I’m impressed with what the company has built in terms of sound quality. The impeccable details and increased immersion with Dolby Atmos content make this headset a complement to a home theater setup. However, the most surprising thing about the Ace was how well the TV Audio Swap feature works.
Once the headphones are added to your device collection in the app, simply press the Content Key button to switch the audio to that coming from your soundbar. It’s quick and easy, and there are no skips, skips, or other distractions as you jump back and forth. I see a lot of people using them so they can still hear every last detail of Dune or every stroke of John Wick 4 when their family went to bed.
Even if your content isn’t 7.1.4 channel Dolby Atmos, Sonos’ 3D virtualization technology will upgrade it to look comparable. The company also developed its own head-tracking processing that learns from your location and the direction you’re looking so it doesn’t constantly refocus if you look at your phone. Unfortunately, head tracking, spatial audio, and TV audio swapping with Sonos Arc will only be available in the iOS version of the Sonos app at launch. Android compatibility is coming “shortly thereafter”.
The Sonos Ace headphones are available for pre-order today on the company’s website for $449 and will begin shipping on June 5. While it’s more expensive than flagship models from Bose, Sony and others, it’s $100 less than the AirPods Max.