Sonos unveils the new Ace headphones!

Sonos has officially announced the Sonos Ace headphones, marking its first foray into the over-ear headphones market. Sonos is known for its wireless home speaker solutions and ecosystem, especially with Apple products, and aims to offer the same value, quality and ease of use of its new premium Ace headphones. Sonos customers have long wondered when the company would create its own headphones, and it’s finally arrived. We were lucky enough to get an exclusive first look at these new headphones, and they did not disappoint. Here’s everything you need to know!

Sonos Ace specifications:

• Custom 40mm drivers in each earbud
• Eight microphones for noise cancellation and clear phone calls
• Supports spatial audio and Dolby Atmos
• Active Noise Cancellation and Aware Mode
• Lossless sound via Bluetooth and with a wired USB-C connection
• Adjustable equalizer in the Sonos app
• Magnetically removable ear cushions
• Up to 30 hours of battery life with ANC/Aware modes on
• Supports fast charging, get 3 hours of listening on a 3-minute charge
• Bluetooth 5.4
• Physical and tactile controls
• Two different colors: black and soft white

The strong list of specs powering the Sonos Ace immediately puts it ahead of competitors like the Bose QC Ultra, Sony WH1000XM5, and AirPods Max. The feature set, build materials, and Sonos ecosystem integration are what will truly set the Ace headphones apart from others in this category.

Define features

I was lucky enough to get some quick hands-on time with the product, so this is by no means a full review (stay tuned for that early in June). But I wanted to share some of my initial impressions of the Sonos Ace. Three main aspects of the headphones caught my attention.

Build quality

During my hands-on period, I got a good feel for the size, weight, and material choices made for the Sonos Ace. They’ve struck a great balance between keeping it fairly lightweight and adding some high-quality materials like stainless steel to make it look as premium as possible. Weighing just 312g, the Sonos Ace is about 70g lighter than the AirPods Max, and sits comfortably on your head with memory foam earcups and headband.

Sonos also decided to use real haptic controls on the earcups so users can easily interact with the headphones without having to look at them. I’m a big fan of tactile buttons versus touch buttons. Finally, they added a modular side to these headphones with removable ear pads for easy replacement when needed.

Sound quality

My initial reaction to the sound from these headphones was one of immersion. Again, this is after a quick 10-minute demo dedicated to the headphones, but still, it sounded great. The ANC was top-notch, along with the head tracking, resulting in an epic listening experience. The volume also became quite loud, which was great for those bass-heavy tracks. I’ll be sure to listen to a wide range of music, podcasts and other media to see how far I can push it.

The only thing I wasn’t able to test were the dedicated microphones for phone calls and Zoom meetings. I want to see how the microphones hold up in different scenarios, like phone calls in a quiet room versus a crowded city sidewalk.

Ecosystem features

This is where I think Sonos has a leg up. Sonos has been building out its ecosystem for years with products like the Sonos One, Arc speakers, Move 2, and others. So, if you have something like the Sonos Arc, you can take full advantage of features like switching your TV’s sound from the soundbar to your headphones and a new feature called TrueCinema. We got to demo TrueCinema, and it was a unique experience. You can pass audio from Arc to Ace, which will mimic a multi-channel home theater setup and do it very well.

Combining the Sonos Arc, Sonos Ace, and HDMI eARC will create a stunning home theater setup. I’ll be able to use my Sonos Ace to listen to my movies in amazing quality without disturbing anyone, and I’ll also be able to use it with my Xbox, which is also connected to my Arc.

Other notes

There are some other aspects of the Sonos Ace to consider:

• There is no official IP rating. I think it will handle some light rain or sweat but I don’t consider it waterproof. I would test them in a gym environment to see if they feel warm or comfortable enough for this scenario.
• As for the TrueCinema experience, it will be available after launch through an update to the Sonos app. It will launch with the Sonos Arc first, then eventually move to the Beam Gen 1 & 2 and Ray.
• Unlike most Sonos audio products, the Sonos Ace connects via Bluetooth and not Wi-Fi.
• Each Sonos Ace includes a color-matched flat carrying case, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a 3.5mm jack adapter.

Pricing and availability

Sonos Ace is Available for pre-order from Sonos And Amazon As of today for $449 USD. As I mentioned above, they come in two different color options: black and soft white (I personally prefer soft white). In the box you’ll get a colorful flat hard shell carrying case, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter. The Sonos Ace will be fully available for purchase on June 5th.

Let us know what you think. Would you pay for the new Sonos Ace headphones? Are you an existing Sonos customer? What are you most excited about? Make sure to subscribe to our website YouTube channel To see our full review when it’s released!