STEREO GUIDE verdict
The Sonos Ace is the brand's first headphones with cool features such as head tracking and 3D sound, and impressed across the board in the review. For owners of Sonos soundbars, there is even a great goody called "TV Audio Swap".
Advantages
- Balanced tuning, very good ANC
- Very fine resolution and excellent spatial imaging
- Long battery life, cable operation and fast charging possible
- Surround sound via Sonos soundbars
Disadvantages
- You can easily work up a sweat underneath
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Tonal balance / transparency8.8
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Bass / Dynamics9
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Ease-of-use/ Connectivity9.6
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Price/Performance9.3
With the Sonos Ace , the multi-room audio pioneer from the USA recently presented its first headphones. The closed over-ear headphones have raised high expectations due to the brand’s reputation, but also not least because of their list price of 500 euros. However, in this upper price segment, it is up against the upper class of established competitors, which are represented in this segment with the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 or the Apple AirPods Max, for example. Anyone expecting the Ace to integrate into the Sonos network via Wi-Fi is mistaken. Although the solidly built wireless headphones use the rare, highly developed Bluetooth standard 5.4 with the codecs SBC, AAC and aptX Lossless(LC3 and Auracast will be added via updates), Wi-Fi is not supported.
Sonos immediately sets a few exclamation marks
Nevertheless, Sonos has given the Ace certain tricks to do justice to the brand’s special position and the associated expectations. The most exciting of these brings surround sound from the Sonos soundbars to the headphones. There is also head tracking for 3D audio playback. Sonos relies on a solution from Dolby, which can be activated in the app and had a great effect. More on this in the listening test below.
Another special feature is the ability to simultaneously supply the Sonos Ace with power and digital audio streams via the supplied USB cable. This is very useful if the headphones’ battery runs out of juice after around 30 hours with Active Noise Cancelling (ANC). If you give the Bluetooth headphones a break to charge, you will notice that they can charge for around 3 hours in 3 minutes. If you’re not planning a transatlantic flight or a long train journey, including the usual train cancellations and delays within Germany, you should be up and running again in no time.
Heavy on the wire
An adapter cable from 3.5 mm jack to USB C is included with the Ace for using the in-flight entertainment on an airplane, although this requires another airline adapter. A small pouch inside the hard case holds these cables when transporting the foldable over-ears. The closed headphones, which are equipped with imitation leather pads for the ear cups and headband, weigh just over 300 grams, which is easy to distribute and can be worn for a long time. This is at least true as long as it is not too warm, because then you sweat more under the artificial leather pads of the closed ear cups than with open competitors with breathable padding covers.
When it comes to setting up the Sonos Ace, you need patience, a user manual or a stroke of luck. There are a total of three switches on both ear cups, all of which are unlabeled. The question remains as to which one breathes life into the over-ear. I tried it with patience, because in my case it was the third switch that I tried. It is located on the bottom left-hand side next to the USB-C socket.
One app for everything
The two buttons on the right are used to activate Active Noise Cancelling and control playback. The ANC button can be configured in the Sonos app so that it only switches between noise suppression and transparency mode to perceive the environment via the microphone or can be switched off completely by pressing it again. This allows you to really save power in a quiet corner. The slider always returns to its center position when you move it up or down to skip tracks. A short press toggles between start and stop.
The Ace uses the same Sonos app as the US company’s soundbars, speakers and subwoofers. Anyone new to the manufacturer’s ecosystem via the Bluetooth headphones must therefore register with their email address, which may not be to everyone’s liking. However, this is now the rule rather than the exception.
There is a very interesting function that Sonos uses to create synergies between the circumaural headphones and its speakers, even if the Ace cannot be connected directly to the network: It’s called“TV Audio Swap” and works like this: You can pass Dolby Atmos sound from a Sonos Arc, and with the August 6, 2024 update 80.06.03 also from the other two soundbars – Sonos Beam 2 and Sonos Ray – to your Sonos headphones. Then you can enjoy 3D sound via headphones and let it rip late at night without upsetting your roommates or neighbors. However, Sonos had to hurry to avoid alienating Android users. At the launch of the Ace, the cool feature was only available to users of the Sonos iOS app. TV Audio Swap is now also available to the Android community.
Sound check: This is how the Sonos Ace sounds
Considering how voluminous the Sonos One already sounds as the smallest speaker from the Americans, it’s no surprise that Sonos has also done a great job with the tuning of its first headphones. The closed headphones sound really rich, as you would expect from Sonos. The bass is deep and powerful, but also a little soft. The tonal balance is in line with what you would expect from established competitors in this class.
What stands out, however, and with which Sonos immediately makes its mark in its new territory, is the spatiality. This is not only really great for closed over-ears. It is very good for headphones in general and is particularly impressive in conjunction with the head-tracking function. In addition to the expansive sound image, which gives a very good impression of the width and acoustics of the recording room for headphones in live recordings, there is also a very authentic stage image.
It is important to bear in mind that, for psychoacoustic reasons, the lead vocals, which are usually located in the middle of the sound panorama, cannot really be located in front of you, but rather in your head, as with other headphones. This is mainly due to the fact that with a phantom sound source at 0 degrees in front of you, all the parameters required for localization (volume, phase, frequency response) are absolutely identical between the left and right ear. However, the Sonos Ace’s head tracking is able to react faster and more seamlessly to head turns than I am familiar with from the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds or the Yamaha YH-L700A, for example.
Getting the hang of it: Head tracking in practice
It was really nice to try out the head tracking capabilities on my swivel chair in the office. I was able to turn a full 360 degrees around my own axis and the stage remained in place. This feature really is an asset, especially when you’re sitting in front of a screen and watching YouTube videos with the Sonos Ace. The absence of annoying time delays between picture and sound was also noticeable. So despite the 3D effect, Sonos has latency under control.
Towards the end of the listening test, the cell phone rings as if on cue and I can get an idea of the Ace’s communication capabilities. My conversation partner confirms that he can understand me well, which is also a good testimonial for the integrated microphones.
And it got even better: there was something about ANC, wasn’t there? As if on cue, a helicopter flew low over the house. I ran onto the roof terrace, over which it rattled directly at low altitude. Afterwards, I was also able to attest to the good performance of the Active Noise Cancelling in suppressing annoying ambient noise. Sonos doesn’t show any weaknesses in new terrain and even sets exclamation marks in places.
Sonos Ace: Conclusion and alternatives
The Sonos Ace is an all-round success. The success-accustomed Americans can also do headphones. If you use a Sonos soundbar and like 3D surround sound in Dolby Atmos, there is really no alternative to the Ace. If you’re not interested in the TV audio swap function or simply don’t use a soundbar from the American brand, you could consider adding the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 or the Apple AirPods Max to your shortlist. While the latter is quite a bit more expensive and, like the Sonos, offers 3D audio with head tracking, but only really makes sense for Apple users, the comparably priced British over-ear is an alternative that doesn’t quite reach the level of the Sonos Ace in terms of balance and spatial imaging.
Sonos Ace: Technical specifications
- Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: 500 Euro
- Weight: 312 g
- Battery operating time: up to 30 hours
- Special features: Bluetooth 5.4, ANC, operation via cable possible
- More at www.sonos.com
