Sonos Ace Black

Sonos Ace: The First High-End Wireless Headphones from Sonos

Sonos, renowned for its multiroom speakers, enters the wireless audio headphones market with the highly anticipated Sonos Ace. This high-end, circumaural headset promises an immersive and personalized listening experience, integrating numerous innovative features.

Design and Comfort

The Sonos Ace sports an elegant and minimalist design, available in two colors: matte black and soft white with metallic accents. The oval-shaped earpads are connected to the headband by a thin metal rod, concealing the hinges inside the earcups for a sleek look.

The headband features memory foam padding of varying densities to ensure optimal comfort. The earpads, also made of memory foam, are covered with vegan leather and magnetically attach, making them easy to replace.

Weighing 312 grams, the Sonos Ace is positioned between the Apple AirPods Max (384g) and the Sony WH-1000XM5 (250g), offering a good balance between lightness and robustness. Its relatively thin profile (85mm deep) allows it to be stored flat in its felt case, made from 75% recycled plastic bottles.

Audio Features

Drivers and Sound Processing

Each earcup of the Sonos Ace houses a specially designed 40mm dynamic driver to deliver deep bass, rich midrange, and crystal-clear highs. The sound processing has been optimized through over 1,000 hours of testing and listening by music creators. The headphones support spatial audio and dynamic head tracking for a more immersive experience, especially with Dolby Atmos content.

Active Noise Cancellation and Call Quality

Equipped with eight microphones (four per earcup), the Sonos Ace offers effective active noise cancellation to isolate from ambient noise. A Transparency mode allows filtering of external sounds to stay aware of the surroundings.

The beamforming microphones ensure excellent call clarity, accurately capturing the voice while reducing background noise.

Connectivity and Codecs

The Sonos Ace connects via Bluetooth 5.4 and supports SBC, AAC, and aptX Lossless codecs for near-CD quality wireless audio (with compatible devices). It can also be connected via USB-C for hi-res lossless audio.

Integration with the Sonos Ecosystem

Wireless TV Audio

A standout feature of the Sonos Ace is the ability to instantly switch the TV’s sound to the headphones with a button press when paired with a Sonos Arc soundbar. This function, dubbed “TV Audio Swap,” works with any source connected to the soundbar (decoders, consoles, etc.). At launch, only the Sonos Arc will be compatible, but Sonos plans to extend this functionality to its Beam, Beam Gen 2, and Ray soundbars via software updates.

True Cinema Mode

Later in the year, Sonos will introduce the True Cinema mode, which will analyze the room’s acoustics to adapt the headphones’ spatial audio and recreate an ultra-realistic 7.1.4 home theater experience.

Controls and Application

The touch controls have been abandoned in favor of physical buttons on the ear cups, which are more practical and intuitive:

• Multifunction button for play/pause, call management, track changing, and voice assistant activation
• Volume slider
• Dedicated button for noise reduction modes

At launch, the Siri and Google Assistant voice assistants will be supported, with the arrival of Sonos Voice Control still pending. The recently revamped Sonos app will allow for equalizer customization and access to various headphone settings.

Battery Life and Charging

Sonos boasts up to 30 hours of battery life for the Ace with active noise cancellation, on par with the Sony WH-1000XM5. The quick charge feature provides an additional 3 hours of listening time in just 3 minutes, and a full charge takes 3 hours. The battery is replaceable at the end of its life by an authorized Sonos service center.

Key Features of the Sonos Ace:

• Premium, comfortable design with replaceable ear pads
• 40mm drivers for detailed, immersive sound
• High-performing active noise cancellation with 8 microphones
• Bluetooth 5.4 multipoint connectivity and high-quality codecs (aptX Lossless)
• Unique wireless TV audio functionality with Sonos soundbars
• True Cinema mode for a personalized home theater experience
• Complete, intuitive physical controls
• Comfortable 30-hour battery life with quick charging
• Seamless integration with the Sonos ecosystem via the app

• Custom-designed 40 mm dynamic drivers in each earbud
• Bluetooth 5.4 for audio streaming from any compatible Bluetooth device
• Eight dedicated microphones for noise management and voice targeting
• Spatial audio from compatible services and devices
• Lossless Bluetooth audio with a compatible device or USB-C connection
• Active noise cancellation to neutralize ambient sounds
• Aware Mode to blend ambient sounds with content
• Dynamic head tracking with Sonos and Dolby technology
• Sound transfer from TV to Sonos Ace
• Requires a compatible Sonos soundbar and Sonos app for Dolby Atmos
• Customizable equalization via the Sonos app

Controls and Buttons

• Power/Bluetooth button to turn on the Sonos Ace and pair with a device
• Control button to manage playback, adjust volume, answer calls, and more
• Noise control button to switch between Active Noise Cancellation and Aware Mode

Battery

• Li-Ion 1060 mAh battery providing up to 30 hours of listening or 24 hours of talk time with Active Noise Cancellation or Aware Mode active
• Charges with the included USB-C cable and a compatible power source
• Fast charge for 3 hours of listening in 3 minutes of charging from 0%
• Full charge from 0% takes up to 3 hours

General

• Dimensions (H x W x D) 191 x 160 x 85 mm
• Weight: 0.312 kg

Sonos Ace Accessories

• USB-C to USB-C cable, 0.75 m
• USB-C to 3.5 mm Jack cable, 1.2 m
• Carrying case with a removable pouch for cables
• Documentation including
  • A quick start guide
  • Legal information and warranty