The Sonos Ace are a superb set of wireless headphones that have the potential to become a must-have accessory for Sonos owners.
Sonos Ace MSRP $449.00 Score Details “Incredible comfort, simplicity, and sound make us wish the Sonos Ace were fully integrated into the Sonos ecosystem.” Pros Cons The Sonos Ace are a stunning achievement. And something of a disappointment.
Wishing for Wi-Fi? Let me address one very important aspect of the Ace before I dig into the overall experience of using them. Moreover, I think the Sonos app should work the same way whether you’re at home or not. Why spend time setting up favorites, playlists, and other customizations if you have to give them up when you’re out of Wi-Fi range?
A long-press on the Ace’s multifunction button and any TV audio that was playing on the Arc shifts seamlessly to the headphones. As the name suggests, TV Audio Swap doesn’t let the two devices play simultaneously — it’s one or the other — so you won’t be able to use it to help one member of the family while everyone else listens to the soundbar.
Still, Sonos’ version is more versatile than Apple’s as it works with any TV audio coming through the Arc soundbar, and not just audio that originates from the Apple TV 4K. And if you don’t like how spatial audio sound, you can disable them and listen in standard, two-channel stereo instead. I’m also peeved that Sonos has chosen to restrict Audio Swap to HDMI content. You read that right: If you’re streaming music from the Sonos app or AirPlay to the Arc, Audio Swap is unavailable.
The matte-finish plastic resists fingerprints better than Sony’s, and the color-matched, tubular stainless steel headband sliders combine reassuring strength with high-end looks. The magnetically attached ear cushions is a nice touch. Great comfort Balancing clamping force so that a set of headphones exert just enough pressure to stay put, yet not so much that they cause discomfort , is something that even the most experienced headphone brands occasionally get wrong.
The only other control is a small button for power and Bluetooth pairing that sits on the bottom edge of the left earcup. Each control can be used while wearing gloves. The ANC button is slightly less effective. To avoid loud clicking sounds inside the earcups, Sonos has used a soft-touch mechanism. It’s perfectly silent. But sometimes — even though I thought I had pressed it deeply enough to trigger the mode change — I needed to press it again a little harder.If there’s one thing I would change, it would be to add a control for turning head tracking on and off without using the Sonos app.
I recently returned from a trip to Scandinavia, and the Ace proved to be superb travel companions, killing almost all unwanted cabin noise inside the aircraft. Even the loud crying of a baby seated two rows behind me was reduced to the point where it was a mild background sound that could be ignored if I wanted to.
That Sonos sound Sonos speakers sound great — it’s one of the chief reasons the company has become so popular. The Ace follow suit, with a sound signature that is very pleasing and balanced, right out of the box. I think they’re also the first Sonos product that hasn’t inspired me to immediately reach for the EQ adjustment to increase bass.
Sonos has equipped the Ace with the usual SBC and AAC codecs, which work with vast majority of Bluetooth devices, but it has also included Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound technologies, for use with compatible Android smartphones. Among the enhancements is support for lossless, CD-quality sound via aptX Adaptive. With wireless earbuds, I can usually hear the subtleties that Qualcomm’s codecs reveal, but with the Ace, they were less apparent.
Earlier, I told you about how you can get a spatial audio experience when using the Ace with the Sonos Arc and TV Audio Swap. Sonos considers this a discrete feature because the computational heavy lifting required to take a true 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos soundtrack and render it for headphone listening is done by the soundbar, not the Ace.
Sonos says this head-tracking option has been optimized to work best with Dolby Atmos content, which makes sense given that Dolby Labs helped with the technology. It’s hard to argue: If you like Dolby Atmos Music, the Ace’s head tracking makes the immersive listening format sound even more lifelike. But I was equally impressed by just how good Dolby Atmos Music sounds on the Ace, even when head tracking isn’t in use.
Battery life Sonos states the Ace get 30 hours of playtime with ANC engaged, and considerably more when it’s off. So far, that seems to be accurate. My only hesitation is that Sonos has historically had trouble with battery life not quite living up to expectations. The Sonos Roam, for instance, initially tested well, hitting close to its 10-hour rating. However, over the following months, many users reported dramatically lower battery life.
Dolby Atmos Noise-Canceling Headphones Sonos Sonos Ace Spatial Audio Wireless Headphones
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