After years of rumour and speculation, Sonos finally entered the premium noise-cancelling headphone category this year with the launch of the Sonos Ace. Was it worth the wait? I’ve been using the new headset on a daily basis since launch and it certainly delivers when it comes to sound, comfort, and style. Whether that’s enough to justify the AUD$699 price tag will depend on your willingness to splurge on high-end audio, keeping in mind that Sonos’ products have always come at a premium.
The Californian brand has been a player in the high-end home audio space for over two decades now, with its signature offering being the ability to create a network made up of speakers, soundbars, and subwoofers spread throughout your home, expanding and reshaping your system as you see fit. The Sonos Ace fits into this ecosystem—more on that later—but for the most part, I’ve found myself using these Bluetooth headphones as I would any other pair, and in that regard, they are very good indeed.
Sonos Ace At A Glance
- Brand: Sonos
- Model: Ace
- Drivers: 40mm
- Battery Life: 30 hours
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.4, USB-C audio input and charging
- Weight: 312g
- Noise Cancellation: Active
- Included: Travel case with cable pouch, USB-C to USB-C cable, USB-C to 3.5 mm cable
- Price: AUD$699
Sonos Ace Design
Headphone designs have grown increasingly uniform over the last decade, with sleek black and neutral shades becoming the go-to (particularly in the premium space). Unlike the new Dyson OnTrac headset, the Sonos Ace—available in Black and Soft White finishes—does nothing to buck this trend. That’s perfectly fine with me, as I prefer my headphones to be as understated as possible—I’ve never been a fan of Beats, for example—and the Sonos Ace appears to have been crafted to cater to my exact tastes. While that means Sonos hasn’t done anything new here looks-wise, the brand has instead stuck to the classic styling formula and differentiated itself from its competitors through superior execution.
Crafted from memory foam, vegan leather, and stainless steel, and wrapped in an elegant matte finish, these headphones feel undeniably premium. The cushioning on the earcups and across the headband makes them extremely comfortable, which has enabled me to wear them for hours on end without feeling any irritation or annoyance — a rarity. The headphones are easily adjustable too, thanks to the stainless steel headband, which expands and retracts within its padded section, and moves within each cup in order to provide an angle to the head that allows for a precise acoustic seal.
The slim profile of the headphones’ earcups is a particular winner for me. As someone with a head on the larger side, bulky headphones can be quite unflattering, but Sonos’ first foray into this category means I can wear these outside without fear of someone mistaking me for Stewie Griffin.
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While we’re talking earcups, Sonos has added a particularly ingenious piece of design to its Ace headphones. As earcups are often the first part of a set of headphones to show wear and tear—leaving flecks of fraying black material in your hair as a result—Sonos has made the inner portion of the Ace’s earcups magnetic. This means they can be easily removed and swapped out with replacements from the Sonos website costing AUD$79. That’s a small investment to breathe new life into your AUD$699 headphones.
I should also give Sonos credit for the use of physical buttons, which I’ll take over the touch controls other brands seem so fond of slapping onto their earcups. When did we collectively decide physical buttons were such a bad idea? I must have missed that meeting.
The Sonos Ace headphones boast three physical buttons. The first is located at the bottom of the left earcup and powers them on and off. Holding it down activates pairing mode and holding it for longer than 10 seconds activates a forced reboot. The second button sits at the back of the right cup and slides up and down to control volume and can be pressed inward to pause and play music and manage calls.
Just beneath that, you’ll find the Sonos Ace’s third button, which cycles through your various levels of noise control, toggling between Noise Cancelling and Aware Mode or just disabling both altogether. If that sounds a little confusing, never fear, when wearing the Sonos Ace these three buttons provide a simple and intuitive way of managing your listening experience.
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Sonos Ace Sound Quality
Speaking of which, when you’re paying the best part of a grand for a set of headphones, you’re completely justified in having raised expectations when it comes to sound quality. Fortunately, the Sonos Ace is absolutely up to snuff.
These are versatile headphones that can handle just about anything you care to throw at them. In my weeks of listening I’m yet to stumble across a track that I can say came up sounding sub-par. Naturally, much of that time has been spent listening more passively as I’m preoccupied with some other task, but whenever I’ve been really focused on what’s coming out of cans, I’ve always been impressed.
From “Spitfire” by The Prodigy to “Why Was I Born?” by Jimmy Smith, The Beatles’ “Long and Winding Road” to “New Race” by Radio Birdman and everything in between, you’re in for a sumptuous sonic experience. The bass is full and warm, providing real kick where required without overpowering the mids or the top end, which shimmers and rings with absolute precision. The expansive stereo image is also impressive, giving a real sense of breadth. There’s observable depth as well, with the placement of sounds arranged in front or behind the listener elevating the immersive effect of the listening experience.
The Sonos Ace’s active noise cancelling further enhances your sense of immersion, and while it doesn’t drown out everything—it would probably be dangerous if it were to do so when you’re out and about, anyway—it’s enough to keep the mild annoyances of the outside world from encroaching on your listening session.
For example, when I pause my music at work, I can still hear the millionth Red Hot Chili Peppers song of the week or the Violent Femmes’ execrable “Blister in the Sun” playing over the office speakers. But with the Sonos Ace’s noise cancelling activated, it’s mercifully faint and easily drowned out when I resume playing whatever I was listening to.
Plus, with an advertised 30 hours battery life with the noise cancelling activated, you rarely have to recharge the Sonos Ace, risking exposure to further office radio dreck. As such, you have to be pretty unlucky to be caught out without any juice. The only time it happened to me was on a recent flight to Los Angeles, during which the battery seemed to drain much faster while using the Sonos Ace via a wired connection to the in-flight entertainment. Aside from that, the claimed 30-hour battery life aligns with my experience, and if you do find your power dwindling, the Sonos Ace offers rapid charging that’ll give you three hours in just three minutes. Handy.
Sonos Ace App and Connectivity
The Sonos app has developed a reputation for delivering a less-than-optimal user experience, and while I’ve had some quibbles with it over the years, it’s never been enough to discourage me from using Sonos products — the audio quality has always been worth whatever small hassle there might be. This is even more applicable to the Sonos Ace, as I haven’t really felt the need to use the app much at all.
Sure, you can jump in and tweak the EQ, switch features like Bluetooth Multipoint on and off, or activate Head Tracking—which recognises the direction you’re facing and will have the music source shift around you as you turn your head as if you’re at a concert—but most features are the kind of thing you set once and forget.
Speaking of Head Tracking, there is another way Sonos deploys it here that’s rather clever. If, like me, you’re stuck with neighbours who complain at the drop of a hat, you’re probably forced to be quite vigilant about your television’s volume as the night progresses. The Sonos Ace can help you with this by syncing up with your in-home Sonos network.
Provided you have a compatible Sonos soundbar (starting with Sonos Arc and rolling out across the range in the months ahead), you can instantly swap your TV audio from the soundbar to Sonos Ace headphones at the touch of a button. Thanks to spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, your Sonos Ace headphones will mimic not only the volume that was coming from your soundbar in the first place, but the specifics of its sound profile within your viewing space. This is where the Head Tracking comes in. Sonos Ace will replicate your soundbar listening experience, so if you turn your head to the left, the sound will shift in the headphones to come more prominently from the right cup and vice versa.
While I didn’t get to test the limits of this feature during my time with the Sonos Ace headphones (I’m yet to adorn my living room with a Sonos Arc soundbar), I did get to try it out at a presentation just before the Sonos Ace launch. I was surprised by how much it felt like I was listening to a soundbar, rather than headphones, and the authentic cinematic feeling it delivered. While it’s not enough to recommend heading out to pick up an Arc and a pair of Ace headphones on its own merits, it’s still a nifty feature for those who already have a Sonos soundbar at home.
Sonos Ace Final Verdict
The Sonos Ace is a premium set of headphones that delivers the goods in terms of sound, looks, and feature set, and it’s priced accordingly. The audio quality on offer is refined and immersive, the look is on point (particularly if, like me, you prefer to use headphones that are stylish without drawing undue attention to themselves), and the connectivity and compatibility with the broader Sonos ecosystem is a plus that works as you would expect.
Are they superior to competing, if less expensive, headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM5 or the Bose QuietComfort range? I believe they are, but those remain excellent choices if the AUD$699 price point seems excessive. Saying that, one final thought is that the Sonos Ace can be considered an investment in your listening future, and with the aforementioned easy-to-replace magnetic earcups extending the Ace’s longevity, I’d argue it’s money well spent.
DISCLOSURE: The author of this article, Rob Edwards, was provided the product by Sonos for the purposes of this review. All opinions expressed are those of the author. For more information on our independence, testing and review guidelines, you can read our full editorial policies here.
