Sonos has been a beloved brand for years, especially among Apple fans. It’s easy to see why: from the sleek product design to the eco-friendly packaging, Sonos delivers a very Apple-like experience. Their home speakers and soundbars have a very “just works” quality that may not satisfy the kind of audio nerds who demand extreme control through a big old receiver, but for everyone else, they simply look and sound great.
One area of audio that Sonos hasn’t even attempted, in almost 20 years on the market, is headphones. Sonos Ace changes all that. The first headphones from the Sonos brand, the Ace are direct competitors of the AirPods Max, Bose QuietComfort Ultra, Sony WH-1000XM5, et al. In other words, these are wireless over-ear headphones with active noise cancellation and transparency mode, priced at the “premium” end of the market, at $449.
I’ve been using them for a few weeks now and if I’m honest, I’d use them on my AirPods Max any day, even though I don’t have the tight integration that Apple brand products enjoy (there’s no has no hands-free function). Support for “Hey Siri”, for example (you have to press a button to call Siri). There are a number of things that Sonos gets right that Apple could learn from.
And despite this, I cannot recommend anyone to buy them just now. If you’re intrigued by Sonos Ace, you might want to wait a few months.
Better fit and comfort
AirPods Max are comfortable in many ways, but this is not the case enough fits my head. This isn’t uncommon: I have a small head, and the smallest size for many over-ear headphones is just a tiny bit too big to fit comfortably. AirPods Max are like that, Sony’s WH-1000XM5 are not. And neither does the Sonos Ace. At the smallest settings they adapt perfectly.
But there is also a weight problem. The AirPods Max weigh 385 grams, much more than something like these Sony XM5s (250g). The Sonos are also heavy, at 312 grams, partly due to the steel bars in the headband and overall sturdy construction.
The top headband is soft and flexible, the removable earphones are soft and cushy. They are simply comfortable and stable on your head, even during long listening sessions. It would certainly be nice if they shed a few more grams, but I would much rather wear them for a few hours than the AirPods Max.
A better TV streaming solution
If you’re using an Apple TV, you can switch the audio on your AirPods Max (if you’re using the same Apple ID) by opening the Apple TV Control Center and changing the audio output. It works quite well and is very practical.
Unless you want to listen to something that is not from your Apple TV. If you’re streaming video through your smart TV or playing a console game, AirPods Max integration won’t do anything for you.
It’s going to be very annoying for some Sonos users that the Sonos Ace aren’t connected to Wi-Fi like all other Sonos speakers. You can’t just join any Sonos speaker group and stream directly from audio sources you’ve linked to in the Sonos app. These are Bluetooth only (to extend battery life), so they should stream audio from a linked source like your iPhone, iPad, Mac, etc.
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However, they can pull off a pretty neat trick where you can pair them to a Sonos soundbar and then, with a long press on the “content button” on the right earbud, swap the audio from the soundbar to your headphones. It happens quickly, it’s reliable, it comes through Dolby Atmos for spatial audio, and the latency is low enough to be a viable solution for gaming.
For now, it’s only compatible with the Sonos Arc soundbar (more are coming soon in a software update) but it works with everything because that’s the sound your soundbar would play. I also really like to change just by pressing the content button. Apple should make the AirPods Max Digital Crown work this way.
Multipoint Bluetooth
AirPods Max pair with one device at a time, but they also support Apple’s Quick Switch in which they will automatically pair with other Apple items that use your same Apple ID, so you can quickly get there. to fall over.
Sonos Ace supports two Bluetooth connections, so you can be connected to Bluetooth sources simultaneously (not just Apple products) and quickly switch between them. It’s essentially the same idea, but more flexible. They also work great over the USB-C connection. Simply plug in and you’re ready to go. You can even plug USB-C into your PS5 DualSense controller and they’ll immediately work as a gaming headset, and you can still use noise cancellation and more.
You can deactivate them!
You can’t turn off AirPods Max. There is no manual way to do this. They simply use a combination of over-ear sensors and accelerometer to determine if you’re not using them, and possibly expire.
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The Sonos Ace will eventually turn off as well, but there is a power button that you press and hold for a few seconds to turn it on or off. Yes, almost all headphones have a power button. Sonos’ entry into the space isn’t unique, Apple’s are, but it’s worth pointing out how annoying it can be to not have a manual power button.
They sound good
Bose and Sony have somewhat caught up with Apple when it comes to noise reduction, and the Sonos Ace delivers as well. They do an incredible job of reducing repetitive noises like traffic, air conditioners, airplane noise, etc.
The transparency mode (Sonos calls it Aware Mode) is perhaps the best I’ve ever heard. Until now, no one has been able to match the natural sound of the AirPods Max’s transparency mode, and Sonos may have done it.
For other sounds, it’s something of a tie-in with the AirPods Max, and whether you like them better than comparable headphones from Apple, Sony, or Bose is more a matter of personal taste than technical excellence. I find the high end just a bit thin by default on the Ace, boosting the treble a notch or two on the (really anemic) EQ in the Sonos software fixes this immediately. Microphone quality and noise reduction during calls are also excellent.
In general, it’s safe to say that you don’t lose anything in sound quality with Sonos Ace compared to AirPods Max, and with support for lossless audio over USB (or when connected to the correct device Android with apt-X Lossless), they might even be. a bit better.
But don’t buy a pair yet
There are a few things that could be improved on the Sonos Ace. The case feels rather cheap for a pair of expensive headphones, for example. It’s hardly worth focusing on that when the AirPods Max have a case that’s worse than useless.
But overall, even at $449, I’d rather use these than the $549 AirPods Max. Even with the AirPods Max seemingly perpetually available at a discount…I’d use the Sonos Ace at the same price any day. They sound just as good, are more comfortable, and have more flexible connectivity options. And a power button.
The Sonos Ace are great, but the app leaves a lot to be desired.
The Sonos Ace are great, but the app leaves a lot to be desired.
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The Sonos Ace are great, but the app leaves a lot to be desired.
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His bone
But Sonos recently released a huge update to its all-important app and it was a bit of a scandal. It’s a whole new architecture under the hood and a new interface, and while it’s certainly better and more modern, Sonos users are not I am happy.
It’s missing a lot of features from the old app and it’s screen with bugs. It took me two hours of troubleshooting to add a Sonos Arc soundbar after previously setting up the Sonos Arc headphones. There is no queue or next play in the music playback interface. The sleep timer is gone. Missing local music playback.
Sonos has already released a software update to fix some bugs and shortcomings and has a public roadmap of when we can expect other features to return. If your only Sonos product is going to be the Sonos Ace, some of these won’t be a problem for you. If you already own Sonos speakers or are considering getting them, the app is currently a buggy, feature-less nightmare.
Yes, Sonos Ace costs more than the latest from Bose or Sony, but they’re cheaper than the $100 AirPods Max. Even with AirPods Max apparently still on sale somewhere, they may cost you less.
If you plan to use your headphones entirely and exclusively with Apple products forever, perhaps the convenience of the AirPods Max makes them a better choice for you (still look out for a potential AirPods Max 2 later this year). If you ever want to connect them to something else, or if you own or want to get a Sonos soundbar, you’ll probably prefer Sonos Ace And pay less.
My advice is to wait a few months and look for the Sonos Ace to go on sale. Give it a slightly better price and a few months of app updates and the Sonos Ace will be a real winner.
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