Headphone Reviews

PRICE $399

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Sleek ergonomics
Works independently of Sonos ecosystem
Dolby Atmos
Balanced, natural sound
Minus
WiFi only available in TV Audio Switch
Bright Aware Mode
Expensive

THE VERDICT
The Ace headphones, first headphones from Sonos, ace music playback and break out of the Sonos ecosystem, giving non-Sonos users and Sonos fans something to celebrate.

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Sonos created quite the buzz when they announced their first headphones, the Sonos Ace. The appeal was instantaneous, especially when people realized that they could be used independently from the Sonos ecosystem. Hello, world! The wireless Ace was released and I can’t begin to describe how excited I was. Although Sonos has kept Android users slightly disadvantaged in their ecosystem, a running update gives Apple and Android users the much-anticipated TV Audio Switch feature, adding compatibility to switch from Sonos Ray, Beam and Arc soundbars. Breaking the Ace out of the Sonos world is a brave and gutsy move, but I think they pulled it off brilliantly.

The Sonos Ace are gorgeous over-ear headphones. Their appearance is on par with other high-end noise-canceling headphones such as the Apple AirPods Max. Premium components, such as a stainless steel headband wrapped with memory foam makes the Ace extremely comfortable for hours and hours of use. I used them on a 5-hour flight and never felt any discomfort. The headband and the ear cup pads use vegan leather. I guess that sounds better than “pleather” or Naugahyde; supposedly it is more durable while also being better for the planet. The Ace is available in black or a slightly off-white “Soft White”. I would like to mention that I usually always wear a tinted sunscreen, and I’m very surprised that it hasn’t discolored the white cups on my review sample. If necessary, the cups are easily replaceable, as they attach simply by magnets.

The headband and cups are adjustable by smooth polished steel arms with a silky movement that slides easily but stays securely in place once positioned properly. Added bonus - that sleek mechanism doesn’t get caught in my hair. Thank you Sonos. They also performed well when I had to use reading glasses to do some detailed painting projects. Hours without the pressure pain other headphones cause. The cups swivel to lay flat, fitting nicely into the included carrying case. The hard-sided carrying case has a nice slightly fuzzy finish with a recycled paper feel. There is a magnetized pouch inside for extra cables. The pouch has a simple squeeze opening that feels a little less elegant than I expected at this price point.

Each ear cup has sleek metal slots that cover the built-in microphones used for calling, and almost more importantly, noise cancellation. By designing them to look good even though they’re larger and longer than typically used, it allows for enhanced performance for both functions. The left and right earcup interiors are different colors so you can quickly learn which is the right or left when you put them on. The left earcup has the USB-C port that is used for both charging and audio connection. The Ace comes with a USB-C to 3.5mm cable for standard audio connections, while the USB-C to USB-C cable is used for lossless audio playback and enhanced controls and phone call features. There is a small status LED that indicates power, charging, errors, Bluetooth pairing and more. It conveniently turns off while the headphones are being worn. The power/pairing button is also on the left earcup.

The right earpiece has the noise-control/voice-control button and the multi-function content key. The noise control cycles through Aware Mode, Active Noise Cancellation and Off. These are the default modes, but if you’ve set up the Sonos app, you can deselect any of those modes so it doesn't sequence through all the modes. Each mode has a different tone: low for Off, mid for ANC, and the highest pitch for Aware Mode. My preference would have been that it cycles through Off, Aware and ANC with accompanying tones in this order.

Here’s where the Ace really shines. I’m a huge fan of the multifunction button. A solid press is used for play/pause, double press for next track, triple for previous track. Slide it up and down for volume control. The button has a solid feel and a raised notch to add to the tactile sense and feedback. I have such disdain for touch controls because they often don’t register a touch, or more often, are mistakenly activated by accidentally brushing against the sensor. This button is also used to activate TV Audio Switch between a compatible Sonos Soundbar - more on this later.

All of these ergonomic advantages don’t matter if the components inside aren’t quality as well. The Ace uses a 40mm driver in each cup. Dolby Atmos and spatial audio is supported, along with lossless audio via Bluetooth or USB-C from supported devices. Unlike other Sonos products, the Ace only uses WiFi for the TV Audio Swap feature.

Here’s where the Ace deviates from most of the other Sonos products. It works right out of the (environmentally-friendly recycled) box. Pair via Bluetooth or plug in the USB-C connection to any compatible device and you are off and running. Sure, setting up the Ace in the Sonos App lets you access so many other features that it should be done regardless. The app accesses the EQ controls, along with a Left/Right Balance control. I wish it had an indication that left and right was equally balanced. With my screen in dark mode, it was hard to tell that it was exactly centered.

Within the app, you can select to bypass any of the noise-canceling modes, and finetune other settings. You can activate Sonos’ Intelligent Motion Processing with Dolby Head Tracking that keeps audio focused towards the front no matter how you turn your head. You can select Multipoint Bluetooth to enable simple switching between two playback sources.

The Wear Detection setting can be bypassed entirely, or it can be set to play/pause when you remove/replace the Ace. If your headphones are off, the Wear to Answer feature will automatically connect once you put the headphones on.

The battery life of the Ace is a solid 30 hours with ANC on. I used these for days before needing a charge, and then, gained 3 hours of playback from an insanely quick 3-minute rapid charge. This saved me on a tight connection between flights when I forgot to charge before my travels. Expect a complete charge after 3 hours.

Performance
Unfortunately for me, I’m currently living in the middle of a construction zone. There’s a house being built across the street, and a new road is going in at the edge of my driveway. Let’s just say, there are many, many reasons why I wanted to test out the noise-canceling qualities of the Ace. As I expected, the memory foam in the earcups alone provides a good amount of passive noise elimination without ANC engaged.

Turning on Aware Mode, I felt that it boosted high frequencies a little more than I would have liked. Switching to ANC gave me just the relief from the noise that I was desperately needing. Inside my house, it almost completely eliminated the construction cacophony. Stepping outside, most of the engine noises were gone, but the incessant backup beeping was slightly audible, as were hammers and circular saws. One important thing to note with these, and all headphones: I had to make sure my hair was pushed away from the memory foam, and when I had to put on reading glasses, it allowed just a little more ambient noise in.

Tidal Music makes it easy to jump right into their Dolby Atmos library. I usually don’t care for the head tracking feature with stereo music. I dislike the way it creates a mono sound on whatever side I’ve turned to. However, with a Dolby Atmos track, I truly feel more immersed in the sound. It’s important to note that you need to have your head centered when you initiate the head tracking feature. To get the most out of the Ace, I connected it to my phone via the USB-C connection for the highest resolution playback, supported nicely on Tidal.

I cued up Bon Jovi’s latest, “We Made it Look Easy” and sat back to enjoy. The beautiful Atmos experience kicks off instantly with a widely panned guitar, followed by a kick drum that feels grounded beneath the listener. Vocal harmonies are subtly added halfway through the first verse and the wispy quality is beautifully conveyed. When the full band brings in the chorus, each instrument is precisely placed, surrounding Jon Bon Jovi’s vocals but leaving his voice clear and unmuddied. The toms are featured in the second verse, creating a wide stereo image. Turning on the head tracking feature during this verse produced entertaining results.

The sound clarity of the Ace is exactly what I expected, from this brand and at this price point. That first kick drum has a clear attack and has a tight impact that remains distinct at all listening levels. The high end percussion had a bright, clean sound without any harshness. Some headphones focus on high-end clarity, but I was equally impressed with the midrange balance. While all sound quality is subjective, the Ace has a very neutral sound that works well with many styles of music.

After listening to the latest from Bon Jovi, I was reminded of how much the intro on Chris Stapleton’s “White Horse” echoed Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive” vibes. Cuing up that cut from Stapleton’s last release, it was another good showcase for the Ace. The intro guitars are panned in a way that makes you feel like you are on-stage, surrounded by the musicians, and the natural sound of the Ace didn’t take away from that experience. The intricate balance between the multiple guitars and the bass are delightful. During the chorus, Stapleton’s raspy voice stands out clearly from the heavy electric guitars. My opinion: there’s a touch too much reverb on his vocals and he’s pulled back too far in the mix for my tastes, but that gives this track a vintage feel.

I let that track play out, and luckily, the title track, “Higher” started to play. The sound of this on the Ace is so engaging, and it gives a new appreciation for this song. Stapleton’s voice has a raw, exposed yet vulnerable sound. Although this is a traditional mix, without the exaggerated bass that modern tracks have, the Ace excelled, showcasing the details of the pedal steel guitar.

I switched it up with Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding’s latest collaboration, “Free.” Goulding’s distinctive vibrato was strong, but the nuanced details were clearly evident with a brilliant clarity, even as the brightly EQ'd keyboards came in. The bass instruments on this track have a very tightly restrained quality and very forward sound throughout the first verse and chorus, and they felt solid and precise.

In typical Harris style, things get more interesting later in the track. While the track starts off with a very narrow soundstage, after the first chorus, the imaging is blown wide open. It’s a fabulous sound on the Ace. Listening to this track with the head tracking feature on, and well, dancing, is a total trip. In addition, the deep bass gets really enhanced. This song has a wide range of frequencies with the bright keyboards and cymbals and hi-hat percussion that balances perfectly with the deep bassline and kick drum. The Ace perfectly conveyed the full range.

I wanted to check out the TV Auto Switch Feature. While the initial release of the Ace did not offer support for Android, a late summer update finally added that feature, accessed directly in the Sonos App. Simply go to the Ace setting on the app and activate the TV Switch. Initially, it needs to be set up with the soundbar you’ll be using. At present, it’s available for the Arc, Arc SL, Beam (Gen 1 and 2) and the Ray.

The content switch on the right ear cup will swap audio from the soundbar to the Ace with a long press of the button in or out of the app, or do it in the app. You can turn on the head tracking feature via the app, and if that is enabled, also add Spatial Audio. I found head tracking much more useful when watching TV than with listening to music. Spatial Audio gives a pleasant air to voice-overs. The Android release is a bit buggy - after a few swaps, my Vizio TV and Arc would go into a standby mode, and only powering it off would get the TV working again. Sonos is so good about updates that I’m sure this is temporary. Until then, I still enjoy this feature and have been using it regularly.

With that accomplished, I settled in to what has, once again, become a standard movie for sound quality evaluations: Top Gun: Maverick. The Dolby Atmos mix on this is perfect for testing the Ace. While the mix is engaging on the Sonos Arc, once you switch over to the Ace, you really feel in the midst of the action. Jets soaring overhead, ambience behind you, and a roaring bass anchored below. The Sonos Ace delivers an ace performance with Dolby Atmos; much more realistic than most soundbars. I thought that I would really miss the low-end impact from a subwoofer for the LFE channel, but the Ace did okay providing that deep thunder of the jet fighters. Was it as earth-shaking as a real 12” subwoofer with a dedicated amp? Of course not. But it delivered enough bass, in an accurate and controlled manner that was certainly entertaining.

Playing through to the first big flight sequence, you can’t beat The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” mixed with fighter jets for an incredible Atmos experience. Between the extreme stereo imaging of the keyboards and drums on the intro of the song and the jets zooming across the screen, it was a feast of sounds. It’s worth mentioning a subtle detail. In the midst of all that mayhem, there are two lines of dialogue between “Payback” and “Fanboy” in the cockpit of their jet. Payback’s voice is solidly dead center, but when Fanboy speaks from over his shoulder, his voice is panned ever-so-slightly to the right. Hearing that kind of detail standing out in such a heavy sonic sequence is just delightful.

When Sonos announced their first headphone release, I couldn’t begin to describe how excited I was. I have been generally thrilled with every other Sonos product, and I had high hopes for the Sonos Ace headphones. The sound quality and form factor were everything I expected from Sonos. The latest Sonos app update has frustrated many users, but the Ace shines with or without the app. For most users, the Sonos Ace will be exceptional, whether or not you’re invested in the Sonos ecosystem. Kudos, Sonos, for creating a product that will appeal to everyone.

Specs
Dimensions: 6.3in x 7.52in x 3.35 in (WHD)
Weight: 11 oz.
www.Sonos.com