Review: Sonos Ace

As soon as you want to hear the same music in multiple rooms, you understand why so many people love Sonos. When it comes to set-it and-forget-it multiroom audio, the company makes the hardware and software experience easier than anyone. From speakers to soundbars (and even turntables and networked amps), Sonos has taken over the homes of everyone who doesn't want to drop oodles of cash on a “real” custom-installed system with wires running through walls. In a roundabout way, this makes a somewhat-costly Sonos system feel affordable.

The same can be said about its first pair of headphones, the $450 Sonos Ace. They might ride the high-water mark of the price set by Apple's AirPods Max, but they also work seamlessly within Sonos’ ecosystem, albeit over Bluetooth rather than Wi-Fi.

Sonos has dabbled in portable speakers like the Roam and Sonos Move 2 to extend its in-home sound to patios and beach blankets, but the Ace headphones mark a real mobile turning point for the company, and they're largely great. They might not perfectly match the expectations of audio nerds who have been begging for Wi-Fi-based Sonos headphones for a decade, but the Ace are a fantastic pair of Bluetooth over-ears that go toe to toe with the best from Bose, Sony, and Apple. If you're shopping for premium wireless headphones, these should be on your short list.

Going Mobile

The Ace feel incredibly well-made. Pop open the included hard case—something the Airpods Max notably, and very oddly, lack—and you’ll see a sleek pair of over-ears with shiny metal bands and supple leather around the headband. They're round, traditionally shaped headphones that do nothing to grab anyone's attention—they look a lot like Sony's WH-1000XM5.

The simple design is timeless, sleek, and professional, so as never to seem out of place. It's a design language borrowed from the “I didn't see you there” styling of its speakers, and a welcome one in the world of flashy modern cans. Like the speakers, they come in matte white or black.

You have two tones of gray inside the ear cups to tell you which is right and left (darker is left, lighter is right, which makes these great for people who are colorblind or have low vision), and they have three basic buttons on the outside, set between a large assortment of mesh-covered microphones. The replaceable ear cups use magnets to attach and come with a built-in mesh cover that helps keep gunk out of the headphones' drivers, and there is also a slot for a USB-C cable on the bottom left.

The main thing you'll use to control the headphones, apart from the app and your smartphone, is the volume slider on the right ear cup, which allows you to play and pause music with a press; you can slide it up or down for volume control. On the bottom of the left cup is the power button, and there is a similarly sized button on the bottom of the right that adjusts active noise canceling between on and transparency mode (which pipes in sound from the outside world). Inside the Sonos app, you can also set this button to turn off ANC and transparency entirely, but that isn't the default option.

Other settings you can change in the app include basic bass and treble EQ, and whether you want the headphones to pause when you remove them, or to answer calls when you put them on.

All-Day Listening

The fit is astonishingly comfortable, thanks to the Ace’s 11-ounce weight. and there's an excellent design choice where the headband attaches to the ear cups. It links up at the center of the cup, which gives the headphones a nice, center-directed clamping force. This means less headband fatigue and better comfort when wearing glasses, something I experience with the AirPods Max, which are heavier and have a higher clamping force on my head.

It's headphone-reviewer hyperbole, but I genuinely did forget I was wearing the Ace on a few occasions. They're that comfortable, and the included transparency and associated mics are so good that they have a weird ability to trick your brain into feeling like you have nothing on your head at all. I found none of the weird boxy sensations I get from other headphones with transparency turned on. I had full conversations with the headphones on, which I've usually felt too awkward to do with other over-ears. (I still think it's rude to not remove your headphones when chatting.)

As far as noise reduction, I was genuinely astounded how the Ace immediately offers some of the best noise canceling on the market with a press of a button. Turning on ANC mode feels like turning the volume of the world from a 9 to a 1 on some global volume dial. HVAC noises all but disappear, cars on roads are reduced to nothing, and even my clacky mechanical keyboard sounds like a light tap of a pen on a pad. The noise reduction is easily on par with the top brass, with Bose still narrowly edging out the competition on high frequencies.

Still, the Ace are shockingly competitive—I found them especially great at blocking out the low end when compared to the others. One thing it struggles with is super-high-pitch clinks like a pen hitting a glass—tones that are too hard for it to counter given their high frequencies.

You can easily connect two devices for pairing, like your laptop and smartphone, and a head tracking feature makes it seem more like you're sitting at a desk with nice speakers sitting in front of you than listening to headphones. I found this to be less fatiguing than similar options from Apple and others, really just centering the music in some imagined space in front of you more than adding reverb to the sound.

Ace Sound

The pair of custom 40-mm drivers inside the ported ear cups of the Ace produce excellent sound. Where earlier generations of Sonos products could be a bit boxy and tame, the Ace embrace the crisp, flat, full-range sound we've come to expect from products like the Era 100 and Sonos Ray soundbar in recent years.

I love listening to anything on these headphones, but especially music with a good bass line; they have a woody, expressive sound that works well with classics like Funkadelic’s “Can You Get to That,” among other iconic grooves.

Beachwood Sparks’ “Falling Forever” showcases how well the headphones do with acoustic guitars, vocals, and a myriad of other layers. The kick remains punchy and clean, but the panned guitars more than make way for the vocals. It's a very dynamic experience; you don't feel like you're getting clinical perfection like you do with higher-end wired headphones, but you do feel like you're getting the energy of the music in full. Picking out each part is easy, but you feel like you're listening in a pub, not a laboratory.

False Starts, High-End Features

While I expect new Sonos customers will be happy to enter the universe via the Android and iOS app, long-term Sonos users might be disappointed that these headphones aren't equipped with a Wi-Fi chip to act like a dedicated zone in your house when you're home. That can be achieved with the Sonos app, but you still need to have the headphones paired to your phone via Bluetooth. This, to me, very much signals that Sonos intends you to mostly remove your headphones and use a Sonos speaker or soundbar when you're not out of the house.

Then again, the headphones do have the option to take over, via a single press of a button, your Arc soundbar system if you have one equipped (Sonos says support is coming for the Ray). That means easy transitions between a full home theater sound and a quiet living room when you have to put the kids to bed. I've tried to test this, but the system sent to my colleague Adrienne So—like several customers of late—has been having some teething issues getting set up inside the new Sonos app. I've had to update the software on my review units as well as the app itself multiple times, and I’ve still had issues getting existing speakers to connect. I'll test this feature when we can get her system to work and report back.

That new app has been the bane of many longtime Sonos users' existence of late. I'm not some corporate stooge, but I do have faith in Sonos to update its stuff in due time so it will all work again; that's been my experience with the company. The swarm of updates I've seen on my Sonos devices over this review period further affirms this, though I wish Sonos had done a better job testing this app before it rolled it out to customers.

Sonos has mothballed a few older models, but it largely has upheld its desire to keep products working as long as possible, especially compared to other brands that make smart speakers and soundbars. Sonos claims it has big plans to add new features over time for the Ace specifically, going so far as to say it will soon allow you to map the sound of your space, so the Dolby Atmos-enabled headphones can make it truly sound like you're in your own room in your headphones. I'm not sure why you'd want to do that, seeing as most normal rooms aren't acoustically great compared to pure headphone signal, but you do you.

There are some fancy features I don't use much of. Having Dolby Atmos and head-tracking integration are expected at this price, but it isn't really that useful in most situations, especially for music (no matter how much Apple tries to push it on us). It works well for streaming films on mobile when traveling. You get some sense of immersion, even when looking at such a tiny screen. Fancy features Sonos doesn't offer include automatically adjustable ANC or transparency for things like big sirens, and it doesn't have the same speak-to-chat (or cup your ear to pause) features as Sony. I rarely use those features except when ordering a drink on a plane or reviewing said headphones, so it doesn't bother me.

While the price is high, the Sonos Ace come across as a great first effort from the company. If you're a newcomer to Sonos who's in the market for a high-end pair of headphones, I'd give them a listen. If you're a longtime Sonos user, it's a no-brainer. The Ace match the AirPods Max on sound but beat them on comfort, and offer some of the best noise-canceling I've ever heard. If you're looking for the perfect headphones for travel or work, they are at the top of my current pile.