Sonos Ace Headphones: May be more than you think!

I am kind of tempted.  I have a pair of old Bose Quiet Comfort 35s (bought them over 5 years ago) and my daughter has the Airpods Max.  I find the latter too big and bulky and difficult to travel with - and in any case, my daughter doesn’t let me use it!  The Bose I have is easy to pack with the folding ear cups and I never travel on a plane without them.  I also use the Bose connected to my apple TV via bluetooth and it works well although inevitably you can get lip sync issues and I need to re-pair it every time i use another input on the TV (such as internal apps or other HDMI inputs).

The main attraction of the Sonos ACE for me is that I have a Sonos ARC so the audio swap feature is the main convenience together with Dolby Atmos etc. 80% of the time I use my Bose is when watching TV at night on my own when the kids are asleep.  

Before buying I want to get a better feel for the following:

1.  Comfort of the vegan leather on a plane.
2.  Carrying case dimensions.  I would pack it in a back pack - it looks like the case is bigger but maybe thinner than the Bose carrying case.
3.  Is it much of an audio upgrade on my Bose Quiet Comfort 35s?  That I would need to test out for myself.  
4. I heard that the Audio swap feature can be buggy and the volume is low when streaming audio from the sound bar.  

Other thing I love about my Bose headphones is as soon as you turn it on, the Bose voice tells you what your battery percentage and what you are connected to so you don’t need to go into the app every time to find out.  

^^^ This is exactly how I feel. I’m actually surprised folks purchased the new headphones after the app disaster, and now the forum is filling with quality control issues (static, charging) and failure to deliver advertised features (co-listening from TV with two pairs.)

Review at the Headphone Show

He reports both measurements and subjective listening experience.  Most bothersome was a lower treble peak, which subjectively “obscures clairity for treble”. Most noticable on percussion but noticable with vocals as well.

I agree with some of what the reviewer said regarding the tonality of the Sonos Ace. In fact I voiced a  similar comment in my review posted here. Granted I don’t have the benefit of the sophisticated equipment to measure sine waves and the like. Below is part of my comment:

• That said those liking a lot of bass or enhanced mid-range need not consider the Sonos Ace as a music headset.

I do think the reviewer was somewhat bias in that he immediately dumped the Sonos Ace in the same category as all headphones with electronics (i.e. ANC etc) as ones that place features over sound quality. I have no problem with that as that’s his prerogative.

IMO the reviewer is more inclined to listen to music through passive headphones without electronics that are more in an audiophile’s arena. I have a set of Sony MDR Z7’s designed for Hi-Res audio coupled with Sony’s PHA-3 Headphone DAC. I’d never think to compare the Sonos Ace with my Sony’s for stereo music listening. By the same token I’d never compare my Sony headset to the Sonos Ace for Spatial Audio listening. In both scenarios it’s apples vs oranges. *

IMO the reviewer focused too heavily on what the Sonos Ace isn’t designed for instead of what it is designed for. In fact the reviewer’s banner clearly states his opinion of the Sonos Ace even before listening to his review as “Style over substance”.

 * The Sony MDR Z7 and PHA-3 were released in 2014-2015 and retailed for $699 and $999 respectively. The Sonos Ace at $459 is bargain basement priced by comparison vs the MDR Z7’s alone.

That’s not his general approach.  I think the title was a bit of a clickbait since Sonos is typically seen as a “lifestyle” brand.

Here is his review of three “high end” ANC headphones.

I own the 5909 and have listened to the Bathy’s and PX8.  His numbers agree with my subjective listening and I also agree with his subjective assesment.  I personally prefer the 5909. I also like the HIFIMAN Deva-Pro but it is a totally different sound experience (and the rare wireless headphone without ANC).  Of course, no wireless headphone is going to come close to my HD 800S or or other such phone I own.

He also has reviews for the WH-1000MX4 (which I own) and MX5 and is appropriately “harsh” on them as well.

Have a few - have no Arc and never will now.  Sonos has become a hack company - was good for a long run, but I feel like I have an expensive, buggy, cobbled together system now.  It is broken so badly, I just can’t imagine them fixing it in any reasonable time frame, even if that’s the plan - it’s a pipe dream. They have F’d the firmware and appware beyond belief and for what?  Chucking another several hundred $$$ at them for more - man, they have suckered me plenty already.  I’m on to them now.