The reason the others are so expensive has very little to do with any kind of technology in them, it’s the liberal coating of snake oil on them - and (lack of) scale of production.
Power usage and hence battery and speaker requirements for a ROAM type speaker are bigger by an order of magnitude to those required by headphones. The battery and speakers will form a huge part of the weight of ROAM. Similarly, the ‘power’ and CPU requirements are not too great either. I would not expect a typical user of these expect to be able to turn them on and be available as a zone almost immediately like all the other speakers that need to be drawing power constantly to achieve such functionality. Like the use of ANC affects battery life, so would WiFi usage obviously - but I would guess the battery in Ace weighs little more than 40g or so - so there’s room for increase if required and still come in with weight no more than Airpod Maxes.
I’d be almost certain to see such integration into the Sonos ecosystem included in Ace2 - if it’s not even added at some point in the future for the existing model. They do include WiFi hardware but I don’t think it’s clear yet how that can be developed further.
Of course, not everyone would need this ability but it was so assumed by many - and massively more than ever said they wanted to be able to switch sound from expensive soundbars.
Hi
When is the Sonos Ace app available for Android and can they be linked to my Playbar?
Lastly, can I try them on anywhere ?
Interestingly, this Youtube reviewer appears to have had a response from Sonos regarding the omission of full system connectivity via Wifi - if you skip to 14:50
It seems that battery life was their major concern.
I just have some basic musings with no claim to any in-depth technology knowledge.
While I see the need for direct Wifi connection when connected to a soundbar such as Arc to synchronise audio to the images on the TV, I do wonder if it is necessarily required for music integration with other speakers?
If we wanted to ‘swap’ audio playing on a Sonos speaker to Ace headphones, could this be done relatively smoothly via bluetooth? I would guess the audio playing from the speaker you’re wanting to swap audio from to would be stopped (as it does when using the current TV Audio Swap with Arc) and transferred to the Ace headphones with noise cancelling - so audio synchronisation over Wifi wouldn’t really be needed. Whether the swap could be done via some bluetooth connection wizardry direct from the chosen speaker? Or whether it would require a phone with the Sonos app nearby? Which you’d need anyway if leaving the Wifi area. (I’ve never used a Sonos Roam, so not sure how those work when leaving the system Wifi area)
Anyway, I’m sure the tech bods at Sonos have looked at the options available to them but hopefully there will be updates along the way that allow some kind of fluid integration with the Sonos system, as so many have asked for it.
I don’t think there’s any surprise that battery life was the concern.
Regarding connecting to other speakers via bluetooth, I’d say that’s pretty much impossible for a few reasons. Firstly, not all speakers have bluetooth (especially of the later bluetooth versions) - but mainly that the way all speakers remain in sync is due to a clever and patented system based on mesh communication (over WiFi) for sonosnet or timing to and from users’ routers. I can’t imagine users would want to be in the position where playing to the Ace precludes use of the rest of the system.
In my mind, once the song has been selected to play on Ace, it doesn't matter what the rest if the system is doing because you're then in an ANC headphone 'bubble', so audio sync to make sure it's perfectly is in time with other speakers wouldn't really be necessary.
So what is really needed is a way to easily swap (or at least start playing the same song) onto Ace as the rest of the system. If this can be possible over bluetooth, then it not only saves battery but also allows the user to leave the wifi area - which is probably what many headphone users intend to do.
In my mind, once the song has been selected to play on Ace, it doesn't matter what the rest if the system is doing because you're then in an ANC headphone 'bubble', so audio sync to make sure it's perfectly is in time with other speakers wouldn't really be necessary.
ANC doesn’t completely nullify external sound. Unless your speakers were playing at an extremely low volume, you would still be able to hear them.
My new Sonos Ace Headphones arrived yesterday… Look and sound amazing but the app states that they require an update. Everytime I go through the update process it gets to 100 and then fails to update stating to Try Again. Is there a problem or a fix.
In my mind, once the song has been selected to play on Ace, it doesn't matter what the rest if the system is doing because you're then in an ANC headphone 'bubble', so audio sync to make sure it's perfectly is in time with other speakers wouldn't really be necessary.
ANC doesn’t completely nullify external sound. Unless your speakers were playing at an extremely low volume, you would still be able to hear them.
Yes the speakers in that room would have to be stopped - as happens with the Arc in the current TV audio swap feature.
I can imagine few scenarios where someone would choose to have speakers playing in the same room as they are wearing headphones.
But where are you suggesting 5he Ace gets its Bluetooth ‘feed’ from?
The system doesn't care if they're physically in the same room, someone may well want to play something different in a different room - hence why you could be wearing them in the first place.
Wanted to give a quick review of the Sonos Ace as I got them last night. A few quick things:
- Huge Sonos fan, over 20+ in my house right now and have had just about everything they ever sold at one point or another. Also, have had no issues with new app (quirks but not issues). I am an Apple ecosystem guy so it was hard to hold out buying Max but was intent on waiting for for these.
- Never had high end headphones, AirPod Pros were the best I have had. So this is from a newbie perspective.
- Don’t consider myself an audiophile by any means, just someone who loves all kinds of music. Kind of techie but not a super nerdy techie.
My thoughts:
- Design, feel, controls on the headphones etc. are absolutely awesome. Controls easy to navigate, adjusts easy. Fit really nice on my head and don’t feel overly heavy-9/10
- Set up and control. Was very easy to set up in the Sonos app and in general. Controls are easy to understand and the guide made sense. I am still getting used to having to use separate apps with them (more just below). I am very much pro one app to use them all which is why I love the Sonos app at home. I am on the wifi bandwagon but for one very specific issue-control. When I am at home I want to run my music from the Sonos app. Don’t need to group speakers with headphones, I just want to search and access everything in one place. Also, like Roam/Move outside of the home I can’t access Sonos HD Radio on these at all! I pay $9 a month for the service which I use 80% of the time at home so not having that is disappointing. Wish there was a way to somehow use audio swap with an Arc to choose it on that and swap it to Ace or use in app. This is my number one gripe.-7/10
- How does it sound? I think for music it sounded fantastic. I played with the Loudness, EQ and my music services and found them great and easy to access and use. Will play more to find my sweet spots. I understand some people complaining of odd sounds, I did not hear it but just played for an hour or so. Apple Music, Pandora (free), Sirius XM, worked fine although Sirius did take a moment to connect.-9/10
- The audio swap was easy. Tried it with John Wick on my ARC and found the sound rather mediocre. Had to really turn it up (2/3) and it really sounded flat. Hoping that the TrueCinema and additional tweaks will fix this. My brother has same setup and he said he barely heard any volume so hoping they work on this.-6/10 but potential is there.
- One side note is the stand, which is fabulous. Just wish I had a 6 ft black USB C cord that came with it to plug it in because the one that comes with Sonos is too short.-8/10
Overall 7.5/10 now with potential to get to a 9/10 easily. I am happy with them, I think they definitely have some work to do as far as sound and control but I believe they will get there. Taking them on a one week trip so we will see how they do.
But where are you suggesting 5he Ace gets its Bluetooth ‘feed’ from?
The system doesn't care if they're physically in the same room, someone may well want to play something different in a different room - hence why you could be wearing them in the first place.
I was thinking from a sonos speaker that has Bluetooth functionality and/or a phone with the sonos app for when wanting to leave the area the speaker is in. A Bluetooth link could maybe let the system know the Ace are nearby and wanting to swap audio? I know this likely wouldn't be as instant as a wifi connection, but keeps the headphones portable and avoids the battery drain of a wifi connection. If someone is playing something else in another room/area then they won't mind if the audio then stops in the room you're in.
These are all just wild suggestions and I'm sure the guys their R&D department will be best placed to know what works best. There's been some criticism that the Ace cannot be fully integrated to the sonos system on wifi, and it seems battery drain was the main reason they haven't included this function so far. I just wanted to suggest a Bluetooth connection within a Sonos system, however possible, as a possible solution. I'd personally be willing to put up with a slightly less seamless transfer of audio if it meant Sonos allowed some kind of system integration/connection.
I’m sorry if I can’t find this but, is the connection to Arc available and actually work? I received my headphones and there are no instructions on how to swap to the Arc or connect to it. This is one of the main reasons I bout the Ace, late night gaming.
I’m sorry if I can’t find this but, is the connection to Arc available and actually work? I received my headphones and there are no instructions on how to swap to the Arc or connect to it. This is one of the main reasons I bout the Ace, late night gaming.
It is. You need an iOS device, no android.
More here: https://support.sonos.com/en-ca/article/listen-to-home-theater-audio-on-sonos-ace-with-tv-audio-swap
Thank you. Just found that instruction online! I do have Android and nothing shows in that Sonos app so I was quite puzzled. I’ll fire up an iOS device and try my luck. Appreciate the response.
FWIW the link below is for the only dedicated home wifi headphones I could find. With this type of price tag and battery life I would not have bought the ACE as a SONOS zone player.
https://www.getunity.com/?shop#specs
That’s very cool but OMG the price… wow, and I thought Sonos’s was premium. But it clearly demonstrates such tech is possible in a headset form factor.
As I stated early, the tech is possible. Although the price suggests you wouldn’t be able to get the parts in for under $500...unless this company has a huge margin. Then you have to factor that these headphones are not part of a multiroom audio system, so there is no audio sync or communication with other devices needed, just your phone. It also can’t get TV audio via WiFi from your playbar, or any other TV/soundbar. Doesn’t look like it can handle atmos audio.
Again, your statement that Sonos didn’t know what customers wanted, and/or could have just figured out how to make the tech work, isn’t holding up.
But where are you suggesting 5he Ace gets its Bluetooth ‘feed’ from?
The system doesn't care if they're physically in the same room, someone may well want to play something different in a different room - hence why you could be wearing them in the first place.
I was thinking from a sonos speaker that has Bluetooth functionality and/or a phone with the sonos app for when wanting to leave the area the speaker is in. A Bluetooth link could maybe let the system know the Ace are nearby and wanting to swap audio? I know this likely wouldn't be as instant as a wifi connection, but keeps the headphones portable and avoids the battery drain of a wifi connection. If someone is playing something else in another room/area then they won't mind if the audio then stops in the room you're in.
There are bluetooth receivers and bluetooth transceivers. The Sonos speakers that are bluetooth enabled can receive bluetooth audio from a source, but I’m not sure they can also transmit bluetooth audio.
The Sons app is just a controlller, it doesn’t play music at all and therefore, can’t send audio to your headphones. And as you mentioned, tying Ace to a Sonos room over bluetooth limts the physical range of where the headphones can be used. You can’t just walk to another room on the other side of your home as can be done with a Move or Roam. If you’re thinking that the speakers in the room you happen to be in would just know that headphones are in the room and start sending it audio...that sounds like rather complicated process.
One thing that I don’t think is talked about enough is that there does not exist any Sonos device that can bet setup as a member device in more than one room at a time. You can’t share a sub across two rooms without reconfiguring. You can’t share surround speakers. It stands to reason that you also would not be able to bond headphones to a home theatre room and have it be it’s own room without reconfiguring. I’m not surprised that the introduction of Ace didn’t resolve that problem.
Honestly what I’d like to see is for the Sonos Ace to be get more than just TV Audio from an Arc, and other soundbars later, but any audio. While the 5Ghz range is limiting, it would be good for the home theatre room and probably adjuacent rooms. I say that, but do wonder if after actually using Ace, I find that I’m content to just switch to a bluetooth connection from my phone and be unconcerned about range.
Love that the Ace gets 30 hours of play time on a charge. Great for traveling. However, I work from home (as do a historically high percentage of others, since the pandemic). The primary use-case for me personally is home use. And there’s no way I would ever wear headphones for more than a few hours at a time anyway. My point is I don’t need the 30 hours of play on one charge for most of what I’d use them for. I can easily charge as needed.
I’ve heard it stated that battery drain is a big reason why Sonos opted not to connect it via wifi. But that seems like a non-reason to me. Couldn’t the Ace accommodate both bluetooth and wifi? And get 30 hours on a charge using bluetooth, and less on wifi? That way, the Ace could act as a zone over wifi and get less battery life while you’re at home and can easily recharge, and get the full 30 hours whenever simply connecting to your phone via bluetooth, like any other bluetooth headphones.
If the Ace would get less battery life on wifi, how much less? If less than a couple hours, I see how that could be a problem. But as long as it still gets at least 3 to 5 hours of play time, that would be plenty for me. I’d just drop them on their charger between uses and never notice an issue.
So I reject battery life as a legitimate reason for not allowing the Ace to act as its own zone (unless it actually gets less than 3 hours on wifi).
Others have mentioned cost as the reason, pointing to that other pair of wifi headphones with the eye-popping price. I doubt that’s the problem though, considering what Sonos is able to sell the Roam for, which already works on both wifi and bluetooth.
Perhaps weight is the reason? I’m not familiar with the components required but others on this thread have indicated it shouldn’t weigh that much. I’ve also heard that the Ace may already have wifi capability -- just not enabled.
I want headphones that integrate with the Sonos ecosystem, allowing me to listen to queues that seamlessly blend my local files with streaming sources. When that’s available, I’ll buy it in a heartbeat. Until then, I don’t need another pair of bluetooth headphones, no matter how fancy.
Love that the Ace gets 30 hours of play time on a charge. Great for traveling. However, I work from home (as do a historically high percentage of others, since the pandemic). The primary use-case for me personally is home use. And there’s no way I would ever wear headphones for more than a few hours at a time anyway. My point is I don’t need the 30 hours of play on one charge for most of what I’d use them for. I can easily charge as needed.
I’ve heard it stated that battery drain is a big reason why Sonos opted not to connect it via wifi. But that seems like a non-reason to me. Couldn’t the Ace accommodate both bluetooth and wifi? And get 30 hours on a charge using bluetooth, and less on wifi? That way, the Ace could act as a zone over wifi and get less battery life while you’re at home and can easily recharge, and get the full 30 hours whenever simply connecting to your phone via bluetooth, like any other bluetooth headphones.
If the Ace would get less battery life on wifi, how much less? If less than a couple hours, I see how that could be a problem. But as long as it still gets at least 3 to 5 hours of play time, that would be plenty for me. I’d just drop them on their charger between uses and never notice an issue.
So I reject battery life as a legitimate reason for not allowing the Ace to act as its own zone (unless it actually gets less than 3 hours on wifi).
Others have mentioned cost as the reason, pointing to that other pair of wifi headphones with the eye-popping price. I doubt that’s the problem though, considering what Sonos is able to sell the Roam for, which already works on both wifi and bluetooth.
Perhaps weight is the reason? I’m not familiar with the components required but others on this thread have indicated it shouldn’t weigh that much. I’ve also heard that the Ace may already have wifi capability -- just not enabled.
I want headphones that integrate with the Sonos ecosystem, allowing me to listen to queues that seamlessly blend my local files with streaming sources. When that’s available, I’ll buy it in a heartbeat. Until then, I don’t need another pair of bluetooth headphones, no matter how fancy.
I do have a possible future use for them as I gather they have a wired option included but I don't need top quality for it and I already have a cheaper option in mind for next year possibly. If it worked as many were hoping I might have considered forking out the extra money as it's a bit noisy where I am but I don't want overears for general use.
@Corry P - Do we have an ETA for TV Audio swap Anbdroid compatibility yet? Sonos seem to have been dreadfully quiet on the issue.
Hi @iainholmes81
No, no word, but I think it will be quick.
Hi @iainholmes81
No, no word, but I think it will be quick.
Any word on why it’s not ready yet?
Hi @iainholmes81
No - I doubt there ever will be.
Got the headphones, update won’t work (iOS). Tried a dozen times. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.
Got the headphones, update won’t work (iOS). Tried a dozen times. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.
Never mind, update finally went through.
At first I thought the Dolby Atmos effects kinda sucked, but it's growing on me.
headphones feature breathtaking lossless and spatial audio, world-class Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Aware Mode, as well as the most precise and immersive home theater experience possible using Sonos’ new TrueCinema technology. Sonos Ace will be available globally in both Black and Soft White.
