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Retired Sonos Staff
May 21, 2024 1:05 PM UTC
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The long-awaited first headphones: Sonos Ace

Related content:Hardware
The long-awaited first headphones: Sonos Ace

Today we are announcing the launch of our first-ever headphones, Sonos Ace, marking the brand’s long-awaited entry into the personal listening category. As a leading innovator in sound, Sonos is now using its renowned audio and design expertise to transform the way we listen on headphones.

The premium over-the-ear Bluetooth® 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.

Sonos Ace

Superior Sound on a Personal Level 

Artfully crafted and masterfully tuned, Sonos Ace defies expectations with a range of features that bring the best of Sonos to headphones. 

  • Indulge in high-fidelity sound: Savor every second of your favorite song, podcast or friend’s phone call thanks to Sonos Ace’s two custom-designed drivers that render each frequency with impeccable precision and clarity.
  • Your own private cinema: Sonos Ace lets you enjoy a surround sound home theater experience while giving your household the gift of quiet. Instantly swap the TV audio from a compatible Sonos soundbar to Sonos Ace with just the tap of a button. Spatial audio with Dolby Atmos envelops you in dramatically detailed sound from all directions and dynamic head tracking keeps you centered in the action even if you need to grab a blanket or reach for the snack bowl. Coming later this year, Sonos’ all-new TrueCinema technology precisely maps your space then renders a complete surround sound system for a listening experience so realistic you’ll forget you’re wearing headphones.
  • Turn the world on or off: Make personal listening even more personal with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), or activate Aware mode when you want more awareness of your surroundings  - be it walking on a busy street or working in the office.

Day-long battery life and ultra-fast charge: Listen or talk for up to 30 hours with an extended, energy-efficient battery life. Ultra fast charging ensures you’ll never miss a beat - get 3 hours of battery life with a quick 3-minute charge using the included USB-C cable.

Sonos Ace Controls

 

Elegant Design and Long-Lasting Comfort

Sonos Ace was made to look and feel as good as it sounds. Its distinctive, slim profile beautifully blends  metal accents with a sleek matte finish, complementing any style no matter how fast trends move. 

  • Endless Comfort: Sonos Ace uses lightweight, premium materials for an airy fit that gently hugs your head. Its pillowy soft memory foam interior is wrapped in vegan leather, while a custom headband and ear cups that hide the hinge create the perfect acoustic seal without catching on hair. 
  • Intuitive Design: Wearing and storing Sonos Ace is a breeze - contrasting colors inside the ear cups subtly signal which way to put the headphones on and beautifully-tactile buttons make controls easy to use while wearing them. When you’re done listening, put Sonos Ace away effortlessly thanks to its fold flat design that fits snugly in its lightweight travel case. 
  • Responsibly Made: Sonos Ace is built to last and made for daily wear. The headphones feature replaceable ear cushions, circular materials that allow us to use 17% less virgin plastic, and a 75% recycled felt travel case made from plastic bottles. Engineered to drive energy efficiency, wear detection pauses your music when you remove Sonos Ace from your ears, minimizing the need for charging. 

Sonos Ace will be available on June 5 for $449 USD (499 EUR, 449 GBP, 699 AUD). For more information, visit sonos.com, and follow along on @sonos.

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310 replies

Local Superstar
May 22, 2024 9:20 AM UTC

Just been reading that when linked to Arc, and you run TruePlay, the sound profile of the headphones will try to replicate the room sound, so wearing the head phones will sound similar to not wearing them, if I understand this correctly.

I’m wondering once this TruePlay is done, is this sound profile only when linked to Arc, or can you use another source from your phone, eg watch netflix on your phone/table,  and it will sound like you are in the room?

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Enthusiast I
May 22, 2024 9:50 AM UTC

when will there be support to the beam 2?

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Lyricist II
May 22, 2024 9:57 AM UTC

They look fantastic!

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Lyricist I
May 22, 2024 10:01 AM UTC

I am very disappointed that I can’t stream music directly from my NAS to the these headphones. Who thought leaving this feature off was a good idea?! 

I cancelled my preorder as soon as I discovered this. 

 

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melvimbe
May 22, 2024 10:34 AM UTC

Just been reading that when linked to Arc, and you run TruePlay, the sound profile of the headphones will try to replicate the room sound, so wearing the head phones will sound similar to not wearing them, if I understand this correctly.

I’m wondering once this TruePlay is done, is this sound profile only when linked to Arc, or can you use another source from your phone, eg watch netflix on your phone/table,  and it will sound like you are in the room?

 That's not how I was interpreting  True Cinema to work exactly. As I understand it, using the trueplay data and the mics on the headphones, Ace would determine where you are located in the room relative to where the TV is (or ARC, more accurately) and then adjust the audio so that sounds are coming from the right direction.  Personally. I am kind of skeptical that the feature works well and had a noticeable impact on audio experience.  It's not like I listen to TV with headphones much to tell the difference anyway.  

 

But given that, I don't see how True Cinema would function when using bluetooth audio.  There's no way to tell where the corresponding screen is, where the audio should come from.  Obviously, won't even know whether you are playing music or watching a video.  I am not sure the heading tracking tech works in this context either. 

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Danny
Ken_Griffiths
May 22, 2024 10:47 AM UTC

I have been waiting for these Sonos headphones for as long as the rumors have existed.  Such a disappointment.  I wanted to use them at home, with my existing Sonos ecosystem - to toggle between speakers, rooms etc. over my very sophisticated mesh WiFi network   As I understand the technical specs, they cannot be added as a “Device” like the Era 300 and confined to the limitations of Bluetooth.

Am I understanding the technical specs incorrectly?  These limitations seem to impact negatively my Victrola Stream Carbon and my music library from MacBook controller.

Hopefully, I’m wrong.  Any and all insights appreciated.

 

Best,

Mike 

They are BT only.  Waste of money. 

The new Ace must ‘at the very least’ have a 5Ghz WiFi adapter onboard for the described SoundSwap feature with the Sonos Arc, because the Arc does not have a Bluetooth TX. The ‘unique’ feature is also later coming to the Beam Gen2 and I think the Sonos Ray is mentioned too. The Bluetooth chip is clearly a Qualcomm one aswell - I wonder if the headset will go onto support the new Lossless (snapdragon) codec? - but personally the audio from APT-X Adaptive/HD is going to sound just great anyway.

I’m looking forward to reading the reviews, because Sonos do make excellent, well built, products, even if the controller ‘remote’ App has taken a backward step for now. I’m sure that will greatly improve and overtake the S2 platform in the months ahead too, but I have more faith, than some others, it seems.

I’m yet to encounter any poor sounding product from Sonos and I can’t see the Ace being anything other than an extremely high quality product.

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May 22, 2024 10:50 AM UTC

Given the primary mode of using these headphones is bluetooth I’ve just been assuming I would have to use 3rd party apps to listen to music on them (with Sonos mobile app only being used to modify settings on the headphones). Is this assumption correct or can the new Sonos mobile app also be used as an on-phone music player for the headphones (especially considering it can now be used outside the home network)? 

If Sonos mobile app can be used as a player, I’m wondering if this can extend to acting as a bridge between music sources on the local network (like local library and sonos aux in ports) and the headphones?

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Ken_Griffiths
May 22, 2024 11:04 AM UTC

Given the primary mode of using these headphones is bluetooth I’ve just been assuming I would have to use 3rd party apps to listen to music on them (with Sonos mobile app only being used to modify settings on the headphones). Is this assumption correct or can the Sonos mobile app also be used as an on-phone music player for the headphones? 

If Sonos mobile app can be used as a player, I’m wondering if the Sonos mobile app can be used a bridge between music sources on the local network (like local library and sonos aux in ports) and the headphones?

The Sonos App is a ‘controller’ App, not a player - it has never been a player. The audio source plays direct to the connected Sonos products. At the moment that’s been over a wireless connection, I don’t know if that’s going to happen over a Bluetooth connection, we will have to wait and see. 
 

There is no doubt though, that the Sonos Ace can play over Bluetooth from all the usual 3rd-party Apps, like Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music, Deezer etc. and it should therefore definitely also work with Prime Movies, Netflix, Disney+, YouTube etc. too.. in fact ANY audio source a Bluetooth enabled device (iPhone/Android/PC/TV etc.) can transmit. 

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May 22, 2024 11:17 AM UTC

The Sonos App is a ‘controller’ App, not a player - it has never been a player. The audio source plays direct to the connected Sonos products. At the moment that’s been over a wireless connection, I don’t know if that’s going to happen over a Bluetooth connection, we will have to wait and see. 

Always having been a controller up to now doesn’t mean the app can’t or won’t gain new functionality in relation to new products

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Contributor I
May 22, 2024 11:19 AM UTC

I’m yet to encounter any poor sounding product from Sonos and I can’t see the Ace being anything other than an extremely high quality product.

No doubt they sound good, likely as good as their major competitors (Apple, Bose, Sony, B&W, etc.). But for them to stand out, they need to be better sounding and offer non-gimmicky features that the competitors don’t. And for people like me, iPhone users who don’t own or want to own a soundbar and are just looking for lossless stereo playback (no spatial audio, please) and seamless integration with their Sonos system, the Ace is a fail.

Why seamless integration? Here’s an example. We’re currently experiencing a heat wave and my apartment’s windows are wide open. I have a pair of Ones on either side of the kitchen window. Up early this morning, I wanted to listen to the news but, because I’d need to turn up the volume to hear the newscast over the sounds of dishes being washed, coffee beans being ground, etc., I couldn’t without disturbing neighbours. How great it would be to have the headphones on when in the kitchen and then remove and continue listening to the Era 100s in my office without interruption.

As it is, I’m having a hard time seeing why I should fork over C$600 for the Ace when the excellent Sony WH-1000XM5s cost C$200-250 less on sale. What does the Ace offer that the Sonys don’t? The value proposition just isn’t there.

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