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Retired Sonos Staff
May 21, 2024
News

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

Bumper
May 22, 2024

Our house is very open. If I had Ace headphones and access through wifi I would just use them in my office and ditch the Play 3 so no one else has to listen to what I listen to (very different musical tastes than the family). 

 

Why don’t you use the Ace, or any headphones connected to the phone in your pocket or the computer in your office? Wifi connected Sonos headphones would be great but bluetooth will work for what you describe.

 

melvimbe
May 22, 2024

So, what you are saying @Corry P is that even if I have an Arc set up and want to listen to Apple Music or other music service through my tv (Apple TV) using the app(s) on that device I cannot do that? That seems odd.

 

 

If the audio is coming through your TV, as would be the case with a music app (say Apple Music) on AppleTV, to your Arc via HDM-ARC/eARC or optical, than the Ace can play that audio.

What you cannot do is use the Sonos App to start playback of Apple music on your Arc, then flipped the switch on Ace to have the Apple music audio play on your Ace headphones.

 

 

Despite the trainwreck the app is, I want a centralized place to access my music services (as I have a half dozen I use). That was the benefit of having a universal location like the Sonos app instead of hopping around at home. I want that at home and I want that on a plane and I want that anywhere using my Ace.

 

 

I don’t think Sonos app will ever have the capability to be a music player for multiple streaming services while not on your home network.  The streaming service would much prefer you use the app they created for their service in that scenario.  Maybe conditions can change one day where that sort of thing make sense for Sonos and music services, it obviously makes sense for consumers, but it’s not likely anytime soon.

 

 

Danny
Prodigy III
May 22, 2024

Our house is very open. If I had Ace headphones and access through wifi I would just use them in my office and ditch the Play 3 so no one else has to listen to what I listen to (very different musical tastes than the family). 

 

Why don’t you use the Ace, or any headphones connected to the phone in your pocket or the computer in your office? Wifi connected Sonos headphones would be great but bluetooth will work for what you describe.

 

I would be with
@Jeffrey_35 here, I can certainly see wearing headphones in the office or anywhere else in the house and moving round the house (get coffee etc). In this scenario the phone would not necessarily be in the pocket so I could get the double advantage of not loosing my Bluetooth signal and having the same standard user interface on which to be selecting my source.


 

Enthusiast II
May 22, 2024

I like the idea of Sonos headphones. My AirPods Max are awfully heavy for extended listening. But I don’t understand this product.

If I take Sonos Ace out of a drawer, hit the Sonos Voice button, and tell it to play me some music; what does Ace do?

Nothing, unless it’s BT paired to my phone? Reaches out to Sonos over Wifi and plays music (this is what you would think would happen)? Reaches out to my Arc and plays music through that into my headphones (because reasons)?

Somebody please explain to me how this works.

Trending Lyricist I
May 22, 2024

 

It’s even more confusing that the disaster with the app initially seems to have been driven by this product, but the app isn’t even required. The people most likely to benefit from the spatial audio are exactly the same population as have been throroughly alienated over the past few weeks, for no obvious benefit.

 

The app absolutely *is* required for Arc connectivity. It states (rather ambiguously) in the Ace features that this feature is currently only supported via iOS, with Android support following 'soon'.

I find it extremely troubling that Sonos do not already have Android functionality implemented for the headphones' most unique selling point, and the fact that there is no date for this functionality to be introduced even more so.

I will not even be considering purchasing these headphones until Android compatibility is implemented.

 Android compatibility for the TV Swap feature won't be implemented at launch. But we are determined to add Android compatibility asap.

 

Okay, but *why* won't it be implemented at launch?

I can understand that Trueplay isn't possible on Android due to the lack of microphone standardisation on manufacturer's handsets, but what is Sonos' excuse this time?

Is there some kind of security policy in Android that prevents this type of functionality? I find that difficult to believe as (I assume) the app simply tells the Arc to assign the Ace to its group, after which control is exclusively between Ace and Arc without the app acting as a middle man.

Is there some kind of Trueplay integration that we haven't been told about that makes an iOS device mandatory for initial TV Audio Swap setup?

Or has Sonos simply decided that Android users are not a priority in this case?

Being 'determined' to add Android compatibility is all well and good ‐ I'm 'determined' to finish landscaping my garden this year, but that's absolutely no guarantee it will actually happen. Sonos still has two weeks to implement Android functionality before launch, but you (and other Sonos reps) have categorically stated that it will *not* be implemented by June 5th. That suggests very strongly that there is a significant issue with Android functionality that is not easily fixed. What's the story?

Contributor I
May 23, 2024

OMG what a #SonosMess this is…. 

  • The Arc does NOT use Wifi and it does NOT group into your Sonos system, it only SWAPS your TV audio… => why would I use this headset???
  • You need the Sonos app for iOS to set up TV Audio Swap. Support for Android devices is coming soon => so the product is not ready!
  • You can use TV Audio Swap with the Arc and Arc SL. Support is coming soon for Beam (Gen 1 and Gen 2) and Ray => so the product is not ready!

  • And don’t forget: the new Sonos App doesn’t work, has limited functionality and ridiculous restrictions, and has a poor user experience… 

#ByeByeSonos

carlw155469
Lyricist III
May 23, 2024

The ACE headphones look very nice and seem to be getting good reviews. But I already have expensive blue tooth headphones that I like a lot. I don’t use Sonos soundbars, so without the ability to control streaming, via Wi-Fi, from the Sonos app means they are no better than my existing head phones. Very disappointed.

Lyricist III
May 23, 2024

One thing I find interesting is that the explanation for why the new app was rushed out so quickly, still missing features many users hold dear, is that the Ace headphones required the new app and they didn’t want to delay its release. How many years have we been waiting for the long-rumored Sonos headphones while they took the time to get it right? Seems they could have waited just a little longer while they got the app ready. Sonos needs to take a cue from Apple. Don’t release products that aren’t ready. It’s a surefire way to rapidly lose years of built up loyalty. 

Bumper
May 23, 2024

One thing I find interesting is that the explanation for why the new app was rushed out so quickly, still missing features many users hold dear, is that the Ace headphones required the new app and they didn’t want to delay its release. How many years have we been waiting for the long-rumored Sonos headphones while they took the time to get it right? Seems they could have waited just a little longer while they got the app ready. Sonos needs to take a cue from Apple. Don’t release products that aren’t ready. It’s a surefire way to rapidly lose years of built up loyalty. 

It’s possible that the need to increase sales right now drove this as units sold are down ~240K players and revenue is also down compared to last year. If they wait it’s another bad year. CEO and other execs want their bonuses and hold onto their jobs. Just speculating could be wrong.

Lyricist III
May 23, 2024

One thing I find interesting is that the explanation for why the new app was rushed out so quickly, still missing features many users hold dear, is that the Ace headphones required the new app and they didn’t want to delay its release. How many years have we been waiting for the long-rumored Sonos headphones while they took the time to get it right? Seems they could have waited just a little longer while they got the app ready. Sonos needs to take a cue from Apple. Don’t release products that aren’t ready. It’s a surefire way to rapidly lose years of built up loyalty. 

It’s possible that the need to increase sales right now drove this as units sold are down ~240K players and revenue is also down compared to last year. If they wait it’s another bad year. CEO and other execs want their bonuses and hold onto their jobs. Just speculating could be wrong.

I’m sure you’re right and that something like that was in play. There were likely reporting factors involved in pressuring them towards the wrong decision.