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Retired Sonos Staff
May 21, 2024 1:05 PM UTC
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

Local Superstar
May 21, 2024 2:03 PM UTC

Hi @Bumper 

Will they work with Sonos amp like they do with Soundbars?  

No, they will not be able to play audio from Amps.

probably a better question is will I even be able to add them to my system or will I be stuck due to one of the many bugs. Not risking it until the app is fixed. 

They will work without setting up first - they will connect via Bluetooth straight out of the box, so no app needed! Setting up in the app allows EQ adjustment and Home Theatre audio playback with supported Sonos sound-bars, plus other features.

That’s really unfortunate that they won’t work with the amp. I guess it’s too old now?

 

I assumed that these would work as a regular zone player. I guess these are regular bluetooth headphones that can connect to an Arc.

So, in effect they are really just fancy expensive Bluetooth cans?  Not a player?   Errr, no thanks, then. 🎧😒

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It's the courageous bee's knees - all 6 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝. - - - - - Make Sonos Great Again - - - - -
Corry P
Sonos Staff
May 21, 2024 2:04 PM UTC

Hi All

Thanks all for your continued engagement and feedback around the new app. Yes, we have removed replies from this announcement topic of Sonos Ace, to allow people to discuss just that, The Sonos Ace, in this particular topic. If you want to discuss the New Sonos App, please feel free to join in on any of the topics that are currently ongoing and that we are monitoring for feedback, just like we do here.

There are many, many topics about the new Sonos app - if you want to talk about that, please feel free to post to any of those threads - your feedback will be heard, even if not replied to.

All posts relating to moderator actions on the forum will be removed - from any thread!

Please see our Terms and Conditions if you are in any doubt on why posts may be removed

Thanks.

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"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
melvimbe
May 21, 2024 2:06 PM UTC

Yeah. I’m guessing they have no wifi in them so the Arc must do the audio processing and send it via wifi to your phone, then via Bluetooth to the headphones. Hence the need for the new app. 

 

I don’t think that’s the case.  I say that because I’ve seen reports that battery life is reduced when playing audio through an Arc due to WiFi power drain.

That said, I have seen that the connection to the Arc is only currently available through iOS, which would make sense if the phone was involved in the connection.  It would also explain why the headphones can’t be setup as their own zone. 

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Danny
Corry P
Sonos Staff
May 21, 2024 2:07 PM UTC

 Hi Kumar

The question is will these work directly with an Apple TV or an Amazon Fire Cube, or is the presence of a Sonos soundbar a prerequisite, and if so, only some models? Will someone that has just a TV being supplied by a video streamer be able to use these for surround sound? I suspect not.

A compatible Sonos soundbar will be a prerequisite, yes.

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"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
Corry P
Sonos Staff
May 21, 2024 2:13 PM UTC

Hi @melvimbe  

When the headphones are bonded to an Arc, will they be able to play audio that the Arc zone/room is playing regardless of source?  I understand that they will play TV source, but if you are playing audio from a streaming source, aux input in another zone (turntable), or local library, will the headphones play that audio?

The linked-to soundbar must be actively playing the source for Ace to play too.

If the headphones are playing audio, will the Arc and bonded speakers be able to play audio as well?

Only if Ace is playing from a Bluetooth source. If playing Arc’s audio, Arc will not play too.

I see that Sonos is selling a bundled pair of headphones.  Can 2 headphones be bonded to the same Arc?

No. We’ve conducted user research and learned the most common use case for wearing headphones with a home theater is for viewing content alone, so you don’t disturb others in your household. We’ll continue to learn how customers are using Sonos Ace and explore additional features over time.

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"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
May 21, 2024 2:16 PM UTC

 Hi Kumar

A compatible Sonos soundbar will be a prerequisite, yes.

Right, I thought as much. But the surround/Atmos experience from the headphones has to be a lot more effective than just replicating that from the muted soundbar when the headphones are in use.

The big headache in a good HT from the time it became available decades ago, has been the need to install and wire speakers around the viewing area. Soundbars don't need that, for a lesser experience.

From what I read, the headphones should be able to replicate that wired HT experience. The only downside compared to a proper wired HT then is that the experience will not be a shared one.

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Jeffrey_35
Headliner III
May 21, 2024 2:18 PM UTC

First of all, @Marco.B these look absolutely fantastic and are everything that were rumored to be with even a few additions and albeit exceptions. I have been forgoing the Apple Max to await the launch of these and I am definitely not disappointed. Have a pair on order for the wife and I. Want to speak to a couple of the exceptions. One, disappointed that there aren’t “Roam/Apple Max” like colors. Black is fine, white will fade and yellow. Wanted something a little colorful to splash it up. Probably will be in 6 mos./year like the Roam did-but can’t wait. Two, the whole integration with the system. I understand why Bluetooth first, wifi second for a variety of reasons both technical and positioning wise but the ability to attach it to all of the Soundbars (later for non-Arc) for those of us that have them (I have some version with every tv in the house) it will be truly a life changing experience, especially if TrueCinema is as good as it says. Wondering if you have music service apps like Apple Music, Sirius XM and some of the others that are on the actual tv or a setup box like Apple TV if that will incorporate the same concept so that you can listen to music around the house. If so, the ability to “hot swap” between different soundbars would be fabulous. As far as the elephant in the room, the new app, it’s very short-sighted and tantrum like of everyone to say, “not ordering until they fix the app..” If you look at the roadmap on socials and here it appears that everything that is wanted to be fixed and returned will be completed before or shortly after these launch. It just seems like a reflection of the way social media society is right now-perpetual quick to complain; slow or ignore to compliment. That’s all right by me as it just means we get them sooner. Well done Sonos, can’t wait!

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“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
melvimbe
May 21, 2024 2:23 PM UTC

Hi @melvimbe  

When the headphones are bonded to an Arc, will they be able to play audio that the Arc zone/room is playing regardless of source?  I understand that they will play TV source, but if you are playing audio from a streaming source, aux input in another zone (turntable), or local library, will the headphones play that audio?

The linked-to soundbar must be actively playing the source for Ace to play too.

 

 

Ok, so if I’m understanding this correctly, I can set the Arc to play Sonos Radio, for example, then do the swap thing with Ace to have Sonos radio play through the Ace headphones.

 

If the headphones are playing audio, will the Arc and bonded speakers be able to play audio as well?

Only if Ace is playing from a Bluetooth source. If playing Arc’s audio, Arc will not play too.

 

 

Understood.  This is somewhat unfurtunate as it means that a hard of hearing member of the family can’t listen to Ace while the rest hear audio through the Arc.

 

I see that Sonos is selling a bundled pair of headphones.  Can 2 headphones be bonded to the same Arc?

No. We’ve conducted user research and learned the most common use case for wearing headphones with a home theater is for viewing content alone, so you don’t disturb others in your household. We’ll continue to learn how customers are using Sonos Ace and explore additional features over time.

 

Ok, the bundle seems a little odd then.  I suppose it’s there for people with multiple home audio room or those who want to have a dedicated Ace for home theatre and anther for bluetooth only sources.

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Danny
May 21, 2024 2:23 PM UTC

I’ve been waiting for SONOS to release a pair of headphones for years and they’re finally here!  Just a couple of problems though:

  1. The app - it’s broken.  No way I’m spending $450 when the app is broken
  2. They’re just bluetooth headphones.  I had expected them to feature like any other speaker.  You would see them in the app like any other speaker, add to a group etc., switch between speakers and headphones and so on.  They would also connect via WiFi keep your phone as a controller rather than intrinsic to playing the music.  

I’m not really sure why one would buy these over Bose/Sony etc. unless switching to/from Arc is a huge benefit.

Maybe I’d hyped these up over the years, but left a little underwhelmed 😟

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Lyricist II
May 21, 2024 2:23 PM UTC

I just ordered the headphones and quickly cancelled after seeing the confusion as to what products the headphones will connect to.

 

Sonos team - will the headphones be able to sync with the SONOS CONNECT AMP?

 

Sounds like the answer is no...but still not sure...Thought that was the whole point of the product to connect with current Sonos products

 

thank you  

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