Retired Sonos Staff

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The Sonos Ace is getting a big update!

Hey everyone!

I wanted to create a separate post to announce a big update that we have been working on for a long time.

This one goes out to our Ace users, be they using it exclusively as a pair of bluetooth headphones, or with our soundbars.

Now some of you have asked for a few features that I know the team has been working hard on implementing, some even before Ace was even released!

Here are the highlights for Ace in update (3.9.7):

First the two big ones!

TrueCinema. It’s finally here!
- When using HomeTheater swap, TrueCinema adjusts the audio to better match the acoustic properties of the room so it sounds like you’re not wearing headphones at all.
- One of the engineers was showing this off at a few events I attended last year, and back then it required a laptop, and about 30 minutes of complete silence to let him work and tweak everything. Now it takes just a few seconds to complete the tune!
Multiuser TV Audio Swap. This is one of the features I remember most people asking about when Ace was released “Why can’t I connect two Aces to my soundbar?” Well now you can 😉

And the rest:

Adaptive ANC - an improvement over Ace ANC that improves performance for people wearing glasses or other facial obstructions that compromise the acoustic seal.
Side tone. When on a phone call and using ANC, a portion of the user’s voice is fed back into the headset to provide a more natural speech.
High quality call audio using the latest in audio codec technology
Improved donning detection.

The app also will behave differently when you have Ace connected to it.

Firmware update notifications will inform the user, via the app, when there is a firmware update available for their headset.
The Ace product tour will describe the new Ace features, after a user performs an update.

There are three requirements for users to get access to the Sonos Ace feature enhancements:

Requires the latest version of the Sonos App (version 80.22)**
Requires the latest system/player updates on the Sonos App (version 85.0-65270 or higher. More information on how to update here.)
Requires Sonos Ace to be connected to the App, and then once connected requires an Ace update (version 3.9.7 or higher).

** These will be available starting on June 10th, and please note that Sonos app releases are rolled out over the course of several days. You can check for updates in your iOS or Android app store to download the latest version of the app when it’s available. On Android, the latest App and System versions may take 2-3 days after release on 6/10, to become available.

Want to know more about what was in the app and player update? Head over to the post we dedicated to talking about it.

We would love to hear what you think about these updates, let’s have a chat in the comments below 👇

Show previous replies

AjTrek1

Looking forward to this!

@Alex410ee

You’ve posted the above and/or a variation of it 3 times since 5 days ago. What feature are you looking for or hoping to see that wasn’t explained in the announcement? Maybe I should be asking as well 😂

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.

jgatie

Did InGainSight finally start requiring a certain amount of posts before one can shove in an annoying Spam link? Because that’s the only explanation I can think of.

Mr. T

Did InGainSight finally start requiring a certain amount of posts before one can shove in an annoying Spam link? Because that’s the only explanation I can think of.

The spam that continues on the forum would suggest not.

O

omni

Contributor I

Yawn. The Ace has been the biggest disappointment by far since I started using Sonos products way back in the beginning. I wanted headphones that function as a Sonos Zone, so I can listen to my music in my house using headphones instead of speakers. Instead, we got standard ANC headphones that can pair with … a soundbar? Really? That covers maybe 5% of my needs. I paid more than $400 for headphones that might get used a few times a year. FAIL.

Thank you for posting this. This was a question I was going to ask. I was about to buy a pair of headphones, assuming they could be used as a Sonos Zone instead of speakers, but if they can't, there have little value to me.

O

omni

Contributor I

You paid for a device without bothering to now. how it functions before purchase?

Easy, now. It's not at all clear in the product description or operating instructions that it can't be used as a Zone to listen to your Sonos music. In fact, one would assume that was an obvious capability. Why else would Sonos make them? If it weren't for the Op's post, I would have bought two pair and would have been very disappointed. Probably would have returned them.

AjTrek1

You paid for a device without bothering to now. how it functions before purchase?

Easy, now. It's not at all clear in the product description or operating instructions that it can't be used as a Zone to listen to your Sonos music. In fact, one would assume that was an obvious capability. Why else would Sonos make them? If it weren't for the Op's post, I would have bought two pair and would have been very disappointed. Probably would have returned them.

WOW… @Airgetlam made the comment 4 -5 months ago and you’re trolling a post that was made a year after the June, 2024 launch date? Granted many people had the mis-concept that the Ace headphones would act as a room. However, one should research a product before buying. Besides….Sonos does offer a 30 day return policy or longer in some countries.

As to why Sonos made them… well they have a feature called “Audio Swap” (regardless of the source) with All Sonos soundbars except the Playbar and Playbase. Even Apple AirPods or AirMax headphones require an AppleTV box in order to hear Dolby Atmos through a 3rd party source.

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.

O

omni

Contributor I

You paid for a device without bothering to now. how it functions before purchase?

Easy, now. It's not at all clear in the product description or operating instructions that it can't be used as a Zone to listen to your Sonos music. In fact, one would assume that was an obvious capability. Why else would Sonos make them? If it weren't for the Op's post, I would have bought two pair and would have been very disappointed. Probably would have returned them.

WOW… @Airgetlam made the comment 4 -5 months ago and you’re trolling a post that was made a year after the June, 2024 launch date? Granted many people had the mis-concept that the Ace headphones would act as a room. However, one should research a product before buying. Besides….Sonos does offer a 30 day return policy or longer in some countries.

As to why Sonos made them… well they have a feature called “Audio Swap” (regardless of the source) with All Sonos soundbars except the Playbar and Playbase. Even Apple AirPods or AirMax headphones require an AppleTV box in order to hear Dolby Atmos through a 3rd party source.

AAnd that is exactly what I am doing, researching the product. I understand from reading the directions and the product description is that the only source you can listen to through a sound bar is the TV. Are you saying I can listen to other music on my Sonos system, such as my music library, if I am in line of sight distance from a soundbar? Thanks for helping all of us understand the product.

Stanley_4

Grand Maestro

If you play the music on the TV then you can swap it to the Ace headphones. I do that with the Amazon Music app running on my firestick.

AjTrek1

You paid for a device without bothering to now. how it functions before purchase?

Easy, now. It's not at all clear in the product description or operating instructions that it can't be used as a Zone to listen to your Sonos music. In fact, one would assume that was an obvious capability. Why else would Sonos make them? If it weren't for the Op's post, I would have bought two pair and would have been very disappointed. Probably would have returned them.

WOW… @Airgetlam made the comment 4 -5 months ago and you’re trolling a post that was made a year after the June, 2024 launch date? Granted many people had the mis-concept that the Ace headphones would act as a room. However, one should research a product before buying. Besides….Sonos does offer a 30 day return policy or longer in some countries.

As to why Sonos made them… well they have a feature called “Audio Swap” (regardless of the source) with All Sonos soundbars except the Playbar and Playbase. Even Apple AirPods or AirMax headphones require an AppleTV box in order to hear Dolby Atmos through a 3rd party source.

AAnd that is exactly what I am doing, researching the product. I understand from reading the directions and the product description is that the only source you can listen to through a sound bar is the TV. Are you saying I can listen to other music on my Sonos system, such as my music library, if I am in line of sight distance from a soundbar? Thanks for helping all of us understand the product.

Sorry I couldn’t back to you sooner as something more important came up. First thanks to @Stanley_4 for jumping in regarding playing music in an Audio Swap with his Amazon Music App. However, to your question regarding playing your music library…that too can be done.

I have all the music I own on my Synology NAS. My LG Smart TV can recognize any server on my network which includes my Synolgy NAS. All I do is select my NAS as the source on my LG, start the music playing through my Arc Ultra and perform an Audio Swap. Easy-Pzee!

Granted that may not be what you had in mind; but the fact remains that one can enjoy their music library via an Audio Swap. Whether it’s practical to do or not depends upon the individual and how they wish to enjoy their music.

On a side note…although Sonos has had its share of mis-steps not to mention the app. IMO it can’t be denied that Sonos is possibly the most versatile/customizable audio/video system in a whole home wireless package that exists today on planet Earth. IMO it’s the versatility/customization that has been a double edge sword for Sonos being both a positive and a negative as sometimes people expect more and are unwilling to accept that there are limitations. At the end-of-the-day there’s more to like than dislike. JMHO.

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.

106rallye

You paid for a device without bothering to now. how it functions before purchase?

Easy, now. It's not at all clear in the product description or operating instructions that it can't be used as a Zone to listen to your Sonos music. In fact, one would assume that was an obvious capability. Why else would Sonos make them? If it weren't for the Op's post, I would have bought two pair and would have been very disappointed. Probably would have returned them.

In Sonos lingo what you are referring to as a "Zone” is actually a "Room". The fact that the manual (SONOS User Guide | Sonos Ace) does not mention it can be used as a "Room” should be raising red flags to people how may think this would be “obvious". If not there's lots of post mentioning this fact and the reason why (battery usage of a wifi connection).

Hey everyone!

First the two big ones!

And the rest:

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