These Sonos headphones have a distinctive character.
For those willing to spend 500 euros, Sonos offers the Ace Bluetooth headphones, boasting exceptional sound quality and comfort. While there are some concerns regarding practical usage, its unique talents make it incredibly appealing to Sonos soundbar owners. Though Sonos planned to implement certain features, the device requires updates for seamless functionality. It might have been wiser to postpone the launch until all aspects are polished.
At first glance, the Ace impresses with its stylish and unobtrusive design. Its compact size and snug fitting earpiece cater to those with smaller heads, as does its 312-gram weight, making it comfortable to wear for extended periods. It features a balanced weight distribution and elongated shells, similar to Apple's Airpods Max, providing ample airflow and pressure, suitable for glasses wearers. Though mostly made of plastic, the Ace's quality construction includes a sturdy steel arm for adjustment and magnetically attached shells.
The headphones come with a compact, flat, and magnetically attached case, keeping accessories such as USB-C and 3.5 mm cables neatly organized. The right shell's color is reflected in the transport box for convenient identification.
Practical control is a major advantage of the Ace. The metal buttons on the right shell are responsive and easy to use, adjusting volume by sliding the multifunction button. The left shell has a long button for on/off and Bluetooth pairing. The magnetic transport box has a secret compartment for cables, adding to its neat appeal.
The Ace's inner color matches the right shell's color, though not necessary, as the right shell can be identified by its buttons. The headphones offer a pleasant neutral tuning with deep bass, well-defined mids, and detailed highs. Dolby Atmos and Head Tracking are supported. However, sound situation awareness can be difficult when using this device due to slight wind issues. Thankfully, an equalizer in the app allows for individual adjustments.
The Ace's active noise cancellation is effective, if not adaptive or manually adjustable. Primarily designed for canceling continuous noises, it effectively filters out train and plane noise, while also dampening office chatter to a great extent. Thicker earpieces may cause slight discomfort to glasses wearers.
In conclusion, the Sonos Ace provides a successful design, outstanding comfort, and practical control. While it lacks adaptive ANC and has occasional wind issues, Sonos must fine-tune the device with necessary updates. The immersive audio experience and effortless user-friendliness make it a remarkable investment.
Nice detail: USB-C and 3.5 mm cables are kept organized in a magnetically attached case. Check out the detailed review for more info.
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- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxznJ1it6dI
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y1kWO7iJZQ
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(Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)(SOURCE: https://www.technikonline.org/xvi/2022/02/sonos-ace-im-test_jabra-eclipse-3-merkblatt)
The sound transparency function of the Sonos Ace has a slight background noise, but apart from that, it feels like nothing is on your ears. The headphones don't work well with strong winds, though they can still partially suppress them in the ANC mode. For phone calls, you're clearly understood by your conversation partners and can hear them naturally.
One of the most enticing features of the Ace is its compatibility with Sonos soundbars. The TV Audio Swap feature connects to the speaker and takes over the playback, including surround sound or even Dolby Atmos if the source and other hardware support it. This works seamlessly with a Sonos Arc. In the upcoming weeks or months, it should also work with a Sonos Beam (1 and 2) and the Ray. The best part is that only one headphone can be connected to the soundbar.
The update to be released in the coming weeks or months will make the headphones even better. It will allow the Ace to take over the room adjustments from the soundbar upon request, giving the impression that nothing has changed. The extent of the effect varies, but it's always a welcomed addition.
There's no integration of the Ace into the Sonos home network, meaning you can't take over the music played by a speaker or enjoy the advantages of WLAN streaming.
Sonos claims a playtime of 30 hours with active ANC, which is confirmed in practice. If the battery level falls below 10%, the "Quick Charge" function lets you listen to music for about three hours after three minutes of charging at the power adapter. With regular charging speed, a fully discharged battery takes three hours to fully charge.
The major flaw with the Ace is its app, especially the Android app, which often malfunctions, fails to detect the headphones, or displays previously set settings even though it continues to adjust the headset.
Sonos apparently tried to fix issues caused by the app adjustment before the launch of the headphones, angering many users. This is frustrating, but hopefully, these issues can be addressed with updates. A few more features like individual hearing adjustment would also be appropriate at this price range.
Overall, the Sonos Ace is an excellent Bluetooth headphone, particularly known for its superior sound quality and superb comfort. ANC and battery life are also impressive. While there are cheaper options with similar performance, the TV Audio Swap feature makes the €500-price-tagged headphones a great option for owners of a compatible soundbar. Otherwise, it might be worth holding off and seeing what updates the company brings.
