The Sonos Ace have a stylish design and are among the most comfortable headphones we've tried. Their sound quality doesn't disappoint, and the TV Audio Swap feature lets you privately listen to movies, shows, and games. But the Ace feel finished — with several features still "coming soon."
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00:00My friends, Sonos has been going through it lately.
00:03The company's new redesigned app
00:05has made a lot of people very mad
00:08because of bugs and a long list of missing features.
00:11Now I've been covering this company for many years now
00:13and I've never seen its Reddit community
00:15this upset about anything.
00:17There's a widespread perception
00:18that I think is reasonable
00:19that Sonos released this app before it was ready
00:22just so that the company
00:23could ship its first headphones on time.
00:25Hopefully the app situation looks a lot better
00:27in the next month or two.
00:29We're gonna have to see,
00:30but the $450 Sonos Ace noise counseling headphones
00:33are here right now.
00:35They look great.
00:35They're super comfortable on your head.
00:37The sound quality doesn't disappoint
00:39and there's one trick that sets the Ace apart
00:41from all competitors.
00:42So let's jump into the review.
00:50The Ace headphones come in this nice felt covered case.
00:53Once you're inside that case,
00:54there's a little pouch that stores both of the cables.
00:57There's USB-C and USB-C to 3.5 millimeter
00:59headphone jack cables.
01:01You can listen wide with either one.
01:02I'd advise using some caution with the zipper though.
01:05I already had one snag and break
01:06before I was able to get it reattached.
01:08That might've been just a fluke,
01:09but not the best first impression.
01:11Then come the actual headphones
01:13and my first impressions still hold up.
01:15Sonos has nailed their design,
01:18the fit and the comfort so well
01:20that I keep forgetting these are its first set of headphones.
01:23The Ace are like a mishmash of the Sony 1000XM5s
01:26and the Apple AirPods Max.
01:27The embossed Sonos logo on the right ear cup
01:29doesn't call much attention and I like that.
01:32And the stainless steel slider arms
01:33allow for very precise fit adjustments.
01:35Though as usual, my giant head needs full extension.
01:39These magnetic memory foam ear cushions
01:41just pull right off whenever you have to replace them.
01:44I'm curious how the pleather headband
01:45is gonna hold up after several months of usage,
01:47but in most respects,
01:49the Ace are a fantastically made pair of headphones
01:52that balance subtlety and sophistication.
01:55And damn, are they comfortable.
01:57Now the Ace weigh 312 grams,
01:59which is kind of a halfway point
02:00between the Sony and Bose headphones
02:02and Apple's noticeably heavier AirPods Max.
02:05Now I wear glasses, as you can see,
02:07and the clamping force never put too much pressure
02:09on my frames or anything like that.
02:10I've used these headphones for hours at a time
02:12with no real complaints, maybe just one.
02:16See, I much prefer Apple's fabric ear cushions,
02:18especially as it gets warmer outside
02:20over the spring and summer.
02:21They just breathe better.
02:23You know what doesn't breathe?
02:25Pleather.
02:26We love buttons here at The Verge,
02:27and I'm so glad that Sonos has gone with physical controls,
02:30which I'll take any day over touch pads and swipe gestures.
02:34Sorry, Sony.
02:35On the right ear cup is the content key,
02:37which can slide up or down to adjust volume.
02:39You press it once to play pause,
02:41twice to skip forward a track,
02:42or three times to go back.
02:44Hold down the content key
02:45and you trigger the big headline feature of these headphones,
02:48TV audio swap, but we'll get to that.
02:51Now below the slider is a round button
02:53that toggles between active noise cancellation
02:55and the aware transparency mode.
02:57On the left ear cup is the USB-C port
02:59along with a power and Bluetooth pairing button.
03:01The Ace support multipoint Bluetooth,
03:03so you can pair them with two devices at the same time.
03:05They've also got on-head detection
03:07and will pause your music if you remove them.
03:08Battery life lasts for up to 30 hours,
03:10which is more than enough.
03:12So I know there are a lot of you out there
03:14who are pretty disappointed how the Ace
03:15aren't some groundbreaking pair of Wi-Fi headphones
03:18that can group with your other Sonos speakers.
03:20When it comes to music,
03:21these are just regular Bluetooth headphones.
03:24Sure, they support aptX Adaptive for lossless streaming,
03:27but that only applies to a small list of Android smartphones.
03:30This Galaxy S24 Ultra can't do it,
03:33neither can my Pixel Fold at home.
03:34If you really care about the highest audio fidelity,
03:37the best option, as always, is just to plug in.
03:41But why aren't these more tied into the Sonos ecosystem?
03:45It's a fair question, and it turns out
03:47we're just not there yet from a tech standpoint.
03:50Last week, Sonos addressed this very subject
03:52and pointed out that the Ace have a fraction
03:54of the CPU power compared to its regular speakers,
03:57even something like the tiny Roam.
03:59There would also be substantial battery trade-offs.
04:01So in the company's own words,
04:03we prototyped it, we built that headphone,
04:05it was not the right headphone.
04:07Could that change in the future?
04:09I sure hope so.
04:10I'd love to listen to vinyl on these things
04:12or have them automatically transfer music to my speakers
04:14as soon as I arrive home, maybe someday.
04:17So for now, let's focus on the Ace headphones we have today
04:21and how they sound.
04:22To my ears, the answer is pretty great.
04:25Look, this all gets so, so subjective.
04:28I prefer the overall tonality and the balance of the Ace
04:30compared to both the AirPods Max and the Sonys,
04:33but you might not.
04:35They're all pretty close in the same ballpark.
04:37And often this comes down to what genre of music
04:40people like the most.
04:41The Ace are detailed, they're punchy when they need to be,
04:43they're consistent, and the soundstage is about
04:46as wide as it gets for closed back headphones.
04:48You can fine tune the treble and bass EQ
04:50from within the Sonos app
04:51if the default profile isn't quite to your liking.
04:54They're consistent.
04:55I've been listening to Kacey Musgraves and the Black Keys,
04:57so they can go from chill to rock
04:59without any problems at all.
05:05Sonos claims these have world-class noise cancellation
05:08and it is very good, but not quite Bose level.
05:11The QuietComfort Ultra headphones still have the crown
05:14if you need to escape reality and find some peace.
05:17With the Ace, I can still hear some traffic noise
05:19cutting through when I'm walking around the city
05:21and it can't fully bring down the ambient noise
05:23at my local coffee shop,
05:24but it chops off enough to do the trick
05:26and the mics do a good job at combating wind noise.
05:29I've been satisfied by the ANC,
05:31but I've been blown away by the transparency mode.
05:34Apple's AirPods Max do this feature so well
05:36that sometimes you forget you're wearing headphones
05:38in the first place.
05:40And now Sonos has come the closest
05:41to matching that same sensation.
05:43It sounds so natural, so crisp,
05:46that it's easy to have full conversations with people
05:48or just maintain awareness of your surroundings
05:50without any real downsides.
05:52Then we come to the headline feature, TV audio swap.
05:55You just long press the content key
05:57and instantly the sound transfers over
05:59from a Sonos Arc soundbar to the Ace headphones.
06:02Sonos says both generations of its beam soundbars
06:04and the much cheaper Ray
06:06will pick up support for TV audio swap soon.
06:08But for now, you need the much more expensive Arc.
06:11It all takes about a second.
06:12You hear a short tone and bam,
06:14the audio from your TV just starts coming
06:16through the headphones.
06:17Do the same thing again,
06:18and the audio beams back to the soundbar,
06:21but at a safe volume to avoid loud bursts.
06:23Now get this, TV audio swap does use Wi-Fi
06:27to make this connection between the Ace and the Arc.
06:29So there is a Wi-Fi chip in these headphones,
06:32but it's only used for this one special trick.
06:35There are two ways to activate TV audio swap.
06:37One's by holding the button,
06:38but the other is from right inside the Sonos app.
06:40That's where you're gonna enable spatial audio
06:42and head tracking as well.
06:44Spatial audio, as usual,
06:45just gives everything a more cinematic feel
06:47when watching content that has a 5.1
06:49or Atmos surround sound mix.
06:51Even for stereo content,
06:52Sonos will virtualize a spatial audio mix,
06:55fake it essentially.
06:56You can always just turn this feature off
06:57if you want plain old stereo.
06:59Spatial audio worked wonders during Top Gun Maverick
07:01and often makes action sequences
07:03just feel bigger and more captivating,
07:05but I didn't find myself using it for TV shows or cable.
07:09Keep in mind, the Ace can play any audio
07:11that would normally come out of your soundbar,
07:13and that includes games.
07:14I've tested TV audio swap for hours with the PS5,
07:17and if there's been any latency, I haven't noticed it.
07:20Plus, you're getting a multi-channel spatial audio mix
07:23while gaming.
07:23That's made MLB The Show and Ratchet & Clank
07:26just sound that much more immersive.
07:28Yes, you can listen to an Apple TV with AirPods.
07:31That's great, but it only works with the Apple TV.
07:35Here, you're getting everything,
07:37and I can't overstate how convenient
07:39that versatility really is.
07:41That is what sets TV audio swap apart
07:44from every other private listening mode
07:46we've seen to date.
07:47But I've got bad news for anyone with an Android phone.
07:51TV audio swap just isn't available yet.
07:54You'll need an iPhone or an iPad to set it up.
07:56Sonos claims Android support is coming soon,
07:58and there are a lot of coming soons with these headphones
08:01in case you hadn't noticed.
08:03On a handful of occasions, it's also proven a little buggy
08:05and failed to do the handoff like it should.
08:07When it's seamless, it's awesome.
08:09When it's not, it can be frustrating.
08:12But Sonos tells me a software update due in the near future
08:14should make TV audio swap more consistent.
08:18And so, there we have it, the Sonos Ace.
08:21Look, I like these headphones a whole lot,
08:24even if you only use them for music.
08:26Are they my favorite new wireless headphones?
08:28It's close.
08:29The design, the comfort, and the sound
08:32all prove that Sonos belongs in the same conversation
08:36as Apple, Bose, and Sony.
08:38But buying the Ace today for $450 takes a little faith.
08:43Faith that Sonos will make good on its promises
08:46to bring TV audio swap to Android.
08:48Faith that the Beam and Ray soundbars
08:50will be supported sooner than later.
08:53And most of all, faith that Sonos will clean up
08:56this mess it made with the new app.
08:58I genuinely think that it will,
08:59but there's no harm in waiting a few months
09:01to see for yourself.
09:03These headphones were rushed out the door,
09:05but you shouldn't feel any rush
09:07to go out and buy them yourself.
09:09There's a ton going on on the Verge video channel lately.
09:12Becca has a great new series on creators.
09:14WWDC and Big Apple News is right around the corner,
09:17so keep it locked on the Verge for all the latest.