Sonos has played its ace card to rivals Sony, Apple and Bose.
They’re the fan favourite headphones that didn’t exist — until now.
Sonos provided this publisher with headphones for testing purposes. This did not affect our views of the device, and our review remains independent of the manufacturer.
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Here’s the lowdown on the new Sonos over-ear headphones.
Sonos which is better known for its sound bars is finally launching a pair of Bluetooth active noise-cancelling headphones after what the company says was a wave of requests from customers.
The Sonos Ace comes in soft white and black and is priced at $699.
Design
It is a big call, but this is my favourite design ever for a pair of over-ear headphones.
The memory foam ear cushions are incredibly soft and wrapped in vegan leather (which is basically pleather or fake leather), but it feels comfortable.
What stands out to me most of all is how light they are, especially compared to the Apple AirPods Max. To be exact, they’re 72.8g lighter.
I feel as though the go-to colour is black but in this case, the soft white finish is my pick.
The matching case is also a nice touch because it comes with a detachable magnetic cable pouch. But if you’re prone to staining accidents, I would go with the black fabric case.
Overall, they do look like a hybrid cross between Sony’s WH-1000XM5 and Apple’s AirPods Max.
Special features
The headline feature is the way the headphones can pick up TV audio from a Sonos soundbar with the push of a button.
This really comes to life when you’re watching a Dolby Atmos movie, and you get the full Spatial Audio surround sound experience with head tracking.
Later this year, an innovation called True Cinema is coming which will take things to a new level and map out the space you’re sitting in to provide the right audio to match.
These days, active noise cancellation (ANC) is almost an automatic requirement — and the Sonos headphones do not disappoint.
Perhaps the more important feature is Aware Mode, which lets in outside sounds so you’re aware of things around you, such as traffic.
There’s also a feature called wearer detection, which uses built-in sensors that detect when you take the headphones off and pause what you’re listening to.
Voice-calling performance
I love the fact there is one main slider button that lets you adjust the volume, song, or phone call.
And speaking of phone calls, the audio quality is great, but I prefer doing it in Aware mode and not in full ANC — I just end up shouting in public, and no matter how sleek these headphones are, it’s not a good look.
Quick stats
BATTERY
- You’ll get around 30 hours on a full charge, but if you need a quick juice boost, you can get three hours on a three-minute charge.
DIMENSIONS (H x W x D)
WEIGHT
BLUETOOTH 5.4
- Supports audio streaming from any Bluetooth-enabled device.
PRICING & AVAILABILITY
- Available starting June 5 for $699
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