Sonos Ace Headphones Review | Almost Perfect

Sonos is synonymous with making wireless music super easy over your home network. And it does so with a family of really good wireless speakers. And now, Sonos is in the headphones game with the Sonos Ace.

And that introduces a number of questions. Do you need to already have a Sonos setup to enjoy the Sonos Ace headphones? Do they work just fine on their own? How well do the Sonos Ace stand up just as headphones, taking Sonos completely out of the equation? And given that these are a Sonos product, is there any special sauce at work?

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And are they even worth thinking about given the shoddy state of Sonos software in mid-2024?

These are all good questions. And it turns out they’re actually fairly simple to answer. Because the Sonos Ace are, first and foremost, very capable Bluetooth headphones. There’s no real Sonos cruft at work, and no attempt at making Wi-Fi-enabled headphones happen.

So just how good are the Sonos Ace headphones? And are they even worth looking at given the top competitors in the space? And what about all those software problems Sonos has had this year? We’ve got some thoughts. A lot of them, actually.

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VIDEO CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:10 Overview
02:14 Out-of-Box
02:52 Design and Comfort
04:46 Reolink Sponsorship
06:00 Sonos App & Head Tracking
07:16 Audio Quality
08:07 TV Audio Swap Feature
08:47 Final Thoughts

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[PhilNickinson]

I’m digging these a lot. The more I wear them the more I think the weight (or lack thereof) makes a huge difference.

[NizarNoor]

I got these but decided to return them. I loved the design choices very much (the physical buttons, premium & sleek look, the slim travel case, magnetic earpads, etc etc). But the sound quality is just so underwhelming. The bass is lacking (only strong mid bass but weak low bass). It's good for cinematic content like movies but only decent for music. Overall, I feel like they're not good enough for the price, so I returned them.

[darnold]

Paired with a Sonos Arc, the Sonos Ace supports Dolby Atmos 7.1.4, it’s awesome and I love them ❤

[terriersforever]

I wear glasses so more often and not I go back to my AirPods Max as I find the maxs a lot more comfortable wearing glasses.

[johnkola]

I’m shocked you actually think Sonos ace is ‘almost perfect’! Listened to it for a while and could not hear what you described as almost perfect. In fact, it’s shockingly bad sound for music! Better if u just watch movies/tv for the Spatial Audio. I returned it. I would not even pay $200 for this.

[leetronix]

They are fantastic headphones for wireless sound and sound excellent. Not quite as good as say the really impressive Technics A800 on sound but hand down 10 x better than the apple max head phones. I also wear glasses and have zero issues with them.

[rvb_drolf]

Just an addition to your review: Bose is doing really similar stuff with their soundbars and headphones via SimpleSync. As far as I’m concerned, the only difference is the lack of spacial audio when doing so. The Ace are supposed to mimic a Sonos setup in that mode, while Bose is sticking to stereo.

[michaelfreund]

Great review! Fun too. How do they compare to the Bose 45?

[jb.inspired]

I have seen reports of Sonos ace bricking with certain anker and Belkin chargers. Do yours still work and what are your opinions on the app that everyone is angry about. I want to know if I should switch from AirPod max to Sonos. What charging brick do you use

[josephkim]

I think if it had Wi-Fi integration or at at least integration or AirPlay with all its other speakers that you may have in the house, then I think this would be worth getting. I personally am waiting for either a second generation version of this or maybe the next iteration of the AirPods max

[louisp]

Got it for 380$ with the system upgrade discount! Mostly will be using it for movies.

[tjsage]

Do the headphones 'Swap' the audio with the' Sonos Arc' soundbar and audio stops coming out of the Arc? I think preferably would be the have the Sonos Arc bar producing audio at the same time as the Sonos Ace headset. That way, if there is more then one viewer watching a movie, and one needs the audio much louder, they can use the Ace headset and personally turn it up while the rest of the room can enjoy the Sonos Arc soundbar at a normal volume

[RonnRicco]

Hmmm, Phil Nickinson, son of Nickin and Caleb Denison, son of Deni. Am I sensing a theme here? Hopefully more videos from Phil and a collab with Caleb soon, unless they ARE the same person.

[MacsForever]

Your voice tends to trail off at the end of your sentences and I miss what you're saying. I have to turn up the volume to hear the end of your sentences but when I do the first part of your sentences are very loud. It's like you run out of air at the end to produce the words. I know kind of a weird complaint but thought I'd let you know so you can work on a consistent speaking level throughout the entire sentence. Otherwise great content. Thinking about it more it might be the mic compression you're using or the gate on your sound board is set too tight.

[kptdcqf]

these YouTube more they say to subscribed MORE we don't do it LOL

[beaumac]

I wonder when they will support the Beam sound bar. Also, can multiple simultaneously people do the tv swap?

[Obi-WanKenobi]

Still no Bravia 9 review by you guys or HDTVTest, very dissapointing. I really need a detailed comparison between the Bravia 9 and A95L before the Bravia 9 85 inch goes off of sale. I've already missed the A95L 77 inch sale. Hopefully the review video and the comparison video will be out soon, assuming you guys do a comparison. I also hope the videos are really detailed, but you guys do a great job every time. You're the best, Caleb.

[kdcndw]

I am sure the headphones are wonderful...BUT....Sonos screws over it's older decades old customer base by recent glitchy software making many wireless speaker systems, um..to be charitable, unstable. But Sonos is going after what is hot at the moment, spatial audio sort of Wifi ? Bluetooth headphones but no aptx HD or Aptx lossless or LDAC codecs. At the same time Wiim's software not mentioning the hardware improves by leap and bounds. Solid plan Sonos. I'm sure the headphones are fine (I will stick with sony xm5s) but way to go! Never thought I would say Sonos is now on the same level as DTS play-fi. (Not a compliment) while my Heos system components which have been buggy in the past continue to improve and sound pretty damn good..even play hi rez 24 bit 196 khz files (Sonos caps at 48khz)

[Sas-wklj]

The PQ of your video is just breathtaking! Truly a reference quality. These are such times that make me proud of my S95C. Lol, what were you reviewing btw? (sorry, my attention was all fixed on the video quality) 😉

[TempzVevo]

I found them uncomfortable and too clamping. Just me?