Sonos Ace Condensation

Issue?

[MrJ.]

This is a pretty common thing with most closed back headphones. When they have a good seal they're just not breathable enough for proper airflow. I did sample a Sonos Ace at my local Best Buy the other day and I did notice 2 things within about 15 minutes or so which may contribute to a bit more condensation buildup vs alot of its competitors. Just in that short timeframe I noticed the headphones tend to run a little bit warm. Thought it was in my head at first but I tried the Sennheiser M4, Bose Ultra and Sony XM5 while I was there for about 5 minutes a piece and came back to the Sonos and my ears again felt a tad warmer than with the others. Another thing I noticed was that the mesh in the earcup felt so thin that it almost felt like a very fine plastic mesh or super thin crinaline. It looks like it would do a great job blocking stuff like earwax, dust or debris, but it also felt a little water repellent which when added to the lack of airflow and the heat generated from wear/headphone operation it could also contribute to collecting more moisture. Maybe not in a way that could directly affect the drivers but I can see it definitely collecting within the earcup rims. It may not be a bad thing cause if it causes moisture to run off away from the drivers that will protect them longterm as long as the earcups are removed a couple times a day after wearing them just to air them out. These may just require a little more attention from the wearer but for someone who just wants to wear them all day and toss them in the case without any maintenance I can see these having some problems. On a side note the headphones I'm really curious about are the upcoming Fokus Audio Apollo. I'll be keeping an eye out for your review in case you decide to nab those too

[oisin_o_boyle]

Something normal I guess. With other headphones as well, where you mostly can’t take off the earcups.

[johnphillip]

This isn’t a problem…. Every headphone will have condensation after use. With headphones that don’t have removable cups it does happen but you can’t observe it 🤦‍♂️