Sonos spent more than two decades working on speakers and audio products, so it felt like only a matter of time before the company forayed into the world of headphones. There is already quite a bit of competition in the market for premium over-ear headphones, with models like the AirPods Max, Bose QuietComfort Ultra, and Sony WH-1000XM5 all providing great active noise-canceling (ANC) and sound quality. Audio is something Sonos is not only familiar with, but specializes in. While the Sonos Ace is a first-generation product, it's an impressive one that leverages the company's experience in consumer audio to offer excellent sound quality and balance from the start.

Sonos Ace aren't perfect, and to be honest, I can't wait to see what future revisions of these headphones might look like. For now, there are a few major reasons to pick the Ace over the competition. They're super lightweight and very comfortable, and that makes me want to listen to the Sonos Ace more than the AirPods Max, which were my previous daily driver. The headphones don't block out noise as well with ANC, nor do they have the bass power of the AirPods Max. However, Sonos made a better pair of over-ear headphones in the ways that matter, including comfort, battery life, and sound quality.

About this review: Sonos provided a pair of Ace headphones for the purposes of this review. The company had no input in this article, and did not see its contents before publishing.

Pricing, specs, and availability

Sonos launched the Ace in early June 2024, and it's the company's first pair of headphones. They're available now in Black or Soft White colorways, and retail for $449. That puts the Sonos Ace right in competition with the Sony WH-1000XM5 ($400) and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra ($429). You can get the over-ear headphones directly from Sonos, or from third-party retailers like Best Buy and Amazon.

Design

The most comfortable pair of over-ears I've used

My favorite part of wearing the Sonos Ace daily was the headphones' design, and it wasn't really close. They're a mix of the AirPods Max and the Sony WH-1000XM5 in terms of appearance. The Sonos Ace have a polished metal headband slider that can be adjusted to different sizes in a continuous motion, like the AirPods Max. Similarly to the Sony WH-1000XM5, the Ace have a minimalistic design language featuring a matte plastic finish in either white or black. The AirPods Max are still flashier, but I think I prefer the minimal look of the Sonos Ace.

The design is subjective, but comfort is where these headphones stand out. That's because the Sonos Ace have a lightweight build that fixes my biggest gripes with the AirPods Max. Sonos' headphones come in at 312 grams, which is indeed heavier than both the Sony WH-1000XM5 and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra. However, they're much lighter than the 385-gram AirPods Max. The comfort is about more than just physical heft. The memory foam and vegan leather on the earcups and headband make the Sonos Ace the most comfortable over-ear headphones I've tested.

There's something about the memory foam on the Sonos Ace that is just so comfortable. Simply pressing your finger on the earcup will immediately leave an indent, but the foam will quickly spring back to its original form when you remove it. You can imagine how this would make the Sonos Ace extremely comfortable. The earcups and headband will adapt to your ear and head shape, making the Ace feel great on all kinds of people.

Controls and connectivity

There's a unique way to control the Sonos Ace with physical buttons

Sonos made the right choice by making all the controls on the Ace headphones use physical buttons. Gestures and capacitive touch sensors simply can't replace real buttons and sliders. Rather than clutter the Sonos Ace with a bunch of buttons, there's one that takes care of many controls — the Content Key. It's a button/slider hybrid that handles volume control, play/pause control, and moving to the next or previous track. You can move the Content Key up or down to adjust the volume, and the headphones will give audible feedback.

However, I'm not a huge fan of the Content Key's location. It's on the back side of the right earcup, which means that I found myself tilting my head to make it easier to reach. I prefer the location of the AirPods Max's Digital Crown or the Beats button on the Beats Studio Pro, which are on the top side or surface of the earcup, respectively. Also on the right earcup of the Sonos Ace is a circular button that changes ANC modes and can trigger a voice assistant on your smartphone. The left earcup has a power button, too.

Sonos speakers are known for using Wi-Fi for connection, pairing, and continuous playback. But for the most part, Sonos Ace use Bluetooth 5.4 to connect to other devices. There is one situation where the Sonos Ace use Wi-Fi, and that's when it is connected to a Sonos Arc soundbar and an iOS device. The pairing process is quick, and users can download the Sonos app to manage their headphones' settings.

The app is fine, but not great. As someone that only has the Sonos Ace, the companion app feels empty without an ecosystem of speakers to pair with the over-ear headphones. I want to say the experience is better for Sonos users with multiple audio products, but I know that isn't the case. Longtime Sonos users have publicly expressed their displeasure on social media with the recent app redesign. So, people who only own the Sonos Ace feel like they're missing out on app features, and Sonos' passionate fanbase isn't happy with the app either.

It's clear that there is work to be done on the Sonos app. It gets the job done, offering ways to update the headphones, change ANC modes and settings, and even set a custom EQ mode. The one truly horrible thing about the Sonos app is that it requires access to your location to complete the Sonos Ace setup process. It's just unacceptable. I shouldn't have to give my location to a company to set up headphones.

Sound quality and ANC

The epitome of balance, but ANC is lacking

Sonos Ace are a great-sounding pair of headphones, and they're especially good for people who like a balanced sound. When listening to music with the Ace, nothing sounds overpowered. There's excellent balance throughout the soundstage, from the lows, to the mids, to the highs. The cool thing about the Sonos Ace is that they somehow sound loud and full while simultaneously sounding distant and spread out. It feels like you're listening to music from speakers across the room, not like there are two 40mm drivers less than an inch away from your ears.

That's without features like Spatial Audio, Doby Atmos, and head tracking enabled. If you flip some of those toggles on supported devices, the experience will get even better. I particularly like Sonos' approach to head tracking, which seems more conservative. Dynamic head-tracking is usually a feature I immediately turn off on headphones, but it isn't distracting on the Sonos Ace like it can be on AirPods.

All this ends up creating a versatile pair of headphones that can really play anything pretty well. It's tricky to find headphones that can reproduce anchoring piano chords as well as booming bass and piercing cymbals. Whether you're listening to pop, rap, hip-hop, or jazz, the Sonos Ace will sound full and balanced. A great example of this is in Paramore's song You First, which I've been obsessed with lately. The snare drum sounds just as it should — not too high, not too low, but right in the middle. The track also has acoustic guitar, electric guitar, ride cymbals, and a grounding kickdrum.

The Sonos Ace recreate all these very different sounds from various parts of the soundstage with impressive accuracy. As a drummer, I've been particularly impressed with how percussion instruments tuned in different ways sound correctly and are differentiated from one another on the Sonos Ace. In terms of consistency, the Sonos Ace beat all the headphones I've used recently, including the AirPods Max, Beats Studio Pro, and Beats Solo 4.

That's not to say they are superior in every area, though. The AirPods Max tend to sound better with pop and hip-hop/rap tracks featuring a lot of bass. Those headphones are just on another level when it comes to recreating sounds at the low end of the soundstage. I'd compare the bass reproduction on the Sonos Ace versus the AirPods Max to what it's like to listen to my Edifier desktop speakers without their separate subwoofer. It's a night-and-day difference. But I want to reiterate that the Sonos Ace are consistent, and that will be preferred if you listen to a variety of genres.

The Sonos Ace also lag behind the AirPods Max in active noise-cancelation performance, and this will be more noticeable than the sound quality difference. If you listen to the Sonos Ace with ANC on and the volume set to around 50-75%, you'll probably block out most sounds. However, after taking the AirPods Max and Sonos Ace on cross-country flights, I found that the AirPods Max are far better at reducing pressure. As someone who gets headaches and earaches while in the air, I'd still take the AirPods Max with me while flying for that reason alone. AirPods Max undoubtedly have stronger ANC than the Sonos Ace, for what it's worth.

Battery life

Stellar battery life with a great rapid recharge option

Battery life was great in my testing, with a rated playback time of 30 hours on a single charge. What's really great about the Sonos Ace is that you can get three hours of playback from a three-minute charge when the headphones are under 10% charged. Since they are powered via USB-C, it's pretty easy to keep the Ace up and running. You can top them off in a pinch with a quick charge, or just use the USB-C port on the headphones for wired listening.

Should you buy Sonos Ace?

You should buy the Sonos Ace if:

• You prefer headphones with a lightweight design and a high level of comfort
• You want headphones that fit into the Sonos ecosystem
• You like a balanced sound signature

You should NOT buy the Sonos Ace if:

• The headphones are outside your budget
• You're waiting for headphones with deeper integration with the Sonos ecosystem
• You want over-ear headphones with better ANC and more bass

There's a lot to like about the Sonos Ace as a standalone pair of over-ear headphones, forgetting about the larger ecosystem for a minute. They are comfortable, provide a balanced sound, and have advanced features. But at least for now, Sonos Ace don't fit in with the Sonos ecosystem as you might expect. There are some ways the Ace work with other speakers, like the Sonos Arc soundbar, but they are limited. In a generation or two, Sonos might be able to round out the Ace with better ecosystem integration and stronger ANC.

Still, the importance of comfort and balanced sound can't be understated. The first reason is enough for me to prefer using the Sonos Ace over the AirPods Max in most situations. If a clean and comfortable design are two of your top priorities, the Sonos Ace could be the perfect pick.