“A listening experience unlike any other”: Sonos’s eagerly awaited launch into the headphone market is here – meet Sonos Ace
Written by WOM writer on May 22, 2024
The high-spec cans will be available to buy from 5 June.
After years of clamouring by fans to bring their high fidelity sound to a pair of cans, Sonos is finally releasing a pair of headphones, Sonos Ace.
The brand’s new over-ear Bluetooth headphones feature lossless and spatial audio, world-class Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Aware Mode, while the company also promises “the most precise and immersive home theatre experience possible using Sonos’ new TrueCinema technology”.
The headphones come in both Black and Soft White variations and will be available from 5 June, retailing at £449.
“They’re here! Fans have asked us for years to bring the Sonos experience to headphones – and we knew our first foray into the category needed to champion the type of innovation and sound experience Sonos has become synonymous with,” says Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos, in a press release.
“Sonos Ace leverages everything we’ve learned over two decades as an audio leader to bring stunning sound, sleek design and long-standing comfort to one of the largest and most popular audio categories worldwide.”
“Sonos Ace represents our ambition to create moving sound experiences that are equal to the moment we live in. It is an exciting new chapter as we embark on what it means to design for personal listening,” adds Maxime Bouvat-Merlin, Sonos Chief Product Officer. “True to Sonos’ heritage of premium products, each individual detail of Sonos Ace has been expertly crafted, custom designed, and tuned by the world’s leading sound experts to give you a listening experience unlike any other.”
Sonos Ace features two custom-designed drivers that help to produce the brand’s signature high-fidelity sound. The brand has also promised that the headphones can be part of “your own private cinema”, wherein users can swap the TV audio from a compatible Sonos soundbar to Sonos Ace with just the tap of a button. Meanwhile, spatial audio with Dolby Atmos means the sound remains detailed and clear in all directions while dynamic head tracking keeps users centred in the sound even if they move.
The headphones have an extended 30 hours battery life and charging for just 3 minutes gives an extra 3 hours of power.
Meanwhile, Sonos has emphasised that its new headphones are responsibly made to last with replaceable ear cushions, circular materials using 17 per cent less virgin plastic, and a 75 per cent recycled felt travel case made from plastic bottles. For improved energy efficiency, wear detection pauses your music when you remove Sonos Ace from your ears to reduce the need for charging.
Sonos’s Ace headphones have already begun whipping up a storm online, with MacRumors saying, “This is what the [Apple] AirPods Max should have been.” Meanwhile, The Verge calls them “damn impressive”.
Source: Emma Wilkes – musictech.com
