They’ve been rumoured for years. Now the experts at Sonos have finally unveiled their first-ever headphones. Simply called Sonos Ace, these premium cans get all the features you’d expect from a team that is renowned for making some of the best audio products on the planet. Sonos is promising impressive sound and rich bass thanks to a custom-designed 40mm dynamic driver in each ear cup. To make things feel more immersive there’s also three-dimensional sound and dynamic head-tracking that makes it appear as if music is hitting your ears from all directions.
Impressive Active Noice Cancellation (ANC) should make sure you only hear your music and nothing else plus there’s the all-important ‘Aware’ mode which can be activated to let some background audio in. This is vital for those times when you might want to listen out for a flight being called or don’t want to feel totally isolated.
It all sounds impressive but the Ace has another trick up its sleeve. If you’re watching a Hollywood blockbuster or late-night football action and don’t want to disturb the family you simply press a button on the side of the cups to transfer the audio directly to the headphones rather than it booming out of your soundbar.
It happens seamlessly and without the need to dig into Bluetooth settings. Spatial audio with Dolby Atmos is also included to make it feel like you’ve been transported to the cinema or fan-packed stadium.
At launch, this function will only work if you have the premium £900 Sonos Arc speaker under your TV but the audio company is promising more compatibility in the future including its much cheaper Sonos Ray device.
Other extras coming to the Ace headphones include a 30-hour battery life, fast charging that adds power in a flash and a plush design that makes them comfortable to wear. There’s even memory foam included to make sure they fit snuggly on your head plus Sonos is promising a lightweight design that should help with wearing them for long periods.
Built-in sensors also detect when you’re wearing Sonos Ace, so playback pauses when you take it off and resumes when you put it back on. There are also simply controls including a button that can be pushed up or down to raise or lower volume levels.
“They’re here! Fans have asked us for years to bring the Sonos experience to headphones,” said Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos. “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.”
If you’ve already got a home packed with Sonos speakers and want to add to your collection the Sonos Ace arrive next month. They won’t be cheap though. It’s been confirmed that UK fans will need to stump up £449 to own a pair.
