Sonos Ace in test: Top sound impact for the first Sonos headphones

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Sonos now also provides sound for your ears: The over-ear premiere called Sonos Ace receives music like other speakers with Bluetooth. As an extra talent, the Ace has Wi-Fi on board to continue playing the previously turned up home theater surround sound from TV speakers at the touch of a button, including 3D audio and head movement detection. The revamped Sonos app serves as a link. The test clarifies what audiophile streaming fans can expect from the headphones in view of the high price and whether the interaction between hardware and software works as harmoniously as the AirPods Max in the Apple world.

Wears and presses well

Practical use of the Sonos Ace confirms the positive initial impression of the quality feel, wearing comfort and operating concept of the hardware. The headphones, which are available in white or black, have a minimalist design and a high-quality finish.

Despite the slightly higher weight of 312 grams, the over-ear model is comfortable to wear even after several hours. The contact pressure is sufficient to prevent the earphones from slipping even during sporting activities, but does not squeeze the temples painfully against the skull. The soft temple and ear pads are made of vegan leather and are easy to clean. In the event of irreparable wear, a new pair can be magnetically attached to the plastic shells for 50 euros.

The large outer surfaces are reminiscent of the Sony WH-1000XM5, but unlike these do not respond to touch gestures. Instead, Sonos relies on buttons that can be felt intuitively and provide good feedback.

On the right ear, a chrome rocker switch in Bluetooth mode allows you to pause and resume tracks, turn them up and down and switch between them. In a home theater setup, a long press of the rocker switch grabs the soundbar sound or sends it back there. The button underneath suppresses external noise with ANC or amplifies it in transparency mode. On the left ear, next to a USB-C socket, there is a shared button for Bluetooth pairing and switching on and off.

When the Ace is not in use, the ear cups can be rotated 90 degrees and the headphones stowed in a felt-covered carrying case. The included container for the charging and audio cables sticks magnetically, so they don't fall out easily.

Sonos app can, but doesn't have to be

Immediately after unpacking, the Sonos Ace is ready to play music. You pair it via Bluetooth 5.4 like any other headphones with this wireless technology. Alternatively, you can pair it with one of the two cables supplied. One of 75 centimeters in length ends in USB-C, the other (110 centimeters) in a 3.5 jack socket.

Unlike Sonos headphones, it is not necessary to set up the headphones with the Sonos app for Android and iOS beforehand in order to listen to music. The app is only indispensable for interaction with a TV speaker. If you want, you can tune the sound in the app with an equalizer, adjust the button assignment for noise suppression and transparency mode, switch on the surround sound trick of head tracking or switch off the wear detection.

To add the headphones to the Sonos system in the software, you go through a one-off pairing procedure. The app then connects to the connected headphones automatically every time it is opened.

In the test, however, reconnecting often required several minutes of patience. The optional seamless switching between the headphones and two Bluetooth devices also worked unreliably in the test. If more than three devices are connected and are close to each other, the Ace gets confused and no longer connects to any of them automatically. With the AirPods Max, to which the Sonos newcomer is supposed to be an alternative, the automatic switching between Apple devices works perfectly.

The headphones' wearer detection was a complete matter of luck. In most cases, the music continued to play even when the headphones were hanging around the neck or lying on the table. This could be remedied with app and firmware updates.

Music selection only in other apps

Music selection within the Sonos app was not possible at all in the test. The tracks called up could be controlled using the controls. However, the supply must come from other music applications. This is disappointing as Sonos has also emphasized the improved interaction of system components in the latest app update. However, the Ace does not appear in the component overview, so it cannot be grouped or loaded with music from other speakers.

The bundling of dozens of streaming services in the Sonos app is not available with Sonos' first headphones. Anyone using the manufacturer's software as a musical control center will probably have higher expectations. Sonos can still make improvements here.