Page 2: Interplay in the home theater

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In the home theater, the Ace proves to be a playful team player in a Sonos system. The interaction with TV speakers was convincing in the practical test. The transfer of the TV sound from the Sonos Arc sound bar worked without any problems. It is currently the only one to support this function. The Beam and Ray models are due to receive an update "shortly".

For the interaction, we paired the Ace with the iOS version of the Sonos app. This is not yet possible with Android. We then activated the "Add TV Audio Swap" entry in the headphone menu. The Arc and Ace then immediately established a direct connection via Wi-Fi. This is the only reason why this wireless technology is built into the headphones in addition to Bluetooth.

After the one-off setup, both devices always found each other straight away and were ready for sound transmission. To do this, tap on "Switch" and "Switch back" in the app. Alternatively, a long press of the rocker switch on the headphones does the trick. The latter is practical because it eliminates the awkward intermediate step of establishing contact between the Sonos app and the headphones.

However, the additional functions 3D audio and head tracking can only be switched on and off in the app. In the former case, the speaker transmits Dolby Atmos natively or calculates virtual surround sound for stereo tracks. Head tracking fixes the direction of the sound relative to the position of your head in the room, for example when you look to the side to grab snacks from the side table.

The "TrueCinema" sound measurement function could not yet be tested. With the help of the headphone microphones, it is intended to supplement the 3D sound with the sound characteristics of the room in which you are watching TV. Sonos plans to deliver this function later this year.

The Ace sounds flawless

In the listening test, Sonos' first headphones confirm the impressive first impression from the hands-on. The Ace delivers an inspiring sound that meets high standards. Sonos pumps out a powerful but not overpowering bass from the 40 millimeter drivers. In the mid-frequency range, vocals, speech and corresponding instruments sound very natural and rich in detail. The treble also comes across clearly and precisely, provided the source material is suitable. Depending on the track, we noticed somewhat muffled-sounding hi-hats in the test. Sound impurities are easily noticeable with the Sonos Ace.

The Ace plays lossless formats on Android via Qualcomm's aptX codec and on all other devices via USB-C connection. The headphones also support Dolby Atmos on iOS. But even if the soundtrack is not equipped with 3D effects, the sound of the Sonos Ace is full, wide and very spatial.

The home theater listening tests offered similar euphony. In 3D mode, the Ace presented both stereo and surround sound tracks very vividly and envelopingly. As during a Sonos product demo, the head tracking worked precisely and without any noticeable delay. This helps with immersion in the movie because it supports the impression of not wearing headphones.

Only hear what you want

Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) can be switched on via the app or on the headphones if you feel that the natural noise reduction of the over-ear headphones is not enough to keep out the noise. Sonos uses anti-noise technology very effectively. When ANC is activated, the Ace's eight microphones filter out noise from the surroundings quite thoroughly. Only a whisper remained of street noise, background noise and chatter in the subway as well as leaf blowers in the test. The Ace only did a mediocre job of blocking out wind noise in the test. This is annoying when running. However, the heavy headphones are generally not ideal for this.

When we switched to the "Aware" transparency mode, the headphones amplified the ambient noise beyond the normal level. This didn't sound unpleasant, but unnatural. If you can hear an approaching car instead of missing it, this is tolerable. On the other hand, we did not notice any distortion of the music sound or any inherent noise in either mode.

The Sonos Ace is also well suited as a telephone aid thanks to its built-in microphones. Conversations sounded natural and easy to understand at both ends of the line. Here too, the Ace confidently pushed unwanted noises into the background. The sound of an open tap was only heard as a subtle whisper.

Charges quickly, lasts a long time

30 hours of music via Bluetooth and ten hours of TV sound via Wi-Fi should be possible on a single charge - in each case with ANC activated. In our experience, these promises from Sonos are realistic. If you extrapolate the consumption of our one-hour samples, there should be even more runtime reserves.

The Sonos Ace is fully charged via USB-C in under two hours, so this Sonos claim is also correct. A quick-charging function filled the battery with enough energy for three and a half hours of battery life within three minutes - half an hour more than predicted. Sonos does not supply a power supply unit for the charging process and does not reveal the charging capacity for which the battery is optimized. Practical: The headphones can be charged via USB-C and play music at the same time.

Conclusion

With the Ace, network loudspeaker specialist Sonos has achieved a top-class first for headphones. The pair of headphones impress with a high level of wearing comfort, practical button operation, impressive sound, highly effective ANC, long battery life and an interesting TV talent as a bonus.

The sound transfer from a soundbar is intended as a fan service for Sonos systems and should put the new addition in the spotlight. But even as a pure listening aid for music streaming, it has enough to offer to make it an interesting alternative to established headphone brands. Even the high price can't be faulted in view of the flawless hardware.

Only for Apple fans does Sonos not offer enough incentive to choose the Ace over the AiPods Max. The latter harmonize much better with software and other devices from the iPhone company. In comparison, the weak performance of the Sonos software is a showstopper. The fact that the manufacturer is moving away from the mandatory use of the application therefore proves to be a stroke of luck. No Bluetooth device from Sonos has ever produced such an effortlessly powerful sound as the Ace.

(anw)