The mess over the company’s app redesign threatens to steal the thunder from what looks (and feels) like a strong start to a new category.
There’s a lot riding on the new $450 Sonos Ace headphones. With demand for the company’s speakers and subwoofers declining since the pandemic surge, Sonos could use a hit product — or at least a strong debut in a huge product category. Ace certainly could, but these speakers come amid a recent redesign of the Sonos app, which has angered many customers who were left without a number of features after the update.
Sonos has promised to restore those software functions in the coming weeks, but the whole situation — and the lingering feeling that the app overhaul was rushed — has shaken trust between the audio brand and some of its most loyal customers. . This isn’t where Sonos wanted to go with what CEO Patrick Spence described as its most sought-after new device ever. But that’s where we are for now as the Ace headphones are available for pre-order ahead of their release on June 5th.
Last week, the company hosted media in New York City to get a first look at the Sonos Ace. I’ve been testing noise-canceling headphones – not long enough to make any serious judgments about sound quality – and their main feature, instantly switching TV sound from Sonos speakers to headphones with the push of a button. Trying to move. button. The Ace headphones support spatial audio and head tracking, providing a particularly cinematic listening experience for those times when you might need silence in the TV room. (Spatial Audio can also be used during normal music listening.)
During the press conference, I sat down with Spence to discuss the headphones, which he said “tens of thousands” of customers have requested. Rumors of Sonos entering this field have been circulating for several years. There were many prototypes along the way, but the Ace devices you see here had a development period that lasted about two years. They certainly borrowed some ideas from their contemporaries.
These look like what you’d get if you put Sony’s WH-1000XM5 and Apple’s AirPods Max in a blender. The leatherette earpads are magnetic and easily removable, though Sonos adds a few thoughtful touches of its own; The interior is color-coded so you can easily tell which side is which. There’s a fingerprint-resistant coating on the outside of the headphones to reduce smudges – especially useful for a black pair. Memory foam headbands have different levels of padding to avoid excess pressure on any part of your head.
Luckily, the Ace is much lighter than the AirPods Max. There’s not a lot of metal everywhere, but they still look great. On my ears, they felt surprisingly comfortable. “We’ve done more work on this product than any other product in the industry to make sure it fits a wide variety of heads and ears for both men and women – and I believe “It’s going to be the most comfortable premium headphones we’ve ever made,” Spence told the media.
Try as I might, I couldn’t find any glaring flaws in my short time with the first-generation devices. Maybe they’ll reveal themselves when I review the Ace, but from first impressions, it’s clear that Sonos paid attention to the small details. (Another example: Inside the fabric carrying case there’s a pouch for the USB-C cable and headphones that also attaches magnetically.) The controls are also implemented well, with physical buttons for everything and a button to save or save. There are no tap or swipe gestures.
But if you’re hoping that the Sonos Ace will have the same functionality as the company’s home speakers, you’ll be a little disappointed. These do not play music over Wi-Fi. The best aptX Adaptive you’ll find on a modern Android device for high-bitrate Bluetooth streaming from compatible music services. You can’t group the Ace with Sonos speakers or designate the headphones as their own “zones” in the app — yes, you’ll need the divisive new app to change settings or adjust the EQ. – And while I’ve long dreamed of having some intelligent automatic transfer between headphones and speakers when you get home, that doesn’t exist either.
It’s possible that some of this will change over time. “We want to see how customers use it, and also see what kind of feedback we get,” Spence told me. “Then see where we should take it and what else they want? Do they want to change the sound I talked about? We’ll learn and we’ll continue to adapt and improve it through the software. But You know what we always do about buying hardware is to look at what it’s capable of doing now, not for future possibilities.”
Right now, one of the big Sonos-y tricks of the Ace is the ability to get audio from the company’s own speakers for private listening. (Only the flagship Arc will support this feature at launch, with Beam Gen 2, Beam and Ray coming later.) You press and hold the Content key – the metal slider that also controls volume and play/pause – and for a few seconds Inside, the soundbar sends Dolby Atmos sound to headphones with spatial head tracking.
It works with any input device running through an amplifier. Streaming box? Definitely. Play keyboard? Checks. You can walk around the house and continue listening to sports matches in the background while you clean or focus on other things. At launch TV Audio Swap will be available exclusively to people using iOS devices, with Android supporting this key feature soon. So Android users can benefit from better Bluetooth audio (thanks to aptX), while iOS gets to enjoy major home theater tricks.
Stereo content is mixed by default in home theater mode, but you can always disable spatial audio if you prefer to listen to proper stereo without applying any processing. Giles Martin, an audio expert at Sonos, told me the company is “guarded” about how robust the virtual stereo simulation is. The head-tracking effect is somewhat subtle because, as Martin points out, if it’s too obvious or attention-grabbing, people are more likely to turn it off. The headphones can detect when you stand up to get something from the fridge, and in those situations, head tracking is temporarily disabled until you stand up again.
All the extensive audio processing and binaural coding is done on the edge of the speaker, but there’s something interesting: Sonos uses Wi-Fi to send audio to the headphones in this home theater mode. However, it is not without disadvantages. One of the company’s engineers told me it’s 345kbps and also confirmed that this Wi-Fi streaming impacts battery life, which is typically rated at 30 hours (with ANC on). But Sonos doesn’t share battery estimates for home theater operation — partly because the headphones support fast charging while they’re on.
Private listening between a TV (or streaming device) and headphones is not a new concept; You can listen to Apple TV using Apple’s AirPods. Roku has included a headphone jack in many of its remotes over the years. And you can pair Bluetooth earbuds with any Google TV.
But Sonos believes the Ace can increase immersion beyond its competitors, partly thanks to a new feature the company calls TrueCinema. Your speakers will calibrate the acoustic properties of the room – like TruePlay – while the microphones on your headphones will help determine your seating position and customize spatial audio to your unique space. In theory, this data will make 3D spatial surround sound sound more convincing as if you weren’t wearing headphones at all. I will need more hands-on time to determine whether TruCinema is really going to make a difference. As it stands, the feature won’t be launched until later this year.
Can Sonos really overtake Bose and Sony in active noise cancellation? Will Ace Aware/Transparency mode prove to be as natural as the AirPods Max, which are undefeated in this department? How will the sound quality improve after listening for a long time?
Stay tuned for our full review of the Sonos Ace in the coming days, and if you’re curious about anything in particular, feel free to leave a comment.
