First a little context: unless I’m protecting myself from frigid temperatures or super loud concerts, I’d rather have nothing covering my ears. So, when it comes to headphones, I prefer the lightest touch possible on or in my ears, with high ambient sound awareness, and as little attention drawn to what I’m wearing on or in my ears as possible. However, put me on a plane with a screaming toddler nearby or working on deadline in a public place with loud conversations around me, and I immediately get the appeal of over-ear headphones with active noise cancellation.
That’s the very application-specific use case that got me interested in experiencing Sonos Ace headphones — the company’s first foray into the category.
Prior to their launch, I spoke with a member of the Sonos industrial design team who showed me drawings and photos of the new product and emphasized the great care that Sonos took to make their headphones more comfortable, stylish, and great sound sounding than other options at their price range (~$450). Now that I possess my own Sonos Ace headphones, I can share my own experience so far with them so far, a work-from-home girl dad in his early 50s.
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The first thing that I observed was the comfort of the band connecting to the two speakers. As a guy who shaves his head, I’m pretty sensitive to extra pressure on my skull. That’s why the padding and weight of a headphone’s “headband” was going to make or break the product for me. Although Sonos Ace headphones are just a little heavier than I expected them to be, the memory foam headband holds up well and offsets most of the weight. The “leather-like” material of the headband does not breathe as well as I would like, which is mostly just problematic outdoors on a warm day. Same goes for detachable (replaceable) ear pads. I’ve had other headphone earpads become compressed over time to the point where my ears are eventually touching the speaker drivers. That did not happen with Sonos Ace headphones; the padding retained its spring even after more than an hour of listening.
My next observation is that the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) is extremely effective on the Sonos Ace headphones. It’s so good that as I type this paragraph with ANC turned on, I can just barely hear the click of my keyboard, even with no music playing. Multiple times over my review period, someone in my family has walked toward my office while I’m on ANC mode with music playing at low volume, said something, and I missed it entirely.
Aware mode also works quite well. Although have both ANC and Aware allows a sufficient about of ambient sound to be heard when no music is playing, “Aware” actually mics up the world around you in a controlled way to help you avoid being, you know, hit by a car while crossing the street. When I turned it on the first time at home, I could immediately hear the device fans and other sounds around my office that would otherwise be muffled.
I’ve mostly tested the Sonos Ace headphones at my home desk with family around during early summer months, but I’ve also mowed the lawn with them on. Even though I use a quieter battery-power electric mower, I still have to turn up my podcasts to full volume when wearing classic AirPods. While wearing Sonos Ace headphones, ANC virtually eliminated the mower motor sound and allowed me to keep the volume on my podcast much lower.
As far as music playback goes on the Sonos Ace headphones., I’ve been very impressed with the bass performance as well as the crispness of higher frequencies and vocals. I’ve often been frustrated by mushy or muddy sounding music from other headphones, but the Sonos Aces keep the soundstage open and clear without sacrificing bass response or clarity of vocals.
With the Sonos Aces, I felt both a familiarity from my favorite songs and podcasts and new discoveries from familiar songs as well. There were times when I could literally catch a vocal effect or microphone difference on a familiar track, as well as backing vocals that I’d never noticed before.
Lastly, it took me a minute to learn the button pushes and slider trigger controls on the sides of the headphones, but once I did, they worked well and consistently.
I could not transfer my playback to a Sonos Arc or use my Aces for home theater listening, but those are features that I’m sure many Sonos users will appreciate.
Overall, I think that many people will appreciate the great effort that Sonos put into its first attempt at headphones. They sound great, look and feel good, and are priced competitively with other mainstream brands on the market. Best of all, their noise cancelling capabilities work better than any other headphones I’ve tried. I can’t wait to wear them out on my next flight.
