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Sonos, known for their soundbars and home theatre systems, recently released their inaugural headphones: the Sonos Ace. Priced at RM2,299, it's on the premium spectrum as far as headphones go. Sonos claimed that these headphones have undergone years of brainstorming, designing, and testing to ensure ultimate quality for their users—well, we're here to find out if they succeeded.
If you prefer visuals over reading, check out Tarvin's first impression:
Design and Build
The Sonos Ace has a refined and minimalist design, with clean lines and sleek aesthetics that are unassuming yet stunning—probably one of the prettiest headphones we've seen. They're pretty lightweight at only 312g, making them lighter than the AirPods Max (384g), though not by much. It's enough to guarantee comfort even during extended wear, though.
The concealed hinges and joints add to the sleek design, and while the earcups swivel flat for easy storage, they don't fold, which might be a minor inconvenience for some. The earcups are also easily interchangeable, as they are magnetically attached.
Even though they're light, the Sonos Ace has a pretty solid build and feels reassuringly durable. I appreciated the smooth hinge mechanism and the removable pads. The box included a slim carrying case, USB-C charging/audio cable, and USB-C to 3.5mm cable, so you pretty much have everything you need right out of the box. All you need to do is add music!
In terms of comfort, the soft cushioning and well-distributed weight contribute to a snug fit. However, I did notice that they have a tendency to slip off, especially if you have long hair like me, but that's an issue that I've encountered with every pair of headphones I've owned, so I’m willing to overlook it.
Performance And Sound Quality
When it comes to sound quality, the Sonos Ace headphones deliver solid performance across the board, though they didn't exactly blow me away considering their RM2000+ price tag. As typical of Sonos' products, the bass is prominent and deep, but while it may work for soundbars designed for more open spaces, the bass in the Sonos Ace may sometimes be a bit overwhelming.
The treble on the Sonos Ace was quite balanced, which is great for pop and classical instrumentals. Some of my colleagues, whose listening preferences skew toward heavier music, did say that the trebles were a little shrill for those genres.
The Sonos Ace supports lossless music. It's worth noting that we tested the Sonos Ace with Apple Music with lossless quality and regular Spotify; there's a clear winner between the two when it comes to sound quality—guess which! (no prizes for the winner)
Controls And Other Features
The control scheme on the Sonos Ace headphones is quite user-friendly. They feature three physical buttons that handle power/Bluetooth, ANC/transparency/voice assistant, and volume/track control. The buttons are responsive and easy to locate by touch, which is a plus when you're on the go. Given that the earcups are devoid of any controls, it's less likely for me to mistouch when trying to adjust the headphones.
The basic EQ control in the Sonos app, with its simple treble/bass slider, offers some customization, but it's not quite as comprehensive as other headphones in the same price range.
I have to admit, the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and transparency modes on the Sonos Ace headphones are impressive. However, being more accustomed to ANC earbuds, I found that the Sonos Ace creates a slight pressurized feeling on the ears when ANC is active.
Apart from active noise cancelling, the Sonos Ace is also great at passive noise cancelling, which means that Awareness Mode doesn't work as well as it should. Even with Awareness Mode on, outside sounds are quite muted, and human voices are only amplified when the speaker is close to the headphones.
As for battery life, it did last us a whole day of use and then some without ANC on; I did not test it with ANC on for long periods of time because as mentioned, having ANC on for long periods of time was a little uncomfortable for me. In that same vein, Tarvin did not have the same problem, so this might just be a personal note.
The Sonos Ace feature Dolby Atmos, which makes them great for watching movies. Add to that that TV Swap functionality, and it's pretty much made for movies. Unfortunately, the TV Swap feature is only available with the Sonos Arc, so if you don't already own the Arc, this feature (which is one of the advertised highlights), is useless.
