Sonos Ace Wireless Headphones: $599 in Canada on June 5

After months of anticipation, Sonos Ace has finally been revealed. The audio company has pulled the curtain back on its long-gestating first pair of wireless headphones. Sonos Ace is launching next month on June 5th for $599 in Canada.

It’s been quite some time since we first caught wind that Sonos was breaking into a brand-new audio category. Known for its premium speakers, subs, and sound bars, Sonos is now carving its name into the wireless headphone vertical. Late last year, CEO Patrick Spence teased that Sonos would be breaking into “a new multi-billion dollar category.” Six months later, Sonos is finally ready to talk about its Ace headphones.

In a hands-on briefing this month, iPhone in Canada got to see and try the Sonos Ace for ourselves. From a high level, Sonos Ace incorporates “world-class” Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and compliments it with an Aware mode for the best-of-both-worlds experience depending on preference. Integrating Sonos Ace into your home theatre, Sonos pairs its headphones with new TrueCinema technology. At launch, Sonos Ace will be compatible with its Arc soundbar. Lossless audio is also supported via Bluetooth using a compatible Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound AptX device or using a USB-C connection.

As a regular user of Sonos’ audio technology, I was eager to sit down and learn about how the company is incorporating its range of features and designs and boiling it down to a comfortable pair of headphones. Sonos built its Ace headphones using a custom-designed 40mm dynamic driver in each ear cup. It’s also built with ported acoustic architecture to deliver exception bass response for each driver. Specially tuned, Sonos Ace is built to provide exceptional audio quality regardless if you’re playing your favourite song, a podcast, or even watching a film on your TV. Plus, you can take calls on Sonos Ace and ensure you’re receiving clear audio.

As mentioned, Sonos Ace utilizes ANC and an Aware mode to offer users the freedom of drowning out noises around them when listening to audio. In a simulated experience, I had the chance to test out the ANC. Sonos Ace’s ANC worked as intended while moderate-to-high sounds were played on an independent speaker in the background. The music I had playing in a test demo sounded crystal clear and my experience wasn’t disrupted in the least. Of course, I’m still curious to know how it may be fair on the busy Toronto streets or during a flight. Sonos Ace utilizes an array of eight beamforming microphones to cancel noise and also provide crisp sound during calls.

Sonos Ace takes many of the company’s minimalist design philosophies and adopts them very practically. This is especially true when looking at the onboard controls. On the right earcup, which beautifully features the company logo, Sonos Ace features a stainless steel ‘Content Key’ slider to control playback. Slide the Content Key up or down to control the volume. Press it to pause or resume playback and take a call. Below the Content Key is a second button that swaps between its ANC and Aware mode. When active Aware mode is active, your listening experience isn’t disrupted but you can hear conversations around you and be more, well aware of your surroundings. The control system is practical and easy to use when Sonos Ace is on your head. However, it’s simplified to ensure a minimalist design is maintained.

Another major component of Sonos Ace is its focus on becoming a part of your home entertainment space. Designed primarily for those who want a private listening experience, Sonos Ace can be paired with the Arc soundbar to transmit low-latency audio when watching a show or movie. Perhaps you want to crank up the audio of a tense action flick, while a child or partner is asleep in another room. In comes Sonos Ace. The headphones feature 3D sound, leveraging Dolby Atmos and dynamic head tracking. Similar to its TruePlay system, TrueCinema maps out the home entertainment space and renders a surround sound experience finely tuned to your position on the couch. With its head tracking on, the soundscape follows you as you look around, potentially at your phone or across the room. It was quite a seamless and visceral experience during my limited testing. It can all be controlled via the app so head tracking and spatial audio settings can be turned on or off on a whim. Sonos Ace’s Content Key can also toggle the TV audio swap between the headphones and an Arc soundbar. More devices will become compatible with Sonos Ace later this year, including Ray and Beam (Gen 2).

Of course, Sonos offers many EQ settings and presets to customize your listening experience. Users can also engage with the lossless audio settings if they wish. All of this can be done within the newly designed Sonos app on mobile devices. That said, right out of the box, Sonos Ace sounds really good. While listening to a few hand-selected songs, I was able to pinpoint the position of specific instruments. Listening to Ed Sheeran’s Shivers, it felt as though I was in the recording booth as I could hear a guitar being played behind my left shoulder while a separate twang felt like it was in front of me to my right. The deep lows and bass is also very powerful straight out of the box.

My hands-on time with Sonos Ace was limited. That being said, at first blush the headphones felt comfortable to wear. Sonos Ace is “built to last” and designed for everyday wear. The headset itself is fairly lightweight, weighing only 11oz. It’s designed with a foam-cushioned headband with a stainless steel frame and matte finish, making it look quite premium. As someone with glasses, I’m curious to see how comfortable Sonos Ace will be after hours of use. The ear pads of made of vegan leather and memory foam. Both ear cups are connected it to the headband in a way that hides the hinge. The ear cups also feature contrasting colours on the inside as a way to signal which way to put them on. Replaceable ear cups are also being sold separately in case they wear down over time. This plays into Sonos’ sustainability effort. Sonos Ace is made of 17 percent less virgin plastic. While not collapsable, it comes with a sleek case that is narrow enough to slip into a backpack or bag. The case is made of 75 percent recycled felt. It also offers a small pouch inside to store the device’s USB charging cable.

From a top-level, early look at Sonos Ace, I’m feeling very optimistic about how the company will fare in the headphone category. Between the design and suite of features, Sonos appears to be targeting Apple’s AirPods Max and the like as a serious competitor. It’s hitting the market at a substantially lower price point as well.

At launch, Sonos Ace will be available in ‘Black’ and ‘Soft White’ for $599.99. We’ll have more on Sonos Ace in the near future so stay tuned.