If the name was intended to allude to something that Sonos had up the sleeve, then the Sonos Ace headphones aren't going to be much of an advantage. The Ace headphones were already highly anticipated, and although they offer just the right amount of features in a solid design, the product doesn't seem like a winning streak for Sonos. At least for now. The company itself calls it "the brand’s long-awaited entry into the personal listening category," in the announcement.
Promoted as premium over-the-ear Bluetooth headphones featuring "breathtaking lossless and spatial audio, world-class Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Aware Mode, as well as the most precise and immersive home theater experience possible using Sonos’ new TrueCinema technology," sounds intriguing, but it doesn't' surprise or excite.
At a time when its core multiroom speaker business is being menaced from all sides, the move to personal audio - where Sonos doesn't hold any competitive advantage - might be a needless risk. Unless it would bring with it some technology breakthrough that would magically expand the Sonos ecosystem outside the home. But that would imply a strong software component and services, which Sonos clearly doesn't have (today). And the Sonos Ace headphones don't seem to add any path forward, such as the use of Qualcomm's innovative use of micro-power Wi-Fi to extend wireless audio range - allowed by Qualcomm's latest S7 and S7 Pro Gen1 Sound platforms - or at least support for Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast (although that might be coming later through a firmware update).
It seems the "long-awaited" Sonos Ace headphones have been too long in the works and are launched as a really late competitor to Apple's AirPods Max, which are now 4 years old. For Sonos to say that it is using "its renowned audio and design expertise to transform the way we listen on headphones," something extra would be needed. The custom-designed 40mm dynamic drivers and ported acoustic architecture for superior bass doesn't cut it in today's competitive market. Claiming to deliver "the highest fidelity audio with a groundbreaking home theater experience that could only come from Sonos," gets closer to something that any Sonos user would already expect - but it's not clear how many Sonos customers are on the market for the Ace Headphones.
Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos, seems to believe they were all waiting for these headphones. In the announcement, his statement simply says: "They’re here! Fans have asked us for years to bring the Sonos experience to headphones - and we knew our first foray into the category needed to champion the type of innovation and sound experience Sonos has become synonymous with. Sonos Ace leverages everything we’ve learned over two decades as an audio leader to bring stunning sound, sleek design and long-standing comfort to one of the largest and most popular audio categories worldwide."
The features that stand out in the Ace headphones are the allusion to the home theater experience and use at home with Sonos' wireless multiroom systems. But the Ace headphones are a separate device, they don't "group" or expand the speaker ecosystem. They just use Bluetooth, and are controlled by the recently launched Sonos app. Thanks to Spatial Audio support, these headphones let users expand the "surround sound home theater experience" (Sonos description) in private. This includes the ability to instantly swap the TV audio from a compatible Sonos soundbar to the headphones with just the tap of a button.
Spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, reinforced with Dolby head tracking helps expand this experience with the right content. As for the intriguing Sonos’ all-new TrueCinema technology, the Californian company says this is "Coming later this year." It precisely maps the existing living room system (we assume by extracting the existing Trueplay setup from Sonos soundbars) to more precisely render the listening experience. Sonos describes it as an experience "so realistic you’ll forget you’re wearing headphones." The current Sonos Trueplay tuning technology is a brilliant implementation that uses the microphones in any iOS device to analyze the acoustics of any space and optimize the speaker's EQ, calibrating the height channels for precise localization. How does this ties with the Dolby Atmos implementation and dynamic head tracking, remains to be seen.
Remaining features are all to be expected from a premium product in the current headphones market: Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) with corresponding Aware mode (transparency), 30 hours battery life, ultra fast charging via USB-C, and the ability to use the USB-C cable also for wired (lossless) listening (there's also a 3.5mm cable included).
Sonos says that the Ace headphones will be available globally June 5, in both Black and Soft White, for $449 USD.
www.sonos.com
