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Review: Sonos Ace for TV audio

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FlatpanelsHD is not about to start reviewing all-things-digital, so when we opened the box this time for a pair of Sonos Ace headphones, it was the promise of perfect integration with the Sonos Arc soundbar and Dolby Atmos sound for movies and console games that caught our interest as we explore alternatives to the traditional soundbar.


Price and retailers:

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First impressions

In this review, we do not have a plethora of similar reviews to compare with, but like most tech enthusiasts out there, we have privately sifted through a fair number of headphones in search of either the perfect workhorse or good listening headphones for home use. The comparison base for this test will therefore be our current home headphones, which are Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H6 and H9i, both of which are somewhat dated now. The latter has been replaced by the HX version, which sounds almost identical but offers slightly higher comfort. Reference models are tested at trade shows or when playing with products in local hi-fi stores, but for obvious reasons, they cannot be included in an A/B comparison. Ideally, we would have had a pair of Apple AirPods Max available, as this set also offers spatial audio.

Sonos Ace Atmos headphones

Looking at the Sonos Ace, they come in a hard case covered in felt. We have borrowed the white model, where the case also has a light shade, but it is also available in black. Given my own luck, such a light cover would quickly get an unsightly stain somewhere, which would be part of my personal considerations regarding color choice. The hard case is nice for travel purposes, and Sonos' variant comes with a magnetic insert where cables can be stored. If there is anything to criticize about the case, the zipper might not be the best in the world, but I have other hard cases that are just as hard to open, so this is not unique to Sonos. Inside the case, we find the main attraction, which is also made in white hues. The headphones are made of plastic with a metal band connecting each ear cup. The look and feel are quite "Sonos-like" with the matte white back and the discreet Sonos logo. The design is simple in its expression and most resembles a pair of AirPods Max or perhaps a pair of B&W PX8. The headband and ear cushions are covered in PU leather (plastic), which is also seen in several competing models, but at the price, it might seem a bit cheap not to opt for more exclusive materials. Both B&O and B&W have chosen genuine leather for their models, and a concern here could be that PU leather makes it difficult for the skin to breathe and also tends to degrade and crack or peel over time with constant exposure to oils from skin or hair products.
On the edges of the headphones, you will find several microphones (8 in total) and four physical buttons, one of which has three functions in one. Power/On and Bluetooth connection are handled by a single button on the left ear cup, and on the right, there is a "rocker" button that can be pushed both up and down, but also pressed, which acts as the volume button, play/pause/skip button, and also a shortcut to something called "Sound swap," which we will discuss later. The last button toggles between noise-cancelling modes (ANC), where you can switch between Active Noise Cancellation, Open Mode (letting outside sound in), or Off. The ear cups are adjusted smoothly by simply pulling them to fit the position of the ears. There is no folding function, so when it is time to put the Ace back in its case, the ear cups need to be pushed back to the default position, which can be a bit annoying. Worn on the head, the Ace sits quite well. The weight is light and the pressure on the head is comfortable. Comparing to my BeoPlay, the comfort is much better with the Ace, and especially the pressure on the top of the head is pleasantly light. My ears fit well in the cups, but I have seen other reviewers who were less enthusiastic, so it is probably a good idea to test them yourself before making a choice. As mentioned above, the plastic on the cups causes sweating at the contact points and around the ears.

Sonos Ace Atmos headphones

Setup

The launch of the Ace likely required more than the previous Sonos app could handle, so along with the launch of the Ace, all Sonos users were also forced to adopt an updated user interface, which caused quite a stir among users. The first version of the app could best be described as a beta version, but it felt more like an alpha, with numerous features missing and the user experience taking a significant hit compared to the previous version of the software. It seems that the Ace drove the app's launch, and a desire to meet a specific release deadline pushed an unfinished software product out to users. As of now, the app still feels sluggish and lacking in features, and if it were not for the option to use AirPlay 2, this writer's opinion on the overall usability of Sonos products would be much lower. I personally have many Sonos devices at home and fortunately did not experience the same issues reported by many other users in various user groups and forums, so consider my review in that context. For those who were without access to their speakers for weeks (and may still be), the frustration is likely a whole different matter. From the perspective of the Ace alone, the app works fine since you largely do not need the features that are currently problematic.
Our review unit was received before Sonos released the Ace to the market, and thus the Sonos app had not reached the same version that was released on the launch date. We initially experienced issues adding the Ace via the Sonos app, where the headphones could not be detected when searched for. Since these are Bluetooth devices, it was simple enough to add them via the phone's own Bluetooth menu, after which the Ace appeared within the Sonos app. There is nothing particularly noteworthy about the setup, but in the latest version of the Sonos app, they can be added via a button in the interface. As opposed to some other headphones, Sonos Ace allows you to connect to two Bluetooth devices simultaneously (i.e., two phones), which already indicates that the Ace cannot be fully integrated into the entire ecosystem – they are a pair of personal headphones paired with your handheld devices and only secondarily a product you can also add to your Sonos app. Once the headphones are paired with the phone, they will appear as a zone in the Sonos app – or at least that is how it appears at first glance. However, it is not a real zone but merely a shortcut for configuring the Ace, which cannot be controlled from the app beyond adjusting basic sound settings such as treble, bass, balance, and loudness. Additionally, you can adjust noise cancellation and the 'TV Audio Swap' function that allows you to take over sound from a Sonos Arc soundbar if one is added to the system. At launch, only the Arc and Arc SL soundbars supported TV Audio Swap with the Ace headphones, but Beam generation 1 and 2 as well as the Ray soundbar have been added later. If you are outside of home WiFi coverage, the Sonos app will show the Ace as the only available device in the system, which was likely one of the new necessary features that pushed for the release of Sonos' poor new software. When Sonos Ace was first unveiled, there was speculation about whether it would be a full-fledged member of a Sonos setup and thus function as a zone like the smaller devices such as Roam and Move. The disappointment among user groups around the web was significant when it became clear that the Ace was only Bluetooth headphones.
However, Sonos Ace is equipped with a WiFi antenna, as it is used to establish the direct connection to the Sonos Arc, so it cannot be ruled out that Sonos might later update the product to connect as a real Sonos zone via WiFi, as Roam and Move do. It may be an attempt to extend usage time, but while you get around 30 hours of battery life on Bluetooth, most Sonos users might accept a shorter battery life if used at home where a power socket is not far away. One of Sonos' trademarks is their autotuning of sound (Trueplay), which works by measuring the room's acoustics using an iPhone (Android is not supported). At launch, this type of functionality is not available on the Ace, but the idea is that by listening to TV sound via an Arc soundbar, you can emulate the room's acoustics directly in the headphones so that the sound appears as it would if you were listening to the Arc. The function of taking over sound from the Arc soundbar is naturally to listen to an immersive Dolby Atmos soundtrack even when the rest of the family or downstairs neighbor is asleep. Being able to do this while still experiencing the full spatial sensation of sitting in a living room sounds great, but it is a feature we will have to wait to test. We have previously experienced this form of 360-degree room mapping during sessions with, for example, Sony at CES, and the effect was impressively accurate. However, it involved a physical scan of the ear's geometry as well, but a lighter version of the same technique could likely impress as well. For now, we must forgo this functionality, but if we still have a pair of test units of the Ace when the feature is launched, this review will be updated with our experiences. Sonos only allows one pair of headphones to be paired with their soundbar, so you cannot have multiple people sitting in silence enjoying the Atmos track if, for example, the kids are asleep and both parents want to watch a movie with full Atmos sound.

Listening test: Movies and TV

As mentioned, getting TV sound to the Ace requires having a soundbar supported by the headphones. If your TV or streaming box can pair with Bluetooth headphones, you can use the Ace as a stereo device, but for this review, the focus is on the ability to get Dolby Atmos sound from your TV into Sonos Ace.
With the TV on, you either use the app to activate 'TV Audio Swap', or you simply press the volume rocker for 3 seconds until the Swap signal is heard in the headphones. What you will experience next is perfectly synchronized sound and picture with the movie's soundtrack. There is an option to disable spatial sound on the Ace if you prefer stereo sound, but again, you lose the primary selling point of the Ace, as you could otherwise choose from a fairly wide range of headphones in the same price range and settle for stereo sound. One of the first things you notice with Swap is that the sound level is not ear-splitting. "Good" is what many might say, but if you are looking for a cinematic experience at home, you might feel that the Ace cannot get loud enough. While a certain limitation is likely appropriate for ear health, the option for a higher sound pressure does not seem to be present. For my personal taste, the Ace was sufficiently capable. The sound matches well with a Sonos Arc, and the same virtues (and disadvantages) shine through. For Sonos, this means a lack of bass, so explosions will not really shake your diaphragm (yes, yes, the sound is in your head, so that would not happen anyway), but if you have one or two subs connected to your surround system with the Arc, you will find the Ace to be somewhat less potent. Like the Sonos Arc, there is a bit of a lack of clarity in the high tones, although dialogue is clear, which is also a characteristic of the Arc. I cannot test Dolby Atmos sound on films with my other headphones, but for my taste, the Ace could benefit from having a bit more of the bright sound profile, like B&O, as well as the deep tones, where headphones such as those from B&O and the Sony XM5 also perform better. The advantage of the more subdued treble is that sounds like shattering glass do not pierce your eardrums, which can be the case with both soundbars and headphones. Looking specifically at the Dolby Atmos capabilities, a pair of generic headphones without specific adjustment to your ear's shape represents a compromise. The shape of the outer ear greatly impacts how sound is localized, and since the Ace does not know how your ears are shaped and thus does not channel the sound to the ear canal, it becomes a "golden mean." There is generally good sound localization in the horizontal plane, meaning 5.1 sound matches the Ace's capabilities well. However, it struggles more with vertical sound, and in our channel-specific tests, top channels both in front and behind sounded quite similar to the front channels. The result is that the sound field mainly lies between you and the TV rather than above you. Top channels are something we often criticize soundbars for, but in this case, the Arc soundbar performs better than the Ace headphones. The sound generally fills less of the space in Ace compared to the room Arc is in.

Sonos Arc

Sonos Ace with Sonos Arc. Photo: FlatpanelsHD

As mentioned earlier, "room correction" has not been added to the Ace yet, so the emulation of your room's acoustic impact on the sound cannot be tested, but the Ace also has the capability to create directional sound tailored to your TV's placement. Directional sound is a fun gimmick where the direction of the sound is reset when the feature is activated. This means that your head must be facing the TV when the feature is activated, and afterward, the Ace will track movement and adjust the sound field in the headphones to make it seem as if the sound field matches the TV's location. It is not convincing enough to simulate not wearing headphones at all, but it is very clear that the entire sound field remains in the position of the headphones when the feature is activated. When you are sitting in your living room watching TV through your soundbar and move your head, you will not experience as pronounced a shift in the direction of the sound, as your entire sensory system is used to movement. With the Ace, the sound field rotates quite noticeably in the headphones, which did not feel entirely natural – but it is a fun feature. For the purpose – i.e., capturing sound from the Sonos Arc when you need not to disturb others but do not want to miss out on your movie experience – the Ace performs well. You get a sound field that does not quite meet our Dolby Atmos expectations and lacks some bass, but otherwise, the experience is quite good. I find the real value in using it with game consoles, which are usually a solitary activity that can disturb others if people at home are not participating. More and more games support Atmos sound, and during the test, it worked well to let the PS5 output Atmos – via Sonos Arc – and let the Ace capture the sound. There was no noticeable delay. Again, it is quite simple to connect a pair of headphones to your PS5 controller and settle for the stereo sound that can be produced that way.

Sonos Arc, Sub, Play

Listening test: Music

The primary focus of this review is naturally the Dolby Atmos component and interaction with the Sonos Arc, but few will buy a pair of Ace headphones primarily for pairing with the Arc. With a price tag similar to other reasonably good headphones, the Ace must also perform well for music and on the go. Again, I did the primary A/B comparisons with the B&O H9i, which, like the Sony XM-5, has strong bass and somewhat sharp treble. In comparison, the Ace is much more subdued in the bass, as noted in the film test. Depending on your music preferences, this could be an advantage or a disadvantage, but the feeling is that the Ace does not play as deep as some others. If you are into rap and heavy bass tracks, the Ace will probably feel a bit thin for you. For everyday listening, where you are not specifically sitting down to listen to music but rather have it running in the background, the sound on the Ace is acceptable. However, it falls short when you listen more intently, with the clarity of vocals disappearing. In other audio reviews, I have used the analogy of it sounding like closing a door and cutting off treble clarity, and this is also true when comparing Sonos Ace to certain other sources. It is a shame because it seems to be a matter of tuning the sound profile, which unfortunately is not possible with Sonos.
It should be noted that lossless audio is only possible when paired with phones that support Bluetooth aptX based on Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound, which is only available in select Android phones. Or cabled via USB-C; both USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to 3.5mm work for lossless. In addition to the listening experience, evaluating noise cancellation and headset capabilities is also part of the review. Taking noise cancellation (ANC) first, it is impressive what Sonos has managed to put together on the first attempt. I tested the Ace on an 8-hour noisy charter flight and with various loud garden equipment. Monotonous noise, such as airplane noise, is handled very convincingly, but sudden spikes in noise (such as stones in the lawnmower) pushed ANC to work harder and did not isolate perfectly. A prerequisite for optimal ANC is that no air gets under the ear cups, which was not always possible for me. It will largely depend on your head shape and how closely the ear cups fit, but I often experienced that movement created some air and thus temporarily ruined the ANC effect. The Ace has the option to add transparency, allowing external sounds to come through via the microphone. This feature is useful if you are in traffic and need to hear your surroundings, and with the round button on the underside of one ear cup, you can easily switch between modes. Through the app, you can choose which modes this button can toggle between, i.e., ANC, transparency, and disabled. Finally, the headset capability, i.e., using the Ace to make calls, needs to be addressed. The microphone on the Ace is unfortunately not something to get excited about, and the sound quality at the recipient's end leaves much to be desired. Compared to even cheap purely analog headphones that typically come with your phone, the Ace falls short and cannot be recommended as a primary source for phone calls or conferencing via Teams/Zoom/...

Conclusion

Sonos Ace did not quite turn out to be the product Sonos fans had hoped for, as the ability to integrate into a larger ecosystem is absent. Instead, it became a relatively ordinary Bluetooth headphone with the unique selling point of being able to pair with specific Sonos soundbars and take over the audio track, including Dolby Atmos.
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When it comes to the headphones themselves and how the sound is generally experienced, it is a fairly subdued sound profile that is neither too heavy in bass nor too bright in treble. It is versatile sound profile that does not particularly impress in any discipline. If you are a fan of heavy bass tracks, the Ace will likely seem weak, which is also apparent when it comes to movie sound with deep rumblings and powerful explosions. I especially miss clarity in the upper tones, which was also a characteristic of the Sonos Arc. However, Ace seems quite well tuned to the Sonos Arc soundbar, which makes sense as the Ace is intended as a companion to the Arc. As a companion to the Sonos Arc, it provides TV sound through the headphones, which is an interesting feature, but it left something to be desired in terms of the Dolby Atmos experience. All in all, Sonos Ace ended up being a somewhat mixed experience, where the price tag unfortunately means you should be keen on using the TV Audio Swap feature for the product to offer enough value-for-money.

Price and retailers:

US retailer
UK retailer
DE retailer

Minimalistic look
TV Audio Swap works well
Good noise cancellation
Can be paired to 2 devices simultaneously
Physical buttons
Long battery life


Limited Dolby Atmos effect
Lacks bass & clarity in treble
Plastic material on headband/ear cups
White carry case very prone to stains




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