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[Pre Order] Sonos Ace (Set of 2) Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Headphones (Black/White/Black & White) $1328 Delivered @ Sonos AU

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these were just announced by Sonos.
if you Pre-order a set of two you get $70 off. Sonos says orders will ship on June 6.
yeah I know big whoop such a small discount but this is more for an excuse to post.

bargainsgrabber has commented saying UniDays will get you an extra 15% off.

you can order 2 of the same colour (Black/White) or even 2 with different colours (Black and White).

so these are one of the latest ANC headphones to hit the market and are packed with tech such as BT5.4 and lossless audio (Aptx Adaptive) with compatible devices.
they do not support WiFi like some tried to predict they are bluetooth only.

main unique feature seems to be that you can hold a button down and it will auto mute your Sonos soundbar and then send the low latency audio straight to the headphones. the headphones also support head tracking and a feature will be added later which allows you to map your room with the app and have a virtual surround sound system in the headphones.

Headphone App also supports custom EQ. so what do you guys think of them? I think it's a pretty neat product for a all in one solution. you can wear them out during the day, come home and sync to your soundbar for night time movie watching. 30 hours should be enough to cover the entire day.

Short youtube video:

https://youtu.be/j00c5MF37Yc

TLDR for those who don't like to read or watch videos.

x 30 hours battery life (24 hours call time) with ANC/aware mode
x World Class Active Noise Cancellation and Aware mode (from Sonos press release event)
x 8 microphones
x Bluetooth 5.4
x USB-C charging (and audio supported) and 3.5mm port
x 3 mins = 3 hours fast charge
x Button control (no touch pad)
x 1060 mAh battery
x Wear detection
x Quick swap magnetic earpads (easily replaceable)
x Spatial audio
x Lossless audio (with compatible devices - only new Android devices have AptX Adaptive on BT5.4)
x Dynamic head tracking
x TV Audio swap (hold button to auto mute soundbar and send low latency TV audio to headphones - Supports Arc on release but Beam, Beam2 and Ray support is coming - video also says this will work with iPads)
x Weight 312g

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closed Comments

  • +3

    Access UNiDAYS for a unique code for additional 15% off

    • +5

      oh wow great news! good thing the experts are here. 😝

      i'm definitely not buying a set of two. wait i'm not even buying a set of one 😂 i'm just here for the comments.

  • also one of the Sonos Ace youtube videos uploaded in the last 45 minutes said the Airpods Max battery life is 20 hours with ANC on.
    are you serious?? people be paying that much for 20 hour battery life?? 😭

    my logitech Vibe 100's have 20 hours battery life, they don't have ANC but they were also only $65. 20 hours of listening time is 20 hours and I find I have to charge my Vibe's pretty frequently when they tell me the battery is at 50%.

    • Sennheiser momentum 4 are rated at 60hours battery life and costs half as much as the Sonos. So in your logic, people pay that much for 30 hours of battery life??? Also Sonos seems to suggest that when linked to a soundbar, wifi audio will consume more battery.

      • around 30 hours is the standard for ANC headphones. Sony's best models achieve that much.

        so just saying 20 hours of APM is pretty horrible and similar listening time to the cheapest end headphones. if you never had a 20 hour battery life headphone as your main headphones you will never know trust me you find you are charging much more often.

        Also Sonos seems to suggest that when linked to a soundbar, wifi audio will consume more battery.

        not sure where you got that info from on the page? can you copy paste it?

        I read this part in faq's down the bottom.

        "Does Sonos Ace require WiFi?

        No. Sonos Ace uses Bluetooth to pair with and connect to devices."

        also heard in a video or post somewhere that sonos rep confirmed audio is via BT and there is no WiFi connection. but from what I read about older sonos speakers, they actually had BT inside but only used it for the pairing process and it was never in the spec because you can't listen via BT. so it might be the reverse here, Ace has WiFi antennae inside but it's only used for the pairing process. like so it happens seamless kinda like apple stuff does apparently (so when you set them up first time you don't have to open sonos app, go to soundbar settings, tap pair to Ace - instead you just hold the button and it connects to the soundbar first time and reliably every other time).

        you are right though WiFi audio consumes more battery, but so much more that the battery life would be less than one third so less than 10 hours. this is the case for the Sonos Move BT speaker and so many people complained about it I'm sure they didn't do this with the Ace. if they did they would have quoted WiFi battery life. otherwise 30 hours claimed with WiFi audio is not possible.

    • +3

      Headphones are famously something people purchase solely on battery life. No other criteria.

      • *wireless headphones! lol

  • +3

    nvr heard of it… is it twice as good as sony and bose?

    • you never heard of sonos? they are a speaker company like sony and bose.

      is it twice as good as sony and bose?

      of course not. no product that cost twice as much is ever twice as good. it's called diminishing returns if you tried and failed to join any expensive hobbies you will know the meaning of diminishing returns it means the more you pay, the smaller the actual improvement and lower the value.

      most ozbers will probably buy Q45 @ $114 https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/844100
      some will pay triple and buy Sony because nothing beats Sony ANC.

      I'm just posting this Sonos because it's new and cool with BT5.4 and I want to read what other comments think of it.

  • +2

    They literally just got released and I don't think the journalists that were able to test they are allowed to talk about their sound signature yet. Probably best to wait for them to be shipped before jumping on board but I have no doubt they will sound decent.

    • they also have custom EQ in the app. it was mentioned in the video I watched.

      yeah recently I've been searching for videos on them and it's was literally 45 mins ago they got uploaded.

  • Buying them direct from Sonos allows you to return within 100 days. I might just give it a try. Curious to see how well the Dolby Atmos is implemented.

    Would also be good to finally be able to use a headphones for my PS5 too.

    • just remember it’s a preorder, so headphone is sent to you on 5 June.

      Would also be good to finally be able to use a headphones for my PS5 too.

      yeah it works with anything connected to Sonos soundbar so TV, console, stream.

      • yeah it works with anything connected to Sonos soundbar

        I guess standalone soundbar should be Ok.
        According to reddit the rest of the Sonos system is pretty broken at this moment.

        • According to reddit the rest of the Sonos system is pretty broken at this moment.

          yeah I don't have a multi speaker Sonos system so I can't really say but honestly had a read of r/Sonos yesterday it was pretty terrible. honestly most of the users were sharing false info on the Sonos Ace posts without even taking time to google which would have told them they were wrong.
          tbh I dunno how reliable the complaints can be on reddit.

  • +3

    I only have 5.3 devices so this bargain would be wasted on me.

    I did see a Bluetooth module for 20 bucks on Amazon for pc. Shows how much that's worth.

    One of the best devices I have zeppelin is like Bluetooth 4 and still sounds better than anything I own.

    • I only have 5.3 devices so this bargain would be wasted on me.

      BT is backwards compatible. you will almost never experience a issue no matter what BT version you are on. the only things you miss out on are the 1 or 2 latest features added like lossless audio.

      One of the best devices I have zeppelin is like Bluetooth 4 and still sounds better than anything I own.

      Zeppelin headphones? sorry I can't find any of that name when googling.

  • +24

    If your reason for posting is "I'm just posting this Sonos because it's new and cool with BT5.4 and I want to read what other comments think of it." or " this is more for an excuse to post." Then this belongs in the forum's.

    • +7

      Belongs in the forum's what?

      • The forum’s forum.

  • +7

    Looks like $20

    • it does look cheap and plasticky.

      tbh though that's because it's made of mostly plastic. which is the only way to have low weight in grams and therefore comfort when wearing.

      the Airpod max's have aluminum earcups. I don't know anyone who has them but from reading online the most biggest complaint about the Max's is the heavy weight making them only wearable for short periods and also easily sliding off your head because of the weight.

      the thing I like most about the sonos ace is how the cups look very flat and don't stick out much at all. if you ever had headphones that stick out a lot you know how bad it looks when the earcups stick out. a good example you can look up images of sticking out earcups is dyson zone.

  • +7

    Will wait for the price drop to $200.

  • +3

    At this price point you'd definitely want to be buying based on sound quality/signature and not some random gimmicky mapping feature, especially when there are excellent offerings already in the market.

    I also query why you would use these if you have a soundbar already, unless it's to not wake others in your household?

    • It’s great if you don’t want to wake others in your household.

      One of my clients watches soccer during the middle of the night. I’ll sell him an Ace headset instantly

      We have ordered a large quantity, hopefully they are popular

      • +2

        I do the same thing with my $100 bluetooth headphones. No need to spend a grand for that purpose. Any bluetooth headphone will connect with google tv.

        • my TV doesn't have bluetooth but I have a bluetooth dongle that I use for multiple things.
          it's a little box that fits in the palm of your hand and has about 8 hours battery life.

          neat thing is I can use it to either send audio to BT, and I can also use it to send audio to wired only devices. it's very handy. like my creative pebble plus speakers only have 3.5mm aux input so I can make them bluetooth speakers.

      • +1

        People have done the same thing for decades. Nothing to do with Sonos. BT isn't a new technology haha

    • im thinking it combines outdoor ANC headphones and night time TV streaming functions in one product.

      so you can wear it out all day, take calls listen to music and then at night use it to sync to your TV through the soundbar with one button press.

      tbh with the ultra high price (Dyson zone price, almost as expensive as $799 Airpod Max) I think they could have included a little wireless box that just plugs into the TV with HDMI, instead of having to have a sonos soundbar. so you could use this function just by buying the headphones. who knows maybe they will sell it in the future as a $99 extra (probably very expensive add on).

      • Couldn't think of anything worse tbh, than to be on your headphones all day for work/study and then to have to use them again at night when watching tv. Better hope they're comfy.

        • ok fair enough.

          headphones in general are just often the more convenient option. also cost effective when you think how much a full wireless home theatre setup will cost or bookshelf speakers in your room costs. I already tried the bookshelf speakers, they are costly and I didn't get the hype.

          and yeah my headphones are comfy they only weigh 185g so feel like barely wearing anything and have light clamping force. even though the clamp force is light they stay on your head because of the lightness.

  • They’re probably awesome. But I finally just replaces my Bose with some sweet Bowers and Wilkins. Gonna try to avoid going down another brand’s rabbit hole lol

    • But I finally just replaces my Bose with some sweet Bowers and Wilkins.

      yeah tbh 2 headphones is probably enough for 1 head. 3 max maybe if you use them for different things.

      the sound of Bowers and Wilkins is great I heard. not sure about their ANC but you would expect them to be decent.

  • +2

    How long till Sonos stops supporting them and they no longer work?

    • +1

      Pre-IPO, they had better support for legacy products than Apple.

    • +1

      Based on their support for the Play series, at least 13 years

  • BT LE Audio? I would not buy expensive futureproof headphones without it. Still tough to find.

    • BT is backwards compatible….

    • LE = Low energy? I can't find the official info on it other than here https://www.bluetooth.com/learn-about-bluetooth/feature-enha…

      the Sonos Ace has BT5.4 and support AptX Adaptive, which I thought "Adaptive" was basically a bunch of features in one it supports Low latency and HD (lossless) but Bluetooth LE is not one of them.
      https://www.aptx.com/aptx-adaptive

    • Not listed amongst this, you're relying on AptX lossless for a quality jump, but looking at the design I doubt these differ heavily in technology than what's on the AirPods Max, so it's not worth your time.

      At these prices, you'd get more out of a Focal Bathys if you can find it on sale or second hand, despite it lacking a lossless bluetooth codec or any huge step up in compression.

      I assume these are going to be for people who want high-tier ANC and high-tier passthrough with head tracking for spatial audio. Lossless will be somewhat nice, but I'm expecting tonality and technical performance to be a bit wonky.

      • but looking at the design I doubt these differ heavily in technology than what's on the AirPods Max, so it's not worth your time.

        yeah I agree with you here. that's what I thought it's got APM like features like head tracking spatial audio and virtual surround except instead of a Apple TV you need a Sonos soundbar to do the surround 😐 which sucks imo for the price they should have included a tiny wireless box with HDMI so you can use the surround features out of the box. wireless box with HDMI port and BT would have cost so little to add.

        • From this article, it seems any smartphone that supports Dolby Atmos also gives you those features, you just have to use the Sonos app to set it up initially.

          Piggybacking your Sonos bar's audio is its own thing.

          Honestly at this price there's an argument for just getting the Audeze Maxwell for better quality home use, and a pair of IEMs or a cheap ANC headphone for on the go… you'd spend $200 less!

          • @jasswolf: I was thinking low latency and Dolby surround audio would only be possible with some special Aptx Adaptive BT connection that Sonos soundbars already support. even the old Beam 1 supported apparently so I'm guessing it has a hidden BT chip inside that supports Adaptive.

            even though no mention of BT version on the specs of old beam https://www.sonos.com/en-us/guides/beam

            Honestly at this price there's an argument for just getting the Audeze Maxwell for better quality home use, and a pair of IEMs or a cheap ANC headphone for on the go… you'd spend $200 less!

            yeah I'm not getting either 😭 just like tech and seeing what people's actual thoughts are. if the Sonos Ace looks good, sounds pointless or worthless I wanna hear it.

  • +7

    This is a terrible deal without any reviews being out, and the price being much higher than other top-quality headphones available from Sennheiser, Sony etc.

    Pair this with some absolutely awful decisions Sonos has made in their other products (removing features from their Sonos speakers so they can apparently support these headphones better) and I wouldn't really trust them to make a good product at all, particularly as this is their first one in this space.

    • and the price being much higher than other top-quality headphones available from Sennheiser, Sony etc.

      yeah tbh I expected the price to be lower but they priced them like Dyson zone and almost as much as Airpod Max's. I was expecting like $500~$550 retail like Sony XM5's. especially if they are going to restrict the main unique feature to only those who have a sonos soundbar already.

      I commented this above, but if charging this much in price $ they should have included a wireless box which you could plug into the HDMI so anyone who gets the headphones could use the TV Audio swap feature out of the box.

  • It took them how long to finally develop these, and they still won't join other zones to play in-sync?!?!
    That's a strong pass from me even before the ludicrous price.
    Old Patrick is continuing the Blackberry tradition in my opinion.

  • -1

    Not a deal, no idea how good they'll be plus likely to be on lots of discounts when selling.

    • yeah I already watched a few videos including the mkbhd one.

      one was a actual sound ANC test by I think aaron? aaron reviews?

      basically they said Sonos sounds clearer than Sony XM4/5 because there is slightly less bass. but Sony has always known to be bass heavy and muffled out of the box anyway so I think Sonos will sound better quality.

      ANC surprisingly Sonos did better. not only did it sound quieter in the ANC test but you can see the -dB levels on the side and Sonos consistently managed under -30dB, while the Sony's would sometimes go above that line.

      other than that I think Mkbhd mentioned his ears sometimes feel like they are pressing against something, probably because of the super slim design of Sonos. not good tbh because you can see mkbhd's ears don't stick out that much at all. if anything hes ears are the type that don't stick out.

  • Take my word from an owner of 8 Sonos speakers, Sonos isn't worth the trouble. If I could start all over again. I would not buy them. They're not only super expensive but they are more troublesome than they are worth.

    • I did catch up on some Sonos stuff on reddit although many say reddit is filled with complaints from mostly user error.

      seems like a recent update broke the functionality of many Sonos’s speakers such as basic main use things as multi room audio.
      and apparently not the first time its happened.

      if anything if you use these headphones just as “Bluetooth” headphones and the app works it should be enough to keep it working properly. although I don’t know how sounbar TV stream function works so that is a function you might worry about because it could be broken by update.

      a lot of Sonos product owners seemed to be unhappy the arc headphone doesn’t have wifi and doesn’t connect to the Sonos network but maybe that’s a good thing.

      • seems like a recent update broke the functionality of many Sonos’s speakers such as basic main use things as multi room audio.
        and apparently not the first time its happened.

        Are you referring to the recent major app update/redesign?

        a lot of Sonos product owners seemed to be unhappy the arc headphone doesn’t have wifi and doesn’t connect to the Sonos network but maybe that’s a good thing.

        I don't think a pair wireless headphones needs the ability to connect to a Wi-Fi network, and the Ace's TV Audio Swap feature is a nice alternative, but only compatible with Arc/iOS at this point.

        If they extend this functionaility to other Sonos soundbars, I'd seriously consider a pair.

        • Are you referring to the recent major app update/redesign?

          not sure I just skimmed over it and I don't have any Sonos products so didn't really take it seriously. just many users seem to have the same common issues.

          I don't think a pair wireless headphones needs the ability to connect to a Wi-Fi network,

          yeah I agree. especially because wifi is such a battery drainer. I'm not sure how but TV Audio swap is meant to come to budget Beam models too.
          assuming low latency soundbar audio is sent to Ace via bluetooth I would expect you need recent bluetooth version to do that.
          but maybe Sonos paid extra when making the Beam 1 and 2 so that it would have BT 5.3 chip inside or something even though sold years ago.

          • @n3ck3ntry8bort0rgasm: From the reviews that I read, the Ace do have a Wi-Fi chip but it is only used for the TV Audio Swap feature.

            I have a Ray, which is fairly new in the Sonos range, so I'm hoping that will be compatible at some stage.

            • @magic8ballgag:

              From the reviews that I read, the Ace do have a Wi-Fi chip but it is only used for the TV Audio Swap feature.

              yeah I think I might have said something similar in another comment. like a seamless apple pairing experience situation where the WiFi chip is used to auto connect for the auto connection to soundbar but it's not written on the box.
              I read another Sonos staff member said at press release event that Ace does indeed have WiFi chip but it isn't used for audio.

              pretty sure I read Ace TV Audio swap compatibility is coming to Beam 1, Beam 2, Ray, and already on Arc.

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