Holding off until they fix the new app - it's garbage now. Also really disingenuous that Sonos are selling these in sets of 2 on their website, but you can't actually use 2 of them at the same time with the Arc.
Actually, have had the Ace in black the last few days and love it. Picking up a second one in a few minutes, in white this time, so I can matchy-matchy with my PS Portal, PS5 and other lighter colored gear.
Very important question for many users, myself included. Are the inner earcups particularly deep, as found on the AirPods Max/ Bose QC line? One complaint many over-ear noise cancellers get (e.g. the XM5’s, Beats Studio Pros) is that their earcups are too shallow, meaning some can face problems with their ears pressing rather uncomfortably against the plastic covering the drivers. Great review!
I don’t have one so I can only relay what others have said. Watch MKBHD’s review on this and he specifically says he wishes the ear cups were deeper. You can judge from the size of his ears and compare yours.
Hi Mark, I bought these and honestly they do not compare to the AirPods Max. I feel like I will go and return them. The sound is good, but if I’m not going to use the AirPods Max, I prefer using the Bose quite comfort.. The earcup’s are particularly uncomfortable and I have very small ears! I love the form factor and the case, aesthetically they are very good looking, but the sound and the comfort just don’t add up to the price tag. As always, thank you for your review. 😊
Yep! I'm done waiting for AirPods Max 2 lol. Sorry Apple. What's amazing is that these cans look like a marriage between Sony and Apple headphones, soft/light with exceptional sound.
I don’t have the Ace yet, but did preorder them. I can only imagine them not sounding as clear as the B&Ws but literally anything will have better soundstage than the Px7s. They have the smallest soundstage I’ve ever heard on any BT over ear.
A really good and comprehensive review for a very anticipated product!! Thank you for the review, we are looking forward to the follow up videos about ace you mentioned ✨🙂🛫
Great review. I’ve been eagerly awaiting headphones from Sonos as I’m very happy with the other products I own from them. Also, I was wanting something to rival the AirPods Max as I don’t like how heavy they are, no power button, and usb-c.
Hi Mark, your vlogs are excellent. None of the reports on the Sonos Ace, ever mention ‘noise suppression’ outward bound. Meaning when you are doing something noisy, wearing the Aces and speaking to someone on your mobile, can they hear the background noise. I have realised that my Airpod Max are appalling at ‘outbound noise’, friends always complaining! Carry on with the great vlogs.
Great review! In further explorations, I’d love to hear about the included DAC, and the lossless audio from usb-c, and also can you listen to wired audio from the stereo mini cable without a charge or power? I currently have Px8, P5, AirPod Max, and USB-C AirPod Pros, and while I’m clearly an aficionado of headphones (like you!), I’m not sure where the Ace fits in. Thanks again!
I tried this in my local JBHifi for almost 15 minutes while comparing it to my Bose QC Ultra, which you convinced me to buy. I must say my Bose sounds and appeals better to me. Thanks for your excellent review yet again. ❤
About time for this video. The Sonos are obviously more solid compared to the Airpods. I believe they sound better too. Apple can claim the ANC/transparency title as usual. Music continuity/transfer should definitely be a feature included on the headphones. Software needs to be well made. Great work Mark.
I was just about to buy the Bowers and Wilkins PX7 S2e, should I spend the extra and get these instead? Sound quality is my biggest factor. Great review as always!
Just got my sonos ace in black and absolutely love them and give my sony xm5’s to my son just hope sonos keep their word and update the headphones to work with the beam.
Great review! Appreciate the perspective from a Sonos user. Looking at pulling the trigger to pair with my Arc (and hopefully eventually the Beam Gen 2 in my bedroom).
I agree that we need better integration in the wider Sonos WiFi ecosystem, especially for lossless audio. But also be able to use Sonos Ace for improved TruePlay.
I'm not in the Sonos biosphere but I have a HUGE headphone, earbud collecting problem. The build quality and premium look got me. There are already a couple of reviews on RU-vid with good binaural mics and they sound great to my ears. Ordered mine today.
It's tempting, but is it worth replacing my 2 months old AirPods Max that I haven't finished paying ? Will they integrate as seamlessly with the Apple ecosystem ? (I have no other Sonos gear... yet)
Great review Mark, thanks. Making the ACE a destination with your Sonos ecosystem, although a great feature, would seriously impact battery life. I believe the ACE ticks the right boxes and I will get them for audio swap to watch my content while the rest of the family is asleep. All the other features are great and I can't wait to try my gaming on these 🤗
Hi Mark, your review is one of the best one I have ever seen! Well done! Just received today my Sonos Ace in white colour, I love it considering I am using the AirPods Max too! ❤
Thanks for this video Mark!!! I really waited for this only cause you’re the best! Two questions, in terms of sound quality which one has the best: Bowers and Wilkins PX8 or Sonos Ace? And Bose QC Ultra Headphones or Sonos Ace? 🤜🏻🤛🏻
Thankyou, fir the review. I was contemplating buying, And no proper review, You just nailed it, detailed. I am Sonos Freak since inception. Thrice I went to Virgin stores. And blimey all sold out.
really debating getting these or waiting till the airpods max 2’s, i had the xm5’s and the first gen maxes for the gym both didn’t work too well. Didn’t really like how loud the xm5’s got, and not at all impressed by the anc. With the maxes on the other hand, i loved them. The only issue was the water getting in from the metal casing. Hopefully this is fixed on the 2nd gen’s!
for about 70 bucks more, I get Bowers & Wilkins Px8 (street prices). There is no doubt about that for music the Px8 is better. So the question is, when you use it with you're TV (bluetooth) and wachting movies (Atmos, DTS..), how good sounds a Px8 compared with the ACE with and without ARC?
They will hopefully work as a pair with the new Arc2. I was very disappointed my wife and I couldn’t watch a movie together using the 2 headphones, which Sonos sell as a pair. Fix it Sonos.
I own both Sonos ace and sennheiser momentum 4, I choose sennheiser momentum 4 over my Sonos. Sennheiser sound quality is unmatched. Sonos ace also cracks a lot on certain audios on RU-vid. Sonos ace noice cancellation is superb but i don’t base my choice on anc. Sound quality is the most important feature and that is where sennheiser shows off its prowl.
If these can take Dolby atmos audio from my Denon AV then I would buy these immediately. I agree that Sonos need to open that part up to more than just their own arc soundbar. I don’t own any other Sonos products.
I tried a number of headphones in store today and these the Bose ultra and skull candy ANC crusher 2 were the standout ones. In terms of quality I really couldn’t choose between either these or the Bose ultra. I think the Bose ultra had slightly better body and bass, but these Sonos did very well in the own right, it has a Sonos signature sound I would say, wider soundstage that Bose but less bass (slightly) but better in other areas so was a really hard choice, in terms of style the Sonos hands down; it’s basically a slimmer air pod max (which I also listens to and hated!). The other option is the skullcandy crusher ANC 2, which were just a joy and put a smile on my face, obvs not in the same league is sound separation and ANC, but just fun and has some really user friendly features, cheaper too, so definite bang for buck.
My take with the Ace not having WiFi streaming capabilities is that it’s completely unnecessary. In what scenario would anyone be playing music on speakers while also wearing headphones? I could see the case of swapping from a speaker to headphones, but you’d have to use your phone anyway, so it’d just be on Bluetooth. I don’t think it’s a big deal that it’s not there
What is better sound Sony xm4 adjusted in EQ or Momentum 4? There is a promo for 230$ Sony, Momentum unfortunately only for 275. Or maybe you can recommend some other in the price range of about 275 dollars. In priority that were comfortable, did not hurt my ears / head, you can listen to 2-3 hours and was the best sound. All the trimmings and noise canceling features are not important.
Hi, Mr Ellis, I'm a big fan of your videos, would you mind doing an antutu benchmark for the Matepad 11.5 S? I think it has a Kirin 9000WL, but I'm not sure where it stands in terms of power.
How can you get confused? On which way round to put the headphones? I’ve got a toggle button on one of the earcup that goes to the back? Always faces the back? You cannot put the headphones on the other way round out it would face the front which is wrong, the headphones look where the button is that goes to the back problem solved I’ve never had a problem with these headphones. I think they’re awesome.
So many mixed reviews. Some hifi sites are absolutely trashing these cans against Sony's. I will have to get them myself and judge these. Thank you for your efforts nevertheless!
I do wish they would at least allow the Sonos app to stream via Bluetooth your library or services via tablet phone or PC. And yes I would like the Ace to be a speaker on the network just like my 2 beams (a Gen 2 in LR and Gen 1 in BR) to transfer content. Out of box the Ace paired with my PC phone, tablet and phone forced an upgrade of the Sonos App. However, until I rebooted my S22 phone the Ace would not register itself add to my Sonos system, and accept a firmware update
So many mixed reviews on this. People say Muddy Bass and nothing special on sound. Really torn on this or better to wait for SONY XM6s on august …. Decisions
Question that is not related to that video in any way shape or form but,I have a dilemma,I can't wait to get new headphones and by the time most people read this I will have a new pair.I am picking between xm4 and xm5,the thing is that xm5 is only 30 euros more than xm4
Mark, are the earcups smaller or wider than the px8? Px8 is the perfect size for my large ears, but no bigger. Dealbreaker for me, want to buy - Thanks!!
Hopefully these don’t suffer from the same annoying issue my Sonos Beam has. After a firmware update or a power failure/power cycle, the volume on my Beam goes to zero and I have to do weird things in my Sonos app to fix the problem of the volume going to zero every time i turn on my TV.
Love these headphones. I got them as an early Father's Day gift. The wife could not keep it a secret. About the only thing I don't like is the fabric of the case.
i think we cannot use them wired when it is at 0 charge, it needs to have some charge left in headphones to use it wired. in that case it would be a bad choice for hardcore travellers.
Bit dissapointed to the point of sending these back. I received mine today and can’t for the life of me get the services to show up on the Sonos app on either my iphone or ipad pro😢
I heard there not so comfortable to someone who wears glasses like myself so I’m waiting for Guinea pigs lol before I purchase,I do have the Sonos arc though.
To my ears the Focal Bathys are the gold standard in ANC over ears, If these can get anywhere in the ball park compared to the Bathys (Heavily suspect they wont) then hats off to Sonos
That’s a shame because as you say they’re awesome, For what it’s worth and you don’t mind wired headphones you should check out the Focal Azurys closed back, I’ve had them for a week and they’re just brilliant, Focal always seem to nail it, As for the Sonos i have a feeling the audiophile sites will slate these as they did with the B&W PX8
I’m using a FIIO BTR15 half the time as it can bluetooth to my phone and for use with my laptop i use and Astell and Kern HC3 usb dac, Both drive the Azurys really well
I don’t think there’s any need for these headphones to integrate with the Sonos ecosystem. They will work with the one sound bar but be honest headphones are used when you listen to music either from your phone or from a streaming service. via Bluetooth None of that requires the Sonos ecosystem to be in the middle.
So I went to PC World today and tried on the Bose Ultra but; they have this stupid demo running and you cant try out the noise cancelation. Are we saying in order or merit then its Sonos, Bose Ultra and AirPods Max in last place?
Mark !!! I'm not happy now 😂 why you said that sony has the best noise cancelling on the market. Every tests, every comparaisons between sony and Bose, come every time to the same conclusion: Bose is far better than sony. You are a fantastic youtubers and man i love your channel !!! The quality of your channel, your videos, are awesome ! But please, stop saying that Sony has the best ANC on the market 😂😂😂
Well for one they don't have ANC or transparency, but audio wise the maxwells will blownthem out of the water, hard to compete with planar magnetic drivers in audio reproduction or clarity, Soundstage might be similar, are the ace headphones worth the extra price, that's up to you, but honestly if your main focus is music, od say the maxwells arenprobably better
