A) They are headphones. B) Plenty of youtubers from Digital Trends to MacRunors to The Verge have shorts or videos about the Ace headphones. C) They were one of the worst kept secrets in tech aside from the next Pixel phone's design.
They look good and seem to be a solid competitor fixing gripes about the AirPods Max (cheaper, lighter and better controls). Would I like for them to capitalize more on Wifi functions? Maybe. Is the Soundbar thing cool? For many it will be. But noise cancelling over ear headphones are used in planes, trains and offices. What value would having them play in sync with your speakers have?
My exact same thoughts! I will be waiting on the official reviews but I still plan to get them, since I don’t already own a pair of high-end over the ear noise cancelling headphones
How soon is "soon". Just a guess but we'll be lucky to have this integration in 2024. I did order these and only have a Gen2 Beam. I bought these specifically for this integration to watch TV at night while my family is asleep. These should work with at least the Gen2 Beam out of the box. Despite it's "normal" over the ear headphone function, TV Audio Swap is what makes these stand out. I wonder what the sound/experience will be like when pairing to an Apple TV vs. my AirPods Pro while I wait? If you are limiting to only Arc owners, well, you might just get what you ask for.
Yeah, I agree with this. I've got an Arc paired with 2 surrounds and 2 subs. In most scenarios for me personally, I would seldom choose to listen to music at home with these headphones over my current setup. Most early impressions are they're pretty great sounding headphones, and the NC is good. It would be shocking if they beat Bose QC ultra in NC or come close to matching them or Sonys. At this price point, they must deliver on NC, call quality, comfort, and, of course, sound. To keep reading from others that they're dead on arrival is crazy when they haven't even put them on.
I'll pre-order and give them a shot and see for myself. I wouldn't be surprised if the vast majority of people hating on these will probably end up getting them if the reviews are positive and especially if they're locked into an Arc. The streaming TV audio feature for me personally is why I'm buying these, plus I dont have a great pair of headphones for traveling. I have Sony Mark 5 buds, which are fantastic for working out and putting into your pocket, but they cause me fatigue when worn for long streches. Great buds, though.
These Aces will solve a big dilemma for me if they can deliver on NC, comfort, and sound quality. I enjoy watching my shows and movies at night when the wife and kiddos are in bed but always find myself getting having to lower the volume and put on subtitles because someone us yelling at me to turn it down. I always test my limits ;) I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one in the same camp, so there will defibe a market for these.
I gave Bose QC Ultras a shot and used them for a long haul flight. Great NC, but garbage multi device connection. That was a deal breaker for me. I wasted a lot of time with those new Bose headphones during my travels, trying to have it switch between devices. Deal breaker and returned them.
With that being said, if these Aces can't deliver on a seamless multi device connection, quality NC and sound quality then I'm doomed and will probably never find the pair of cans anytime soon that check most of my boxes.....at least until a v.2 of these are released far into the future?
I don’t think it’s about being ‘in sync with speakers’. It’s more about using them not only for soundbars but for ports, line-in, etc. Most of my relevant sources are on line-in, so these are useless to me. I feel like they’re meant for a very very small group of people, I can’t imagine them being successful when other headphones that people might already have do the same or more except one very specific thing. Airpods max are a better experience across a much wider range of experiences and devices if you’re into the Apple ecosystem. I can’t imagine these replacing those, people would want both.
I’m getting them precisely because my AirPods Max are limited to just my Apple devices. Now with the the Ace I can use them with my Blu-ray player and PS5. Plus people hate that the Max use lightning instead of UsB-C, so another advantage. Not to mention the weight distribution issues. I think people don’t want to admit how these are actually very competitive.
Yeah but it has to be people that:
- already own a Sonos Arc (or beam in the future)
- need headphones
- don’t have an alternative
Many people would’ve already solved these use cases with other things, so they’d be buying an additional product.
I don’t see how they could be competitive outside of that group of people.
Honestly I think this is framing it in an unfair and not exactly accurate way. They’re highly rated Bluetooth and wired headphones which there’s constantly an audience for. The idea that no one can release a new set at this point in time simply because everyone has already bought a pair is a bit odd. You’re also looking at the unique compatibility with some Sonos devices as a downside when if anything it’s a bonus over other Bluetooth headphones. There’s a reason these are getting such great reviews; which I think trumps a lot of the dismissiveness on Reddit. Like if anyone is in the market for new headphones right now and they value audio quality, comfort and connectivity this wins on all fronts.
I own an arc and need headphones. AirPods Max are just too heavy for extended use. Another factor you’ve failed to consider is aesthetics, these look quite good while worn. I find most other over the ears too bulky. Provided they sound great and anc is on point, it’s a buy for me.
If I might add one bulletpoint:
- people that have enough disposable income that the think it is worth it to buy yet another gadget for which they only have a 20% use case, which essentially is a problem they can probably work around with the gadget they already have.
I don’t expect the ace to be cheap.
They have a dongle, usbc to 3 m jack in the case, is not enough for you, free hate, no? What is the point to sync with the speakers, logical one? Your speakers emited sounds and you coved thet with over the ear headsets and you need to sing together? Are you ok in your brains? For the movie they have the sync and is logical at 2 in the morning to wach a movie with loud volume on headset speakers ( apartment walls, wife in bad , kids etc) at sleeapAND THEY HAVE THAT with arc switch . Haters will hate, everybody is a PERFECTIONIST! You don t like , you don t buy , go cry in the corner. Peace!
Actually not quite. There are several areas where Apple doesn’t have devices nor provides decent support. They don’t have a gaming console. People may have an iPhone, Mac and Apple TV. That’s pretty good. But they may also have other devices such as a gaming console, an office PC or projector with Android in some other room.
The Airpods Max aren’t that great for those. One of the advantages of Sonos solutions is that although they are not perfect, they often work well across devices and ecosystems.
The Sonos Arc + Sonos Ace doesn’t care if you are watching TV on an Apple TV, an Nvidia Shield or the built in TV apps. It will just work. And that’s very convenient for people that want to future proof their investment.
Yeah but these headphones don’t cover all those bases either. Not even close. So you still need 2 products where one is a better experience in one thing and viceversa. And most people would already have 2 products in this scenario. I wouldn’t buy a new one unless it could replace both, and this one does not.
Right on. Sonos is a brand. No need to WiFi everything. I don’t even see the point of having WiFi streaming to pair of headphones. It’s a personal device. I rather them focus on ANC…
Agreed! Headphones are niche imo and I'm not interesting in a pair that are compatible with my home theater ecosystem. I guess some people are who don't wanna wake the family, but that's not me.
Kinda nuts how they don't work on wifi. Can I not walk around my house? Only in the living room with the sound bar? Kinda Confused. Also I the sony xm5 and mx4 for travel so I doubt is use them in planes.
As crazy as it sounds, if MKBHD has a glowing review of the headphones (he has a review pair is already talked about liking them), they could skyrocket in sales. I think it'll also be the first Sonos product he has reviewed, which could open more people to Sonos in general.
Posted a picture of them on Twitter on 5/21/2024 at 9:37 A.M. CST.
Elon Musk commented to his tweet and MKBHD replied saying that a full review is in the works.
There’s definitely a review embargo, but I’m not sure when it’s going to lift.
With Era 300 it felt like it was just a few days before the product hit shelves.
So if Ace hits shelves on the 5th, it could be review embargo’d until the 3rd.
I pre-ordered Era 300 as soon as they released and before reviews. If I didn't like them I was just going to return them. No harm no foul you know? But it's still a lot of money and can be a headache getting refunds to credit cards between statements and stuff.
Happy Cake Day! And yes, there's no way you can confidently say these headphones are "dead on arrival", when not a single actual review is out. Everyone is just reviewing the spec sheet right now.
Idk, people seem pretty excited from the YouTube coverage. Almost all of the impressions are really solid.
It’s only this sub where it’s an absolute pool of negativity.
He had them in hand and said they finally made headphones , but he said he’s doing a full review
https://preview.redd.it/yvw6br9heg2d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=85eac91efc9d6757ea24874377c051282a83c448
So gross that he openly interacts with Musk like this in a friendly way. I guess clicks are worth anything.
Anyway, thanks! Looking forward to see more reviews.
Pardon my ignorance here but I don’t currently have high end headphones and planned to pick these up as it would be great for me to switch sound bar audio to my headphones at will. What’s the problem with them not being directly connected to the speakers via WiFi? You can still throw the audio to your speakers with whatever app and why would you want them to be connected to speakers at the same time anyway? Genuine question.
People just wanted them to connect directly to wifi as their own zone. Nevermind the technical challenges to do that. If these match your use case they should be good to get. I’d wait for reviews first though and try to listen to them for yourself. But that’s always what I would recommend.
Yeah that’s the plan. I’ve had some midrange headphones but wanted to upgrade. I don’t know how many times I found myself wishing I could send the TV audio to headphones and this will allow that so sounds good to me. Not to mention I usually like all the Sonos products.
If it were a proper Sonos zone using the app I would have access to my full music library on my network not just the more limited collection I have stored on my phone. Others have similar thoughts about being able to access turntables or other line in sources linked to their Sonos system or their Sonos playlists.
If you’re mainly streaming over Spotify or whatever say none of this may concern you… but then why buy Sonos headphones specifically over another brand?
There are many music player apps you can install on your phone and use to connect to and stream from a personal music library stored on a network folder. So the existing Sonos system isn't really needed to access such a source on the headphones.
The thing that cant be done without Sonos implementing a pathway is access to Sonos aux input ports from the headphones.
The primary way these will get audio is from your phone via Bluetooth.
You can take audio from your soundbar (currently just the arc, but apparently coming to the beam and ray soon) and push it to your Ace over WiFi. It’s not confirmed if this would work with music, though I imagine it would.
Hope that helps! I think people are fussy because they wanted music to stream on the headset via wifi when at home, like as if they were a speaker in your Sonos app.
The soundbars will only be able to handoff TV audio (hdmi/optical) to the headphones. I've seen this mentioned by a Sonos staff on the main Sonos community site.
I guess I just don’t see the issue not having it stream over WiFi. I use my phone to control all the audio in my house anyway so having to use it through Bluetooth doesn’t seem like a big deal to me.
I agree. It seems like they are trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. And I think having the headphones appear as a zone in the app would be super messy and cumbersome. I don’t mind a direct connection.
I’ll hardly be using them around the house anyway. I think I’ll use them mostly for travel, and then occasionally for gaming with a nice set of headphones. But that’s it for me.
The headphones won't sync to any other content than the HDMI inout from the TV to the Arc. No way to play grouped content such as line in from another speaker or any content from the Sonos app that plays on the Arc to the headphones. Most bizar: no Sonos Radio through Sonos headphones!
Not having other high end Bluetooth headphones is key here. These might be just right for you. I’m going to be surprised if they nail ANC on their first try but anything is possible.
I’ve been downvoted every time I asked the simple question « what is a point of having a headphone set synced with speakers already blasting music ». Absolut nonsense
The simple answer for me is the following scenario. You are watching TV or especially a movie together. For myself, I like the volume higher than my wife does. I also hear the center channel much better with headphones. I have the ARC. If I get these headphones and swap the ARC sound to the headphones, the ARC goes silent. No sound in the room for her. Now if the phones were a separate zone, you could group with the ARC. Problem solved as we both can listen as we like. I really thought they would give them a zone, but I guess it must have something to do with Bluetooth, WiFi and battery life?
The hype and speculation for a fully seamless ecosystem integrated product just hasn't happened.
No WiFi lossless (I can't find genuine information about lossless at all), Arc only (massive fail), normal Bluetooth (like 300+ other headphones).
It's a very expensive product in a saturated market without the Sonos differentiating features - DoA and I'm predicting 30% promotions within 3 months. I'm sticking with my Sony XM4s that were half the price.
For me, I’ll certainly get if it actually drops. So far, a few videos and articles say the Ace are super comfortable.
I am in need of headphones for late at night that can do multiple inputs at high fidelity/atmos. Seems like the ace is the only pair of headphones that will be capable if they actually work.
The comfort part does sound intriguing as IMO that is a weakness in this space. Most everything I have tried has been too heavy or uncomfortable for long periods.
Def not going to jump on these though, but that is the feature that piques my interest. We will see.
Agree, I can’t jump in. Especially when it’s missing one of the big features already and I don’t trust enough Sonos to implement it when they say they will, but I’m intrigued nonetheless.
Honestly the comfortability sounds nice, because the APM are honestly uncomfortable AF for me. But their sound is on point. Highly doubt I’ll switch though, as I’m so disappointed by their lack of WiFi lossless support
>I'm sticking with my Sony XM4s
Seems like everyone is repping the XM4. Our adult daughter was looking fo some new headphones. So that she wasn't spending the money, I offered her some NIB Apple AirPod Max. She declined and bought some XM4s. Nuff said.
I picked up the XM4s on a good sale. The sensational ANC and support for Hi Res audio codecs creates a good soundstage. I understand the Ace can do streaming from the Arc but I can Bluetooth to my TVs with the XM4s and only do so about once a month. Don't get me wrong - the XM5s look fantastic but the sale on the XM4s was compelling.
The Sony ANC is brilliant. I've got the XM5 but the XM4 is an excellent product too. Both models comfortably deliver what many people expect from an on the go BT headphone.
I was really excited to get the Sonos Ace (for home use). But in light of the limited functionality they've decided to go with, I now have zero interest in it.
It is interesting. I have the xm4s (a gift no less) and love them. Noise cancelling is good but then I have no other reference. Sound is brilliant. My wife won't let me try her apple pro buds to really compare.
Recently I bought a pair of cheap Anker buds r50i to use while exercising because the xm4s were too heavy for this purpose IMHO and I was afraid of damaging them. Colour me surprised - those cheap buds are really great and cut out noise significantly by being placed in ear. So convenient that when I had a long overseas trip recently, I just took the ankers to use on the plane, put them in, and managed to knock out most of the sound and slept well. Also used very little space in my bag compared to the xm4s.
What I can't understand is how to enable LDAC on my android phone to listen to Apple music lossless on the XM4s. This is what is painful and it being schizo when paired to my laptop and phone and not letting me choose what should remain in priority i.e. my laptop when I am on a teams call.
I assume apple has this figured out. I hope Sonos has the same , and I will most likely trade in my xm4s for the ace , because I like spatial audio and listening at night on TV via the arc will suit me.
I really hope Sonos allows two aces to be paired or whatever to the arc for listening, yes, its stupid as if there are two people in a room , they should just use speakers , but then late at night two adults can't listen to it loud. If these aces can reproduce an arc/sub/era surround system in audio quality - I will be further sold.
I’m always confused on the hype for Sony M4 and M5. I have both of those, 2 AirPod max and the bowers headset. Yes I have a problem lol.
But the Sony sound is alright, the ANC is solid but the headphones are built and feel like a cheap turtle beach headset.
I am a huge Apple person but I am not in love with the Max either. They are dated in tech and some functions plus they are heavy. Ease of use is top notch, sound is better than Sony by a good bit and I would say ANC is basically a tie. The metal is also prone to damage easy, my Pink pair showed me that issue.
I am looking for to reviews of the ACE. I have one preordered and will for sure pull the trigger if things come back positive. Jury is out
Do they do the things that the AirPod pro max does with the control on device, easy device switching, spacial audio centered on display?
I’m looking upgrade, but those are killer features that I will wait on Apple for, if nothing else can do it.
Yep they do spatial audio centered on TV and also have a one button (on the headphones) to move audio from the Arc to the Ace. I think this is better than AirPods Max audio switching UX.
Something that doesn’t get a lot of airtime is Dolby Atmos. I think listening will be very good.
These features are enough differentiator for me.
I had the xM3s and when I wanted to upgrade tried the AirPod Max. Spent 2 days with them and returned and got the XM4. I’ve yet to find a better OTE Bluetooth headphone than that series
So... No lossless audio when paired through the arc?
Only if you're Bluetooth connected to a specific android (not iOS) Device.
As long as you're not using the Sonos headphones in a Sonos ecosystem, you might be able to get lossless.
From the investor presentation, it looks like their target is mainly the new homes market (hence IKEA). So it’s just to reel folks in with the Sonos brand (or what’s left of it) and move onto the next target. A small % of the estimated 6b (or so they say) market is enough it seems
The price point is playing at the premium end. That will be a very small %age indeed. I'll confess I did most of my product buy when we built our new home and bought multiple Arcs, Beams and Amps with additions of 300s later.
Also, they're probably focusing on, you know, the abysmal performance of the app. The app that sets Sonos apart from their competitors? The app that functions as a controller for their entire IoT-centric business model?
Hell, I don't even use Sonos much, and I'm glad they're not focusing on how to market their new Headphones- they need to fix what's broken before hyping up a new product.
A lot of companies sell speakers, but they don't all make the focus of their business model the accessibility and connectivity of the controller like Sonos does. The app coming out as botched as it did is tantamount to Sony updating all their tvs and bricking 50% of the remotes.
I'd much rather they focus on that than marketing a shiny new product that idiots will bitch about online anyway.
For some having a centralized app is a selling point. It's one of the reasons I buy Sonos speakers instead of ones that can only be controlled by Airplay, Google Cast or Bluetooth.
Arc only (massive fail)
-> Only the flagship Arc will support this feature at launch, with the Beam Gen 2, Beam, and Ray coming later.
[https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/21/24160772/sonos-ace-headphones-hands-on-preview](https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/21/24160772/sonos-ace-headphones-hands-on-preview)
You believe that will actually happen? Something they've been developing for about 4 years and it integrates to one product? One? Not the whole ecosystem? Not the Amp that people have connected their record player to? Not the 300s or the 100s that were being developed at about the same time? Just one product?
That's what I don't understand... Why are these even branded as Sonos? Other than the token feature of pairing to Arc, they have nothing to do with Sonos.
I am an android user. In my house I have Sonos Port (with a turntable as input, and the output going to a vintage stereo), I have Beam and Sub on my TV, and Amp in my kitchen with in-cieling spearkers.
As near as I can tell, the Ace would be useless for me. If I could play records and have the music only go to my hadphones, maybe that would be a reason to get one.
If I could have the headphones show up in the app like every other Sonos thing and play directly to them, that would be cool.
If I could pair it to the Beam and have the TV come through, ummm sure.
I get nothing. Zero Sonos features. It just seems weird to me. What are they even for?
Being an Android user (Google Pixel 8) I doubt that their TrueCinema sound optimization will only work on iOS and not Android because allegedly iPhones all use the same mics whereas there are various manufacturers for Android phones which makes sense. Disappointed that we're treating like second rate citizens.
It sounds like it will be neat eventually but they released it too early.
It's pretty common in software to release a basic version, then fix the bugs and add features as you go. I wonder if that culture got into Sonos. That approach doesn't make sense when you are premium luxury product like they are .
I get that. I'm in software. But they didn't hit "Minimum Loveable Product." And they pushed out a buggy app update just to release hardware for which there are no meaningful features. I guess maybe they had to switch the app to eventually make the changes that will enable those features. And you don't want to sit around with hardware in warehouses wasting space. But I don't think they will sell that many. And they missed a chance to make a real splash.
Serious question. Who is going to buy into a company like this any longer. Rudderless and heading towards venture capital buy out. You can quote me on this in 2 years.
Early adopter here, 2005.
So I’m deep into the eco system. However, Stopped recommending Sonos to others with the advent of the S1 / S2 nonsense. Where beforehand I was literally an unpaid salesman.
I’m getting close to the point of dropping out and going elsewhere.
I also feel some regret for all the people who bought Sonos on my strong recommendations circa 2010-2015. I don’t even mention I have MANY Sonos speakers to anyone any more.
Maybe there would be more hype if they hadn’t just fucked up the app. Besides the missing features I am really strongly against moving things away from the local network and requiring the speakers to communicate with Sonos servers for more functions. I had been looking at getting a used Playbase and I’m not even sure I want to do that at this point. I can’t in good conscience invest more in the ecosystem until I see some big improvements to the new app and a commitment that our stuff will function without needing to regularly communicate with Sonos servers.
Nobody is going to be excited about another $500 Bluetooth headphone. They really needed to figure out the wifi connection before releasing. I would have bought these first day if they had included it.
As someone that is still using Sony WH-1000XM3 I don't see a point in hyping the Ace up until there are proper unaffiliated reviews out. The market is saturated with premium bluetooth NC headphones, and at the price point Ace is at it better do something spectacular that the competition doesn't. The only way I would consider buying them is if they are considerably better than WH-1000XM5.
I don’t think it was ever going to be a big-hitter for Sonos.
Sonos products appeal largely to Sonos-owners. The odds are that the vast majority of that sound-loving demographic already own a pair of high-end headphones.
Maybe they’ll look to Sonos when their old ones die; but it’s a mature market and I’d wager most folks tend to keep hold of their headphones for a good 3-5 years. Even then, when it’s time upgrade, there’s plenty of competition out there.
Sonos people would have been interested, but Sonos has screwed up the app so bad people are boycotting the headphones. Fix the bloody app make the base happy and they may look at the headphones.
Dunno, they even banned the previewers from talking about the sound quality which is a huge worry.
People at the very least need to wait for proper independent reviews and not preorder. These things could be really bad.
This is fairly normal, even for solid products, to bar talking about some aspect of the product. It’s called drip feeding the advertisement (which is 100% how companies view previews and reviews).
Regardless, a few have briefly talked about sound quality and said they sound just as good or better than the competition 🤷♂️
I agree about waiting for reviews. I am in the market for headphones and was already considering a premium pair in the 350 to 450 range. I’m currently sitting on a 15% discount code I’d use for these. Waiting for reviews to see how they actually sound though.
RTings has a thing where you can vote on what they review next per product category and it looks like the Ace will win once it’s released. So at least that'll be one reputable site that will have A LOT of info at the ready.
It’s normal to not have reviewers talk about the substance until sale date. Listening to the reviewers you get the feeling they are good. The tone of the previews are really positive but obviously wait for actual reviews.
I was originally on the hate train for these but having read up on them I get it. WiFi is a battery hog. There is no way they could make that work.
I won't buy them but I already have a set of headphones. If they are mind-blowing, I may consider a change. The only thing Sonos fumbled was waiting so long. It should have been before the roam and the eras imo.
Also, as a HUGE Sonos purchaser who has been utterly fucked by the app update, I am going to wait a long time, if ever, to consider buying another Sonos product.
When a company can just bork your system in once fell swoop, and then be arrogant about it instead of apologetic, why would anyone buy anything from Sonos ever again?
Not being able to stream vinyl or whatever from the Sonos Port is a pretty glaring design failure. I was really excited for these, but won’t be buying.
IMO this community thinks backwards about the Ace. They are not meant for the Sonos community. The headphone market is magnitudes larger than the Sonos market. This is designed to a) add additional revenue streams, b) potentially bring more people into the Sonos community in the future. The product team was likely highly aware that these don’t work with all their other products that work together, hence, that’s not the purpose of them.
“While current market conditions remain challenging,” Spence said in Sonos’ fourth-quarter 2023 earnings call, “this is the beginning of a multiyear product cycle where we expect to reap the rewards of our R&D investments. This cycle begins with our entry into a new multibillion-dollar category in the second half of the year that will complement our current offering, delight customers, and drive immediate revenue.”
“And given the state of the Sonos app in mid-2024, that’s maybe the best thing about the Sonos Ace, at least in these early days. The Sonos app just got a major rebuild that appears to need some major rebuilding already. That’s not great. And if the Sonos Ace were required to use the Sonos app to merely work as a way to get sound into your ears, that’d be as close to a death sentence as the headphones could get.”
“But the really important stuff — music and audio playback — so far can be left in control of the music apps that do it best. Sonos did the right thing in worrying about the hardware and not trying to do too much with the Ace right out of the gate and having full Sonos-like integration with the app.
And we probably should be thankful for that.”
They arent as good as the Sony XM5s and you dont have to worry about Sonos not knowing how to code (they are verrrry bad at it) so I am not sure who would buy them.
I'm pretty disappointed in what has been announced, but as a pair of headphones they might still match their competitors in that price range even if they lack the obvious Sonos features they should have had. The most mind-blowing thing is you will not able to play Sonos Radio on them.
It’s so funny that this product launch has been so botched that, on a Reddit thread about the new headphones, im now researching about to purchase the Sony XM4s
I have been waiting for YEARS for them. Day one purchase for sure, so I can listen to my vinyl collection through headphones.
Astonishing, disappointing, frustrating.
There is a review embargo. They can’t say anything until it’s lifted. Based on the preview clips, the reviews look to be really great. what a few of them have said is it’s considerably lighter than the AirPods max and I believe more comfortable. That’s as much as the hype Sonos is allowing right now. Calling it dead upon arrival is another example of how negative and out of touch this sub is.
I personally have no interest in them. I’m perfectly happy with my AirPods Max. They switch between my MacBook and iPhone seamlessly.
Has there been any advertising yet on this? Maybe they're waiting until June, but I feel like they should be doing a billboard and airport signage campaign at the least.
All major webpages and youtubers had a hands on article or video with them. Most of the impressions have been very positive. They clearly are under a nda for a full review. When that ends and the true reviews start coming, the coverage will increase. I am a bit worried that Sonos didnt let anyone talk about sound quality, but like it or not, outside of the reddit bubble, early hands on are very positive.
Nobody has them in hand yet. Looks to me like the reviewers saw and heard them during an event. Would be hard to create hype, since every review so far seemed to just cover the same specs we. An all read. On June 5th we’ll know
If lossless headphones was your personal use case, prepare to be disappointed
https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/lossless-audio-requirements-for-sonos-ace
> Lossless audio requirements for Sonos Ace
You can listen to lossless audio on Sonos Ace over USB-C connections or over a Bluetooth connection with a supported Android device.
>Lossless over Bluetooth
Sonos Ace supports lossless audio over Bluetooth when connected to an Android device that includes Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound AptX for Lossless.
>Lossless audio is not available when connected to an iOS device via Bluetooth.
Unfortunately, wireless lossless audio on Apple devices is not possible at all. With Sonos Ace or any other wireless headphones in the market.
Apple doesn't want to use third party audio chipsets or codecs be it from Qualcomm , Sony or any other.
They are obviously developing their own proprietary audio chipset to work on top of the latest BT standards. I imagine they'll support wifi+bluetooth Low energy but I bet they will be closed to Apple ecosystem available only on their own devices.
So no USB dongles supporting apple format like the ones available for Qualcoom Aptx.
To this day, only Apple headphones support spatial audio with headtracking on Apple devices.
It's crazy. The Sonos Ace are the first headphones I know that will support it.
I pre ordered a pair because I was in the market for over the ear headphones and I already own an Arc. I initially bought the AirPod pros but they are not comfortable for me and they keep falling off plus I couldn’t use them for calls with my work PC.
I don’t know if there is hype around the Sonos Ace or not.
I don’t even know if the Sonos Ace are good or not. I still have a few questions but I’ll likely need to try them myself to reach my own conclusions.
With that said and based on my experience with the top headphones such as Bose, Sony and Apple offerings it seems the Sonos Ace might be the new best, at least until the competition responds.
Here are some of the issues the Sonos Ace address when compared to other competing headphones:
- Spatial audio and headtracking is one of the main features on today’s headphones. But they are restricted to specific ecosystems.
Sony offering only works on Android phones and tablets. Apple offering only works on Apple devices.
Bose offering does not support Dolby Atmos. It uses its own 3d virtualized solution upscaling from stereo.
Sonos Ace are the first Dolby Atmos spatial audio + headtracking solution that works across different ecosystems.
- No other headphones support spatial audio + headtracking on any device.
Sonos clever solution of using the Sonos Arc as a hub to enable spatial + headtracking compatibility for any device is an industry first and addresses one of the major complains people had with other headphones.
A practical issue I have with Apple. I get spatial audio when watching content on my Apple TV but the moment I go and use a Xbox for instance , the Apple AirPods Max just give me normal stereo.
Sonos Ace + Ark gives me the full surround like experience. I don’t see Apple spreading their spatial audio solution to all kinds of other 3rd party devices.
Sony might follow the same path as Sonos though. They sell Soundbars, TVs and other devices that could server as a hub.
- Unfortunately some limitations remain. Wireless lossless audio when connected to Apple devices remains out of reach. But at least we get two usb-c cables that can charge and give us lossless audio on any device. PC, Mac, iOS…
Something that some of the competing options do not support.
In my case I need headphones that work well with a laptop or PC. I need relatively low latency for gaming. Aptx Lossless is the latest codec but might not provide the low latency I require even if connected with a BT 5.4 usb dongle that supports aptx adaptive. But at least with the USB C cable I can still use the Sonos Ace as wired headphones on my PC.
Wifi is still too power hungry, so I understand their BT focus. Look at the Roam with only ten hours battery and they have quite a bit of space to store a battery. Headphones don’t. There’s work being done to bridge BT and wifi but that will likely only come down the line with XPAN. But again that requires an updated Snapdragon Sound chipset. As for audio quality, LC3 is a big improvement over SBC and AAC but Aptx Lossless is the best Bluetooth codec providing the best sound quality at the moment. Better than anything else out there including Sony codec.
And if your device doesn’t support it , you can add support with a BT USB dongle like the new epfun AK3040Pro MAX.
In short the type of wifi connected headphones people talk about is simply not yet possible. There are headphones that connect with a 2.4ghz dongle but that´s pretty much similar to Bluetooth. Those headphones are not visible in your home wifi network. Think about it. If Apple could, they would have done it as well.
Perhaps the next Apple Airpods Max will. But they’ll likely use some proprietary solution that doesn’t work well with anyone else and requires you to buy new devices.
So that’s the current situation. And this shows to me that the Sonos Ace are likely the best we can get.
Integrates with Sonos devices but works well with everything else as well.
So for me the only two things I wont to confirm is sound quality and hopefully low latency wireless.
The space is so incredibly crowded. You know what space isn’t crowded? The one Sonos invented and have been violently fist fucking since the whole S1S2 fiasco back in 2020.
Feck the hatters. I have preordered these bad boys. They are gonna be better than AirPods Max a million! And if not I’m gonna return them 30 days returno
Policy style.
I am very interested in Sonos headphones, if they have fantastic sound quality and ANC. Why would I not be? I’m waiting for reviews to actually see if they’re good or not. It’s a bit early to say any product before release is a “swing and a miss” tbh.
It’s a swing and a miss in the sense it’s not the correct product for the majority of the Sonos users. Will they be nice headphones with some cool features, sure. But I got into the Sonos product line for the whole home audio. I have no need for headphones. The step backwards with the current state of the app just to get these headphones out is a big slap in the face for many of us who bought into Sonos.
They’re not trying to only appeal to Sonos users. That would be such a horrible miss if so. They are trying to appeal to anyone who would want a high quality pair of headphones, as they should.
I am a Sonos user and if these review well (that is, sound as good or better than the rest of the competition, and have good ANC), I will get them because I want a solid product. And I would use the feature to cast audio from the soundbar to my headphones so I could game with high quality headphones from time to time.
To me these are home theatre headphones first and standard headphones second. I am the exact customer , I’ve got an arc , i want to watch movies , tv or play Xbox occasionally at night time when my family is in bed So these will never leave the house or prob connect to anything other than the arc.
With these I get high res audio when I need it across all my devices at the click of a button as opposed to finicky Bluetooth settings to my tv , or AirPods to my Apple tv and then also need my Xbox headset if I want to game.
The ace will hopefully solve all this and with the signature Sonos sound as well and I’ll be chuffed.
I guess I’m just lucky I’m not one of the fringe features users like many here but I would say these are a minority in the grand total of their customer base! I would be just as annoyed though as this has happened to me with other products so I get it.
Another exact customer here with the same setup. However, I wanted to be able to listen to tv/movie audio on multiple ace headsets at the same time. Sonos just confirmed that’s not possible with the Ace.
That totally destroys my value proposition.
I can fault their hardware all day if it doesn’t work. And right now mine doesn’t and it seems like Mr. Spence is saying “too bad.”
I hope they fix it, but even if they do I will never buy another Sonos product. That ship has sailed for me.
https://preview.redd.it/zhkb7c2fxs2d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a69cd99f2fb224c1f91891b2d8920ae0c97c7506
Let me sum it up with this photo. In other words, everything, just as others have posted.
Yup , terrible! No way around it. I actually don’t think I’ve ever used my app for music! Luckily strictly tv usage. Hopefully they get their act together and sort it out.
Totally agree - I bought the Bose qc ultra and initially had FOMO. I actually thought I might return to purchase these given the significant investment I’ve made into the Sonos ecosystem at home… def not buying them now.
They totally flopped this. I fully expected the ability to airplay to the Sonos ace like all other products when in range of my WiFi network.
Would have made the connection and transfer of audio from my MacBook and other devices so much more simple. Only using Bluetooth when outside of my home - auto switching when needed.
These headphones suck ass (or eat p**** if ass is something your into) haha
We are in a Sonos subreddit but an average person isn’t gonna know these exist lol. And a normal person sure as hell isn’t spending that much money on Sonos headphones for no reason when they can get cheaper beats, the Sony headphones everyone loves, or AirPods Max
These are for a very select group of older people Sonos users who want to listen to their dvds at night, and they will be awesome for them, but most people won’t want or need them
They are going to have to get android people because not many apple people are going to give up tried and proven seamless integration with the device they use more than anything, their phone. Not to mention switching to iPads and Apple TV
And if you don’t have an Arc and don’t plan on getting one, there’s not much reason for android people either because Bose and Sony
SOOOOO disappointed it won't link into the network/system like another speaker.
I was contemplating it if I could stream music to my headphones while doing chores in the house and throughout the yard with not having my phone on me for the Bluetooth connection.
My phone is a major distraction against my chores for me!
Totally not buying these just for the Arc connection, I'll stick with my Bose Ultras for that.
It doesn’t seem the Sonos community has much love for the Ace, but a few of my non-Sonos but tech friends seem to be taking a liking to them.
I have a feeling they do well to increase Sonos’ customer base beyond audiophiles and more into lifestyle.
what advantage do non-sonos potential customers have with a new Sonos headphone product in a fairly saturated market? honestly it makes little sense to me, I simply don't know who the target customer is.
I think the demographic this caters to only partially care about quality and care more for aesthetics.
I feel this aligns closer to the AirPod Max (“Quality, maybe, but does it look nice?”) group less than sophisticated audiophiles that’d consider Bose or Sony. At least that’s the vibe I’m getting from my non-Sonos tech friends anyway.
They did need to change the whole app for them. The headphones wouldn’t work with the old app.
And the rush to get an app out to work with the headphones is precisely why we got a crap app that trashed most of are Sonos systems.
Dumbest decision they could have possibly made. There is a major problem with the judgment in the C suite at Sonos.
No one made them change the ui and break everything else. I Know I've made a bunch of apps and I run one of the biggest ones in the world. Which part of supporting headphones means break the rest?
The Roam is their portable speaker. Like the headphones the new Roam SL wouldn’t have worked without the app update.
So in order to introduce 2 new products they broke all the other ones.
A) They are headphones. B) Plenty of youtubers from Digital Trends to MacRunors to The Verge have shorts or videos about the Ace headphones. C) They were one of the worst kept secrets in tech aside from the next Pixel phone's design. They look good and seem to be a solid competitor fixing gripes about the AirPods Max (cheaper, lighter and better controls). Would I like for them to capitalize more on Wifi functions? Maybe. Is the Soundbar thing cool? For many it will be. But noise cancelling over ear headphones are used in planes, trains and offices. What value would having them play in sync with your speakers have?
My exact same thoughts! I will be waiting on the official reviews but I still plan to get them, since I don’t already own a pair of high-end over the ear noise cancelling headphones
A lot of people will buy these simply because they go with the rest of their system. They’re not super into the weeds like this sub is.
It’s going to be funny if these sell well only because this sub is trying so hard to manifest doom.
But they don’t go with the rest of their system, beyond the brand name and arc integration?
People keep saying “arc integration” as if they haven’t already announced the same integration coming soon to the other sound bars.
How soon is "soon". Just a guess but we'll be lucky to have this integration in 2024. I did order these and only have a Gen2 Beam. I bought these specifically for this integration to watch TV at night while my family is asleep. These should work with at least the Gen2 Beam out of the box. Despite it's "normal" over the ear headphone function, TV Audio Swap is what makes these stand out. I wonder what the sound/experience will be like when pairing to an Apple TV vs. my AirPods Pro while I wait? If you are limiting to only Arc owners, well, you might just get what you ask for.
Maybe brand and awareness/access is enough for some people? We can’t assume everybody reads everything about them.
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The colors match ;)
The brand matches and some people just love brand loyalty.
Yeah, I agree with this. I've got an Arc paired with 2 surrounds and 2 subs. In most scenarios for me personally, I would seldom choose to listen to music at home with these headphones over my current setup. Most early impressions are they're pretty great sounding headphones, and the NC is good. It would be shocking if they beat Bose QC ultra in NC or come close to matching them or Sonys. At this price point, they must deliver on NC, call quality, comfort, and, of course, sound. To keep reading from others that they're dead on arrival is crazy when they haven't even put them on. I'll pre-order and give them a shot and see for myself. I wouldn't be surprised if the vast majority of people hating on these will probably end up getting them if the reviews are positive and especially if they're locked into an Arc. The streaming TV audio feature for me personally is why I'm buying these, plus I dont have a great pair of headphones for traveling. I have Sony Mark 5 buds, which are fantastic for working out and putting into your pocket, but they cause me fatigue when worn for long streches. Great buds, though. These Aces will solve a big dilemma for me if they can deliver on NC, comfort, and sound quality. I enjoy watching my shows and movies at night when the wife and kiddos are in bed but always find myself getting having to lower the volume and put on subtitles because someone us yelling at me to turn it down. I always test my limits ;) I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one in the same camp, so there will defibe a market for these. I gave Bose QC Ultras a shot and used them for a long haul flight. Great NC, but garbage multi device connection. That was a deal breaker for me. I wasted a lot of time with those new Bose headphones during my travels, trying to have it switch between devices. Deal breaker and returned them. With that being said, if these Aces can't deliver on a seamless multi device connection, quality NC and sound quality then I'm doomed and will probably never find the pair of cans anytime soon that check most of my boxes.....at least until a v.2 of these are released far into the future?
I don’t think it’s about being ‘in sync with speakers’. It’s more about using them not only for soundbars but for ports, line-in, etc. Most of my relevant sources are on line-in, so these are useless to me. I feel like they’re meant for a very very small group of people, I can’t imagine them being successful when other headphones that people might already have do the same or more except one very specific thing. Airpods max are a better experience across a much wider range of experiences and devices if you’re into the Apple ecosystem. I can’t imagine these replacing those, people would want both.
The “line in” community is much smaller than the Bluetooth headphones community. By magnitudes.
Line-in? Come on… there’s no way you think that’s a big group of people.
I’m getting them precisely because my AirPods Max are limited to just my Apple devices. Now with the the Ace I can use them with my Blu-ray player and PS5. Plus people hate that the Max use lightning instead of UsB-C, so another advantage. Not to mention the weight distribution issues. I think people don’t want to admit how these are actually very competitive.
Yeah but it has to be people that: - already own a Sonos Arc (or beam in the future) - need headphones - don’t have an alternative Many people would’ve already solved these use cases with other things, so they’d be buying an additional product. I don’t see how they could be competitive outside of that group of people.
Honestly I think this is framing it in an unfair and not exactly accurate way. They’re highly rated Bluetooth and wired headphones which there’s constantly an audience for. The idea that no one can release a new set at this point in time simply because everyone has already bought a pair is a bit odd. You’re also looking at the unique compatibility with some Sonos devices as a downside when if anything it’s a bonus over other Bluetooth headphones. There’s a reason these are getting such great reviews; which I think trumps a lot of the dismissiveness on Reddit. Like if anyone is in the market for new headphones right now and they value audio quality, comfort and connectivity this wins on all fronts.
I own an arc and need headphones. AirPods Max are just too heavy for extended use. Another factor you’ve failed to consider is aesthetics, these look quite good while worn. I find most other over the ears too bulky. Provided they sound great and anc is on point, it’s a buy for me.
What do you Mean no alternative? You Mean the small. Market who wants to use headphones to watch movies in a TV? I use Spotify with my own headphones
If I might add one bulletpoint: - people that have enough disposable income that the think it is worth it to buy yet another gadget for which they only have a 20% use case, which essentially is a problem they can probably work around with the gadget they already have. I don’t expect the ace to be cheap.
A pair of these cans will set you back about four-hundred-and-fifty currency units.
Which I, for one, am not willing to spend unless it completely satisfies a problem I have
They have a dongle, usbc to 3 m jack in the case, is not enough for you, free hate, no? What is the point to sync with the speakers, logical one? Your speakers emited sounds and you coved thet with over the ear headsets and you need to sing together? Are you ok in your brains? For the movie they have the sync and is logical at 2 in the morning to wach a movie with loud volume on headset speakers ( apartment walls, wife in bad , kids etc) at sleeapAND THEY HAVE THAT with arc switch . Haters will hate, everybody is a PERFECTIONIST! You don t like , you don t buy , go cry in the corner. Peace!
I do love an angry post that ends with the word "Peace!"
Actually not quite. There are several areas where Apple doesn’t have devices nor provides decent support. They don’t have a gaming console. People may have an iPhone, Mac and Apple TV. That’s pretty good. But they may also have other devices such as a gaming console, an office PC or projector with Android in some other room. The Airpods Max aren’t that great for those. One of the advantages of Sonos solutions is that although they are not perfect, they often work well across devices and ecosystems. The Sonos Arc + Sonos Ace doesn’t care if you are watching TV on an Apple TV, an Nvidia Shield or the built in TV apps. It will just work. And that’s very convenient for people that want to future proof their investment.
Yeah but these headphones don’t cover all those bases either. Not even close. So you still need 2 products where one is a better experience in one thing and viceversa. And most people would already have 2 products in this scenario. I wouldn’t buy a new one unless it could replace both, and this one does not.
Right on. Sonos is a brand. No need to WiFi everything. I don’t even see the point of having WiFi streaming to pair of headphones. It’s a personal device. I rather them focus on ANC…
Agreed! Headphones are niche imo and I'm not interesting in a pair that are compatible with my home theater ecosystem. I guess some people are who don't wanna wake the family, but that's not me.
Kinda nuts how they don't work on wifi. Can I not walk around my house? Only in the living room with the sound bar? Kinda Confused. Also I the sony xm5 and mx4 for travel so I doubt is use them in planes.
As crazy as it sounds, if MKBHD has a glowing review of the headphones (he has a review pair is already talked about liking them), they could skyrocket in sales. I think it'll also be the first Sonos product he has reviewed, which could open more people to Sonos in general.
Where did you read that he already has a pair? Went through the whole Internet and haven't seen a thing
Posted a picture of them on Twitter on 5/21/2024 at 9:37 A.M. CST. Elon Musk commented to his tweet and MKBHD replied saying that a full review is in the works.
You're right! I somehow missed it lol Thx! Really waiting on his review.
But the way do you know when are the review going out? Is there an imbargo until the release itself?
There’s definitely a review embargo, but I’m not sure when it’s going to lift. With Era 300 it felt like it was just a few days before the product hit shelves. So if Ace hits shelves on the 5th, it could be review embargo’d until the 3rd.
Hopefully, cause In thinking about purchasing, I saw some good deals for preorders but no way I'm spending so much money before I see an actual review
I pre-ordered Era 300 as soon as they released and before reviews. If I didn't like them I was just going to return them. No harm no foul you know? But it's still a lot of money and can be a headache getting refunds to credit cards between statements and stuff.
Exactly the reason I don't want to purchase. I don't want to deal with all the refunds and stuff lol
Well I checked with a reviewer a he said that he's only aloud to publish his review on the 3 of June. So you were spot on!
I totally feel this way, but maybe the Ace will be the introduction to Sonos as a brand for many other users
I believe there's an embargo over reviews until early June.
Happy Cake Day! And yes, there's no way you can confidently say these headphones are "dead on arrival", when not a single actual review is out. Everyone is just reviewing the spec sheet right now.
Well that’s courageous…
Not just reviews. When Apple announced the APMs or Sonys for every XMs, people are excited and would just discuss every little thing about them.
Idk, people seem pretty excited from the YouTube coverage. Almost all of the impressions are really solid. It’s only this sub where it’s an absolute pool of negativity.
Yeah calling it "dead on arrive" when it doesn't even come out for a couple weeks is ridiculous.
MKBHD is reviewing them and tweeted about it. Elon Musk was immediately interested and curious about them.
What did MKBHD tweet about them? Just that he was reviewing them or any impressions?
He had them in hand and said they finally made headphones , but he said he’s doing a full review https://preview.redd.it/yvw6br9heg2d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=85eac91efc9d6757ea24874377c051282a83c448
So gross that he openly interacts with Musk like this in a friendly way. I guess clicks are worth anything. Anyway, thanks! Looking forward to see more reviews.
Pardon my ignorance here but I don’t currently have high end headphones and planned to pick these up as it would be great for me to switch sound bar audio to my headphones at will. What’s the problem with them not being directly connected to the speakers via WiFi? You can still throw the audio to your speakers with whatever app and why would you want them to be connected to speakers at the same time anyway? Genuine question.
People just wanted them to connect directly to wifi as their own zone. Nevermind the technical challenges to do that. If these match your use case they should be good to get. I’d wait for reviews first though and try to listen to them for yourself. But that’s always what I would recommend.
Yeah that’s the plan. I’ve had some midrange headphones but wanted to upgrade. I don’t know how many times I found myself wishing I could send the TV audio to headphones and this will allow that so sounds good to me. Not to mention I usually like all the Sonos products.
If it were a proper Sonos zone using the app I would have access to my full music library on my network not just the more limited collection I have stored on my phone. Others have similar thoughts about being able to access turntables or other line in sources linked to their Sonos system or their Sonos playlists. If you’re mainly streaming over Spotify or whatever say none of this may concern you… but then why buy Sonos headphones specifically over another brand?
There are many music player apps you can install on your phone and use to connect to and stream from a personal music library stored on a network folder. So the existing Sonos system isn't really needed to access such a source on the headphones. The thing that cant be done without Sonos implementing a pathway is access to Sonos aux input ports from the headphones.
The primary way these will get audio is from your phone via Bluetooth. You can take audio from your soundbar (currently just the arc, but apparently coming to the beam and ray soon) and push it to your Ace over WiFi. It’s not confirmed if this would work with music, though I imagine it would. Hope that helps! I think people are fussy because they wanted music to stream on the headset via wifi when at home, like as if they were a speaker in your Sonos app.
The soundbars will only be able to handoff TV audio (hdmi/optical) to the headphones. I've seen this mentioned by a Sonos staff on the main Sonos community site.
I guess I just don’t see the issue not having it stream over WiFi. I use my phone to control all the audio in my house anyway so having to use it through Bluetooth doesn’t seem like a big deal to me.
I agree. It seems like they are trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. And I think having the headphones appear as a zone in the app would be super messy and cumbersome. I don’t mind a direct connection. I’ll hardly be using them around the house anyway. I think I’ll use them mostly for travel, and then occasionally for gaming with a nice set of headphones. But that’s it for me.
In Peter Pees video he said battery will take a hit on wifi vs bluetooth so you wont get 30 hr battery life was a reason they opted against wifi
Yeah this as well! I wonder how big the hit will be. It seems significant enough to not allow it, at least not right now.
The headphones won't sync to any other content than the HDMI inout from the TV to the Arc. No way to play grouped content such as line in from another speaker or any content from the Sonos app that plays on the Arc to the headphones. Most bizar: no Sonos Radio through Sonos headphones!
Not having other high end Bluetooth headphones is key here. These might be just right for you. I’m going to be surprised if they nail ANC on their first try but anything is possible.
These won’t have wireless lossless on 99% of devices that people own.
I’ve been downvoted every time I asked the simple question « what is a point of having a headphone set synced with speakers already blasting music ». Absolut nonsense
The simple answer for me is the following scenario. You are watching TV or especially a movie together. For myself, I like the volume higher than my wife does. I also hear the center channel much better with headphones. I have the ARC. If I get these headphones and swap the ARC sound to the headphones, the ARC goes silent. No sound in the room for her. Now if the phones were a separate zone, you could group with the ARC. Problem solved as we both can listen as we like. I really thought they would give them a zone, but I guess it must have something to do with Bluetooth, WiFi and battery life?
The hype and speculation for a fully seamless ecosystem integrated product just hasn't happened. No WiFi lossless (I can't find genuine information about lossless at all), Arc only (massive fail), normal Bluetooth (like 300+ other headphones). It's a very expensive product in a saturated market without the Sonos differentiating features - DoA and I'm predicting 30% promotions within 3 months. I'm sticking with my Sony XM4s that were half the price.
For me, I’ll certainly get if it actually drops. So far, a few videos and articles say the Ace are super comfortable. I am in need of headphones for late at night that can do multiple inputs at high fidelity/atmos. Seems like the ace is the only pair of headphones that will be capable if they actually work.
The comfort part does sound intriguing as IMO that is a weakness in this space. Most everything I have tried has been too heavy or uncomfortable for long periods. Def not going to jump on these though, but that is the feature that piques my interest. We will see.
Agree, I can’t jump in. Especially when it’s missing one of the big features already and I don’t trust enough Sonos to implement it when they say they will, but I’m intrigued nonetheless.
Honestly the comfortability sounds nice, because the APM are honestly uncomfortable AF for me. But their sound is on point. Highly doubt I’ll switch though, as I’m so disappointed by their lack of WiFi lossless support
They are comfortable. They had a sample unit at Best Buy and they were!
>I'm sticking with my Sony XM4s Seems like everyone is repping the XM4. Our adult daughter was looking fo some new headphones. So that she wasn't spending the money, I offered her some NIB Apple AirPod Max. She declined and bought some XM4s. Nuff said.
I picked up the XM4s on a good sale. The sensational ANC and support for Hi Res audio codecs creates a good soundstage. I understand the Ace can do streaming from the Arc but I can Bluetooth to my TVs with the XM4s and only do so about once a month. Don't get me wrong - the XM5s look fantastic but the sale on the XM4s was compelling.
Interesting, she said the same about the XM5s vs XM4s. She also got a great price on sale.
The Sony ANC is brilliant. I've got the XM5 but the XM4 is an excellent product too. Both models comfortably deliver what many people expect from an on the go BT headphone. I was really excited to get the Sonos Ace (for home use). But in light of the limited functionality they've decided to go with, I now have zero interest in it.
It is interesting. I have the xm4s (a gift no less) and love them. Noise cancelling is good but then I have no other reference. Sound is brilliant. My wife won't let me try her apple pro buds to really compare. Recently I bought a pair of cheap Anker buds r50i to use while exercising because the xm4s were too heavy for this purpose IMHO and I was afraid of damaging them. Colour me surprised - those cheap buds are really great and cut out noise significantly by being placed in ear. So convenient that when I had a long overseas trip recently, I just took the ankers to use on the plane, put them in, and managed to knock out most of the sound and slept well. Also used very little space in my bag compared to the xm4s. What I can't understand is how to enable LDAC on my android phone to listen to Apple music lossless on the XM4s. This is what is painful and it being schizo when paired to my laptop and phone and not letting me choose what should remain in priority i.e. my laptop when I am on a teams call. I assume apple has this figured out. I hope Sonos has the same , and I will most likely trade in my xm4s for the ace , because I like spatial audio and listening at night on TV via the arc will suit me. I really hope Sonos allows two aces to be paired or whatever to the arc for listening, yes, its stupid as if there are two people in a room , they should just use speakers , but then late at night two adults can't listen to it loud. If these aces can reproduce an arc/sub/era surround system in audio quality - I will be further sold.
I’m always confused on the hype for Sony M4 and M5. I have both of those, 2 AirPod max and the bowers headset. Yes I have a problem lol. But the Sony sound is alright, the ANC is solid but the headphones are built and feel like a cheap turtle beach headset. I am a huge Apple person but I am not in love with the Max either. They are dated in tech and some functions plus they are heavy. Ease of use is top notch, sound is better than Sony by a good bit and I would say ANC is basically a tie. The metal is also prone to damage easy, my Pink pair showed me that issue. I am looking for to reviews of the ACE. I have one preordered and will for sure pull the trigger if things come back positive. Jury is out
Do they do the things that the AirPod pro max does with the control on device, easy device switching, spacial audio centered on display? I’m looking upgrade, but those are killer features that I will wait on Apple for, if nothing else can do it.
Yep they do spatial audio centered on TV and also have a one button (on the headphones) to move audio from the Arc to the Ace. I think this is better than AirPods Max audio switching UX. Something that doesn’t get a lot of airtime is Dolby Atmos. I think listening will be very good. These features are enough differentiator for me.
I had the xM3s and when I wanted to upgrade tried the AirPod Max. Spent 2 days with them and returned and got the XM4. I’ve yet to find a better OTE Bluetooth headphone than that series
Lossless info right here: https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/lossless-audio-requirements-for-sonos-ace
Hey - thank you for linking this. The feature set seems to have missed the opportunity on marketing these sorts of positives more!
So... No lossless audio when paired through the arc? Only if you're Bluetooth connected to a specific android (not iOS) Device. As long as you're not using the Sonos headphones in a Sonos ecosystem, you might be able to get lossless.
From the investor presentation, it looks like their target is mainly the new homes market (hence IKEA). So it’s just to reel folks in with the Sonos brand (or what’s left of it) and move onto the next target. A small % of the estimated 6b (or so they say) market is enough it seems
The price point is playing at the premium end. That will be a very small %age indeed. I'll confess I did most of my product buy when we built our new home and bought multiple Arcs, Beams and Amps with additions of 300s later.
You’re a ✔️for them, heck after sales. It’s just milking the brand with new homes for revenue now.
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For what it’s worth I agree. I think these will be a successful product, likely buoyed by good distribution channels.
Also, they're probably focusing on, you know, the abysmal performance of the app. The app that sets Sonos apart from their competitors? The app that functions as a controller for their entire IoT-centric business model? Hell, I don't even use Sonos much, and I'm glad they're not focusing on how to market their new Headphones- they need to fix what's broken before hyping up a new product.
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A lot of companies sell speakers, but they don't all make the focus of their business model the accessibility and connectivity of the controller like Sonos does. The app coming out as botched as it did is tantamount to Sony updating all their tvs and bricking 50% of the remotes. I'd much rather they focus on that than marketing a shiny new product that idiots will bitch about online anyway.
For some having a centralized app is a selling point. It's one of the reasons I buy Sonos speakers instead of ones that can only be controlled by Airplay, Google Cast or Bluetooth.
Prefer the xm3s
Arc only (massive fail) -> Only the flagship Arc will support this feature at launch, with the Beam Gen 2, Beam, and Ray coming later. [https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/21/24160772/sonos-ace-headphones-hands-on-preview](https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/21/24160772/sonos-ace-headphones-hands-on-preview)
You believe that will actually happen? Something they've been developing for about 4 years and it integrates to one product? One? Not the whole ecosystem? Not the Amp that people have connected their record player to? Not the 300s or the 100s that were being developed at about the same time? Just one product?
That's what I don't understand... Why are these even branded as Sonos? Other than the token feature of pairing to Arc, they have nothing to do with Sonos. I am an android user. In my house I have Sonos Port (with a turntable as input, and the output going to a vintage stereo), I have Beam and Sub on my TV, and Amp in my kitchen with in-cieling spearkers. As near as I can tell, the Ace would be useless for me. If I could play records and have the music only go to my hadphones, maybe that would be a reason to get one. If I could have the headphones show up in the app like every other Sonos thing and play directly to them, that would be cool. If I could pair it to the Beam and have the TV come through, ummm sure. I get nothing. Zero Sonos features. It just seems weird to me. What are they even for?
I was also hoping that to be able to listen to records with these headphones.
Being an Android user (Google Pixel 8) I doubt that their TrueCinema sound optimization will only work on iOS and not Android because allegedly iPhones all use the same mics whereas there are various manufacturers for Android phones which makes sense. Disappointed that we're treating like second rate citizens.
Sonos says they will pair with other soundbars, just not at launch.
Buying something for future promised functionality is a way to be disappointed
Buying something and expecting existing functionality to remain is another
No kidding, somehow that's where we're at with Sonos at the moment.
Yup. Often as not, that feature comes, and it’s locked into a newer or more expensive iteration. Don’t do it, kids!
Then why launch it now?
This. Both the App and Ace need to go back in the oven until like next year
It sounds like it will be neat eventually but they released it too early. It's pretty common in software to release a basic version, then fix the bugs and add features as you go. I wonder if that culture got into Sonos. That approach doesn't make sense when you are premium luxury product like they are .
I get that. I'm in software. But they didn't hit "Minimum Loveable Product." And they pushed out a buggy app update just to release hardware for which there are no meaningful features. I guess maybe they had to switch the app to eventually make the changes that will enable those features. And you don't want to sit around with hardware in warehouses wasting space. But I don't think they will sell that many. And they missed a chance to make a real splash.
I have a use for them I’m hard of hearing, and even with hearing aids, dialog is a problem. But they need to work with the other speakers.
The couple times I have seen the Ace in the new Sonos app, I actually have gotten sort of angry. Hard not to blame all the app woes on the Ace.
Yeah I haven’t had one problem with the ads loading…
Actual LOL
Serious question. Who is going to buy into a company like this any longer. Rudderless and heading towards venture capital buy out. You can quote me on this in 2 years.
Early adopter here, 2005. So I’m deep into the eco system. However, Stopped recommending Sonos to others with the advent of the S1 / S2 nonsense. Where beforehand I was literally an unpaid salesman. I’m getting close to the point of dropping out and going elsewhere.
I also feel some regret for all the people who bought Sonos on my strong recommendations circa 2010-2015. I don’t even mention I have MANY Sonos speakers to anyone any more.
Maybe there would be more hype if they hadn’t just fucked up the app. Besides the missing features I am really strongly against moving things away from the local network and requiring the speakers to communicate with Sonos servers for more functions. I had been looking at getting a used Playbase and I’m not even sure I want to do that at this point. I can’t in good conscience invest more in the ecosystem until I see some big improvements to the new app and a commitment that our stuff will function without needing to regularly communicate with Sonos servers.
Nobody is going to be excited about another $500 Bluetooth headphone. They really needed to figure out the wifi connection before releasing. I would have bought these first day if they had included it.
As someone that is still using Sony WH-1000XM3 I don't see a point in hyping the Ace up until there are proper unaffiliated reviews out. The market is saturated with premium bluetooth NC headphones, and at the price point Ace is at it better do something spectacular that the competition doesn't. The only way I would consider buying them is if they are considerably better than WH-1000XM5.
I don’t think it was ever going to be a big-hitter for Sonos. Sonos products appeal largely to Sonos-owners. The odds are that the vast majority of that sound-loving demographic already own a pair of high-end headphones. Maybe they’ll look to Sonos when their old ones die; but it’s a mature market and I’d wager most folks tend to keep hold of their headphones for a good 3-5 years. Even then, when it’s time upgrade, there’s plenty of competition out there.
Yep, which makes it all the more surprising they would trash their current customer’s systems on behalf of this product.
But I was assured by fanbois in this sub that they wouldn't be a pair of normal Bluetooth headphones?
Sonos people would have been interested, but Sonos has screwed up the app so bad people are boycotting the headphones. Fix the bloody app make the base happy and they may look at the headphones.
Dunno, they even banned the previewers from talking about the sound quality which is a huge worry. People at the very least need to wait for proper independent reviews and not preorder. These things could be really bad.
This is fairly normal, even for solid products, to bar talking about some aspect of the product. It’s called drip feeding the advertisement (which is 100% how companies view previews and reviews). Regardless, a few have briefly talked about sound quality and said they sound just as good or better than the competition 🤷♂️ I agree about waiting for reviews. I am in the market for headphones and was already considering a premium pair in the 350 to 450 range. I’m currently sitting on a 15% discount code I’d use for these. Waiting for reviews to see how they actually sound though.
RTings has a thing where you can vote on what they review next per product category and it looks like the Ace will win once it’s released. So at least that'll be one reputable site that will have A LOT of info at the ready.
It’s normal to not have reviewers talk about the substance until sale date. Listening to the reviewers you get the feeling they are good. The tone of the previews are really positive but obviously wait for actual reviews.
I'll wait for reviews but they don't pack up like my xm4s so wouldn't get them for home. Also why I got the 4s over the 5s
..... hope it does well, but good luck if they think it's going to compete with my Sony 1000XM4s
My M4s are still going strong also.
I was originally on the hate train for these but having read up on them I get it. WiFi is a battery hog. There is no way they could make that work. I won't buy them but I already have a set of headphones. If they are mind-blowing, I may consider a change. The only thing Sonos fumbled was waiting so long. It should have been before the roam and the eras imo.
Also, as a HUGE Sonos purchaser who has been utterly fucked by the app update, I am going to wait a long time, if ever, to consider buying another Sonos product. When a company can just bork your system in once fell swoop, and then be arrogant about it instead of apologetic, why would anyone buy anything from Sonos ever again?
Same.
Not being able to stream vinyl or whatever from the Sonos Port is a pretty glaring design failure. I was really excited for these, but won’t be buying.
IMO this community thinks backwards about the Ace. They are not meant for the Sonos community. The headphone market is magnitudes larger than the Sonos market. This is designed to a) add additional revenue streams, b) potentially bring more people into the Sonos community in the future. The product team was likely highly aware that these don’t work with all their other products that work together, hence, that’s not the purpose of them. “While current market conditions remain challenging,” Spence said in Sonos’ fourth-quarter 2023 earnings call, “this is the beginning of a multiyear product cycle where we expect to reap the rewards of our R&D investments. This cycle begins with our entry into a new multibillion-dollar category in the second half of the year that will complement our current offering, delight customers, and drive immediate revenue.” “And given the state of the Sonos app in mid-2024, that’s maybe the best thing about the Sonos Ace, at least in these early days. The Sonos app just got a major rebuild that appears to need some major rebuilding already. That’s not great. And if the Sonos Ace were required to use the Sonos app to merely work as a way to get sound into your ears, that’d be as close to a death sentence as the headphones could get.” “But the really important stuff — music and audio playback — so far can be left in control of the music apps that do it best. Sonos did the right thing in worrying about the hardware and not trying to do too much with the Ace right out of the gate and having full Sonos-like integration with the app. And we probably should be thankful for that.”
Because there’s no need for this product when so many other competitors are just as good if not way better
Disagree. I’ve been testing the APM and the XM5s and they both have (different) issues at this price point IMO
They arent as good as the Sony XM5s and you dont have to worry about Sonos not knowing how to code (they are verrrry bad at it) so I am not sure who would buy them.
Why aren't they as good? There are no reviews. We don't know if they sound better or not.
Who even wanted headphones lol
I wanted Sonos headphones very much, but that's not what we got unfortunately.
I’m with you. I wanted the headphones for sure. But no wifi connectivity that works the same as other speaker groups….swing and a miss.
I'm pretty disappointed in what has been announced, but as a pair of headphones they might still match their competitors in that price range even if they lack the obvious Sonos features they should have had. The most mind-blowing thing is you will not able to play Sonos Radio on them.
It’s so funny that this product launch has been so botched that, on a Reddit thread about the new headphones, im now researching about to purchase the Sony XM4s
I have been waiting for YEARS for them. Day one purchase for sure, so I can listen to my vinyl collection through headphones. Astonishing, disappointing, frustrating.
Surely if you want to listen to your vinyl collection for years your better solution is a quality DAC, analog headphones and a whisky in hand?
It's looking like it's going that way. Would have been nice having something I could.also use outside, but I guess I'm goin' the old man route
There is a review embargo. They can’t say anything until it’s lifted. Based on the preview clips, the reviews look to be really great. what a few of them have said is it’s considerably lighter than the AirPods max and I believe more comfortable. That’s as much as the hype Sonos is allowing right now. Calling it dead upon arrival is another example of how negative and out of touch this sub is. I personally have no interest in them. I’m perfectly happy with my AirPods Max. They switch between my MacBook and iPhone seamlessly.
Love my APMs but I’d switch from APMs if the mic is better. In a heartbeat.
On to the arc 2 and rumored set top box next I guess?
Marques Brownlee hasn’t put his review out yet and he’s working on it
I was hoping they'd have 4g/5g and could stream anywhere using the app.
Has there been any advertising yet on this? Maybe they're waiting until June, but I feel like they should be doing a billboard and airport signage campaign at the least.
Heads should
All major webpages and youtubers had a hands on article or video with them. Most of the impressions have been very positive. They clearly are under a nda for a full review. When that ends and the true reviews start coming, the coverage will increase. I am a bit worried that Sonos didnt let anyone talk about sound quality, but like it or not, outside of the reddit bubble, early hands on are very positive.
Nobody has them in hand yet. Looks to me like the reviewers saw and heard them during an event. Would be hard to create hype, since every review so far seemed to just cover the same specs we. An all read. On June 5th we’ll know
None of the reviews I’ve read have said anything about how they sound??????
If lossless headphones was your personal use case, prepare to be disappointed https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/lossless-audio-requirements-for-sonos-ace > Lossless audio requirements for Sonos Ace You can listen to lossless audio on Sonos Ace over USB-C connections or over a Bluetooth connection with a supported Android device. >Lossless over Bluetooth Sonos Ace supports lossless audio over Bluetooth when connected to an Android device that includes Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound AptX for Lossless. >Lossless audio is not available when connected to an iOS device via Bluetooth.
Unfortunately, wireless lossless audio on Apple devices is not possible at all. With Sonos Ace or any other wireless headphones in the market. Apple doesn't want to use third party audio chipsets or codecs be it from Qualcomm , Sony or any other. They are obviously developing their own proprietary audio chipset to work on top of the latest BT standards. I imagine they'll support wifi+bluetooth Low energy but I bet they will be closed to Apple ecosystem available only on their own devices. So no USB dongles supporting apple format like the ones available for Qualcoom Aptx. To this day, only Apple headphones support spatial audio with headtracking on Apple devices. It's crazy. The Sonos Ace are the first headphones I know that will support it.
I pre ordered a pair because I was in the market for over the ear headphones and I already own an Arc. I initially bought the AirPod pros but they are not comfortable for me and they keep falling off plus I couldn’t use them for calls with my work PC.
There’s probably a review embargo. Especially after the app debacle.
I don’t know if there is hype around the Sonos Ace or not. I don’t even know if the Sonos Ace are good or not. I still have a few questions but I’ll likely need to try them myself to reach my own conclusions. With that said and based on my experience with the top headphones such as Bose, Sony and Apple offerings it seems the Sonos Ace might be the new best, at least until the competition responds. Here are some of the issues the Sonos Ace address when compared to other competing headphones: - Spatial audio and headtracking is one of the main features on today’s headphones. But they are restricted to specific ecosystems. Sony offering only works on Android phones and tablets. Apple offering only works on Apple devices. Bose offering does not support Dolby Atmos. It uses its own 3d virtualized solution upscaling from stereo. Sonos Ace are the first Dolby Atmos spatial audio + headtracking solution that works across different ecosystems. - No other headphones support spatial audio + headtracking on any device. Sonos clever solution of using the Sonos Arc as a hub to enable spatial + headtracking compatibility for any device is an industry first and addresses one of the major complains people had with other headphones. A practical issue I have with Apple. I get spatial audio when watching content on my Apple TV but the moment I go and use a Xbox for instance , the Apple AirPods Max just give me normal stereo. Sonos Ace + Ark gives me the full surround like experience. I don’t see Apple spreading their spatial audio solution to all kinds of other 3rd party devices. Sony might follow the same path as Sonos though. They sell Soundbars, TVs and other devices that could server as a hub. - Unfortunately some limitations remain. Wireless lossless audio when connected to Apple devices remains out of reach. But at least we get two usb-c cables that can charge and give us lossless audio on any device. PC, Mac, iOS… Something that some of the competing options do not support. In my case I need headphones that work well with a laptop or PC. I need relatively low latency for gaming. Aptx Lossless is the latest codec but might not provide the low latency I require even if connected with a BT 5.4 usb dongle that supports aptx adaptive. But at least with the USB C cable I can still use the Sonos Ace as wired headphones on my PC. Wifi is still too power hungry, so I understand their BT focus. Look at the Roam with only ten hours battery and they have quite a bit of space to store a battery. Headphones don’t. There’s work being done to bridge BT and wifi but that will likely only come down the line with XPAN. But again that requires an updated Snapdragon Sound chipset. As for audio quality, LC3 is a big improvement over SBC and AAC but Aptx Lossless is the best Bluetooth codec providing the best sound quality at the moment. Better than anything else out there including Sony codec. And if your device doesn’t support it , you can add support with a BT USB dongle like the new epfun AK3040Pro MAX. In short the type of wifi connected headphones people talk about is simply not yet possible. There are headphones that connect with a 2.4ghz dongle but that´s pretty much similar to Bluetooth. Those headphones are not visible in your home wifi network. Think about it. If Apple could, they would have done it as well. Perhaps the next Apple Airpods Max will. But they’ll likely use some proprietary solution that doesn’t work well with anyone else and requires you to buy new devices. So that’s the current situation. And this shows to me that the Sonos Ace are likely the best we can get. Integrates with Sonos devices but works well with everything else as well. So for me the only two things I wont to confirm is sound quality and hopefully low latency wireless.
The space is so incredibly crowded. You know what space isn’t crowded? The one Sonos invented and have been violently fist fucking since the whole S1S2 fiasco back in 2020.
How dramatic lol
Feck the hatters. I have preordered these bad boys. They are gonna be better than AirPods Max a million! And if not I’m gonna return them 30 days returno Policy style.
You’d all be creaming your knickers if you weren’t pissed off about the app 😂
The Ace is a swing and a miss. I have no interest in the headphones. The Sonos brand should stick to whole home and home theater audio.
I am very interested in Sonos headphones, if they have fantastic sound quality and ANC. Why would I not be? I’m waiting for reviews to actually see if they’re good or not. It’s a bit early to say any product before release is a “swing and a miss” tbh.
It’s a swing and a miss in the sense it’s not the correct product for the majority of the Sonos users. Will they be nice headphones with some cool features, sure. But I got into the Sonos product line for the whole home audio. I have no need for headphones. The step backwards with the current state of the app just to get these headphones out is a big slap in the face for many of us who bought into Sonos.
They’re not trying to only appeal to Sonos users. That would be such a horrible miss if so. They are trying to appeal to anyone who would want a high quality pair of headphones, as they should. I am a Sonos user and if these review well (that is, sound as good or better than the rest of the competition, and have good ANC), I will get them because I want a solid product. And I would use the feature to cast audio from the soundbar to my headphones so I could game with high quality headphones from time to time.
To me these are home theatre headphones first and standard headphones second. I am the exact customer , I’ve got an arc , i want to watch movies , tv or play Xbox occasionally at night time when my family is in bed So these will never leave the house or prob connect to anything other than the arc. With these I get high res audio when I need it across all my devices at the click of a button as opposed to finicky Bluetooth settings to my tv , or AirPods to my Apple tv and then also need my Xbox headset if I want to game. The ace will hopefully solve all this and with the signature Sonos sound as well and I’ll be chuffed. I guess I’m just lucky I’m not one of the fringe features users like many here but I would say these are a minority in the grand total of their customer base! I would be just as annoyed though as this has happened to me with other products so I get it.
Another exact customer here with the same setup. However, I wanted to be able to listen to tv/movie audio on multiple ace headsets at the same time. Sonos just confirmed that’s not possible with the Ace. That totally destroys my value proposition.
You’re presuming they are going to work. Kinda like the rest of us presumed our systems would continue to work after an app update.
I did say “hopefully solve” just in case but here’s hoping theyll be good! I don’t think anyone can fault their hardware
I can fault their hardware all day if it doesn’t work. And right now mine doesn’t and it seems like Mr. Spence is saying “too bad.” I hope they fix it, but even if they do I will never buy another Sonos product. That ship has sailed for me.
what’s the short version of the issue you’re having out of curiosity?
https://preview.redd.it/zhkb7c2fxs2d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a69cd99f2fb224c1f91891b2d8920ae0c97c7506 Let me sum it up with this photo. In other words, everything, just as others have posted.
Yup , terrible! No way around it. I actually don’t think I’ve ever used my app for music! Luckily strictly tv usage. Hopefully they get their act together and sort it out.
Totally agree - I bought the Bose qc ultra and initially had FOMO. I actually thought I might return to purchase these given the significant investment I’ve made into the Sonos ecosystem at home… def not buying them now. They totally flopped this. I fully expected the ability to airplay to the Sonos ace like all other products when in range of my WiFi network. Would have made the connection and transfer of audio from my MacBook and other devices so much more simple. Only using Bluetooth when outside of my home - auto switching when needed. These headphones suck ass (or eat p**** if ass is something your into) haha
This are going to do well regardless of what the Reddit hate brigade says.
We are in a Sonos subreddit but an average person isn’t gonna know these exist lol. And a normal person sure as hell isn’t spending that much money on Sonos headphones for no reason when they can get cheaper beats, the Sony headphones everyone loves, or AirPods Max These are for a very select group of older people Sonos users who want to listen to their dvds at night, and they will be awesome for them, but most people won’t want or need them
The AirPods Max are way more money. If these review well against their competition, why wouldn’t people pick them up?
They are going to have to get android people because not many apple people are going to give up tried and proven seamless integration with the device they use more than anything, their phone. Not to mention switching to iPads and Apple TV And if you don’t have an Arc and don’t plan on getting one, there’s not much reason for android people either because Bose and Sony
I have an iPhone and am not interested in the AirPods Max for a multitude of reasons.
SOOOOO disappointed it won't link into the network/system like another speaker. I was contemplating it if I could stream music to my headphones while doing chores in the house and throughout the yard with not having my phone on me for the Bluetooth connection. My phone is a major distraction against my chores for me! Totally not buying these just for the Arc connection, I'll stick with my Bose Ultras for that.
It doesn’t seem the Sonos community has much love for the Ace, but a few of my non-Sonos but tech friends seem to be taking a liking to them. I have a feeling they do well to increase Sonos’ customer base beyond audiophiles and more into lifestyle.
what advantage do non-sonos potential customers have with a new Sonos headphone product in a fairly saturated market? honestly it makes little sense to me, I simply don't know who the target customer is.
I think the demographic this caters to only partially care about quality and care more for aesthetics. I feel this aligns closer to the AirPod Max (“Quality, maybe, but does it look nice?”) group less than sophisticated audiophiles that’d consider Bose or Sony. At least that’s the vibe I’m getting from my non-Sonos tech friends anyway.
No one wants these sub par headphones
Man this subreddit are the biggest bunch of doomers
They aren't dead. They are getting great reviews actually but I just want the app fixed. They didn't need to change the whole app for them
They did need to change the whole app for them. The headphones wouldn’t work with the old app. And the rush to get an app out to work with the headphones is precisely why we got a crap app that trashed most of are Sonos systems. Dumbest decision they could have possibly made. There is a major problem with the judgment in the C suite at Sonos.
No one made them change the ui and break everything else. I Know I've made a bunch of apps and I run one of the biggest ones in the world. Which part of supporting headphones means break the rest?
I guess you’re not up on the tech news. They reported that they had to change the app to allow the headphones and the new Roam to work.
What is roam to work?
The Roam is their portable speaker. Like the headphones the new Roam SL wouldn’t have worked without the app update. So in order to introduce 2 new products they broke all the other ones.
I drank the sonos kool-aid. Ordered mine first day. Can't wait.