Sonos Ace Wireless Headphones: First Arrival Date and First Open Microscopic Support for Head Tracking, DAC, and DMP
The much-awaited Sonos Ace have arrived. On June 5th, the company will begin selling its first pair of wireless headphones. Pre-order them for $449 and they will be available at launch.
We need more time, but we are impressed by their capabilities and design, even though they haven’t given us an opinion yet. You will be able to control them with just a click of a button, and then you will be able to use the other gadgets from Sonos, including the Ray and Beam. Combine that with their support for head-tracking spatial audio, and the headphones essentially let you create a private cinematic listening experience.
Visually, you get an elegant and notably slim pair of over-ear headphones in either a black or “soft” white matte finish. Thanks to a light 312-gram weight, and with some very well-judged clamping force and a clever hanger arrangement that conceals the hinged yoke inside the body of the ear cups, it means all-day comfort.
The Ace are supplied in a slender, nicely tactile travel case that features a magnetically attached pouch for a USB-C and 3.5-mm cable. The case is made from 75 percent recycled plastic bottles.
As far as performance is concerned, you get all the bells and whistles you’d expect. The Ace is compatible with both ALAC and aptX Lossless, because it has the same sbb and aac codecs as the ones used for mobile devices. Sound is delivered by a pair of custom-designed 40-mm dynamic drivers. At my recent press event in London, I heard that they were full-range enough for real bass. Ported acoustic architecture allows for optimum low-frequency extension.
Spatial audio is available via those streaming services that support Dolby Atmos and/or Sony 360 Reality Audio, and Sonos’ Intelligent Motion Processing with Dolby Head Tracking dynamically follows your head movement to provide an even greater sensation of immersion and envelopment.
Of course, we have yet to see how their overall sound, ANC, and transparency modes stack up against rivaling headphones from Bose, Sony, and Apple over extended listening sessions. In the coming days, we will publish our full review, however, there is a way to be one of the first to get your hands on the new headphones.
Black or white can be purchased from Best Buy for $449 before the June 5th release date of the Sonos ace. You can also preorder them at Amazon and B&H Photo starting on May 28th or sign up to receive release updates from either retailer now.