Engadget - Our verdict on Sonos’ debut headphones

It's Tuesday, June 04, 2024.

After years of rumors of Sonos getting into headphones, the $449 Sonos Ace are here. They’re well-designed and have impressive audio quality. Integrating the headphones with its family of speakers isn’t what many expected, but the feature works well, according to Engadget’s Billy Steele. They’re also comfortable to wear.

One thing that may mire an otherwise stellar debut is limited support — with its own speakers. Yes, the ability to transfer TV audio from Sonos speakers to the Ace only works with the Sonos Arc soundbar for now. Sonos says support for both generations of the Beam and the Ray is on the way, but there’s no definitive timeline.

If you’ve used Sonos speakers or read any reviews of them, you’re probably familiar with Trueplay, which maps the acoustics of a room with microphones to fine tune sound. There’s a version for the Ace, called True Cinema, which virtualizes surround sound for the room you’re in, to make it seem like you’re not wearing the Ace at all. But… that wasn’t ready either.

— Mat Smith

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