With Bluetooth speakers dominating the home market and consumers willing to spend a little extra for pristine audio quality, Sonos has become more and more of a major player in the space. Last year, the California-based brand launched the Era 300, its first spatial audio speaker for the home with Dolby Atmos and support for Apple and Amazon’s respective libraries. This week, Sonos has taken another leap in the personal audio category with its first pair of headphones, and they seem pretty amazing.

The Logical Next Step

During the pandemic, Sonos saw a rise in demand for their Bluetooth speakers and soundbars, appealing to consumers who were essentially home all the time. However, as we’ve gotten back out into the world, our lonely speakers at home don’t get quite as much use. And without a pair of headphones to transition to, Sonos fans had to look elsewhere. That is, until now.

Sonos’ first pair of headphones doesn’t come without years of rumors, speculation, and even some teased prototypes. And the Ace underwent some two years of development before it was officially revealed and available for pre-order before the June 5 release.

Sonos Ace Basics

Not completely aesthetically unique, the Ace headphones take after some of its predecessors, such as from the likes of Sony or Apple. However, integration within the Sonos ecosystem is key for this release, including incorporation with the Sonos Arc soundbar (with other models to come in the future) connected to any input device, be it gaming console or streaming box. From there, the sound can follow you to different rooms so you don’t have to stop listening (this is only available for iOS users for now). Gesture detractors will love the physical buttons equipped for all of the headphones operations as well.

The biggest party trick the Ace can deliver is its dynamic head-tracking tech, which “immerses you in a three-dimensional soundstage” thanks in part to Dolby Atmos. It’s designed to keep you centered within the audio no matter how you move your head.

Sporting magnetic pleather ear pads that can be removed and swapped out, the Ace headphones come in both black and white colors, each featuring a fingerprint-resistant coating on the outside to prevent smudges. As far as comfort, the bespoke fit comes with a headband made of memory foam to evenly distribute pressure over your head.

But How Do They Sound?

If you’ve ever had experience with Sonos’ home speakers, you’ll know that audio quality is of the utmost importance to the brand. And while we haven’t used these headphones first-hand, we can speculate a bit from what we know. Capable of feeding you lossless audio from certain sources, the Ace gives you the ability to customize your sound a bit, with the option of turning off spatial audio and/or head tracking for listening in just stereo (head tracking will also get disabled if the device senses you’ve left your position altogether).

Aside from the basic headphone features such as an eight-microphone Active Noise Cancellation, 40mm custom drivers, and an Aware feature for incorporating your surroundings, the Ace comes with the brand’s new TrueCinema function, which calibrates your room’s acoustic qualities, working with the headphone microphones to figure out where you’re sitting, aiming to mimic the feeling of not wearing headphones at all.

Spec Sheet

Pricing & Availability

Officially available starting June 5, the Ace headphones are currently up for pre-order from Sonos’ website for $449.

Sonos Ace Headphones

Sonos debuts its first-ever headphones, featuring spatial audio, connectivity with its soundbar for cinema-style listening, and head tracking for a 3-D soundscape.