Audio
Sonos Ace review roundup: Are they worth buying?
"Critics agree: the Sonos Ace are polished premium headphones, but their limited Sonos integration is a missed opportunity."
No single aggregate score — here's what the reviewers agree on, below.
The short version
Most critics see the Sonos Ace as an impressive first attempt. WIRED, CNET and PCMag praise the balanced sound, effective noise cancellation and premium design. What Hi-Fi? is much less convinced, finding the sound short on clarity, expression and rhythmic drive, with ANC below the Bose and Sony leaders. The clearest drawback is universal: these are Bluetooth headphones, not full members of the Sonos multiroom system. They make the most sense for comfort-focused travelers and owners who can use the soundbar audio handoff feature.
What reviewers loved
- Balanced, detailed sound with punchy bass that WIRED and CNET say avoids becoming boomy
- Strong active noise cancellation that WIRED calls top-tier and PCMag describes as effective
- Comfortable memory-foam ear pads and gentle clamping force suited to long work or travel sessions
- Excellent transparency mode for hearing conversations and surroundings without removing the headphones
- Clean premium design with dependable physical controls and an included hard case
What held it back
- No true Wi-Fi music streaming or multiroom grouping, so they lack the feature many Sonos owners expected
- The $449 launch price puts them directly against established Bose, Sony and Apple alternatives
- Noise cancellation is not unanimously praised; What Hi-Fi? found it less effective than Bose QuietComfort Ultra and Sony WH-1000XM5
- Reviewers encountered bugs or unfinished features, while The Verge felt the headphones had been rushed
Buy the Sonos Ace if you want comfortable premium travel headphones with balanced sound, strong ANC and useful audio handoff with a compatible Sonos soundbar.
Skip them if you expect full Sonos multiroom integration, want the strongest available noise cancellation or prioritize expressive hi-fi performance.
What the reviewers say
Sound quality drew broad praise, but not a clean sweep. WIRED describes a crisp, flat and full-range presentation with expressive bass. CNET reports natural vocals, a relatively wide soundstage and powerful bass that stays controlled. PCMag likewise calls the sound balanced and detailed. What Hi-Fi? disagrees on the finer points, describing the presentation as inoffensive but lacking clarity, expression, dynamics and rhythmic drive.
Comfort, design and everyday usability are more consistently successful. WIRED praises the lightweight feel, memory foam and gentle clamp, while PCMag highlights the upscale design and intuitive controls. ANC impressed WIRED, CNET and PCMag, although What Hi-Fi? heard more background noise than with leading Bose and Sony models. Critics also agree that the missing multiroom Wi-Fi experience is the central disappointment: the Ace cannot be grouped with regular Sonos speakers.
The competition
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
The safer choice for maximum noise cancellation. PCMag calls Bose's ANC unbeatable and notes its slightly lower launch price, while What Hi-Fi? also rates it above the Ace for blocking noise.
Sony WH-1000XM5
A lighter rival with more sophisticated noise cancellation according to What Hi-Fi?, which found the Sony produced a quieter background.
Apple AirPods Max
WIRED says the Ace match the AirPods Max on sound while beating them on comfort. What Hi-Fi? also notes that the Ace are lighter.
Should you buy it?
The Sonos Ace are good premium noise-canceling headphones, but they are not the obvious category winner their price suggests. Critics mostly praise their comfort, controlled sound, transparency mode and ANC. The disagreement from What Hi-Fi? matters if sound quality is your first priority, and the lack of true Wi-Fi multiroom playback weakens the case for loyal Sonos users. Buy them for travel, work and compatible soundbar handoff, especially at a meaningful discount. Choose Bose or Sony if maximum ANC matters more. Disclosure: RightWei summarizes independent hands-on reviews and does not test review units itself.
Sources
RightWei aggregates and summarizes independent reviews — we link to the original hands-on tests so you can go deeper. We don't test units ourselves.