Sonos Ace Headphones Get Set to Take on the AirPods Max (First Look)

Speaker 1: Hey there folks. I'm here at the Sonos Launch event for its new ACE headphones. These are much anticipated headphones from Sonos. They come in this white color here as well as black. They cost $449. This is really a first look video. I did try them, but I can't talk in depth about their sound or anything like that. So I'm just going to go through some of their highlights and then we'll have a full review on CNET later when they come out in [00:00:30] a few weeks. So what's a little bit surprising about these is they really are first and foremost Bluetooth headphones. They will have a little bit of a wifi component, but these are not going to be a wifi speaker on your Sonos network. They really are designed for mobile use. They do tie into your Sonos soundbar. They do have an audio swap feature that that turns them into a home theater headphone with spatial audio. Speaker 1: So that's pretty cool. But they [00:01:00] do not stream over wifi your music over wifi, at least from your Sonos network. These are noise canceling headphones and they also have a transparency mode, and they have Bluetooth 5.4. They have eight microphones, so you can use 'em for calls. The microphones are used for both the noise canceling and then for calls when you're out and about or in your home. As far as the USVC connection goes, you can use it for charging. It also does USVC audio with a direct USBC to USBC cable, so you can connect it to your iPhone [00:01:30] 15, for example, or an I Android phone with USBC and headphones. Also come with A-U-S-B-C to 3.5 millimeter headphone jack, so you can use them on the plane. So there are two ways to connect from a wired standpoint. The buttons on the headphones are really nicely done. Speaker 1: There's kind of a slider button for volume. It's a universal control button, so you control both volume and then playback. And then there's a button that toggles between voice canceling and transparency mode and then an on off button on the left ear cup. [00:02:00] The ear pads themselves are nice and cushiony. They're made of vegan leather. The earpiece is removable so that it is replaceable, so it's magnetic and it clearly delineates, which is the right and left ear cup, which is nice. And the headband itself feels pretty durable. They are comfortable wear, they don't clamp too much, which is nice. And they call it a yolk here, and it does extend out. It's got, this is stainless steel and plastic sign. The headphones weigh 11 ounces, 312 grams. So they're a little bit heavier than [00:02:30] something like the Sony WH 1000 x mark five, but they are considerably lighter than the AirPods max. Speaker 1: These do have Multipoint Bluetooth pairing and there are sensors inside the air cups. So these are from a feature standpoint, they really are full featured Bluetooth headphones. The microphones do have this mesh covering for anti wind noise. I haven't tried 'em yet for calls, but hopefully it'll be pretty good. And the battery life is rated at 30 hours [00:03:00] with a and C on, always canceling on. And then you get from just a three minute charge, you'll get three hours of battery life. So there's a quick charge feature. As far as the drivers go, these have 40 millimeter dynamic drivers and there is head tracking for that spatial audio. It works with the Dolby spatial audio, so any devices that do Dolby spatial audio, we will work with these. And initially, the spatial audio, that TV audio swap feature will be available [00:03:30] for the only the high end arc soundbar and then it later it will come to So and so's other Soundbars, the theme and the Ray. Speaker 1: I'll finish by saying that these do come with a nice carrying case as you'd expect a pair of $449 headphones to come with a nice carrying case. And as far as these competing in that higher end market, I do think the build quality is there. These are really nice headphones. They do, I think, have what it takes to compete with the AirPods Max as far as people's expectations go. [00:04:00] In terms of these being a Sonos headphone and working on your wifi network, these are not really designed so much to be a wifi audio headphone. They really are a Bluetooth headphone first to use in your home and also on the go. And they do have that audio swap feature for watching TV and getting a home theater experience, a full surround experience from these headphones. And that's really it in a nutshell. As I said, we'll have a full review when they come out, but that's it for now. I'm David car [00:04:30] inet.com. Thanks for watching.