Sonos Ace Review: Transformative Update Elevates Premium Headphones

Can a software update genuinely revolutionise a headphone's performance? Sonos believes so, and with the latest firmware update for the Ace, they're proving this philosophy. Since its summer 2024 launch, the Sonos Ace promised evolving capabilities through regular software updates. One year later, the first major update has arrived, delivering transformative improvements that elevate these premium headphones to new heights.

This comprehensive update introduces four significant enhancements: TrueCinema spatial audio for immersive listening, intelligent ANC that adapts to individual morphology (accommodating hair, glasses, and head shape), substantially improved call quality through advanced processing, and the ability to pair two headsets to a single soundbar. We've tested the Ace extensively with this new firmware to evaluate whether these promised improvements deliver meaningful real-world benefits.

Priced at £449, the Sonos Ace targets the premium wireless headphone segment, competing directly with Sony's WH-1000XM6 and Apple's AirPods Max. This update demonstrates Sonos's commitment to long-term product improvement, adding significant value to existing owners whilst strengthening the proposition for new purchasers.

Installing the transformative update proves straightforward. Through the Sonos application, navigate to settings and initiate the firmware update when prompted. The download completes within seconds, though installation requires approximately five minutes. During this period, the headphones must remain in their charging case connected to power.

The process unfolds through clear on-screen prompts, requiring no technical expertise. Once installation completes, the headphones restart automatically, emerging with significantly enhanced capabilities. The entire procedure, whilst requiring patience during installation, demonstrates Sonos's user-friendly approach to product evolution.

After twelve months of anticipation, TrueCinema represents the update's headline feature. This spatial audio technology adapts the Ace's sound profile to your listening environment's acoustics, creating an immersive experience that transcends conventional headphone listening.

TrueCinema functions as the headphone equivalent of Sonos's renowned TruePlay room calibration technology. Users familiar with Sonos speakers understand TruePlay's transformative impact, and TrueCinema delivers similar acoustic optimisation for personal listening. By analysing your room's acoustic properties and adjusting equalisation accordingly, TrueCinema creates a soundstage that mimics the spatial characteristics of your actual listening environment.

The technology proves particularly effective for home cinema applications. When watching films or television content, TrueCinema generates convincing spatial separation, placing dialogue, music, and effects in distinct positions around your head. This surpasses standard stereo headphone reproduction, approaching the immersiveness of dedicated speaker systems whilst maintaining the privacy and portability of headphones.

Activation and operation:

Enabling TrueCinema requires a brief calibration process through the Sonos app. Following on-screen instructions, you'll move through your listening space whilst the headphones analyse room acoustics. This one-time setup creates a profile specific to your environment, which the Ace applies whenever TrueCinema mode is active.

The difference proves immediately apparent. Films gain depth and dimensionality, with sound elements positioned convincingly in three-dimensional space. Music benefits from enhanced stereo separation and instrument placement, creating a more natural soundstage. Whilst the effect works best with spatial audio content, even standard stereo sources show improvement.

Practical considerations:

TrueCinema delivers optimal results in consistent listening environments. If you frequently move between rooms or locations, the single room profile may not suit all situations. Additionally, the feature performs best when paired with Sonos soundbars (Arc Ultra, Arc, Beam, or Ray), enabling seamless audio handoff and calibrated sound matching.

The twelve-month wait for this feature tested early adopters' patience, but the implementation justifies the anticipation. TrueCinema represents genuine innovation in headphone audio, offering capabilities that distinguish the Ace from competitors.

The Sonos Ace launched with excellent active noise cancellation, earning praise for effective isolation in various environments. This update enhances that foundation with intelligent adaptation that considers individual physical characteristics.

Morphology-adaptive cancellation:

Everyone's head shape, hair density, and accessory usage (glasses, earrings) affects how headphones seal against the head. These variations impact ANC effectiveness, as the technology requires consistent ear cup sealing to achieve optimal noise reduction. The updated Ace now analyses how the headphones fit your specific head, adjusting ANC parameters to compensate for seal variations.

Users with thick hair, which can compromise ear cup sealing, benefit from adjusted ANC processing that maintains effective noise reduction despite imperfect physical contact. Similarly, glasses wearers find the Ace accommodates frame thickness, adapting its noise cancellation to maintain performance. These refinements address real-world usage scenarios that affect many users.

Competitive standing:

Before this update, the Ace competed capably against Sony's WH-1000XM5 and Apple's AirPods Max. The enhanced ANC tilts the balance decisively in Sonos's favour against Apple, whilst bringing the Ace nearly level with Sony's recently updated WH-1000XM6. Only Sony maintains a marginal advantage, making this a highly competitive two-horse race at the premium segment's top.

Testing across various environments confirms meaningful improvement:

Transport noise: On trains and aircraft, low-frequency rumble reduction shows noticeable enhancement. Engine noise fades further into the background, creating quieter spaces for work or relaxation.

Urban environments: Street noise, traffic, and construction sounds receive more effective suppression. The intelligent adaptation maintains consistent performance even when repositioning the headphones.

Office settings: Air conditioning, keyboard typing, and conversations diminish more completely. The Ace creates focused listening environments without complete isolation from essential sounds.

Variable environments: Moving between quiet and noisy spaces, the ANC transitions smoothly, maintaining appropriate isolation levels without jarring adjustments.

The morphology adaptation proves particularly valuable for users who previously found ANC effectiveness inconsistent. By accounting for individual physical characteristics, the Ace delivers more reliable noise cancellation across diverse users and situations.

Call quality represented a relative weakness in the original Ace firmware, though still acceptable for casual conversations. This update introduces significant improvements through advanced audio processing and the implementation of SideTone technology.

SideTone technology:

During calls, SideTone feeds a portion of your voice back through the headphones, allowing you to hear yourself speaking naturally. This seemingly simple feature addresses a common complaint with noise-cancelling headphones: the sealed ear cups create an unnatural vocal sensation, causing users to speak too loudly or strain their voice.

With SideTone active, conversations feel more natural. You'll modulate your voice appropriately, speaking at comfortable volumes without the disconnected feeling that plagues some competitors. For frequent conference call users, this enhancement reduces vocal fatigue during extended discussions.

Microphone performance:

The Ace employs eight beamforming microphones for call audio capture. The updated processing improves voice isolation, reducing background noise whilst maintaining natural vocal tonality. Testing in various environments reveals substantial improvement:

Quiet rooms: Voice reproduction sounds clear and natural, transmitting professional-quality audio to call participants.

Moderate noise: Coffee shop ambience, light traffic, and similar moderate background noise receives effective suppression. Your voice remains intelligible whilst environmental sounds fade significantly.

High noise: Busy streets, construction areas, and similarly challenging environments still impact call quality, though performance exceeds the pre-update baseline and rivals dedicated business headsets.

These improvements position the Ace as genuinely suitable for professional communication, not merely adequate for occasional calls. Users working remotely or conducting frequent conference calls will appreciate the enhanced clarity and natural vocal quality.

The update's fourth major feature enables pairing two Sonos Ace headsets to a single soundbar, creating shared private listening experiences. Whilst undeniably useful for specific scenarios, this feature applies to a narrower user base than the other enhancements.

Use cases:

Couples watching late-night films without disturbing household members or neighbours find this feature valuable. Both viewers enjoy immersive audio through their individual headsets whilst maintaining conversation capability.

Parents sharing tablet content with children during travel benefit from dual connection, providing entertainment without disturbing other passengers.

Requirements and limitations:

Implementing dual headset pairing requires owning two Sonos Ace units (£898 combined), limiting adoption to households already heavily invested in the Sonos ecosystem. The feature works exclusively with compatible Sonos soundbars (Arc Ultra, Arc, Beam, Ray), adding another prerequisite.

We couldn't test this feature extensively during our review period, as it requires hardware not readily available. However, the implementation demonstrates Sonos's ecosystem thinking, strengthening the value proposition for users fully committed to Sonos products.

The software update doesn't change the Ace's excellent physical design, but it's worth noting the headphones' premium construction as context for their £449 pricing.

Materials and craftsmanship:

Sonos employs high-quality materials throughout the Ace's construction. The headband combines metal reinforcement with premium vegan leather padding, creating durability without sacrificing comfort. Ear cups feature memory foam cushions wrapped in soft vegan leather, providing gentle contact that suits extended wearing sessions.

The predominantly metal construction conveys quality through weight (312g) and rigidity. There's no flex, creak, or looseness – these headphones feel built to last years of regular use. The matte black or white finishes resist fingerprints and maintain their appearance through daily handling.

Ergonomics:

Comfort during extended wear proves excellent. The well-padded headband distributes weight evenly across the top of your head, whilst the ear cups create gentle sealing without uncomfortable clamping force. Multi-hour listening sessions cause no fatigue or discomfort.

The foldable design enables compact storage in the included premium carrying case. This hard-shell case provides excellent protection during travel, maintaining the headphones' pristine condition.

Controls:

Physical controls distinguish the Ace from touch-dependent competitors. Tactile buttons and sliders provide reliable operation without looking, and they function reliably in all conditions (cold, rain, gloves). The slider for volume adjustment proves particularly satisfying, offering precise control with clear tactile feedback.

Beyond the new TrueCinema feature, the Ace's fundamental audio performance maintains Sonos's reputation for balanced, musical sound.

Frequency response:

The Ace presents a neutral-to-slightly-warm sound signature that prioritises accuracy over excitement. Bass response extends deep without bloat or boom, providing satisfying impact for electronic and hip-hop whilst remaining tight and controlled for classical and jazz.

Midrange frequencies, critical for vocal reproduction and instrumental accuracy, receive natural, transparent treatment. Voices sound authentic without artificial enhancement, and instruments maintain their characteristic timbres.

Treble extends smoothly, providing detail and air without harshness or sibilance. High-frequency content sounds refined and controlled, avoiding the fatigue that plagues some competitors' emphasised treble tuning.

Genre versatility:

This balanced approach suits diverse musical genres:

Classical: Orchestral works benefit from the neutral tuning, maintaining proper instrumental balance and soundstage depth.

Rock/Pop: Contemporary genres gain satisfying energy without overwhelming bass or harsh treble.

Electronic: Synthesised sounds and deep bass receive accurate reproduction with excellent control.

Jazz: Acoustic instruments sound natural and authentic, with realistic timbral characteristics.

Codec support:

The Ace supports lossless audio transmission when paired with compatible Sonos products, plus AAC and SBC codecs for universal device compatibility. Whilst lacking LDAC support for Android devices, the lossless connection with Sonos ecosystem products delivers exceptional quality for home listening.

Battery performance meets expectations for premium wireless headphones, delivering genuine all-day capability:

Stated specifications:

• Up to 30 hours with ANC active
• Up to 30 hours in passive mode

Real-world testing:

Across varied usage patterns (mixed ANC usage, moderate volume levels, diverse content types), the Ace consistently delivered 28-30 hours between charges. This performance suits long-haul flights, multi-day trips without charging access, and heavy daily usage without anxiety.

Fast charging:

A mere three minutes of charging provides approximately three hours of playback – invaluable when you've forgotten to charge overnight. Full recharging via USB-C requires roughly three hours with appropriate power delivery.

Battery monitoring through the Sonos app displays remaining percentage, helping you plan charging sessions effectively.

The Ace's deepest value proposition emerges within the Sonos ecosystem. Users with existing Sonos speakers, particularly soundbars, unlock capabilities unavailable from competitors:

TV Audio Swap:

Press a button on the Ace to instantly transfer television audio from your Sonos soundbar (Arc Ultra, Arc, Beam, or Ray) to the headphones. This seamless handoff preserves audio processing, maintaining spatial audio and calibration whilst providing private listening.

The reverse process proves equally simple: remove the headphones, and audio returns to the soundbar automatically. This effortless switching suits late-night viewing, noisy households, and personalised listening preferences.

Lossless streaming:

When paired with Sonos speakers, the Ace transmits audio without lossy compression, maintaining maximum quality for critical listening. This advantage over Bluetooth connections delivers audible improvements for high-quality source material.

Unified control:

The Sonos app manages the Ace alongside your speakers, creating consistent control across your audio setup. Settings, updates, and adjustments occur through one familiar interface.

Limitations outside ecosystem:

As excellent Bluetooth headphones, the Ace functions capably with any device. However, users without Sonos speakers forego significant differentiating features. At £449, competitors offer similar or superior pure headphone performance without ecosystem dependencies.

The latest firmware update elevates the Sonos Ace from excellent headphones to genuinely exceptional ones. TrueCinema delivers immersive spatial audio that justifies the twelve-month wait, whilst intelligent ANC improvements position these headphones alongside Sony's best. Enhanced call quality and dual headset pairing add valuable capabilities for specific use cases.

For Sonos ecosystem users:

If you own Sonos speakers, particularly Arc, Beam, or Ray soundbars, the Ace represents a compelling choice. The seamless integration, TV Audio Swap, lossless streaming, and now TrueCinema create an cohesive audio experience unavailable from competitors. The £449 pricing feels justified by unique capabilities and regular software enhancements.

For standalone headphone buyers:

Without Sonos speakers, the decision becomes more nuanced. The Ace delivers excellent noise cancellation (now rivalling Sony), superb build quality, and refined sound. However, competitors offer similar capabilities, sometimes at lower prices. The ecosystem features that distinguish the Ace remain inaccessible.

Update significance:

This firmware release validates Sonos's promise of ongoing product improvement. Existing owners receive substantial new features at no cost, whilst potential buyers gain confidence in long-term value retention. The ability to enhance products post-purchase demonstrates Sonos's commitment beyond initial sale.

The Sonos Ace, bolstered by transformative firmware improvements, establishes itself as one of the finest wireless headphones available. For users invested in the Sonos ecosystem, these headphones deliver unmatched integration and capabilities. For others, they represent excellent but premium-priced alternatives to established competitors.