Sonos’ Ace Ultra headphones can swap audio with any Sonos speaker
Sonos has unveiled the Ace Ultra, an upgraded version of its over-ear headphones that can now swap audio directly with any Sonos speaker or soundbar in a household, not just a limited range of compatible soundbars. This marks a significant expansion of the headphones' role within a Sonos system, letting users move sound from a TV, turntable or local media library to the headphones and back again with a single button press, thanks to a redesigned Wi-Fi platform called Headphone Engine 2. The feature is being launched as an opt-in "Early Access" tool while still in development.
Alongside this connectivity upgrade, the Ace Ultra offers up to twice the active noise cancellation of the original model, aided by two extra microphones, new ear pads for better passive isolation, and an 8-band equaliser for sound customisation. Battery life rises to up to 35 hours with ANC on, five hours more than before. Familiar features such as adaptive ANC, sidetone, Dolby Atmos support and lossless audio over Bluetooth or USB-C remain. The Ace Ultra goes on sale on 29 September for $449 (£399/€449/AU$699), £50 more than the standard Ace, in black, white, tan and blue, while the original Ace continues to be sold in black and white.
- Sonos launches Ace Ultra headphones with wider speaker-swapping capability
- Improved noise cancellation and five extra hours of battery life
- On sale 29 September for £399, £50 more than the original Ace
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Sonos is a company that makes connected speakers and soundbars, which can play audio around a home over Wi-Fi. Its Ace headphones are designed to work with this wider system as well as play sound from phones and other devices.
A key idea behind Sonos products is that people can move audio between devices in their home. Until now, the Ace’s TV audio-swap feature worked with only some Sonos soundbars; extending it to other speakers could make the headphones useful with more of a household’s music and audio.
The change matters to people who already own Sonos equipment, as well as those deciding whether to build a connected audio system. The headphones’ higher price and added noise reduction also place them in the premium end of the market.