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What should we expect from the Sonos Ace Ultra?
Sonos is launching a new pair of headphones soon, if online reports are accurate. When I heard these reports, I imagined they might be a true wireless considering rumours for that form factor have back years, but it looks like Sonos will announce a new pair of over-ears.
So what should we expect from them?
I think ‘expectations’ is an aspect that might dominate the conversation surrounding the Ace Ultra. I think hype and expectations ultimately led to the original Ace not having the impact Sonos imagined.
Even though I see the headphones on people’s heads every so often (in fact, I saw someone wearing a black version on the way to work); I suspect Sonos imagined that everyone who had a Sonos system in their home would sign up for a pair of Ace headphones as an extension of their system in the same the outdoor speakers such as the Move, Roam and Play have tried to do. But it didn’t quite work, and expectations played a part in that.
So how should we view these upcoming headphones? Has Sonos learnt from its previous mistakes and what areas should they have looked at in terms of improvements?
A new model or a replacement?
What we don’t know is what they’re called. The Ace Ultra designation appears to be just a rumour for now, and it appears we’ll find out in some official capacity in September.
A question I’d ask is whether the headphones are an expansion of Sonos’ headphones range, or a replacement for the Sonos Ace? You may ask whether there’s any difference, and I would say there is.
An expansion would position Sonos as looking to build its headphone line-up, introducing tiers in a similar way that Sony, Bose and JBL have headphones that appeal to different people at different prices. A replacement implies a do-over, that essentially we’re back to square and these headphones would be the answer to criticisms people had of the first one.
I’m inclined to think it’s the latter.
I think Sonos wants one pair of headphones in a bid for simplicity, a one-suits-all proposition at a premium price in a similar manner as Apple has done with its AirPods Max headphones. Has it ordered a massive redesign of the headphones? I suspect not, because there’s plenty that worked about the Ace (comfort especially) but there were areas where Sonos fell short of the competition. I’m thinking these headphones will be an ‘enhanced’ version, a 2.0 that shores up the issues people had.
But we’ll find out for sure in September.
Improvements needed for audio and noise-cancelling
The audio and noise-cancelling aspects of the Ace were fine – but in both regards the Ace were solid rather than exceptional. You can’t be in the same conversation as the likes of Sony and Bose by just being solid.
And in the two years since the launch of the Ace, rivals have only gotten stronger. Sony’s WH-1000XM6 are arguably the leader in the market. Bose has improved, and so has Sennheiser with the Momentum 5 Wireless, which sound fantastic. No one is resting on their laurels.
Considering Sonos’ inexperience in the headphones market, it will have had to accrue knowledge at a much faster rate than others, but it released its first pair of headphones, it got feedback from it, and like any feedback loop, that funnels resources into making the next pair better.
Here’s hoping that the noise-cancelling, which was already strong, has improved further; but more than that the sound this time around needs to have more character to it. Sonos aimed for a neutral presentation, which I found enjoyable but it had its limits. It was as detailed as other pairs, nor was it as dynamic as other pairs. When you don’t sound as good, or cancel noise as well as other pairs who are less expensive, that’s never a good sign. People will only pay a premium for quality. Sonos can’t be ‘as good’, in some ways it needs to be better.
They need to lean into Sonos’ strengths better
For years, Wi-Fi has been seen as some sort of holy grail for headphones; though despite the potential that offers, Bluetooth still dominates.
We’ve seen AKG deliver a pair of very good headphones that have a Wi-Fi dongle. This site has published reviews of Wi-Fi headphones in the HED Unity (average) and the Wi-Fi models from Hifiman (better). When the original Ace launched, we all thought it would have some Wi-Fi connectivity, which it did through the excellent TV Audio Swap, but it also didn’t feel like it realised the potential of Wi-Fi because it was only available in this form.
By the sounds of it, the new pair could connect directly to a Wi-Fi network, like any other Sonos product, and open up the possibility of lossless audio. Of course, there’s a limitation in that you wouldn’t be able to benefit from this in outside environments – partly why Wi-Fi headphones don’t seem to have taken off – and connecting directly to the Wi-Fi would lock the headphones into the home network anyway.
But if Sonos can sort out the presentation of audio (and throw in USB-C audio while they’re at it too), and open up the bit-rate, then that’s at least something that’s different from most of the competition. That differentiation is arguably what Sonos needs the most.
