First contact with the Sonos Ace: a sound bar in your ears

June 4 (EDIZIONES/Portaltic) –

Good technology is what helps solve day-to-day problems in a natural way, making the lives of users simpler and more comfortable, while giving them a new experience as a result of constant innovation. Therefore, when a brand enters your home and you enjoy it daily, it is always easier to be attracted to its new products.

We wanted to start the review with this brief reflection to analyze the meaning of the launch of the first Sonos headphones and their weapons against the harsh competition in this market, where Sony, Bose or Apple have a leadership position. Sonos reaches this product category with its new Sonos Ace and we have been able to test them for a week to share with you our first impressions.

Beyond its notable sound and comfort, which we will delve into later, the Sonos Ace cannot be understood without the brand’s ecosystem of products and the connection of the headphones with the television is its differential characteristic. those who have a Sonos Arc sound bar At home (this feature could soon be available for the company’s other sound bars) they can switch TV listening between the sound bar and the Sonos Ace with the push of a button.

The immersive listening offered by headphones makes this transition as natural as possible and closes a perfect circle of home sound experience. Those who choose Sonos for their Home Cinema sound or their speakers will find in the Sonos Ace the natural leap when it comes to having wireless headphones to use both at home and away. Their 499 euros price will not be a barrier for this type of users.

SURROUND SOUND AND SPATIAL AUDIO

The brand aims to “revolutionize the consumption of content from television” through these wireless headphones, with new surround sound and spatial audio functions, as well as an innovative dynamic tracking option of one’s own head to have “a private cinema” without disturb the rest of the tenants of the house.

At launch, Sonos Ace will only work with Sonos Arc, its most ‘premium’ model, but the company has indicated that it hopes to offer soon Beam (Gen 2), Beam and Ray support. This jump will be key to really see how the reception of this product is among the brand’s users.

Beyond this commitment to connectivity with the TV, Sonos headphones seek to accompany users throughout the day. To do this, it relies on an elegant design, which reinforces the comfort of the device during long days of use, and a battery that promises up to 30 hours of autonomy, with a fast charge that provides 3 hours of listening with just 3 minutes of charging.

This new device also has active noise cancellation that localizes and neutralizes external sounds for maximum immersion, although the user can also activate the ‘Aware’ mode to hear what is happening around them when they are, for example, walking. by the city. Likewise, Sonos Intelligent Motion Processing technology, with Dolby Head Tracking, It dynamically follows the movement of your head to envelop the user in a hyper-realistic listening experience.

A CAREFUL DESIGN WHICH IS MISSING A Crinkle

Design is one of the hallmarks of the brand and the Sonos Ace were no different. The brand has taken care of all the details of the product, which is sold in two colors: black and white, in both cases with a matte finish and stainless steel. We say that it lacks the icing on the cake because a product with these characteristics, with the connection to the TV as one of its claims, cries out for a support at the same height to place it in the living room. And if it has wireless charging, much better. Hopefully this add-on will arrive later.

Another key aspect of this type of device is the quality of the audio in calls, so that each word reaches the interlocutor as clearly and clearly as possible. And here the Sonos Ace comply with note. In total, it has eight integrated microphones and lossless audio quality thanks to Bluetooth 5.4 or USB-C (compatible with Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound AptX Lossless and Apple Lossless Audio Codec).

Meanwhile, built-in sensors detect when the user is wearing the Sonos Ace, so playback pauses when they are removed and resumes when they are put back on. As for the physical buttons, it has a button dedicated to noise cancellation and another mobile button to raise and lower the volume or control playback. The voice assistant is also available after a long press.

Finally, it is worth highlighting how light they are and how thin the fabric case in which they are stored is so they can be transported without damage. This is key, especially on longer trips, where every millimeter in the backpack is key. In short, we are faced with a very complete product and that complies with the Sonos quality seal, but we will have to see how it performs in a very competitive market. Therefore, the first thing will be to see if it manages to attract the brand’s users. The rest will arrive little by little.