Late night watching is the only reason I own headphones at all, so the Sonos Ace Ultra leak is more interesting to me than a headphone launch normally would be. Dealabs has the whole sheet out ahead of a September 1 announcement with sales from September 29. Three colours, Black, White and an Agave blue-green, a slightly larger frame with deeper earcups, ANC claimed at up to twice the original, and 35 hours of battery with ANC running.
The number everyone is leading with is price. It is listed at 449 in Europe against the 499 the first Ace launched at in 2024, so Sonos is going down rather than up, which almost nobody does on a second generation. The spec I actually care about is further down the list though: replaceable ear pads and a replaceable battery. A pair of headphones I am expected to keep for years, that I can re-pad and re-cell instead of binning, is worth more to me than any ANC claim. If that survives to the actual product it is the most sensible thing Sonos has done in a while.
What the leak does not tell me is whether the home theatre side improved. The original Ace's pitch to people like us was pulling TV audio off the soundbar and into the headphones, and that only ever worked inside a narrow slice of the Sonos lineup. Nothing in this list says that changed. Dolby Atmos compatibility gets a mention, but Atmos on headphones is a virtualisation, not a room.
Is anyone here actually using an Ace for late night TV, and does the handoff work reliably enough to plan an evening around?
The number everyone is leading with is price. It is listed at 449 in Europe against the 499 the first Ace launched at in 2024, so Sonos is going down rather than up, which almost nobody does on a second generation. The spec I actually care about is further down the list though: replaceable ear pads and a replaceable battery. A pair of headphones I am expected to keep for years, that I can re-pad and re-cell instead of binning, is worth more to me than any ANC claim. If that survives to the actual product it is the most sensible thing Sonos has done in a while.
What the leak does not tell me is whether the home theatre side improved. The original Ace's pitch to people like us was pulling TV audio off the soundbar and into the headphones, and that only ever worked inside a narrow slice of the Sonos lineup. Nothing in this list says that changed. Dolby Atmos compatibility gets a mention, but Atmos on headphones is a virtualisation, not a room.
Is anyone here actually using an Ace for late night TV, and does the handoff work reliably enough to plan an evening around?
