I was blown away by this Sonos Black Friday deal, but not enough to recommend them over a Sony alternative

Sonos Ace and Sony WH-1000XM5 earcups next to each other

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

I hadn’t noticed that the Sonos Ace had plummeted in price until a reader inquired whether we thought they were now worth buying over on our Live Black Friday Q&A.

Looking online, I was shocked to see they are now £219 at Amazon and other UK retailers, including Sevenoaks S&V, and $246.50 at Crutchfield in the US.

These certainly look like impressive discounts, especially when you consider the Ace originally went on sale for £449/$449 back in June 2024.

You see, the problem for the Sonos Ace (which we rate at three stars) is that all their closest rivals have had their prices slashed for Black Friday too.

To their credit, though, the Sonos do look and feel like premium wireless headphones. They also offer intuitive physical controls and some unique functionality for Sonos customers, including the ability to switch audio from a Sonos soundbar to the headphones at the flick of a button.

Battery life is 30 hours, which is competitive in this sector of the market, and there’s aptX Lossless support for those planning to use them with a compatible smartphone. There’s also Bluetooth Multipoint, wearer detection and the headphones even support spatial audio with dynamic head-tracking.

If you’re immersed in the Sonos ecosystem, I can definitely see why this deal might appeal. However, their main issue still exists. They just don’t sound as good as the very best at their level.

What we said in our Sonos Ace review still hold true: "the headphones' safe sound is put to the sword by several rival headphones that are more exciting, more details, dynamic and expressive across the board".

The problem for Sonos is that the likes of the Sony WH-1000X5 and other five-star rivals are also now discounted. In Sony’s case, the What Hi-Fi? Award-winning XM5 are now £200 or $248 at Amazon, and even though you could argue the Sonos over-ears beat the Sonys for build quality, the XM5 are still superior in virtually every other department.

Noise-canceling and call quality are cut above, with the Sony’s ANC just extracting more background rumblings from your periphery and making your voices sound clearer and reducing the effects of wind when speaking to someone on the other end of the phone.

Battery life is the same as Sonos and although they don’t have a fancy feature like TV audio Swap, they counter this with useful tools, such as 'Speak to Chat', which pauses playback when you start talking, 'Quick Attention' that lowers the volume when you cover the right earcup.

More importantly, it’s sonically where the Sonys press home their advantage. They sound more detailed and dynamic, which translates into a more entertaining and musical performance.

In our Sony WH-1000XM5 review, we said, “The WH-1000XM5 possess all the elements that have made the previous generations class-leaders at the money, including that effortlessly musical sound. But the latest generation manages to deliver even greater clarity and a more open presentation.”

The huge discount on the Sonos makes them a better deal than ever before, but it's hard to recommend them when the Sony WH-1000XM5 are just £200 over at Amazon. You can’t really go wrong.

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Andy is Deputy Editor of What Hi-Fi? and a consumer electronics journalist with nearly 20 years of experience writing news, reviews and features. Over the years he's also contributed to a number of other outlets, including The Sunday Times, the BBC, Stuff, and BA High Life Magazine. Premium wireless earbuds are his passion but he's also keen on car tech and in-car audio systems and can often be found cruising the countryside testing the latest set-ups. In his spare time Andy is a keen golfer and gamer.

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Sonos Ace headphones crash to their lowest price yet for Black Friday – but are they worth it?

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