Sonos Ace headphones hit record-low price for Prime Day – but buy them at your peril

If you're looking to treat your ears to a new pair of headphones, you may very reasonably consider purchasing the Sonos Ace in this week's Prime Day sales.

After all, they are currently at their lowest-ever price – £269 in the UK and $299 in the US – courtesy of a discount of up to 40 per cent off at Amazon.

They look rather nice, too, and their spec sheet ticks a lot of boxes – active noise cancellation, spatial audio and a 30-hour battery life, to name just a few.

So why on God's green earth should you avoid them, do you ask?

Well, despite their significant price drop, they still aren't what we consider good value. Sadly, the Ace have performance weaknesses that even a price cut won't solve. In a nutshell, the Ace's "safe sound" lacks the dynamism and detail of the best competition, while their noise-cancelling and call quality can be bettered, too.

Indeed, I've found a significantly superior-performing rival that, thanks to the Prime Day deals, costs the same – or, in the UK, a fair bit less: the Sony WH-1000XM5 for $298 in the US and £219 in the UK.

In our expert review team's Sonos Ace review, we found that the headphones delivered a simplistic and safe sound that felt a little congested, with a lack of spaciousness.

In contrast, the Sony WH-1000XM5 offered a hugely entertaining, enthusiastic and refined sound that leads the class at this sub-£/$300 price point. (The XM5 have actually been replaced by the all-new and even better WH-1000XM6... but they cost £399 / $428.)

You can read our Sonos Ace vs Sony XM5 article for a comprehensive breakdown of how the two models compare, but in a nutshell the Sonys "have much more distinctive timing and musical flow. They track rhythms more closely and accurately, and dynamically they have a lot more going on too".

In the ANC department, we compared the two headphones on public transport, on the street and in a cafe environment, and the Sony's effect was "much more pronounced".

"They neuter a wider range of frequencies, with far fewer details bleeding through," reads our comparison.

Even call quality shows a marked difference – the Ace demonstrated muffled voice quality with notable variation in background noise, while the Sonys performed admirably.

Sure, the Sonos Ace still have their benefits – and USPs. Their streamlined, stylish design is paired with intuitive physical controls, and they still serve up some appealing features, particularly for existing Sonos users – the TV Audio Swap feature lets you seamlessly transfer audio between the headphones and a Sonos soundbar, adding unique functionality that could be very appealing for late-night viewing sessions.

But unless you’re after that specific Sonos ecosystem feature, and don't mind sacrificing a large slice of performance quality to get it, you would certainly be better off paying the same price – or less – for the Sony XM5 this Prime Day.

MORE: See the Sony XM5 deal and Sonos Ace deal live for Amazon Prime Day