Just in case you’ve missed the news, Sonos has unveiled a new pair of flagship wireless headphones.
Dubbed the Sonos Ace Ultra, they’re successors to the original Ace, which launched back in 2024 and promise not only new features and a raft of changes inside and out, but improved sound quality too.
But what exactly has Sonos done to try and elevate its new headphones above the old model? We’ll go through all of that and more below.
Sonos Ace Ultra vs Sonos Ace - Price
They might be Sonos’s flagship wireless headphones, but the good news is there hasn’t been a price hike for the new model.
In fact, if you live in the UK, the Ace Ultra are actually cheaper than their predecessors were at launch. The Ultras go on sale on the 29th September and cost £399 / $449 / AU$699 compared to the £449 / $449 / AU$699 of the original model.
Of course, the Ace have been around for a couple of years now, which means you can find regular discounts closer to the £299 / $299 / AU$449 mark if you shop around online.
We’ve been told both pairs will continue to coexist for some time, so we’d expect there could be potential for further price drops for the original over time, especially around peak sales periods such as Black Friday.
Sonos Ace Ultra vs Sonos Ace - Design and build
We haven’t had the opportunity to go hands-on with a pair yet, but on the design and build front, it doesn’t appear that too much has changed from the Sonos Ace.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing as we were fans of the the way the headphones looked and felt in situ.
Looking at pictures of the Ace Ultra, the earcup and headband plastics look the same as before but the new model does use “new rebound foam ear cushions” so it’ll be interesting to see if the pads feel any different when you’re wearing them.
A quick spec comparison does actually show that the new model weighs ten grams more (322g versus 312g) but whether you’ll be able to actually feel the difference remains to be seen.
Sonos is offering two new finishes (sand and agave) to choose from, in addition to the standard black and white options you had with the original Ace.
The multi-function button/slider (also known as the 'control key') makes a return and is your main way of interacting with the headphones and controlling things such as volume, ANC, playback and switching between the headphones and your Sonos wireless speaker.
The big design news is that the Ace Ultra get a brand new Sonos-designed 40mm driver. Sonos hasn’t provided any information on the materials used or how it is improved over ots predecessor but this is obviously huge news as the sound quality on offer will largely be dicteated by how this performs.
Sonos Ace Ultra vs Sonos Ace - Features
While the exterior design and build quality of the Ace Ultra might look familiar, there have been significant changes under the hood.
The key change is the introduction of Sonos’s new “Headphone Engine 2" which is a next-gen wi-fi hardware and software system that lets you link the headphones directly to your existing Sonos system.
It’s a feature that was missing from the originals at launch and will be the first time you can connect the headphones to other compatible Sonos wireless speakers, as well as its current line of soundbars, including the recently announced Beam Ultra. It’s done at the press of a button on either the headphones or app.
Sonos is promising big things on the noise-cancelling front, claiming that the ANC for the Ace Ultra is twice as powerful as that on the Ace.
It’s an adaptive system which should be able to change intensity as you change your surroundings, while it can also take into account any gaps in the seal due to headphones, hair etc. An Aware mode allows for transparency so you can hear the environment around you.
Presumably this is partly down to the fact that the new model boasts ten mics compared to eight used on the Ace.
This should also mean that calls are quieter and that background noise should be easier for the headphones to filter out. Their Sidetone feature should mean you’re able to hear yourself speak naturally while ANC is turned on.
Ace Ultra also get a boost in battery life, up from 30 hours in the old Ace to 35 hours in the new model with ANC activated. There’s a low power mode withing the Sonos app which claims to extend battery life by up to 30% but it isn’t clear whether this can work with ANC on or if you have to sacrifice some features to achieve it.
AptX Lossless is supported once again as the ability to listen over a wired USB-C connection although it’s a shame that sample rate support hasn’t increased from the 16-bit/48kHz of the original Ace.
Sonos Ace Ultra vs Sonos Ace - Sound quality
Although we’re going to have to wait until we get the Ace Ultra in our test rooms and use them out in public to see how they fare in the sound quality stakes, we are at least hoping for a much improved audio performance compared to the original.
In our Sonos Ace review we said the headphones delivered “a simplistic and safe sound – not one we would call exciting or enthralling”. We found them perfectly fine but at no stage did they come close to matching the class leading Bose and Sony rivals for entertainment, dynamics or detail.
The new model comes with a new custom-built driver in tow, which Sonos claims delivers “deep bass, clear detail, and balanced sound with no distortion”. The company has even called upon “award-winning audio engineers” to help tune the sound. Will Sonos be able to deliver? We have our fingers well and truly crossed.
Sonos Ace Ultra vs Sonos Ace - Initial verdict
With the Ace Ultra, Sonos has obviously gone to great lengths to try to produce a sequel that goes above and beyond what it served up with the Sonos Ace.
On paper, it certainly looks like most bases have been covered, and if they can deliver all the features and functionality that Sonos has promised in an intuitive, easy-to-use package, then that will go a long way to winning our test team over.
However, to really make a name for itself in the crowded wireless headphones market, not only will the Ultra Ace need to offer standout features that work, it will need to perform well across the board, whether we’re talking about ANC, call quality or sound quality.
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