Wi-Fi hi-fi manufacturer Sonos has announced its long-awaited first pair of noise-cancelling Bluetooth headphones that aim to be the ultimate private cinema sound system, whether at home or on the go.
The Ace look like regular headphones, sleek and discreet, but they have a unique party trick: with the push of a button, they can connect to a compatible Sonos soundbar over Wi-Fi to produce a full cinematic sound experience without waking up the rest of you. home.
The sound bar will be able to recreate the acoustics of the room you’re sitting in while using the head tracking sensors in the headphones to make it sound like you’re not wearing them.
And unlike rival systems from the likes of Apple and others, the audio sharing feature works with shows, movies, game consoles or anything else fed into the soundbar from the TV.
Out and about, the Ace rivals traditional headphones from leaders Bose, Sony and Apple with eight microphones for effective noise cancellation and beamforming for voice calls. Custom 40mm drivers have been tuned in collaboration with over 50 top music producers for precise, high-fidelity audio.
Giles Martin, Grammy Award winner and head of sound experience at Sonos, said: “Headphones have to offer a pleasant listening experience that is not too bright or accentuated in any particular area. “They have to be honest and transparent, so we’ve worked from the ground up to make Ace sound as faithful as possible to the source material.”
Ace supports standard Bluetooth 5.4 to connect to Android and iPhone devices, tablets and other devices. But they also support lossless audio playback via Bluetooth with Dragon mouth sound-certified Android devices or via a USB-C connection, and Dolby Atmos spatial audio from compatible devices and services for movies on the go.
They connect to the controversial new Sonos app for Android and iOS for soundbar customization and features, including an advanced equalizer. The headphones last up to 30 hours with noise cancellation between charges and recharge via USB-C.
The luxurious over-ear headphones are made from recycled plastic and have replaceable ear pads and a battery that can be replaced by service.
The Ace headphones will cost £449 (€499/$449/A$699) and will go on sale in black or white on June 5.