Sonos Ace Ultra Hands-On Review Fixes Bass, ANC, Battery Complaints

The review said the Ace Ultra looks much like the original Ace, keeping a clean and understated design with differently placed chrome accents and additional colors. The largest changes are inside. Compared with the original Sonos Ace, 9to5Mac listed redesigned 40mm drivers, a 10-microphone array that rises from eight microphones, improved adaptive ANC that is stated to be up to 2X more effective and can adjust to glasses, hair and changes in the seal around the ears, battery life of up to 35 hours with ANC on, Bluetooth 6.0 instead of 5.4, expanded EQ controls with three and advanced eight-band options, headphone linking with the Sonos ecosystem, user-replaceable batteries, updated ear and headband cushion materials, more ear-cup rotation so they can sit flat around the neck, and two new colors, Agave and Sand.

Several features from the previous model remain, according to the review. These include spatial audio and Dolby Atmos, dynamic head tracking, lossless audio on supported devices, USB-C and 3.5mm wired audio support, Bluetooth multipoint, fast charging that provides up to three hours of playback from a three-minute charge, and TV Audio Swap with compatible Sonos soundbars. The Ace Ultra also keeps magnetically replaceable ear cups, and the review described the build as combining plastics and metals for a premium, lightweight feel.

The reviewer said the original Sonos Ace lacked bass depth for a pair of $450 headphones, which was the main complaint. The Ace Ultra, in the reviewer's experience, delivers substantially more punch and depth at the low end without simply raising the bass slider. The review said the difficult part is maintaining separation so bass does not overwhelm vocals, instruments and higher frequencies, and it found the Ace Ultra keeps vocals clear and crisp while adding low-end impact. The reviewer said all media sounded better, including podcasts, movies and YouTube videos.

The improved ANC was another immediate difference. The review said the new 10-microphone array dynamically pushes more sound away from the headphones, and that the headphones are very quiet in many environments even when no media is playing. The biggest ANC improvement was described as handling unpredictable noises, such as passing cars, construction, sirens and sudden loud sounds while walking outside, rather than only steady noise like an airplane engine. The review also said the original Ace sometimes produced a hissing noise in ANC mode, and that the Ace Ultra had alleviated that issue so far.

On comfort, the reviewer called the Ace Ultra the most comfortable headphones he had worn. During an 8-to-10-hour airplane ride, he said he wore them about 95% of the time and felt no aches, pain or heat. The review also cited Sonos ecosystem integration as part of the appeal, though the hands-on focused mainly on sound, noise cancellation and daily wear.