Sonos waited over two decades to build a pair of headphones, but when the Ace finally landed in 2024, unfortunately, it arrived with a pretty strange flaw. The one company synonymous with whole-home audio decided to ship a headphone that couldn’t actually join your whole-home audio system. It was standard Bluetooth only with no integrated Wi-Fi. Two years later, however, Sonos is back to right that wrong with the new Ace Ultra.
Speaking Fluent Sonos
As you may have guessed, the headline feature here is Headphone Linking, which is powered by the new Headphone Engine 2 silicon inside. The Ace Ultra lives on your home’s Wi-Fi as its own node in the system, meaning you can press the Content Key on the ear cup and pull whatever’s playing on a nearby Sonos speaker straight into the headphones. Simply press it again and the audio jumps right back out.
Your phone can also be completely dead in another room and the system will continue to operate, completely uninterrupted. TV Audio Swap returns from the original as well, complete with Dolby Atmos and head tracking.
There is one small caveat, though. Linking launches as an opt-in Early Access feature, so expect some rollout runway before it’s fully baked in across the board.
The Homework Got Done, Too
Sonos didn’t just patch the connectivity hole either. There’s an all-new 40mm driver in each cup, built around a redesigned motor with an extra ring magnet and tuned alongside Grammy and Oscar-winning engineers.
ANC gets a 10-microphone adaptive array, which Sonos claims is up to twice as effective as the original Ace. Bluetooth 6.0 and aptX lossless round out the spec sheet improvements.
Built for the Long Haul
Battery life climbs to 35 hours with ANC on, and a quick three-minute chargewill get you three hours. There’s also a new power saver mode that doubles whatever juice remains. Better still, both the ear cushions and the battery itself are user-replaceable, with a swap kit running just $25.
At $449, the Ace Ultra lands squarely on Sony WH-1000XM6 money and $20 above Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen. Of course, the difference is neither of those can follow your music from room to room.
Spec Sheet
Model: Sonos Ace Ultra
Drivers: Custom 40mm (per ear cup)
ANC: Adaptive, 10-microphone array
Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth 6.0, USB-C, 3.5mm
Battery Life: Up to 35 hours (ANC on)
Rapid Charging: 3 hours from a 3-minute charge
Weight: 0.71 lbs (322 g)
Colors: Black, Soft White, Agave, Sand
Pricing & Availability
The Sonos Ace Ultra is available for preorder now at $449 and starts shipping September 29th. All four colorways are up for grabs directly from Sonos, though the Agave and Sand finishes are limited to Sonos and select retailers.
Recap
Sonos Ace Ultra Headphones
Sonos gives its sophomore headphone the one thing the original was missing, a true Wi-Fi connection to the rest of your Sonos system, alongside a new driver, doubled ANC, and 35 hours of battery.
