Sonos Ace Ultra headphones review: Premium sound and an ever-improving app

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Sonos is on a journey of redemption. Despite consistently releasing solid material, a disastrous app update a few years ago shook customer confidence. In the years since, Sonos has worked to rebuild consumer trust, and as with many of its recent releases, the new Sonos Ace Ultra headphones are another step in the right direction.

Over the past week, I’ve been using the Sonos Ace Ultra headphones, which combine excellent build quality, impressive sound, and deep integration with other Sonos devices, as everything can be controlled by a single app. Supporting spatial and lossless audio, they also offer up to 35 hours of battery life, have access to ANC and ambient modes, and much more.

Packed in a premium design, here’s everything you need to know about the $449 Sonos Ace Ultra headphones, which build on the legacy of the Sonos Ace headphones. You can also see what BGR thought of the company’s latest speakers in our reviews of the Sonos Era 100 SL and the Sonos Play, both of which we enjoyed testing.

The Sonos Ace Ultra headphones have a similar design to the Sonos Ace. With stainless steel arms and hard plastic with a matte finish, the look of this pair of earbuds is on par with its expensive competitors like Apple’s AirPods Max 2. Comfort was clearly a priority, with removable ear cups and vegan leather for the headband. The grip on these headphones isn’t too strong, but they stayed on my head well after hours and hours of testing.

Available in black, soft white, agave, and sand, these headphones are very comfortable to wear, and what I like most is that the earcups are large enough to cover all of my ears. You have the option to physically rotate the earbuds to fit in a carrying case, meaning they can also be rotated while sitting on your head to accommodate earrings, glasses, and different head shapes and sizes.

Weighing around 322 grams, the Sonos Ace Ultra headphones can be controlled by buttons on the device itself, by a connected Bluetooth device, or through the Sonos app. This is unfortunately one area where the Ace Ultra headphones fail. For an expensive, premium offering, the buttons around the earbuds feel cheap. They click loudly when you press them, which I would expect from budget brands on Amazon. While they’re reliable and work well, I don’t like that they ring so much in my ears – other brands do a much better job with their built-in buttons.

In the sound department, Sonos’ latest headphones are spot on. With a 40mm driver in each cup, users experience deep bass, rich details and zero distortion. The company claims that these new speakers make the mix closer while more low-end headroom is available without muddying the rest of the mix. Testing these headphones with multiple music genres, including my favorite songs, artists, and albums, I was consistently impressed with their performance.

Sonos also promises a few other premium features with the Ace Ultra headphones. They support lossless audio over Bluetooth via aptX with a supported or wired device via USB-C. Dolby Atmos with Spatial Audio is also available alongside dynamic head tracking. On its app, Sonos offers EQ customization with simple and advanced controls, as well as a few options for enhancing bass at lower volumes and the ability to tailor audio based on how the headphones are placed on your head.

Sonos claims that the active noise cancellation on the Ace Ultra is up to twice as strong as the Ace’s sub-65Hz frequencies. In my testing, the headphones managed to block out most outside noise, but some sounds required me to turn the volume up a bit to turn them off completely. On the subway or near other people, I could hear my surroundings during quiet songs or if the song was about to end. In Ambient mode, I was able to stay aware of my surroundings while still enjoying my music. My voice and those of others also sounded good in this mode.

The Sonos app is the main hub for the Ace Ultra headphones. This is where you will configure and update the headphones. The Sonos app is also where you can use headphone linking, which is an early access feature that allows the headphones to stream over Wi-Fi and work through the app, so you can start a song on a speaker and then easily transfer it to the headphones when you leave the house. The app is also required to connect the headphones to your TV system for Audio Swap setup with compatible soundbars or to enable TrueCinema.

Although the app has been updated since the last time I reviewed a speaker from Sonos, the release of the Ace Ultra headphones closely follows the rollout of the new Sonos 27 operating system update. So while the headphones are well-designed and deliver great sound, the real question is whether or not Sonos has fixed the shortcomings in its software. In my experience, the app often needed a few seconds to perform actions or access my Apple Music library, and the headphone link wasn’t always reliable. For a company that has been creating software for decades, this is disappointing to see.

I found that simply connecting the headphones to my iPhone, opening Apple Music, and choosing my favorite songs was the way to go. I only open the Sonos app when I need to change a setting or check the remaining battery life. Other than that, I avoid the app at all costs. Additionally, Apple assures that the experience becomes even more difficult, because you cannot control the volume of the headphones via the iPhone’s volume buttons: you have to physically touch the screen or the headphones.

The Sonos Ace Ultra headphones offer up to 35 hours of battery life, assuming you listen to songs at a moderate volume with ANC enabled. Although turning off ANC can add a few hours, I almost always keep the feature on when I’m on the go. Sonos also says a three-minute quick charge can give the earbuds up to 3 hours of playback, while a full charge takes up to three hours. The device charges via USB-C and the earbuds comply with new EU legislation, requiring portable batteries to be user replaceable. A replacement battery kit is available from Sonos for $25.

Comparing the Ace Ultra headphones to another pair we recently reviewed, Marshall’s Milton ANC headphones offer up to 80 hours of battery life, or up to 50 hours with ANC enabled, and cost $229. While I can’t say the battery is disappointing, since we’re still talking about several days of frequent use, I have to be more intentional about recharging it than some other options I’ve tried.

Featuring Bluetooth 6 and Wi-Fi support, I also like that these headphones are quite smart, including a wear detection setting that automatically pauses media when you remove them. Additionally, they automatically turn off after a certain period of time when not in use. Sonos offers a few other battery-related settings on its app that can help it last longer so you don’t have to buy one of those replacement kits anytime soon.

Launching at $449, Sonos’ latest headphones are undeniably expensive. That said, they certainly have the look and feel of a premium offering – aside from the oddly loud buttons. The sound quality can rival any other high-end option on the market. The headphones also have the advantage of offering lossless audio and support for Dolby Atmos with Spatial Audio for true audiophiles who want to get the most out of their music listening sessions. Battery life is also excellent, although I wish Sonos came close to what Marshall currently offers.

The Sonos app remains a touchy subject, as the company has come a long way, but it’s still not particularly reliable and using it to stream songs is just plain annoying. Like many other headphone apps, I’d like to keep Sonos as simple as possible because users would just have one place to go to quickly change settings and check the battery. Turning the app into a hub, even for someone with multiple Sonos devices, remains a disappointing experience.

That said, if Sonos is a brand you have experience with, like their signature sound, and are able to get past the app’s glitches, then the Sonos Ace Ultra is a great pair of headphones that can be your daily driver for years to come. They look good, sound great, and have all the modern audio features you’d expect from a pair of headphones in this price range.