Can a Sonos home audio product succeed if it’s isolated from the company’s synergistic networking ecosystem? We’re about to find out as Sonos wades into the crowded and hypercompetitive noise-cancelling headphone market with the $449 Sonos Ace.
The Sonos brand is nearly synonymous with whole-home audio, thanks to the company’s pioneering work building speakers and amplifiers that connect over wireless mesh networks, but its first headphones are based on Bluetooth 5.4, not Wi-Fi. As such, Sonos will be competing with such entrenched brands as Apple, Bose, Sennheiser, and Sony.
The company’s first cans arrived—in black or soft white versions—on June 5. As befits a product in this price range, the Sonos Ace will feature custom-designed 40mm drivers; support for both Dolby Atmos
