Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
The idea of Sonos headphones has been around for years . Back into the previous X , even . And while we await the firstSonos Ace reviewto arrive , it ’s worth pondering a few things .
No , notwhySonos is making headphones . That add up down to basic business strategies , and it ’s something that CEO Patrick Spence has been enough clear about in the months leading up to the Sonos Ace announcement . You make things to make money , and Sonos expects the Ace to “ beat back quick revenue . ” ( In other words , Sonos carry people will definitely buy them . )
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Here ’s what he had to say in November 2023 , in his first public financial statement about what would unsurprisingly turn out to be the Sonos Ace .
“ While current market conditions remain intriguing , ” Spence said in Sonos ’ 4th - one-quarter 2023 earnings call , “ this is the beginning of a multiyear mathematical product cycle where we expect to reap the rewards of our R&D investments . This wheel begins with our entry into a Modern multibillion - dollar family in the second one-half of the twelvemonth that will complement our current oblation , delight customers , and force prompt revenue . ”
So thewhyis the simple part . Thehowis what really had me thinking all these months .
Sonos products are distinct in that they have always leveraged Wi - Fi in ways that few ( if any ) ship’s company did in that space before . They aggregated multiple music services in a individual app and made pair off speakers in multiple rooms as easy as it could be . Yes , other political platform — like ( ahem ) Google , and of course Apple — have join in . But the Sonos experience still feel dissimilar from those other platforms .
So how , exactly , would the Sonos Ace headphone fit the Sonos paradigm ? It change by reversal out they mostly do n’t . At least not at first . At launch the most Sonos thing about the Ace is that they ’ll pair with the Sonos Arc soundbar for some “ boob tube audio frequency swapping , ” which is great if you have an Arc but need to use your Ace headphones to heed to whatever ’s on TV . But headphones ca n’t be at their best only when they ’re tie to another not - cheap product . ( The Sonos Arc costs $ 900 . ) Headphones — evenhigh - end headphones — are meant to be bare . They should act upon with any equipment , and they should n’t require an app to do so ( aside from amusic streaming service app , of line ) . In a bunch of ways they ’re have in mind to be relatively dumb accessories .
And give the state of the Sonos app in mid-2024 , that ’s maybe the best thing about the Sonos Ace , at least in these former days . TheSonos app just got a major rebuildthat appear to require some major rebuilding already . That ’s not great . And if the Sonos Ace were require to use the Sonos app to only work as a path to get sound into your ear , that ’d be as close to a expiry sentence as the headphones could get .
Fortunately , that ’s not the case . As it stands today it ’s very much like any other set of headphones in that they ’ll work just fine on their own , but you ’ll demand the app to do things like tweak EQ and set up spatial audio and head trailing . ( And presumptively firmware updates . )
But the really crucial material — music and audio playback — so far can be lead in control of the medicine apps that do it best . Sonos did the right thing in concern about the hardware and not hear to do too much with the Ace right out of the gate and experience full Sonos - like integrating with the app .
And we in all likelihood should be thankful for that .
