After weeks of rumors, Sonos has officially unveiled the Sonos Ace Ultra. Despite its more extensive features, the successor to the Sonos Ace is priced lower than the current model and offers, among other things, longer battery life, a replaceable battery, and Wi-Fi streaming directly from Sonos speakers. The final model differs from the original leak—which we had previously reported on—primarily in its now-confirmed technical specifications and price.
Longer battery life, replaceable battery, and new drivers
Visually, the design remains close to its predecessor, though the Ace Ultra weighs slightly more at 322 grams. Battery life increases from 30 to 35 hours with ANC enabled, while ten microphones—up from eight—are designed to provide more effective noise cancellation.
Another new feature is a replaceable battery, which can be swapped out using a special replacement kit from Sonos. For better sound quality, Sonos has also developed new 40-millimeter dynamic drivers and now supports an expanded 8-band equalizer, as well as lossless audio and 3D audio.
Wi-Fi Streaming from Sonos Speakers
The new Headphone Engine 2 is designed to provide a more stable connection to Sonos speakers. In practice, this means that with the push of a button, playback from a Sonos speaker can be streamed directly to the Ace Ultra—for example, to listen to TV audio wirelessly through the headphones.
For on-the-go use, a 3.5-mm jack and Bluetooth 6.0 with SBC, AAC, and Qualcomm aptX are still available, and the Sonos app also provides access to more than 100 streaming services. This allows Sonos to continue positioning itself clearly against competitors such as the Sony WH-1000XM6.
Pricing and Availability
The Sonos Ace Ultra is now available for pre-order for 449 euros in the Sonos online store, with shipping expected to begin on September 29. The headphones are available in white, blue, beige, and black. The list price is thus 50 euros lower than when the original Sonos Ace was launched; those are now available for around 349 euros.
Info/Images: Sonos
