Sonos Ace Ultra vs Sonos Ace: Should you go for Ultra?

Sonos has recently launched its latest pair of headphones, with the Sonos Ace Ultra.

Considering we awarded the Sonos Ace with a four-star rating, how does the Sonos Ace Ultra look set to compare? Is it worth upgrading to the newer pair of headphones?

Ahead of our Sonos Ace Ultra review, we’ve compared its specs to the original Sonos Ace and noted the key differences between the two headphones here. 

Once you’re finished here, make sure you visit our round-up of the best headphones and best noise cancelling headphones too.

Price and Availability

At the time of writing, the Sonos Ace Ultra is available for pre-order and will launch officially at the end of September. Unsurprisingly, as the headphones are positioned as Sonos’ most premium pair, the Ace Ultra has a higher starting price of £399.

As the Sonos Ace is over two years old, having launched as the brand’s first pair of over-ear headphones back in 2024, it’s not impossible to pick up the cans with a hefty discount – especially during sales events like Prime Day or Black Friday. Having said that, the headphones still have a pretty high RRP of £349.

Sonos promises the Ace Ultra has 2x the ANC ability than the Ace

Both the Sonos Ace and Sonos Ace Ultra are fitted with active noise cancelling (ANC) which blocks out external sounds like traffic and chatter in real-time for a more immersive listening experience. In addition, both headphones also sport an Aware mode which lets in ambient sound – perfect for when you want to stay in-tune with your surroundings. 

We concluded that the Sonos Ace’s ANC performance was generally strong and able to suppress most public transport sounds and wind noise well. While it isn’t quite as adept at handling flights, especially when compared to the Sony WH-1000XM5, the Ace is still an admirable pair of noise-cancelling headphones. 

So where does that leave the Ace Ultra? According to Sonos, the Ace Ultra should see improved ANC compared to its predecessor, thanks to the headphones’ drivers that produce “noise-cancelling frequencies faster and more effectively”. In addition, the Ace Ultra sports an all-new 10-mic array, two more than the Ace, that’s able to detect and cancel out sounds like underground train cars or airplane cabins. 

We’ll have to wait until we review the Ace Ultra to see how well they really perform, but the headphones undoubtedly sound promising.

Sonos Ace Ultra has an Adaptive EQ

To help ensure the best possible sound quality while you’re on the move, the Sonos Ace Ultra introduces Adaptive EQ. Sonos explains Adaptive EQ measures the seal and fit of each ear cup and adjusts the sound accordingly “so what you hear sounds balanced and natural as you move”. 

That’s not to say we struggled with the Sonos Ace while wearing them out and about. In fact, AV Editor Kob Monney reported no issues with the Ace’s design and concluded the clamping force to be strong enough to keep the headphones secure, yet light enough to not be an irritant too. 

Sonos Ace Ultra has custom 3- and 8-band EQ

While the Sonos Ace has a customisable 2-band EQ, the Ace Ultra sports a customisable 3- and 8-band EQ instead, allowing you to further tailor the sound to your preference. 

Regardless, both Sonos headphones are supported by the Sonos app, which allows you to access the customisable EQs plus adjust the noise cancelling settings, enable Audio Swap (which allows you to switch sound from your headphones to a compatible Sonos soundbar) and set up Head Tracking too.

Sonos Ace Ultra promises a longer battery life 

With a promise of up to a whopping 35 hours of battery life with ANC on, the Sonos Ace Ultra looks set to be a brilliant pair of travel headphones. However, if you do forget to top up your headphones then a super quick three-minute charge results in three hours of ANC-enabled playback while the headphones’ power saver mode cleverly switches off features to double battery life too.

Even so, it’s still worth noting that the Sonos Ace offers a solid 30 hours of life between charges, so the headphones are certainly no slouch. 

Early Verdict

Judging by its specs, the Sonos Ace Ultra looks set to be a promising pair of headphones for those who want strong ANC, the ability to customise sound and a longer battery life than the Ace. Having said that, the Sonos Ace remains a brilliant pair of headphones that will likely see a price drop now the Ace Ultra has been announced. 

One area where we found the Sonos Ace to be merely adequate was with call quality. While the headphones offer good voice pick up in quiet areas, they can struggle to compete with noisy areas. With that in mind, we hope the Sonos Ace Ultra’s 10 mic-array improves call quality.

We’ll be sure to update this versus once we get our hands on the Sonos Ace Ultra.

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