I flew 16 hours using Sonos’ new Ace Ultra headphones – here’s why they’re not just for home listening

It’s a very big month for Sonos. The audio brand is set to launch its Ace Ultra headphones and Beam Ultra soundbar imminently – pre-orders are open now – alongside the latest Sonos 27 app to wash the brand of its previous software sins. Both products are brilliant as – spoiler alert! – our 5-star reviews attest.

However, with the Ace Ultra’s big new feature that it offers Wi-Fi connectivity to play nice with your Sonos system at home – here’s how its Headphone Linking feature works – you might think that’s the core playing field for these new headphones. I think they offer much more, though, as the Ultra is extremely adept in the outside world too.

September has been a jam-packed month for me personally, involving a lot of travel. I’ve flown for roughly 70 hours during this month alone thus far, with some particularly long-haul flights – Tokyo to London’s routing is touching upon 16 hours at present – which seemed like the ideal opportunity to truly test Sonos’ latest headphones.

I’ve been carting around the Ace Ultra alongside the original Ace product (for side-by-side testing), plus a batch of in-ears and some secret headphones that I’m not yet permitted to talk about. And using these Sonos over-ears has been a real unexpected treat during my travels. Here, in five key points, I highlight the biggest takeaways in my experience.

Noise cancelling that truly competes

When Sonos launched the original Ace, it proclaimed to have the best active noise-cancelling (ANC) on the market. Many scoffed at this, frankly, especially when Bose and Sony had long ruled that roost. It was decent, mind, just not as ‘locked-in’ as some other products can deliver – but that was arguably more fitting of such a product and its at-home use potential.

In the Ace Ultra, however, Sonos hasn’t just leant back and re-stated the very same claim. These headphones have fully reworked the ANC on offer, with more microphones – 10 in total – being a major part of how it can sense and constantly adapt to surroundings, making your listening experience better.

The new Adaptive ANC feature is there to, just as its name states, adapt to surrounding conditions. But it’s not mere marketing, as I’ve been able to literally hear it operating: when putting my glasses on after a little nap on the flight, for example, the added gap between headphones and my head made for a less ideal ANC environment.

But this new Sonos product knows – and it’s kitted out to make real-time adjustments. Mere seconds after making that physical adjustment, upon which I could hear the ‘fizzing’ background noise of the aircraft cabin, it dwindled and almost disappeared.

This is ANC of the highest order, so if you don’t want to hear bothersome distractions then you’ll be well served – even if you keep making tweaks to the headphones’ fit over your head. It’s very clever stuff indeed, not to mention the Ultra sounds way better with ANC activated.

Battery life that bosses it

There's no shortage of decent travel headphones, many of which make it their job to offer the best possible longevity – so you can keep on listening, trip after trip. There’s the Sony WH-1000XM6, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, and plenty of others to consider.

In the Ace Ultra, Sonos has really elevated its offering. The original Ace was decent in its innings, with 24-to-30 hours per charge doing a darn good job for extended periods – and being mighty comfortable throughout. The Ultra, however, ups that to 35 hours per charge, which is a notable improvement.

That’s 35 hours with ANC on, by the way, so you needn't forego any feature niceties at all. I've used the Sonos 27 app to dig into these headphones’ EQ settings, too, as there’s a fully customisable eight-band equaliser to get everything sounding just as you want.

Given just how much travelling I’ve been doing, I’ve been able to watch hour by hour how accurate that ’35 hour’ claim is too. The app is really good at presenting precisely what it predicts you have remaining in the tank, while an auto-off setting (which you can set as you please, should you wish to delay it) ensures battery savings when you forget to switch off.

I did wonder if ‘bigger battery’ would mean ‘greater weight’, but the product’s 322g total mass doesn’t feel excessive when wearing. Comfort is one of the biggest positives about this product in my view – as I’ll cover more extensively below – and I think other big names could learn a thing or two from Sonos’ take on design and ergonomics.

Wired listening ideal for in-flight entertainment

When on long flights, I tend to use my AirFly Pro to wirelessly send a Bluetooth signal from in-flight entertainment to my headphones. I forgot to charge that unit this trip, though, and even once I had it didn’t want to play ball on this occasion.

Therefore, faced with wanting to watch a movie – pray tell thee, why on earth did I pick Hamnet? – I was assuming the provided cables in the Ace Ultra’s package might not play nice with British Airways’ IFE system. How wrong I was, though, as it worked a treat – no fiddling about or balancing the 3.5mm half into the socket to get a decent audio signal.

Sonos includes a USB-C-to-3.5mm cable in the box, which worked wonders for my wired listening in this scenario. Outside of flying, though, you can also use a USB-C-to-C cable (also provided) for Hi-Res Audio listening at the utmost quality. So the Ace Ultra isn’t just good via Bluetooth, it’s great to use wired too.

Serious sound and customisation

All of which is all well and good, but the core reason for travelling with headphones is to obtain the best possible sound when on the go. And in a way that's private.

Fortunately, the Sonos Ace Ultra sounds stupendous. These are no ‘Ace+’, as Sonos built a new 40mm driver from the ground up, tuned it with Grammy-nominated producers, and has really pushed for a more vibrant sound profile. There’s bass in abundance, enhanced by the ANC, but no other frequency goes amiss.

Per the Adaptive ANC, there’s another clever option going on here to enhance the listening experience: Adaptive EQ. In real time, these headphones can offset frequency balance based on your surroundings, the product’s fit, and what you’re listening to. There’s even a Loudness switch to toggle on for some ‘turn it up to 11’ additional pep.

I’m very impressed with the sound. But that is, in a way, also enhanced by the comfort. Just as I said of the original Ace, the Ace Ultra is supremely comfortable over the ears. There’s no excess weight or clamping force, just a very well-considered design that looks, feels and sounds a triumph.

The case is still a faff though

So far, so happy. But there’s one part of the package that Sonos hasn’t addressed well enough: the carry case. This honestly surprises me – in my original Ace review I called out that case for being a weak point in the whole product offering, and I certainly wasn’t the only one to say it.

The Ace Ultra? The included case here is pretty much the same. Yes, it looks nice, but when it’s got a zip that can catch the fabric and get stuck, that doesn’t really matter, does it? The material finish also marks up, so it won’t necessarily stay looking all that nice for long either.

The way the headphones fold and fit within, plus the little pockets for those included cables – that stuff is all good! It’s just the finicky nature of the zip which really lets this case down and, given how sophisticated the headphones' design is overall, that seems like the one weak point when travelling with them.

Can’t have it all, eh? But it’s 95% of the way there – and I’d happily use the Ace Ultra for long-haul travel in addition to at-home sessions. It might well have added some degree of Wi-Fi compatibility, but that far from defines this product. If anything, the Ace Ultra might be at its best when out in the wild – and a true new competitor among the best headphones money can buy.