Sonos in May decided to enter the headphone market with the launch of the Sonos Ace headphones. The $449 Sonos Ace headphones have some attractive design elements and features you won’t see on Apple’s headphones, so we thought we’d compare them to the $549 AirPods Max to see which is ultimately better.
In terms of design, both the Sonos Ace and the AirPods Max are over-ear headphones that have a premium look, but the AirPods Max have a nicer feel due to the aluminum material. While Apple opted for brushed aluminum ear cups in a range of colors, Sonos went for recycled plastic in black or white.
Both have a minimal aesthetic, but the lack of aluminum makes the Sonos Ace lighter and more comfortable to wear. The AirPods Max are 13.6 ounces and the Sonos Ace weighs 11 ounces. Two ounces may not sound like a lot, but it does affect comfort. The AirPods Max also tend to cling tightly to the head, which the Sonos Ace doesn’t, so it’s generally easier to wear the Sonos Ace with a looser fit.
The ear cups on the Sonos Ace are made of memory foam covered in vegan leather, and the Apple ear cups are made of an acoustic mesh fabric that’s supposed to conduct sound better than other materials. The soft Sonos Ace ear cups will probably be more comfortable for most people, but there may be less breathability just due to the nature of the fabric. Apple created a U-shaped mesh headband with telescoping arms, while the Sonos Ace uses the same vegan leather material with telescoping arms as well.
You can’t fold the AirPods Max, and you also can’t fold the Sonos Ace, but Sonos made a better case. It’s thin, light and offers full protection, unlike the unpopular case that Apple offers with the AirPods Max.
The sound quality is similar, but the Sonos app has an adjustable EQ for tweaking the sound to your liking, which can’t be done on the AirPods Max. Both support spatial audio and Dolby Atmos, and Sonos’ spatial audio is just as impressive as Apple’s. The active noise cancellation and transparency options perform about the same, and while Apple has the best transparency mode, Sonos is close behind.
You can pair the AirPods Max and Sonos Ace with a TV, but for the AirPods you’ll need a $129 Apple TV, and for the Sonos Ace, you’ll need the Arc Soundbar, which costs $719. Sonos plans to add Ace integration to other soundbars, but none are free.
Both pair with iPhone, iPad, and Mac without additional hardware, but you get better connectivity with AirPods Max thanks to quick switching and one-tap pairing. It’s more of a hassle to pair the Sonos Ace because it uses standard Bluetooth without automatic pairing via iCloud, so when you switch devices, you’ll need to manually reconnect.
Sonos’ headphones are a few years younger than the AirPods Max at this point, and the battery technology has improved. The AirPods Max offer just 20 hours of battery life with ANC and spatial audio enabled, while the Sonos Ace offers 30 hours of battery life. Apple also hasn’t updated the AirPods Max with USB-C, so they’re still using the Lightning port that’s being phased out. If you don’t want to use a Lightning port for a few more years, you’re better off going with the Ace, another set of headphones, or waiting for the AirPods Max USB-C refresh that’s supposed to arrive later this year.
Sonos priced the Ace $100 cheaper than the AirPods Max, but it’s pretty easy to find the AirPods Max at a discount these days. If you can live without the quick pairing, auto switching and Apple aesthetic, the Sonos Ace offers the same sound quality and ANC, plus they’re more comfortable.
Prefer AirPods Max or Sonos Ace? Tell us in the comments below.
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