Sonos Ace vs Sony WH-1000XM5: Which premium headphones are best?

Sonos has recently joined the ranks of Apple, Bose, and Sennheiser in the battle for the best wireless headphones. Today, we’re seeing how the Sonos Ace holds up against the longtime king of the castle – the Sony WH-1000XM5. Does Sonos have what it takes to take down the champion? That’s what we’ll find out in this Sonos Ace vs Sony WH-1000XM5 comparison.

Editor’s note: this article was published on July 18, 2024, and is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.

What’s it like to use the Sonos Ace compared to the Sony WH-1000XM5?

The Sonos Ace have a similar design to the Sony WH-1000XM5, especially when comparing the ear cups and headbands side by side. The ear cups and headband are wrapped in a soft matte coating that looks and feels similar to the finish on Sony’s headphones. Both come with a case for storing your headphones and charging cable.

We can award some style and durability points to the Sonos Ace thanks to its stainless steel frame and accents around the microphones and vents. At the same time, those accents come at the cost of some added weight. The Sonos Ace weighs 320g, whereas the Sony WH-1000XM5 is a lighter 250g. That said, we didn’t have major comfort issues with either set of headphones.

The Sony WH-1000XM5 use capacitive touch controls, whereas the Sonos Ace use tactile buttons and sliders. Both allow you to adjust music playback and activate ANC without needing to reach for your phone. While touch controls may have more wow factor, tactile controls are more reliable, especially if you are wearing gloves.

Should you use the apps of either the Sonos Ace or Sony WH-1000XM5?

If you want to get the most out of the Sonos Ace, you need to download the Sonos app. Similarly, the Sony WH-1000XM5 utilize the Sony Headphones Connect app. You get most of the same features and functionality with either companion app.

While the Sonos app has an equalizer to adjust sound quality, it is very limited. You only get simple bass and treble controls. If you like tinkering with how your headphones sound, you will definitely prefer the Sony offering.

The Sony app takes photos of your ears to implement 360 Reality Audio. On the other hand, you can enable head tracking from within the Sonos app, a feature not found on the Sony headphones.

If you have a compatible Sonos soundbar, you can use the Sonos app to enable the TV Audio Swap feature. This unique Sonos feature allows you to transfer the audio from your soundbar to your Ace headphones with the touch of a button. While this feature is currently only available on iOS, Sonos plans to add support for Android devices soon.

How do the Sonos Ace and Sony WH-1000XM5 connect?

The Sonos Ace and Sony WH-1000XM5 both support wireless and wired playback, but differ in their approach to the latter. While the Sonos Ace support wired listening via USB-C, the Sony WH-1000XM5 have a 3.5mm aux input. For wireless listening, the Sonos Ace have Bluetooth 5.4 with support for SBC, AAC, and aptX Lossless via Snapdragon Sound. On the other hand, the Sony WH-1000XM5 support Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.2 with SBC, AAC, and LDAC.

Despite Sonos being well known for its Wifi-enabled speakers, the Sonos Ace do not support Wifi playback. We didn’t experience connection issues with either the Sonos Ace or Sony WH-1000XM5 in day-to-day use.

Is battery life better on the Sonos Ace or Sony WH-1000XM5?

Battery life is a close tie. According to our standardized battery testing, the Sony Ace last 32 hours and 13 minutes, whereas the Sony WH-1000XM5 last 31 hours, 53 minutes. Fast charging either headphones will get you 3 hours of playback from only 3 minutes of charging.

Do the Sony Ace or Sony WH-1000XM5 block noise better?

The Sony Ace and Sony WH-1000XM5 each do a great job of blocking out noise. That said, the Sony WH-1000XM5 take the win here. On average, the Sony WH-1000XM5 reduce the loudness of ambient sounds by 84%, whereas the Sonos Ace reduce the loudness of ambient sounds by an average of 74%.

While the Sony cans block out noise, I still find the Sonos Ace block out most distractions. Both headphones are able to block out my noisy coworkers without a problem.

If you are interested in staying aware of your surroundings, both headphones have a good pass-through transparency mode. Sony lets you adjust the amount of outside noise heard through the headphones, whereas Sonos does not.

Do the Sonos Ace sound better than the Sony WH-1000XM5?

The Sonos Ace and Sony WH-1000XM5 have very similar sound quality performance. Any differences here will come down to personal preference.

Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores (MDAQS)

The chart below shows how the sound of the Sonos Ace and Sony WH-1000XM5 was assessed by the Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Score (MDAQS) algorithm from HEAD acoustics.

While the Sonos Ace score slightly higher in Timbre, the Sony WH-1000XM5 score better when it comes to Distortion. They have a very close Overall score, so there’s a good chance most people will appreciate the sound quality of these headphones equally.

Reviewer’s notes

The Sonos Ace and Sony WH-1000XM5 each have strengths and weaknesses when it comes to sound quality. The Sonos Ace have a very poor app equalizer, which makes it difficult to fine-tune the sound. Out of the box, we found the headphones under-emphasize mids, and there’s no way to rectify this within the app. On the flip side, we found the Sonos Ace do an excellent job with stereo imaging. In an orchestral track like “Can You Hear The Music” by Ludwig Göransson, the strings and synths are easy to distinguish within the orchestra.

Dolby Atmos content also sounds very good on the Sonos Ace, making for a very immersive listening experience. The head tracking is fun for both listening to music and watching movies. This contrasts with the spatial audio features of the Sony WH-1000XM, which use Sony 360 audio. While 360 audio performs well, it is very hard to find supported content compared to Dolby Atmos.

The Sony WH-1000XM5 have a bass emphasis out of the box, but it is fairly easy to equalize this away within the companion app. After some equalization, we enjoy the sound quality of the Sony WH-1000XM5. Keep in mind that the sound quality of both headphones is impacted when listening wired vs wireless, as well as listening with ANC on vs ANC off.

Objective Measurements

In a direct comparison, we can see a lot of similarities between the default frequency response of the Sonos Ace and that of the Sony WH-1000XM5. Both amplify lows and highs more than our headphone preference curve. That said, there are a lot of irregularities in the Sonos Ace frequency response, and you can’t equalize these using the very simple EQ found inside the Sonos app.

Do the Sonos Ace or the Sony WH-1000XM5 have a better microphone?

The Sonos Ace and Sony WH-1000XM5 each have eight onboard microphones. Based on our tests, both are able to reproduce voices clearly. The Sony microphones seem slightly better at reducing background noise such as keyboard clatter, which might them the better choice for taking Zoom calls in a noisy office.

Sonos Ace microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Sony WH-1000XM5 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Sonos Ace microphone demo (Office conditions):

Sony WH-1000XM5 microphone demo (Office conditions):

Sonos Ace vs Sony WH-1000XM5: Price and availability

If it’s been close to equal so far in our comparison, this is where the Sony WH-1000XM5 gain an advantage. The Sonos Ace have a starting price of $449, whereas the Sony WH-1000XM5 have a starting price of $399. Moreover, the Sony headphones are a few years older, so you’re more likely to find them on sale.

Should you get the Sonos Ace or Sony WH-1000XM5?

Sonos have made a very admirable effort with their first headphones. That said, it’s not quite enough to warrant our recommendation over the Sony WH-1000XM5. The Sony headphones have better noise canceling, a more refined app experience, and a cheaper starting price tag.

If you are already deeply integrated to the Sonos ecosystem, or you can find the Sonos Ace on sale, they are still very worthy headphones. That said, it’s also worthwhile to check out some alternatives on our list of the best headphones before making your decision.

How do the Sonos Ace and Sony WH-1000XM5 compare to the Apple AirPods Max?

Time to talk about the elephant in the room, the Apple AirPods Max, $499 at Amazon. If you have an iPhone and are already deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem, you’d be remiss to not consider the AirPods Max. That said, the Apple AirPods Max are extremely expensive, so you better be sure the Apple integrations are worth it to you. We have detailed breakdowns of the Apple AirPods Max vs Sonos Ace as well as the Apple AirPods vs Sony WH-1000XM5 that go over every feature in depth.

In terms of pure performance, the Apple AirPods Max are on par with the Sonos Ace and Sony WH-1000XM5. The AirPods Max deliver great sound quality with spatial audio and head tracking, but you don’t get native equalizer support to tweak the sound to your liking. There’s also no easy way to use the AirPods Max with a wired connection, which should concern content creators who need low-latency listening. On the other hand, the AirPods Max have exceptional noise canceling and transparency modes.

What should you get instead of the Sonos Ace or Sony WH-1000XM5?

The Sonos Ace and Sony WH-1000XM5 are both very expensive, and you may not need to spend that much money to meet your headphone needs. The Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless are a slightly cheaper alternative that deliver excellent sound quality, $289.23 at Amazon. At the ultra-budget end of the spectrum are the JLab JBuds Lux ANC, $79.99 at Amazon. Despite their budget price, you still get noise canceling and good sound quality.

On the other hand, you can’t discuss premium noise-canceling headphones without mentioning Bose – they created the category in the first place. Their latest offering the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones cost a pretty penny, $429 at Amazon. With aptX Lossless and Snapdragon Sound support, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra deliver exceptional sound quality to supported Android devices. As expected, you also get great noise canceling with these cans.

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