Get Them Here:
Sony 1000XM5: https://amzn.to/3LX1KHU
Sony 1000XM4: https://amzn.to/4degSfP
Sonos Ace: https://amzn.to/3WPsd05
So the Sonos Ace are a good first try from Sonos, I really like their build quality, I like their case and I like that you can use the USB C port on these headphones as a wired connection. However these headphones to struggle when it comes to sound, active noise cancellation, their ambient mode and microphone for phone calls. Nonetheless today we’re going to see how these compare to both the Sony 1000XM5 and the Sony 1000XM4’s.
Regarding pricing, there is a considerable Sonos tax here. The Sonos Ace retail for $450 and for me its hard to justify these headphones. Where as the Sony 1000XM5’s have a retail price of $400 and the Sony 1000XM4’s have a retail price of $350, and both of these headphones like to routinely go on sale now. Nonetheless, if you want to pick any of these headphones up they’ll be linked down below or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button.
So first theres the case. Now both the Sonos and XM5’s are lay flat headphones, meaning that their cases are going to have a larger foot print compared to a fully collapsible pair of headphones like the 1000XM4’s. However, Sonos’s case here is surprisingly thin, so storing this case in your backpack isn’t as big of a hassle as you’d think… and I really like that this case is way smaller than the XM5’s case cause this case is so inconvenient to travel with. But overall all of these cases are hardshell cases and they are all going to do a good job of protecting your headphones while they’re in a cramped backpack.
But with that cases out of the way lets talk about the headphones themselves. Now the Sonos feel a lot sturdier and a lot more premium than both of Sony’s headphones. The plastics feel denser, the arms feel stiffer and the leatherette feels more luxurious. And the ear pads on the Sonos magnetically detach. However, the improved build quality on the Sonos Ace does mean that they weigh noticeably more than Sony’s headphones. The Sonos Ace weigh in at 312 grams, which isn’t as bad as the AirPods Max which weigh in at 280 grams… but the ace are noticeably heavier than the XM4’s which weigh in at 255 grams and the XM5’s which weigh in at 250. So with the Sonos Ace, these are a pair of headphones that you’re really going to feel shifting around on your head while you’re walking around with them on and you dont really forget about these headphones when you’re sitting with them while are your desk or while in bed. Where as with these Sony headphones, they’re a lot less noticeable.
But when it comes to the overall fit of these headphones, first off both of Sony’s headphones have slightly less clamping force than the Sonos, meaning that they have a loser fit, but nonetheless, all of these headphones are big head approved. And something that like about the Sonos is that their headband is a little wider and has a little more padding than the headband on the XM5’s, so hot spots are not an issue for these headphones like with the XM5’s. And I also really like how spacious the earpads on the Sonos are compared to both of Sony’s headphones. Now I think the XM4’s will fit most people just fine… but with the XM5’s even though these earpads have a big diameter to them, they are pretty shallow. So shallow that even average sized ears get pressed down which can get uncomfortable after awhile. But something that you do need to look out for on the Sonos is going to be heating, the ear pads on the Sonos has a lot of surface area that comes in contact with your skin, this padding is also fairly soft and the padding does like to collect heat… so with the Sonos, these earpads can heat up a little faster than the ear pads on Sony’s headphones. But overall fit wise, I think the Sony 1000XM4’s are the most comfortable headphones here cause they’re light weight, their ear pads are fairly spacious and they have a slightly loser fit. The Sonos fit well, but you are going to have to deal with the added weight. And the Sony 1000XM5’s aren’t may favorite cause of their shallow ear pads.
Now when it comes to tech specs, all of these headphones have an advertised battery life of 30 hours with their active noise cancelation turned on, and you can always extend the battery life on all of these headphones if you use them with their Active noise cancellation turned off. and with all of these headphones, they all have a slightly above average battery life for premium ANC headphones in 2024.
And to charge all of these headphones, they all charge via a USB C port, as they should… however, this is the only USB C port that you’ll find on the Sonos Ace… but you can always use this USB C port as a wired connection, and they come included with a USB C to audio jack cable, so you can always still use the Sonos ace with a wired connection if you’re on air plane.
Where as with both of Sony’s headphones, you cant use their USB C ports as a wired connection, but they both have a 3.5 millimeter audio jack and they both com with audio cables. But more importantly, you can always use these headphones passively, as in they dont have to be powered on if you want to use them with a wired connection… where as with the Sonos Ace, even if you want to use them with a wired connection, they have to be turned on which is something I feel frequently travels should really pay attention to.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, all of these headphones can be connected to any two bluetooth devices regardless of eco system, so you can easily hot swap from one device to another which is great if you’re a power user with lets say an iPhone and a windows PC.
Now when it comes to overall performance, all of these headphones have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device… but with the Sonos have noticed some random disconnects… so hopefully that can be fixed through a firmware update. But when it comes to audio codecs, the Sonos have support for SBC, AAC and APTX, where as both of Sony’s headphones have support for SBC, AAC, and LDAC which is Sony’s own in house high res audio codec. Just keep in mind that if you want to use either APTX or LDAC, you do have to be an android user cause iPhones top out at AAC… and if you do use LDAC that is going to take an additional toll on the battery life.
But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound. Now simply put, the Sonos Ace dont sound all that great. These headphones leans towards a very bright sound signature and their bass is very flat. So due to these headphones very bright sound signature, their vocals are super emphasized, but the instrumental lack detail and their bass has no kick to it and it doesn’t resonate all that much either. So as a result, these headphones are not all that much phone to listen to, and due to their lack of bass, watching movies with these headphones isn’t all that much fun either. Now you can always go in and adjust their EQ, but even if you try to adjust their EQ, these headphones aren’t going to sound all that great. Where as with both of Sony’s headphones, I have always felt that the Sony 1000XM4’s are people pleasers. These have good instrument separation. If you like a bright sound signature you can do that, or if you like a warmer sound signature you can also do that. And more importantly, these have a decent amount of kick in their bass so you’re actually going to be able to feel your bass. Which is going to make listening to music or watching movies a lot more fun. And then there are the 1000XM5’s and these have slightly better clarity and detail and they sound a little more open than the 1000XM4’s. However, these have a little less kick in their bass than the XM4’s. From a technical standpoint, the XM5’s sound better than the XM4’s, but I think your average person is going to prefer the XM4 cause of the additional kick in the bass. And like I said in the full review, I can only recommend the Sonos Ace to people who feel that Bose’s headphones have too much bass.
Now when it comes to the media controls on these headphones, are using a touch pad. Now these touch pads are very accurate and they’re easy to use, but they aren’t perfect. Where as the Sonos Ace are using a slider, if you press this button in you can skip through your music and if you slide it up or down you can raise or lower you volume. Overall, this is a great option for someone that just doesn’t want to deal with touch pads.
And all of these headphones have wear sensors, so when you take these headphones off they’ll automatically pause your music, and when you put them back on they’ll start playing your music again. Now overall I dont really care for wear sensors on my headphones, so I usually just turn them off, but if you want them they are there.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Now the Sonos Ace block out a lot of noise, which is great. But the Sonos Ace have a lot of cabin pressure. But so that you can see for yourself we’re going to jump into an ANC test.
ANC Test
So like you may have just seen, if you look at the charts the Sonos Ace has the lowest numbers here. But in real life and if you actually use these headphones, I actually feel the Sonos Ace block out a little less noise than the Sony 1000XM4’s which are 4 years old now. But then theres the question of the atmospheric pressure sensors on both of Sony’s headphones. While at cruising altitude, both the XM4’s and XM5’s are able to optimize their Active Noise cancelation to compensate for the lowered atmospheric pressure. This means both of Sony’s headphones are able to block out more noise while on an airplane than other headphones. Most recently I was shocked to see that the Sony 1000XM4’s is able to block out more noise while flying than the Bose QC Ultra. So what im saying is, both of Sony’s headphones block out more noise than the Sonos Ace while on the ground, and its very likely that they are going to block out a lot more noise than the Sonos Ace while in an airplane. But the main issue with the ANC on the Sonos Ace is that it has a lot a cabin pressure, so with these you feel discomfort on your ear drums, and you’ll might even feel a little disorientation when walking with them. So overall, yes the Sonos Ace block out a lot of noise, but both of Sony’s headphones block out more noise, and its highly likely that they are going to block out a lot more noise while at crusing altitude thanks to their atmospheric pressure sensors… but more importantly, both of Sony’s headphones have a lot less cabin pressure than the Sonos which leads to overall better comfort.
But then theres the ambient mode on these headphones, the Ambient mode on the Sonos Ace gets the job done, but it sounds very artificial. And since these headphones are obviously trying to control the amount of noise that comes in and they are trying to focus on people’s voices… the end result is that the ambient mode on the Ace sounds like you’re underwater cause people’s voices end up sounding very muffled. Where as both of Sony’s headphones have much more natural sounding ambient modes and you can adjust how much noise they let in. But also, both of Sony’s headphones have extra features like speak to chat which works a little like this.
Speak to chat demo
Now overall speak to chat had been improved lately, its not as easy to accidentally activate it as it was before… but I personally still prefer to use quick attention which is where if you fully cover the touchpad on these headphones they are going to lower the volume of your music and pump in all of the ambient sound around you like this.
Quick Attention Demo
And then when you let go they headphones will go back to normal again. Now I still prefer quick attention over speak to chat because its a lot more intentional. But regardless, I like that Sony’s headphones have these features cause it great when you’re traveling cause you can quickly talk to someone without having to remove your headphones. And this is something that the Sonos Ace are just missing.
Mic XM4 Quite
But finally heres the microphone test. Now the microphone on the Sony 1000XM4’s isn’t the best, but it sounds good enough to tack phone calls with while in a quiet room.
Mix Sonos Quite
Where as the Micrphone on the Sonos Ace has better clarity than the microphone on the Sony 1000XM4’s, but there is a little bit of white noise in the back ground.
Mic XM5 Quite
But then theres the Microphone on the Sony 1000XM5’s and this microphone has the best clarity here when it comes to taking phone calls while in a quiet room.
Mic XM5 Road
But where the Sony 1000XM5’s really shine is when it comes to blocking out noise pollution cause right now this microphone is doing a great job of reducing all of this road noise. Cause for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone, you’re going to clearly hear all of this road noise, but if we were to switch back over to the Sony 1000XM5’s it is severely reduced.
Mix Sonos Road
Now the Sonos Ace also do a good job of reducing all of this road noise… but not as good as the Sony 1000XM5’s.
Mic XM4 Road
But then here are the Sony 1000XM4’s and these are not doing a good job here what so ever. Theres a lot of interference going on with my voice.
Mix XM4 Chatter
And its the same thing when it comes to blocking out chatter, theres a lot of interference with the Sony 1000XM4’s.
Mic Sonos Chatter
And its the same thing with the Sonos Ace, theres a lot of interference here when it comes to blocking out chatter.
Mic XM5 Chatter
But then here are the Sony 1000XM5’s and these do a much better job blocking out all of this chatter, because for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone you’re going to clearly hear all of this chatter, but if we switch back over to the Sony 1000XM5’s it is severely reduced. Overall with both the Sonos Ace and Sony 1000XM4’s, those are better suited to take phone calls with while in a quiet room, where as with the Sony 1000XM5’s do a much better job of dealing with noise pollution.
but with all of that being said, the Sonos Ace are a great first try from Sonos, they have great build quality, they come with a great, thin and hard case, and I really appreciate that they come with both USB C and audio jack cables. However, these headphones sound very bright and they dont have all that much kick in their bass, making them boring to listen to music with or to watch movies. Yes they block out a lot of noise, but they dont block out as much noise as either of Sony’s headphones and they have a lot more cabin pressure than Sony’s headphones. Personally for me it is hard to justify and recommend the Sonos Ace and I really feel that you are much better off going with either of these Sony headphones. Now if you want to travel and you want to block out the most amount of noise, then you do want to go with the Sony 1000XM5’s, but personally I still prefer to fly with the XM4’s cause they have a smaller case, and they’re more comfortable cause their ear pads are more spacious and their headband has more padding.