Shop E Store Trying to decide between Sonos and Apple a premium set of over-ears? We have covered you
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Sonos announced its first sound headphones of Sonos at the end of May 2024, but come with a rather steep price, competing with the tastes of Apple Airpods Max, Bose Quietcomfort and the Dyson Ontrac headphones.
However, we are focusing on the Sonos and Apple options here. Both headphones on the ear are bright and both offer a range of different characteristics, but which one is better?
We have compared the specifications of the Apple Airpods Max and the Sonos Ace, but we have also used widely to help you discover which ones are the best for you.
Sonos vs Apple Airpods Max: Price
The Sonos Acean headphones cost $ 449 / £ 449 and come in white and soft white options.
The Apple Airpods Max had a price of $ 549 / £ 549 when they first launched in 2020, making them more expensive than the Ace Sonos. However, they have dropped the price since then, now with a price of around $ 499 / £ 499 and occasionally cheaper during periods of sale. The Max Airpods also come in five silver color options, space gray, sky blue, green and green.
Sonos vs Apple Airpods Max: Design
The Sonos Ace and Apple Airpods Max share some similarities when it comes to design, although there are also a series of differences. Both are very premium in their appearance and the materials used, but the Ace Sonos is slightly more comfortable in general, in our opinion.
The Apple Airpods Max opts for a mesh material for the ear cushions and the canopy of the canopy, a stainless steel frame and aluminum cups. They are distinctive, especially in their various color options and are also comfortable (we have used them for numerous transatlantic flights), but they are heavier than the Ace Sonos at 385 g compared to 319 g.
The Sonos Ace headphones opt for a matt plastic finish for the top of the headband and the lands, while a soft and flexible vegan leather covers the foam of the memory of the ear cushions and the inside of the headband. The interior of the right ear cushion is a different color to the left in Ace Sonos, which distinguishes between left and right, while Airpods Max opts for large letters “L” and “R”.
Alternative: Dyson Ontrac headphones review
Both have controls in the right and left headset with the power and bluetooth pairing button for both to the left and the main right controls. The Apple Airpods Max has a rotating digital crown that allows volume control, along with the pause and reproduction of audio, omitting clues, returning a track and responding or finishing calls. There is also a noise mode button next to the digital crown that allows you to change between noise cancellation, transparency and off mode.
For the Ace Sonos, there is a key key that slides up and down for volume control, while it will press or pause audio, omit songs, go back clues and respond or finish the calls. It will also allow you to transfer the audio between a sound bar of Sonos and the Sonos Ace headphones, more about that in a minute. Under the content key, there is a smaller circular button that changes between noise cancellation, conscious mode and off.
Sonos Vs Apple Airpods Max: Characteristics
Both sounds and Apple Airpods Max offer a range of features. Starting with Sonos, the oil headphones will work like any other Bluetooth headset so you don’t need the Sonos application to configure them. However, it obtains additional features if you use the Sonos application, including the ability to adjust the EQ, activate wear detection or deactivate, turn on or deactivate the monitoring of the head and choose which of the noise modes you want to offer the button on the ACE headphones.
You can also configure the TV audio exchange function if you have a sound bar Sonos Arc, Beam (Gen 2) or Sonos Ray. It is pleasant and easy to do, it only takes a few taps, after which you can push the content key in the right headphones of the headphones and their TV audio will change between the Son Ace and the Arc Sonos, the beam (Gen 2) or the Ray sound bars.
Apple Airpods Max offers a series of convenience features for Apple users, including super simple configuration and automatic change between Apple devices, either MacBook, iPad or Apple TV. They have a dynamic monitoring of the head such as Sonos Ace, which can activate or deactivate, and will also appear in the Apple application in case it placed them badly, which makes them a little easier to find.
He gets access to Siri if he presses and holds the digital crown, and Siri will also announce notifications if he wishes to get any notification that appears on his phone read when he uses the headphones so he does not have to take out his phone.
While it is a similar but not so perfect offer, Airpods Max can connect to an Apple TV 4K and play the audio so that you can watch movies on its TV through its Airpods Max and there is also Dolby Atmos support here too. The Max Airpods are Bluetooth headphones such as Sonos Ace, so you can also connect them to an Android device, although it will not obtain all the features obtained by Apple users.
Sonos Ace vs Apple Airpods Max: Performance
Neither Sonos nor Apple specifically details the sound architecture of its headphones. The Max Airpods have a dynamic controller designed by Apple and offer nine microphones in total with eight used for active noise cancellation and three for voice collection (two shared for ANC). The sound performance is exceptional, with a decent bass, a balanced sound profile and a clear and charming voice.
The ACE Sonos presents 40 mm dynamic controllers designed in each cup for the ear and have eight microphones for noise control and voice orientation. Once again, the sound performance here is excellent. The bass is almost the same as the Max Airpods in our experience, but we think that the voices were a bit clearer in the Ace Sonos.
The noise cancellation is more or less at the same time between the two pairs of headphones, with both excellent on a plane, drowning the noise of the engine and most passengers. Both are also great on a train, as well as walk through the busy streets.
The oil promises about 30 hours of battery duration and offers a quick charge through USB-C, with about 3 hours of listening in 3 minutes. Meanwhile, the Max Airpods have 20 hours of battery with a single load. Neither of the two specifications, but the Airpods Max case sends them to a low power mode. However, the case of Sonos Ace is more pleasant and more protective, while offering a small box for a USB-C cable that magnetically joins inside the box.
Sonos Vs Apple Airpods Max: What is adequate for you?
Sonos Ace and Apple Airpods Max are not very different in terms of price, so the decision will probably be reduced to the one that prefers the appearance and if you are a current user of Apple or Sonos.
For those with the sound bar Sonos Arc, the sonos oil headphones offer something extra about Apple Airpods Max, but does not get any additional benefit if it only has sound speakers. Meanwhile, for Apple users, Max Airpods have several advantages such as adaptive EQ, personalized head monitoring and Find My app if loses them.
Both have a great sound performance, an excellent noise cancellation and both are comfortable. In our experience, the Ace de Sonos only takes the advantage in terms of comfort and sound performance, while offering a longer battery duration, but Max Airpods remain an excellent pair of headphones and also come in more exciting colors.
