Sonos Ace vs Apple Airpods Max vs Sony WH1000-XM5 vs Bose QC Ultra ANC test

I was surprised by the outcome of this test. My expectations for Sonos Active Noise Cancellation performance was not very high given that they are new to this. They did manage to score very well against the competition and at least to me, the ANC was the best for the Sonos ACE.
Noise cancellation is a compromise. Sometimes a manufacturer wants to focus on higher frequencies and some want to cut out the lower frequency. So your use case may differ from mine. I have used them in a variety of situations, including walks around the neighbourhood park, office space and very soon a plane... I think they fit me well.
I can't say it will 100% work for you but this video should have the test to give you the best info to decide. Ultimately, you should test it out at a store to see if it works for you.
If you found my work useful and would like to support it, please visit my Patreon link to contribute to my coffee fund! : / peterpee .
Easier is to click the Super Thanks button or join as a monthly contributing member right here on my KZbin channel.
Now, only if you really find value! Even if you don’t contribute, I am happy to share my experience with all you viewers on my channel here!
Amazon Affiliate Links for Sonos (Check around for best prices! Buying from Amazon using my links help me run this channel! Amazon retailers sometimes follow same discounted pricing as Sonos)
Sonos ACE (Black) - amzn.to/4bJi5uR
Sonos ACE (White) - amzn.to/3Kss23U

[@eXoticon]

Peter is the best content creator out there. Unbiased and scientific-based. Numbers don’t lie. Thank you, Peter!

[@apolozorb3649]

Word !

[@jjohnson92784]

Thanks!

[@PeterPee]

Thank you johnson!

[@kenforde10]

I am very happy with my Sonos Ace great sound and incredible build quality. Fantastic review as always

[@nathanchen5]

Thank you for including the Bose quietcomfort this was a very good review 👏🏿😎

[@PeterPee]

No problem 👍

[@PrestonThornburg]

Your methodology and diligence of review is really impressive. Really great work, thank you for the insights!

[@PeterPee]

My pleasure!

[@megajago990]

Thank you Mr.peter I appreciate this I'll be glad to tell you when I get the sonos

[@timberthewolf733]

Love all the data, if my XM4 ever dies I'll check out the ace.

[@Darkk_Sage]

Peter is so good about it. Of course he shares his own opinions, but always presents facts

[@jeffleigh3747]

Thank you, Peter. Another informative video 👏👏

[@PeterPee]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@jb7753]

Great video, and only 1 of many tests people no doubt want to see....

[@vpookiej9]

I love my Sonos Ace!

[@cosimop1539]

Super review. Really thank you for your effort

[@discbrakefan]

This is really interesting. I spent a lot of time on planes last month with my Sonos Ace and the ANC was really good for cutting out engine noise etc, but I was surprised how little it muffled a crying baby next to me. So those vocal ranges do seem to come through more than other frequencies.

[@ZAPPED916]

I’m enjoying my Ace or is it Ace’s 🤷‍♂️. That’s what my living room sounds like right now because of my fans, because it’s hot as hell. The Ace blocks all that noise! I happy with my Sonos headphones.

[@MrSalnaq]

Awesome work mate! Hair looks good too 😊

[@eXoticon]

Dude should drop a review of his barber/stylist.

[@PeterPee]

Haha... She'd be happy to hear this.

[@Shipwrckdntweetin]

😂. Good hair day my friend. Great review. I happen to have all… I returned the AirPod max. Good sound… the weight and lack of case with my travel was a deal breaker🥺. I don’t think expecting a secure case is too much to ask. Sonos surprised me…. I think they do a better job on my flight from Vegas to Montreal. But in the house the QC’s are good. The Sonos seem to prune out the engines. Bose with voices and street. I know it’s confusing but they have their individual strengths. Thank you for your scientific version 👊🏽🫵🏽

[@wearezohal]

Really good, one factor to add in with the ANC, is the music, I think the difference won’t be so significant then between all the brands at it is a helping factor

[@bleyrad]

I notice a high-frequency hiss that slowly increases in volume after you put on any of the headphones (with ANC on). To me, it sounds like an automatic gain control on your recorder slowly ramping up to compensate for the quiet, or a compressor or limiter with a slow release setting (the hiss likely being self-noise of the preamp and mic used). It is also evident with the low-frequency bumping sounds as you put the headphones on, that there's a dynamics processor somewhere that limits those bumps and then slowly releases. This kind of dynamics processing somewhere in the chain makes it really hard to call this an apples-to-apples test, as we don't know how much the processing is changing the relative noise levels of the recordings overall. The overall gain staging could be higher or lower between the tests as the processor reacts differently to the different levels of incoming signal. Any comments as to the recording chain? Something is definitely processing the dynamics.

[@bhargan]

Thank you @Peter. What types of sounds are at 1 kHz and 4kHz? I know you mentioned 50 is white noise and 260 is more vocals

[@zeesty5896]

Hi peter amazing video this was genuinely a much better way to understand the efficacy of the ANC unlike other KZbinrs,I would just like to ask what headphones would you recommend with anc like the bose qc ultra but under 210 GBP

[@z3german]

You could do the test with the headphones off to determine the passive measurement to compare both active and passive

[@scratchpadandotherfunideas4837]

Great comparison. The ACE noise cancellation really surprised me in the kitchen around the airfryer and microwave. I didn’t even realize they were running.

[@PeterPee]

It is that great.

[@Mr_Latte_UK]

Benks stands look great with these... I prefer them to the official options that were not even available yet.

[@rdk37]

Thank you for this video. Would you please do the same with transparency/aware mod ? Thank you

[@PeterPee]

Interesting idea. Would be noisy though.

[@MrChalmers99]

I've been using the Sony wh1000xm4 headphones rather than the XM5's, and I found the wind reduction setting on the headphone app is better than the standard noise cancelling. I've tried the base line white noise with my xm4's on wind reduction and there was next to nothing at all

[@PeterPee]

The XM4s are still good but the truth is that they are a little old. Sony bass has typically been a little too strong for me. Don't get me wrong, they handle Bass very well. No breaking up of sounds. Just too strong for me.

[@damienenrightmusic]

from my experience daily driving the XM4s And the XM5s and now the Sonos. The Sonos are slightly less powerful then the XMs HOWEVER, the XMs have a signature pressure frequency, its like a medium to high pitch white noise which is especially noticeable when in a quite space that the sonos doesn have. personally i find the Sonos ANC to be more natural and doesnt cause as much fatigue to my ears despite having very similar comfort physically which makes them my pick without a doubt

[@Chris-ig9gz]

dB is a logarithmic scale so for example Sonos is -10 db or about 50% quieter of noise at 50 Hz vs Apple which is significant for room noise. 4K Hz is great on all headphones. Since -60 dB would be silence to ears, they all do well at 260 Hz, 1KHz, 4K Hz but if you are in a place people are talking loudly, Apple is still the best. Concrete examples of Sonos bests is constant humming (AC Unit), chain saws engine, and horn gone in Sonos where the humming would be noticeable in the Apple. The human voice would be hard to hear in both but Apple would block more muffled sounds whereas Sonos you would be more aware of them.

[@leonhayes4539]

is it i had own sennhiser for over 10yrs also did not notice any issue..only thing as time go by the only issue is the ear phone leather start to wear out from long time of keeping in the drawer ..sound still very good the momtenum 4 very good bass..just like putting a sub into the ear..

[@PeterPee]

I should probably be fair to Senns and caveat my experience. It was with all the adidas collabs earphones that they made for sports.

[@PeterPee]

Or just my bad luck!

[@Mr_Latte_UK]

Peter thanks again for your efforts. Have you considered testing the following. Using an ezcoo device that will duplicate/forward any HDMI source with (Audio Return) to ARC. This lets us connect a PC to ARC via HDMI and should then be possible to compare how Sonos ARC - Headphones via the wifi option is to using say PC via Bluetooth. Might be of interest if you find any benefits with Dolby Atmos based sources and content?

[@PeterPee]

Hmmm... Right now I have the PC connected to the LG TV and then Arc connected from the LG TV so I am able to get the sounds from the PC. But that idea is good. Let me look at this device.

[@PeterPee]

Can you tell me the exact EzCoo device that you are using? I can try that out.

[@erselsiderov3796]

Sound quality? Who’s the winner ?

[@Beer_Dad1975]

Based purely on reviews, it does seem to depend a lot on what kind of music you listen to, and also personal bias. If you are into very bass heavy R&B, reviewers tend to favor the Max - whilst pop, jazz and classical seem to often call it either a draw, or place the Sonos as slightly ahead - it does seem the Sonos isn't quite as loud in the low range, if that's the profile you like. If you are an apple sycophant site then Sonos is apparently The Devil for daring to challenge almighty Apple - one site I saw this morning gave the Sonos 3 stars vs the Max 5 stars - and this is overall mind you - and the Sonos is objectively better than the Max in many areas such as battery life, connectivity, weight etc. They were very scathing of the Sonos & even rated its ANC as average - which really hammered home how biased they were considering every other review even if they have had some critical points has rated them as at or near best in class for ANC.

[@PeterPee]

Thankfully I am not paid by anyone to say anything they want to hear. :D I still think Sonos Ace is the trump in ANC. And I tested AFTER I formed an opinion.

[@klykey461]

Hi, I really appreciate your videos! If you could sometime make a Sonos Ace best sound settings video I would really appreciate it! I use all your settings for my Sonos ark and Era 300 set up!

[@PeterPee]

Thanks for the vote of confidence! But at the moment, the only thing that can be adjusted is treble and bass and I would say a lot of it is on preference.

[@hasib4520]

Hi Peter. Thanks very much for your effort and comparison. I can confirm the great ANC performance. But one thing.. In the "Aware Mode" and also during Calls and a quit sourrounding, I always hear a scrammbling like noise in the right speaker. Not that loud but it is noticeable even after the 2 Firmware Updates I've got since I use the Ace. Can you confirm such a interfering noise also? Again Thanks for your geat Sonos Videos :-) Greets from Germany

[@PeterPee]

Not sure what the scrambling sound is. But I notice that because the mics are at the bottom of the earcups, there is a chance that your shirt collar will ruffle against it, especially if you are turning your head to the side. Could be that! I experienced that.

[@hasib4520]

@PeterPee Definitely no. The earpieces are completely free and do not bump into anything. now the support has confirmed and is investigating it. It only occurs with existing BT connection (with various smartphones, tablet and laptop tested) and is disturbing in quiet environments and just during a phone call.

[@hasib4520]

@PeterPee I've got an Update from Sonos Support. The Problem with the noise Sound ist fixed with FW Version 2.9.4. And I can confirm that it is fixed. I am very happy now.

[@richardmorley7999]

A bit off topic, but just to warn Android Users. At the moment at least, you cant use Arc with Ace . Android App will not set up "TV Swap" and therefore content button will not switch to TV via Arc sound. I saw many pre release reviews and did not see this mentioned. I think Sonos were aware of this at release and say will be addressed in time. But it was not widely publicised. I think ( but not been able to try yet) that you can borrow an IOS . install the App and use to set up TV Swap. So its a one off set up and you should then be able to control TV swap by Android App and Content button. But as I say , not tried it yet. Not good Sonos. Other experience with ACE eg Blue Tooth is good.

[@apolozorb3649]

I guess many of us are used to that with true play. Borrowing an ios here and there is np

[@richardmorley7999]

@@apolozorb3649 maybe . But you can waste a lot of frustrating time trying to set up , before you realise/discover this key info . I did and I thought I had done a lot of research prior to ordering.

[@PeterPee]

Thanks for this Richard!

[@ourhouseuk]

The lack of even 5 band eq is tragic on the Sonos, tragic and absolutely absurd. Most reviewers are slighting the sound quality because they don’t like the base sound, and can do almost nothing about it. Thoughts @peterpee?

[@PeterPee]

They can adjust the bass. But it's just one slider. Not a multi band one, and not parametric for sure. I don't think Sonos will ever implement one. If they wanted to, they would have done it long ago for all their products.

[@ourhouseuk]

@@PeterPee it’s a shame. It’s the same reason I won’t use Apple Music. I appreciate making it simple but there’s a way to do that without locking out proper choice. Agree that in the home theatre it’s probably a bit less necessary for standard users. But there’s an in between for headphones. Thanks @peterpee for the great reviews!

[@leonhayes4539]

hi you missing 1 more player sennhiser momentum 4 join in the test..

[@Beer_Dad1975]

The high end ANC wireless headset market is so crowded, it's almost impossible to include them all - also it is heavily dominated by a handful of the big sellers. I bought a set of Technics A800's last year - mostly because they seemed to be well respected by the few reviewers that had reviewed them, and because I have an account with Panasonic so get them at trade price - they are amazing - but they get almost no press as they don't sell anywhere near as many units as Sony or Bose, so they get very little press.

[@PeterPee]

I buy them with my own money so it's hard to buy all. :D I had a problem with Senns in the past because they always break down at the 15 months point. Sony also has that battery issue where it's not holding a charge in their WF1000 series.

[@leonhayes4539]

@@PeterPee Hi bro I like to get a Sonos play base Have you try b4 If you have tell me how is it. How the bass or do I need to add a sub mini?

[@lexng1632]

Peter what's your EQ setting for Ace

[@PeterPee]

I have them set to zero for both bass and treble at the moment. I want to get familiar with stock sounds first.

[@rcvillapando]

My SIL says her QC45 already cuts her off from the world. I bet Ace will even isolate me further 😂

[@loyaltybeats9022]

Super Deep Noice Cancelling review

[@terriersforever23]

I would say 349 price range but 449 no way,to much competition around at that price.

[@apolozorb3649]

Agree to certain degree. But count inflation in and we ok ma guy

[@PeterPee]

They are definitely pricier. But the reason why it is more apparently so is that Sony and Bose have their street prices drop significantly but Sonos doesn't really go on sale.

[@kebabbandit7111]

I find the battery drain shocking - I charged mine up for the first time to 100% & turned the headphones 🎧 off, about 3 hours later when I turned them back on, the battery level was at 97%.

[@macruz8503]

You turned them off of course they would be at 93% lol

[@kebabbandit7111]

@@macruz8503 EH?

[@phildirt3]

When they bring out the ace 2 it ll be like the move and roam . Its how Sonos sucks more money out of you

[@PeterPee]

Roam 2 is not a 2. Move 2 is a meaningful upgrade though.

[@johnellen906]

Thanks for your view👍 but as ling the app in not working it s no sonos for me

[@krio.]

I don't know, 2:42 Ace is louder to me than 1:35 Max

[@MrHobbs-rf3qv]

I agree, despite what the measurements say, to me, subjectively and much to my surprise, the AirPods Max were the best in the white noise test.

[@PeterPee]

We all perceive sound ranges differently. Our ears are analog and I respect that there will be differences in perceived performance! Which is why I record it as it is for you to judge directly.

[@krio.]

​@@PeterPeeok my mistake for making that comment when listening using my desktop speakers. I had a listen again now with my headphones and I can hear the bass missing from my speakers. Overall Max is indeed louder with ANC

[@gregorydillon9167]

Have a safe trip. Give us a report on the ace experience in the real world test

[@Purya]

First!!

[@MrHobbs-rf3qv]

Albeit what the measurements seem to show, to me, subjectively, and much to my surprise, the AirPods Max were the best in this scenario.

[@PeterPee]

I guess everyone's ears are different. Which is why I recorded for all directly and you can judge for yourself.

[@migeeman1231]

Stay away from Sonos, stay far away. Looking at you Sonos, never again. 🤨

[@alwaysright3718]

Sony wins hands down when you take in to account the cost of the headphone, but this was going to be obvious....

[@PeterPee]

Sure, everything has a price.

[@alwaysright3718]

@@PeterPee Fairly sure without even listening to the Sonos headphones that they are not particularly good, just like their speaker range which is also overpriced average sounding equipment. Glad I got all of mine for free....

[@TheBadsteve]

How bout a video testing the results of Sonos recent software update? Seems like their fix aint fixing.

[@phildirt3]

I like how you ve let Sonos off the hook so easily. Why buy anymore of their crap when their app is such a mess?

[@deykno87]

They will fix it... Sheesh software glitches happens like that all the time... apple Sony and Bose all had their mistakes..show some grace...yikes

[@Bitcoin_hodler92]

This video looks like a review of the headphone product not the app

[@barutibny]

He did a separate video criticizing the app.

[@Darkk_Sage]

He literally shit on them in the vid before this. He's just reviewing the headphones.

[@M82RKY]

You work for Apple?