Not really a fair comparison the Dali i0-12 costs $1,300, the low price I saw was $1,099 whereas the Sonos are priced at $449.
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Hands-On With the New Sonos 'Ace' Headphones
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Yes, but only for some Android devices
Lossless audio requirements for Sonos Ace
You can listen to lossless audio on Sonos Ace over USB-C connections or over a Bluetooth connection with a supported Android device.
support.sonos.com
It has 3.5mm for input and can also accept input over USB-C.
What a lousy, dreadful disappointment of a product.
I love my Sonos system. I was looking forward to a set of phones that appeared as another Sonos device I could select as an output like all my others, that I could wander around the house and garden with, hopefully lossless.
What do we get? Another set of bluetooth-crippled boutique poser cans I can't even connect to my Era or Amp and are reliant on my phone.
Utter trash. Who needs 30 hour life? 8 would have been fine with better connectivity tech. Sonos have lost the plot.
Tim
I love my Sonos system. I was looking forward to a set of phones that appeared as another Sonos device I could select as an output like all my others, that I could wander around the house and garden with, hopefully lossless.
What do we get? Another set of bluetooth-crippled boutique poser cans I can't even connect to my Era or Amp and are reliant on my phone.
Utter trash. Who needs 30 hour life? 8 would have been fine with better connectivity tech. Sonos have lost the plot.
Tim
Looking at design language, materials, features, they are catching up with few years old AirPods Max.
My Sonos One stopped appearing in Airplay and Spotify recently despite still being connected to my home network (I could use the voice assistant to play some things but it was hit and miss with accuracy).
On Saturday I decided to try and reset the speaker, which meant I had to update the app. The speaker is now back to factory settings but the app will not allow me to set it up and asks for the system owner to sign in (that’s me). Luckily I’ve been able to set it up with Apple Home and reconnect Airplay but without using the Sonos app it’s missing a few features that I brought it for.
I tried to contact Sonos support yesterday and the online chat after making you fill in a form just says “no one is available” and ends the chat. I tried to call twice today, first time there was an 85 minute wait, the second time there was a 150 minute wait.
This is after they cut off a lot of legacy products last time they updated their app a year ago. Definitely not a company I will be buying more products from in the future.
I cant stand “Vegan leather”. The name is as bad as the trend. Even if you’re using it in your product, find another name.
vegan leather is just a polyurethane coating over a fabric. it imitates leather and is not leather. it is not recyclable. some newer companies have started to mix plant and fruit into the PU mixture, but the end result is still not 100% recyclable or bio-degradable. leather has great properties but is still really bad for the environment. also, certain breeds of animals are raised and slaughtered for premium leather. the leather from that supermarket ground beef is of poor quality and used in cheaper leather products
the only way Sonos will win me back is if they create a device that connects S1 speakers to Homekit. Sonos literally bricked my whole home audio system. for those on the newer speakers, just wait till Sonos ditches you.
They could have waited till the app was ready to go to release the headphones, if this was the case, which I don’t believe. They just FU thinking the users won’t mind a half baked app. 😂
Interesting. $1300 is pretty spendy but I do wear bluetooth headphones all day.
Do you own a pair? If so, what are your impressions? Do they play friendly with the Apple ecosystem?
I've had the AirPods Max since release. I love the instant/automatic device switching. However, they do get itchy/sweaty after a few hours, and I've head to replace the ear pads annually at $70 a pop. They also get lots of condensation inside if you wear them all day and I had to pay $350 for an out of warranty replacement--probably from the constant condensation build up. (I don't even exercise in them, I just wear them around the house.)
$550 launch price + $350 out of warranty repair + $210 for three sets of ear pads = $1,110.
With that math, the Dali iO-12 seems reasonably priced. 😂😭
I bought the Bose Ultra headphones off eBay for $330 last week.
Pros: They are more comfortable than AirPods Max. The sound is great and the new Bose app has been greatly improved.
Cons: The touch-sensitive volume control is completely worthless. I prefer the volume dial on the AirPods Max, which gives very precise control over volume. Clicking the Bluetooth button switches devices, which is an improvement over previous Bose headphones, but still clunkier than the automatic/instant device switching of the AirPods Max, especially since I have 5 devices and I have to listen to the Bose robot voice announce device names until it connects to the right one. Also, powering on/off by holding down the bluetooth button for a few seconds is kinda dumb.
I think I'll keep both pairs of headphones and switch between them when they start to get sweaty.
I want to get a Soundbar for my TV so I'm curious to try the new Sonos Ace headphones when they're released. I'll pick my soundbar ecosystem based on which set of headphones I prefer.
I'm still curious to learn more about the Dali iO-12's though!
I understand the frustration, but I don't really care about alarms. I've been a Sonos user for about a decade. Pretty early on. I've lived through the update from S1 to S2 making my first gen Play:5 mostly useless, but I survived and just use it for my turntable with the line in. I've already been frustrated with them lately because a couple of my speakers seem to "crash" after about a week of use when playing audio from the library on my NAS. Music eventually starts stuttering or just cutting out every few minutes (we sleep in our house with rain sounds playing from the library on several speakers, so this is quite jarring when trying to sleep) and it is only solved by unplugging the offending speaker and restarting it. Another few days to a week and we lather, rinse and repeat.
But this new app... I don't mind the new layout of it, and it certainly loads up my system faster than the previous app. But when we say BASIC functions are missing, I'm talking my speakers don't even have a queue/playlist of songs showing. Can't see anything. Add a song to it, still doesn't show up. A couple speakers don't even show what is playing in the app. Just shows that *something* is playing, but doesn't say what it is and doesn't have a progress slider to move forward or backward. If a speaker had a playlist loaded BEFORE updating the app, it may or may not still show the playlist on that speaker. But if I tried to build one or add to one after the new app, nothing shows up.
I was already frustrated enough by the audio dropping I mentioned and planned on never buying any more Sonos stuff. Their support tells me the dropouts are due to interference and try and tell me mirrors nearby and other things are probably causing the issue. But none of the speakers have moved and none of our network infrastructure changed before this started and had no problems before.
But this new app... I don't mind the new layout of it, and it certainly loads up my system faster than the previous app. But when we say BASIC functions are missing, I'm talking my speakers don't even have a queue/playlist of songs showing. Can't see anything. Add a song to it, still doesn't show up. A couple speakers don't even show what is playing in the app. Just shows that *something* is playing, but doesn't say what it is and doesn't have a progress slider to move forward or backward. If a speaker had a playlist loaded BEFORE updating the app, it may or may not still show the playlist on that speaker. But if I tried to build one or add to one after the new app, nothing shows up.
I was already frustrated enough by the audio dropping I mentioned and planned on never buying any more Sonos stuff. Their support tells me the dropouts are due to interference and try and tell me mirrors nearby and other things are probably causing the issue. But none of the speakers have moved and none of our network infrastructure changed before this started and had no problems before.
S1 is old as dirt. They can't support it forever. I would upgrade if I were you.
Will you update us if they fix the bugs and re-add the old features?
Don't need to skin a calf or other animal for your listening enjoyment: leather does NOT equal premium nor does aluminum.
It's in the building quality, performance OF the product (neither has ANY influence over in any aspect), and in the customer service and warranty backing by any said company!
That's cause Apple does NOT support Lossless audio over Bluetooth on ANY product. It's a deal breaker due to Apple, nobody else.
I disagree. Headphones are a product with a lot of skin contact. Feel and breathability of materials designed to touch one's face for extended periods of time both directly impact listening enjoyment. Also, 'plant-based leatherette' is a perfectly acceptable - and I would argue more truthful - way to convey that the product is not animal leather. "Vegan leather" is a stupid phrase. I'm not at all bothered if the material used in any particular product is plant-based leatherette. I'm just saying that 'vegan leather' is a stupid and overused phrase.
Leeds! Leeds! Leeds! Can't wait for Wembley...back to top tier!!!
Please name me 5 high end headphones where real, genuine leather is still used ON the ear cup that touches your head?
This is why vegan leather is used if done right FEEL can be tricked just like your eyes can.
Here is a test:
1. When barefoot try touch your pinky toe with your index finger and try to move it. Now touch it with your pinky and do the same. See how quickly you pinky reacts or how you're OWN fingers feel. Leather is hide or skin so this is relevant.
2. Lie down on your stomach on the bed. Let yourself relax and basically fall asleep or be in a VERY restful state of mind for at least 1 hour. No music, pure quietness.
Now, have your long time significant other, spouse husband or wife or partner enter the room VERY quietly trying very hard not to alert you or disturb your sense of calm. Have them use their finger tips or 1 of their entire finger on the back of your thigh. Do this when the kids should be home or visiting family member or better yet a repair person is supposed to have access to the house.
Second part have them touch your shoulder blades or the top of your inner thighs unexpectedly.
IF you've jumped or suddenly became alert( insert Metal Gear Solid 2's game ⚠️ sound) ans you've failed while proving my point!
You SHOULD after at least a year know your partners touch in your most sensitive parts. Again it's skin the same as "leather hide" you've expressed as being premium. In no way does it affect the performance of the product. You're talking about feel or touch.
You have missed my main point entirely...and I'll graciously decline your bizarre scenarios, thank you. The phrase 'vegan leather' is stupid. That is my point. I don't care if they're not using real leather for these headphones. I think that they are using a stupid phrase to describe the material they are using. Separate from the purpose of my original comment which I admit might not have been specific enough to avoid you, I think that usability/comfort are elements of product performance. I'm not saying all plant-based leatherette materials don't breathe as well as real leather or feel worse than all real leather...but some certainly do. As far as what material is more 'premium' I really don't care...but calling a material vegan leather is stupid because the phrase "vegan leather" is stupid.
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I guess I can see both sides of this argument.
My Bose qc45 are going strong after 3 years of 5 days a week, minimum 8 hours a day on. They are extremely comfortable to where I forget I have them on most of the time. Easy and quick to switch between 3.5mm and Bluetooth. Mic works really well, sound is as good as I need, ANC is remarkable. Picked up for us$280 on sale and have been worth the price ever since. The case works well and isn’t too bulky, based on the headphone size. I hear very similar things about the Sony’s.
What I don’t get is what makes the Max and now these Sonos double the price (or not quite double for the latter). Maybe Spatial Audio and design/materials are worth the extra? (I’m genuinely curious here)
Also, a happy APP2 owner for commuting, gym, and cooking. But not for activities that go much longer