Sonos's debut wireless headphones have only been out a matter of months, but already they are being discounted in the UK – and by more than I often see new (and even old) Sonos kit being reduced by.
Indeed, the Sonos Ace are now 17 per cent off at Amazon and Sevenoaks, bringing the price to a more palatable – but still very premium – £369. They are actually slightly cheaper at AV.com, although at the time of writing only one pair is in stock.
The best early Black Friday deal on the Sonos Ace
Typically, such a generous markdown on a Sonos product is not to be sniffed at. If you see a good discount on a Sonos Beam soundbar or Era 100 speaker in the early Black Friday sales, for example, I'd encourage you to snap it up if great TV or smart home sound is what you're after. But in the case of this deal on the company's Ace headphones, I'm afraid I can't be as enthusiastic – not least as there are far better-value options out there.
You see, when What Hi-Fi?'s reviews team went twelve rounds with them, they were surprisingly disappointed. Their spec sheet pointed to an all-round hit, what with their high-quality aptX Lossless Bluetooth support, active noise cancellation, spatial audio, exclusive Sonos ecosystem features and a 30-hour battery life. But their performance, in terms of both sound quality and noise-cancelling, wasn't up to scratch – the class leaders at (and below) their asking price performed notably better in both respects. "Ultimately, the Ace's safe sound is put to the sword by several rival headphones that are more exciting, more detailed, dynamic and expressive across the board. Both their ANC and call quality can be bettered too," concluded our three-star Sonos Ace review.
Does this £80 price cut make them any better value? Well, yes, slightly – but it still stands that you can get much more performance for similar money or less elsewhere...
The best deals on the best Sonos Ace alternatives
Both the £274 Sony WH-1000XM5 and £379 Bose QC Ultra Headphones above are better buys than the Sonos Ace, predominantly for their superior noise-cancelling and sound quality. At the moment, the Sonys are the better value of the two pairs, with almost £100 between them, but if you value spatial audio and really do want the very best noise-cancelling, you may well side with the Ultra. Our Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones vs Sony WH-1000XM5 comparison can help further with that decision.
Can't afford either?
The top-end, five-star Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless are currently fantastic value, just £199 at Amazon courtesy of a 36 per cent discount. They are more similar to the Sonys in terms of features, forgoing things like spatial audio, though they do offer high-quality aptX Adaptive Bluetooth and an incredible 60-hour battery life, plus competitive sound and noise-cancelling that isn't far off the Sonys at all. Top, top value, folks.
iPhone user?
If you are an Apple loyal with cash to burn, you should certainly consider the AirPods Max, which sound better than the Sony, Bose, Sennheiser and Sonos pairs but do cost considerably more – £449.10 at 02 (original model with Lightning connector) or £499 at Amazon (newer version with USB-C connector). We expect the latter to also come down closer to £450 during the official Black Friday weekend.
MORE:
Dive into all the differences: Sonos Ace vs Sony WH-1000XM5 and Sonos Ace vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones
See our long list of the best early Black Friday headphones deals
Looking for other tech bargains? Check out our broader best early Black Friday deals list
