Sonos, the American home audio brand known for its wireless speaker and soundbar ecosystem, has launched the Ace Ultra in Malaysia at RM2,299, bringing a full-generation upgrade to its premium wireless over-ear headphone lineup without a price increase.
The Ace Ultra runs on Sonos’s new Headphone Engine 2, which lets the headphones connect directly to a Sonos home audio system over Wi-Fi—without requiring a paired phone to be in range. It is the first Sonos headphone built on this architecture.
Noise cancellation has been upgraded to a 10-microphone array, up from eight on the standard Ace, delivering what Sonos describes as significantly improved isolation.
Sonos has added an eight-band EQ to the Sonos app for deeper audio personalisation. Battery life extends to 35 hours with ANC enabled, with a three-minute quick charge delivering three hours of playback.
The headline feature remains TV Audio Swap — a single button press redirects audio from a compatible Sonos soundbar, such as the Arc or Beam, directly to the headphones over Wi-Fi.
The soundbar handles spatial audio processing. The result is zero-latency, lossless late-night listening without disturbing the household.
The Ace Ultra is available in four colours: Black, White, Agave, and Sand.
What RM2,299 Buys Elsewhere
At the same price point, three alternatives are available in Malaysia.
The Apple AirPods Max 2 (USB-C) retails at exactly RM2,299. It offers seamless integration across Apple devices — iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple TV — with automatic device switching and personalised spatial audio. The trade-offs are significant: it is the heaviest in the group at 385g, lacks lossless Bluetooth support, and has no physical power switch. It is the right choice only for buyers fully committed to the Apple ecosystem.
The Sony WH-1000XM5 retails between RM1,399 and RM1,799 — saving up to RM900 compared with the Sonos. It leads the category on adaptive ANC and call quality, with smart features including Speak-to-Chat, which pauses audio automatically when the wearer begins speaking. The build is primarily plastic, which reviewers note feels less premium at the price.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra sits between RM1,599 and RM1,799. At 250g, it is the lightest and most comfortable option for extended wear. Reviewers note a wide, dynamic soundstage out of the box. The app experience is considered less polished than Sonos or Apple.
The Sonos Ace Ultra’s case rests on one condition: the buyer already owns a Sonos soundbar at home.
With that ecosystem in place, TV Audio Swap and direct Wi-Fi audio are features no competitor at this price can match.
Without it, the Sony and Bose represent stronger value at a lower outlay.
Why The Ace Ultra Works Better If You Already Own Sonos
The Ace Ultra is a capable pair of headphones on its own. But for existing Sonos households, it becomes something else entirely — the missing piece of a whole-home audio system that has been building toward this moment for over a decade.
Here is what changes when the Ace Ultra is part of a wider Sonos setup.
TV Audio Swap — The Feature That Justifies The Price
Own a Sonos Arc, Beam, or Ray soundbar? A single press of the Content Key on the right earcup silences the room and moves the entire movie — Dolby Atmos spatial audio and all — directly into your headphones over Wi-Fi. No lag. No lip-sync drift. No Bluetooth compression.
The reason it works so cleanly is that the heavy spatial audio processing stays inside the soundbar. The headphones receive a finished, lossless stream over your home network. No Bluetooth headphone at any price can replicate this.
Phone-Free Wi-Fi Audio (Ace Ultra Only)
The Ace Ultra is the first Sonos headphone built on Headphone Engine 2, which means it joins your home Wi-Fi network as a standalone device — exactly like a Sonos speaker. Walk from the living room to the kitchen to the garage. The music follows. Your phone can stay on the couch.
One App, Every Device
Every Sonos product — speakers, soundbars, and now the Ace Ultra — lives inside a single app. EQ settings, software updates, battery status, and multi-room grouping are all managed in one place. Nothing is siloed.
Your Music Queue, Everywhere
Sonos connects directly to Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and other streaming services at the platform level. A podcast playing through the living room speakers can be handed off to the headphones mid-sentence. The queue does not reset. The position does not change.
The honest caveat: without a Sonos soundbar or speaker already in the home, the Ace Ultra is a very good RM2,299 headphone competing against the Sony WH-1000XM5 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra — both of which cost less.
The ecosystem is not a bonus feature; it is the product.
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