Odi Productions
In this article, I’m going to share my HONEST experience with the Sonos Ace vs Apple AirPods Max and tell you which is better, after personally owning both products. I have thoroughly tested each of these headphones for hundreds of hours, and aim to offer a critical opinion from the perspective of an audiophile and professional music producer.
I’ll be comparing these two head to head on categories like price, comfort, features, battery life, noise cancelling performance, and sound quality.
Then at the end, I’ll share which is the best overall value for the money, and my overall recommendation on which you should buy.
I’ve also conducted a separate in-depth Sonos Ace Review and Apple AirPods Max Review, for those who are interested in reading more detailed thoughts about each headphone after. (Links open in a new tab.)
Key Takeaways
- Apple AirPods Max has better sound quality, Apple ecosystem connectivity, and slightly more premium materials.
- Sonos Ace has superior comfort, noise cancelling performance, and equally good build quality.
- The Apple AirPods Max is typically $60 to $100 more expensive than the Sonos Ace, depending on sales.
Watch this Review on YouTube!
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Sonos Ace vs Apple AirPods Max Price Compared
Overall, the Sonos Ace is anywhere from $60 to $100 cheaper than the Apple AirPods Max at current market prices for brand new. They can be much closer in price depending on current sales, and whether you’re buying new, renewed, or used.
Sonos Ace Prices
Apple AirPods Max Prices
- Retail: $549.00
- New: $480
- Renewed: $380 (save up to $100!)
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Comfort
Coincidentally, the Sonos Ace and Apple AirPods Max are the two heaviest headphones I’ve tested in this class.
On my scale, the Sonos Ace is 69.7 grams lighter than Apple AirPods Max:
- Sonos Ace weight: 318.1 grams
- Apple AirPods Max weight: 387.8 grams
Wearing these two back-to-back, the Sonos Ace jumps out to me as the more comfortable headphone.
It simply feels like a cloud.
Not only is it a fair bit lighter, but I really like the premium leather and cushioning on the headband and earpads. I feel very little top-of-head pressure or clamping force from the Sonos Ace. It feels just right.
Although the additional weight is immediately felt, the AirPods Max actually feels lighter than the numbers suggest due to its suspension headband design. I feel very little top-of-head pressure when wearing the heavy AirPods Max.
Where the “APM” loses points on comfort is due to its clamping force that is felt around the ears. It’s not overly excessive, but its presence is certainly felt and where most of the added weight transfers to.
That said, I still find the AirPods Max fairly comfortable to wear for hours, and they seemed to have loosened up a bit after wearing them.
Both headphones have good interior space for ears to be free inside of the earcups.
The Sonos Ace wins here its all-day comfort versus the AirPods Max.
Sonos Ace Comfort: 5 out of 5
Apple AirPods Max Comfort: 4.0 out of 5
Winner: Sonos Ace
Features / Build Quality / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling
Features
The Sonos Ace is a few years newer than the original lightning Apple AirPods Max released in late-2020.
That said, they’re pretty much equal when it comes to having all the modern features like Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos support, Active Noise Cancelling, Transparency Mode, and built-in microphones for calls.
To my knowledge, these are the only two headphones in this class with true Dolby Atmos support.
One design flaw for the AirPods Max is the “smart case”, required to ensure the headphones enter low-power mode since the headphones don’t feature any concrete OFF button. This is pretty impractical on a daily basis and poor user experience, a rare misstep from Apple.
The Sonos Ace includes a hardshell case, although the headphones doesn’t fold or collapse so it’s slightly bulkier than Bose, for example.
Build Quality
Build quality is excellent on both the Sonos Ace and AirPods Max.
The Sonos Ace is one of the only headphones to match the premium look and feel of the AirPods Max, and the metal hinges looks inspired by the APM.
The APM is made with aluminum and stainless steel, seen throughout on both the shiny earcups and metal hinges.
I’ve owned my pair for years now, and as long as you take care of it, they still look brand new. The mesh material on the earpads also seems to age better than a lot of leather-like materials, as far as creases and such are concerned.
Looks
The Apple AirPods Max features arguably the most-striking and distinct design of any headphones to date, which you can easily see from a mile away.
The rectangular shape and satin metallic sheen of the earcups stands out when every other headphone is just plain black plastic ovals.
I actually wasn’t initially in love with the design of the APM when I first got them (I thought the earcups were about 20% too big), but as time goes on, the APM’s design has aged like a fine wine.
Judging by all the YouTube thumbnails, they’ve officially become a fashion statement for coders, productivity YouTubers, and even fitness channels.
The Sonos Ace is equally sleek and fashionable, in my opinion.
I love how the Ace looks when worn, as it’s not bulky and doesn’t stick out like some cheaper over-ear headphones.
Sonos Ace vs Apple AirPods Max Battery Life Compared
The Sonos Ace has 10 more hours of battery life on a single charge compared to the Apple AirPods Max:
- Sonos Ace Battery Life: Up to 30 hours
- Apple AirPods Max Battery Life: Up to 20 hours
In my testing, I found both of these manufacturer’s battery ratings to be accurate, but needing the use of the “smart case” for the AirPods Max adds additional hassle.
And if you forget to put it in there, I’ve had instances where the battery drained down overnight.
Now, that was a while ago, so I’m guessing Apple updated some firmware to be better about switching automatically to low-power mode.
Either way, the Sonos Ace has 10 hours more battery life on a single charge, and that’s a welcome improvement.
Sonos Ace vs Apple AirPods Max Noise Cancelling: Which is better?
The Sonos Ace has superior noise cancelling performance to the Apple AirPods Max, and is accentuated most on airplane travel.
Although I still find the AirPods Max’s noise cancelling to be very good, I consider it a step below the tier of Sonos Ace, Bose QC Ultra, and Sony XM5, which is currently the best in the market.
The AirPods Max is wholly fine for your typical everyday noisy environments like an office or busy coffeeshop, but I find it gets exposed more on airplane travel with the jet engine noise.
I think one factor that contributes to the Sonos Ace’s superior noise cancelling is a much better physical seal due to the fatter earpad cushions and oval shape.
My ears are snug inside and even with ANC turned OFF, the passive noise isolation is already effective at blocking out a lot of external noise.
Sonos Ace Features / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling: 5 out of 5
Apple AirPods Max Features / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling: 4.5 out of 5
Winner: Sonos Ace
Sonos Ace vs Apple AirPods Max Sound Quality Comparison
Going into this, I had some pretty high hopes for the Sonos Ace due to the brand. My home theatre system is Sonos, and I’ve had a few of their speakers in the past which I generally enjoyed.
Prior to the Sonos Ace, the AirPods Max has been one of our best-performing stock headphones, thanks to its very good stock tuning and overall pleasant sound profile.
So how do they compare?
Let’s listen to them back-to-back and find out…
First Impressions and Overall Sound Signatures Compared
Off the bat, the AirPods Max has a fuller sound that encompasses the entire frequency range from sub-bass to treble, with more airiness up top.
I would describe the APM’s sound as much more balanced than the Sonos Ace, which seems to favor the mids and treble exclusively.
Listening back to back, the Sonos Ace sounds relatively “thin” and lacking in the bass and sub-bass especially.
I immediately preferred the sound of the AirPods Max over the Sonos Ace when testing back to back.
Bass
The AirPods Max has a very pleasing crisp upper bass and audibly clean sub-bass with good slam.
The APM is not known to be “bass cannons” by any means, but the Sonos Ace’s lack of bass slam makes the APM sound like a subwoofer.
Now, you can remedy some of this by adding some EQ to the Sonos Ace, but it doesn’t have the same amount of slam from the deeper sub-bass frequencies.
The Ace does have some nice upper bass in certain songs, but I prefer the APM here overall.
Because of this, the APM is superior when it comes to modern genres like Pop, Hip Hop, and EDM compared to the Sonos Ace.
Mids
The Mids is where things get a lot more competitive, and I actually prefer the Sonos Ace here.
If there’s one thing the Sonos Ace does well, it’s Rock, Metal, Acoustic music, and drums. Add in Classical and Jazz as well, but the APM is pretty equal there.
There is something very nice about the dynamics and detail of drums in the Sonos Ace, it is more lively and has a nice pop to snare drums and the like.
I’d say the APM is more detailed overall, but the Sonos Ace is more impactful with better timbre in this region.
Treble
Along with the Bass, I think the level of detail in the treble and airiness of the APM is superior to the Sonos Ace.
Immediately, I feel like I’m simply hearing more with the more balanced APM than the wonky frequency response of the Sonos Ace.
Audiophile and Overall Thoughts
When it comes to the resolution, soundstage, separation, and imaging, the AirPods Max is superior here.
Actually, the Sonos Ace had a higher sound quality score before this comparison, but it has now been slightly demoted due to the gap between these two.
The AirPods Max has always been a solid contender in this class due to its audiophile-esque sound quality, but that’s been made even more pronounced when comparing with the Sonos Ace.
I’ll say one area where the Ace might be superior is timbre for certain songs and instruments.
Again, drums sound great through the Sonos, and is more “believable” than the APM which is more detailed but can be a tad artificial-sounding.
Sonos Ace Sound Quality: 8.2 out of 10
Apple AirPods Max Sound Quality: 8.6 out of 10
Winner: Apple AirPods Max
Value
Both of these are two of the most expensive headphones in this class, with the APM retailing at $549 USD, and the Sonos Ace retailing at $449 USD.
The market prices brand new have slightly cooled for the AirPods Max, which can sometimes be found for around $480.
The Sonos Ace can also get down to about $419 or so.
Bottomline, the APM can cost up to $100 more expensive than the Sonos Ace.
Is it worth it? Probably not. But you are getting better noticeably sound quality, Apple ecosystem connectivity, and more premium materials.
For now, I’m actually putting both of their values at a tie, because the Sonos Ace’s sound quality is a bit disappointing for its price, despite scoring well on Comfort and Noise Cancelling.
Neither is a particularly good value when compared to something like the Sennheiser Momentum 4 for under $300.
Sonos Ace Value: 3.5 out of 5
Apple AirPods Max Value: 3.5 out of 5
Winner: Tie
Sonos Ace Overall Rating
- Good sound quality
- Top notch noise cancelling performance
- Incredible comfort and build quality
- Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos support
- Expensive!
- Bass is lacking without EQ
- Slightly compressed sound and soundstage
Apple AirPods Max Overall Rating
- Excellent sound quality
- Very good noise cancelling
- Switches easily between Apple devices
- Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos support
- Expensive!
- Worse noise cancelling than Sony/Bose
- Heavy, less comfortable than Sony/Bose
Overall Winner: Sonos Ace
The Sonos Ace wins today’s comparison on account of its top-notch comfort and noise cancelling performance, not to mention being $100 or so cheaper than the AirPods Max.
The AirPods Max still wins on sound quality and that Apple ecosystem connectivity, but they’re equal in premium build quality.
Personally, this is a tough choice as the Sonos Ace scores well on paper, but sound quality is my #1 priority and has me appreciating the AirPods Max even more after hearing them back-to-back.
But if comfort and noise cancelling are your top priority, I’d go with the Sonos Ace.
Some very strong alternatives in this class of noise cancelling headphones are:
- Sennheiser Momentum 4
- Sony WH-1000XM5
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra
- Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e
- Bose QuietComfort (2023 model)
- Beats Studio Pro
Some Relevant Comparisons in this class of noise cancelling headphones are:
- Sonos Ace vs Sony WH-1000XM5
- Sonos Ace vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra
- Sonos Ace vs Sennheiser Momentum 4
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra vs Sony WH-1000XM5
- Sennheiser Momentum 4 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra
I highly recommend you check those out next!
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Order Here for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):
Want to save up to $100 or more?
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Disclosure: These affiliate links may provide a discount and in return, give us a commission in order to keep this website 100% independent to ensure honest unfiltered reviews 🙂
How We Tested and Our Methodology
RecordingNOW.com is a 100% independent publisher with over 10 years of experience testing and reviewing consumer electronics and headphones.
We currently purchase all of the products we test with our own money, and are not paid by any company or manufacturer to influence our opinions or decisions.
After purchasing the product, we conduct up to hundreds of hours of detailed hands-on testing in a controlled, acoustically-treated environment. Noise cancelling performance is tested in the real-world, primarily on airplane flights, coffee shops, and walking around large metropolitan city environments.
ODi Productions is our resident expert and author of this article, with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, audio engineer, musician, tech journalist, and audiophile.
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Bose QuietComfort Ultra vs Sony WH-1000XM5
Apple AirPods Max vs Sony WH-1000XM5
Bose QuietComfort Review (2023 Model)
