Sonos is reportedly considering dropping the price of its Sonos Ace headphones after allegedly not hitting sales targets.
It will then release a new flagship pair already, currently dubbed Sonos Ace 2.
There was no shortage of anticipation before Sonos launched its headphones, but the reception has been a little muted. As the company looked to challenge the best headphones out there, it created a great set of 'phones, but launched them at a high price and against strong competition.
It appears that the public reception to the Sonos Ace hasn't quite been what was expected, according to a report from Bloomberg. It tells us that around 200,000 pairs of the high-end headphones have been sold – much lower than anticipated.
The answer – if the source is accurate – would be to cut the price by $50, so they would retail at $400 instead. In the UK, that’s likely to land at £400.
What was surprising when the Sonos Ace launched is that the company pitched the headphones so high in price. As a newcomer to the market, Sonos went right in to compete with the likes of the Bose QC Ultra and the trendy AirPods Max, most likely to highlight its audio pedigree, regardless of the fact it was launching its first set of headphones.
According to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, we might not just be looking at a price cut: he also reports that Sonos might be considering an even more premium model (dubbed the Sonos Ace 2) which would then come in at $450 again.
It's said that some employees at the company are doubtful about the plan and I can see why: if people aren't falling over themselves to buy your current headphones, then moving them further up the scale might not help.
How good are the Sonos Ace headphones?
Our resident headphone expert Mike Lowe is a big user of over-ears and said that these were some of the most comfortable headphones he's used. He appreciated the performance they offered. However, he found out that they aren't great for travel – the case isn't good enough considering the price.
It's also a slightly strange proposition: Sonos is attempting to establish itself as an audio brand rather than the multiroom brand it was when it burst onto the scene. While the company continues to launch speakers that all work together harmoniously, the original offering of being able to play what you want where you want is now far from unique.
The Sonos Ace offer a neat, connected, feature that plays to a wider ecosystem and that's something called TV Audio Swap. It allows you to move the sound from your Sonos Arc to your Ace headphones, but it doesn't work on all the company's soundbars.
Add to that the troubles that Sonos has experienced with its app, which has angered users over the last few months, and Sonos does seem to be travelling along a rocky road right now.
Having just announced a new soundbar – the Sonos Arc Ultra – there's no shortage of activity over at Sonos at the moment, but a price cut could do something to smooth things over with potential customers.
