Sonos, the company that helped launch the Wi-Fi speaker market is now branching into wireless over-ear headphones. The launch marks a much-anticipated and also inevitable move, considering the U.S. headset market was estimated to be almost $2.2 billion last year, nearly twice as large as the total for wireless speaker sales, according to market research firm Circana. Sonos Ace headphones have what is being called exceptional noise-cancellation and feature Bluetooth connectivity and a Wi-Fi chip so they can be used in conjunction with the Sonos soundbar for a personal home-theater experience. They ship June 5 for $449.

The Ace headphones (pictured below in black and white versions) are “loaded with features,” according to CNET, which points out that a small button on the right ear cup “toggles between noise canceling and transparency modes,” the latter letting listeners hear the outside world, which Sonos calls “Aware mode.”

Bluetooth 5.4 and AAC support are built in, as is the aptX adaptive audio codec from Qualcomm, with “support for aptX Lossless if you have a capable device, like certain Android smartphones,” CNET writes.

A “relatively lightweight” carrying case is made from “75 percent recycled plastic bottles,” and comes packed with “a USB-C-to-USB-C cable and a USB-C-to-3.5mm cable” for airplanes, allowing connectivity to certain devices including smartphones, computers and other music players for a lossless connection, CNET reports.

The headphones also accommodate making phone calls, with “eight beam-forming microphones for ‘noise control and voice targeting,’” explains CNET, noting that it hadn’t yet tried the call feature, a functionality it says so far the Sony WH-1000XM5 is best in class among consumer headphones it has tested.

“Listen or talk for up to 30 hours” thanks to the Ace’s energy-efficient battery, Sonos notes in an announcement.

Both CNET and The Wall Street Journal position the Ace as competition for Apple’s AirPods Max, which are heavier (385 grams versus 312 grams for the Ace), though priced comparably.

“The $450 Ace will compete in the premium end of the over-ear headphone market, where brands such as Sony and Bose have long reigned supreme, but its most formidable foe might be Apple,” which in addition to its bespoke line “sells premium, over-ear headphones under the Beats Electronics brand,” WSJ writes.

Sonos also unveiled the second generation of its smallest speaker, the Roam 2 (above), which will cost $179 and has separate power and Bluetooth buttons, a feature welcomed by The Verge.