Consumer electronics

I’ve seen so many posts on here and that suggest sideloading on a Kindle is overly difficult. I exclusively sideload (legally) and it’s as simple as drag and drop, just like putting songs onto MP3 players in the 2000s. I do this with English and non-English ebooks, so it’s clearly quite universal.

Not to mention Send to Kindle is as easy as it gets.

So, I don’t understand the complaints. Am I missing something?

Unboxed my new Sonos Ace headphones and have been playing with them for the past hour. My initial raw impressions (I really, really, like them):

1. Sound: Great sound out of the box. Clear instrument separation, bass is tight and not overpowering. Special audio is subtle and not gimmicky. Tried the EQ (generally like to push up the bass on my other headphones, but honestly I like them the way these are tuned by default). Plugging in via the USB-C to USB-C cable to my iPhone and listening to lossless music (via Apple Music) sounds incredible (no other consumer headphones can do this - and the headphones charge too!).

2. Design: Very impressed. Giving me "organic" vibes with environmentally friendly packaging, soft felt carrying case that is surprisingly compact for what it is, soft corners on everything, and very tastefully-done details all around. Sometimes less is more. Sonos definitely knows how to play this game well. Also, one detail that I'm happy to see is that Sonos didn't cheap out and added ear detection sensors on both earcups - thank you!

3. Comfort: When I read some other reviewers saying they "forgot they were wearing headphones", I totally agree. These are wonderfully comfortable. Dare I say, just as comfortable (so far) as my QC45s. Taking these on a flight in a few weeks to give them the real test.

4. Noise cancellation: Top of the line. Turned it on and I did an audible gasp. IMHO, these are a step above anything else on the market. Impressive for a gen 1 product.

5. Transparency mode: Not top of the line but close. AirPods Max still wins this category with most natural sounding. But this is damn close. Still totally useable. You can totally have active conversations without needing to take them off.

6. Sonos app: I know this is a sensitive topic but honestly besides a few bugs here and there (e.g. delayed volume sliders, delay in showing connected headphones to look at settings), I'm don't see any major usability issues (yet). This is my first Sonos product and I think I'm falling directly in line with one of Sonos' intended target customers (headphones being a "gateway drug" to eventually buy more of their products).