2024 was an awful year for Sonos. Its long-awaited entry into a crowded headphones market was eclipsed by a bungled app launch which had a knock-on effect that impacted everything the company had planned to do for the rest of the year. Plus, those Ace headphones were missing a major feature.
One year later, that TrueCinema spatial audio enhancement is finally ready. And with that update, Sonos added a few more improvements to the Ace, including two-person TV Audio Swap, adaptive noise cancellation and better calls. I spent some time testing every aspect of the update that arrived in June to determine if Sonos’ headphones really are better after the tweaks.
TrueCinema is finally here
The first time I tried the Ace at a press event last spring, TrueCinema was one of the main parts of the demo. From the jump, Sonos was clear this wouldn’t arrive when the headphones first went on sale, but I also didn’t expect the company to take a full year to have it ready.
As a refresher, TrueCinema is a feature for the Ace that takes into account the acoustics of the room where one of its soundbars is located. It then creates spatial audio for the headphones based on that info when TV Audio Swap is active. According to Sonos, it supposedly “understands the dynamics of your space, acoustically treats it and makes it sound like you have a beautifully tuned 3D audio system right in your headphones.” It’s similar to the company’s TruePlay tuning that calibrates its soundbars to your living room or home theater space.
Sonos has championed TrueCinema as a more realistic listening experience. Since it simulates the characteristics of the room, it’s supposed to make it seem like you aren’t wearing headphones at all. I’m not convinced on that point, but the feature does significantly enhance the spatial audio capabilities of the Ace for TV Audio Swap.
For example, subtle details in movies — things like footsteps, as well as various beeps, clicks and taps in Rogue One — are a lot more obvious with TrueCinema. There’s more overall depth and direction to the sound as well, which makes this the optimal mode for watching TV or movies with Sonos’ headphones. I’m confident my review score would’ve been higher if this was part of the original package since it makes such an obvious improvement to sound quality.
TV Audio Swap for two
Billy Steele for Engadget
The marquee feature for the Sonos Ace for the last year has been TV Audio Swap. This allows you to send the sound from a compatible Sonos soundbar to the headphones for an individual listening experience. Of course, this means you can watch an action flick at full volume after your family goes to bed or to tune in to a sporting event without annoying your partner. This has worked well for me both during my review and in the time since.
... continue reading