Latest news with #TrueCinema
Engadget
6 days ago
- Engadget
A year later, the Sonos Ace is finally fulfilling its potential
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. 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. 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. Unfortunately, I don't have a second pair of the Ace, so I can't vouch for how well TV Audio Swap now works with a companion. But since the ability to send soundbar audio to two sets of Ace headphones is one of the main items in the recent software update, I can't discuss the overall state of the device without mentioning this feature's availability. Another aspect of the Ace's update is improved active noise cancellation (ANC), but not in the way you might expect. The company didn't figure out a way to block more noise per se, but it does account for any sound leaks that may impact performance. Sonos says its refined ANC setup can adapt to changes in fit caused by hair, glasses and hats in real time using the sensors inside the Ace. With that tweak, I noticed the slightest difference in ANC performance when sunglasses or a hat kept the ear pads from sitting flush on my face, but it's not quite as good as a tight seal. I'd characterize this update as a modest improvement, but it's still an improvement nonetheless. Sonos also claims that this software update offers an improved call experience thanks to higher resolution audio. The company also added Sidetone, or the ability for you to pipe in your voice during calls when ANC is enabled. Plenty of companies have this, to varying degrees, and the effectiveness depends on how natural the sound is and whether or not you're able to make any adjustments. In the case of the Ace, Sidetone acts as an enhanced ambient mode, and it definitely improves the call experience. Since I could speak normally and didn't feel the need to shout to hear myself, video and voice calls felt more natural. A year after their debut, the Sonos Ace is living up to the lofty expectations the company set when the headphones arrived. After spending time with this batch of updates, I'm convinced the Ace would've benefitted from having all of this ready at launch, especially TrueCinema. Since one of the Ace's main functions is personal living room listening, taking so long to deliver the feature that would boost sound quality this much is another misstep. On the other hand, it's good to see Sonos is still working to improve the Ace. When you consider the company spent most of 2024 fixing a majorly botched app redesign , it would have been understandable if Sonos left the Ace to languish until it was time for version 2.0. The company had to delay products last summer , and according to a report in March , it even canceled another entirely. When CEO Patrick Spence resigned in January , interim chief executive Tom Conrad expressed the need for 'getting back to basics' (Conrad was named permanent CEO on July 23). Improving a major new product that was overshadowed by a poor run of form is certainly one way to reclaim some of your reputation. It also doesn't hurt that the Ace is currently available for $149 less than its original $449 price. If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.
Engadget
6 days ago
- Business
- Engadget
Sonos gets to keeps its CEO, as a treat
Sonos' Very Bad 2024 is well documented. Its redesigned app endured a disastrous launch, to the extent that it was initially fundamentally broken. The company was then forced to delay two product launches in order to fix the botched software that its devices are so reliant on. And in the wake of the mess, the company's then CEO Patrick Spence stepped down at the beginning of 2025. He was replaced by Tom Conrad on an interim basis, but after seemingly steadying what looked like a sinking ship, the former Snap executive has been handed the job permanently. Conrad had been on the board of directors at Sonos since 2017 and conceded after taking the top job back in January that the company had "let far too many people down." Shortly after that he announced that around 200 jobs would be cut as part of a "reorganizing' of the company's product division, before it reportedly canceled its long-rumoured video streaming device far into its development. This was followed by Sonos ending its partnership with IKEA in May. Former CEO Patrick Spence said in an earnings call last year that the total cost of fixing the many issues with the Sonos app was between $20 and $30 million. In a significant recent update to its flagship Sonos Ace headphones, the company finally introduced the TrueCinema feature that was promised when the headphones launched in 2024. This uses a supported Sonos soundbar to measure the acoustics of your room and then channels the data into the delivery of spatial audio in the headphones, making it sound more convincing. In a statement, Sonos' now-permanent CEO said he was "excited to move from rebuilding to imagining the next generation of experiences."
Stuff.tv
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Stuff.tv
I hope these feature upgrades fix my biggest gripes with the Sonos Ace wireless headphones
It's hard to believe that the Sonos Ace noise canceling headphones are a year old. But then, it's the product that started off the ill-fated rebuild of the Sonos app. The company is now rebuilding after the app debacle finished off numerous execs and a chunk of users, too. Now Sonos has rolled out a sizeable update for Sonos Ace including one previously promised feature called TrueCinema. This is a virtual surround sound tech that makes it sound like there's a full 3D audio system right in front of you. Talking about TrueCinema, Sonos head of product Chris Kallai says: 'We're pleased to deliver experiences we've heard our customers ask for… We've also worked hard on our TrueCinema technology to create an incredible open-air listening effect so it feels like you aren't wearing headphones.' I'm looking forward to giving this a try with my pair of Sonos Ace. But there's more that's new. For starters, there's Personal Home Theater for Two, an update to the TV Audio Swap tech that enables you to listen to your TV's audio through Ace rather than through your Sonos soundbar. Now, you can listen on two pairs of Sonos Ace. The sound is completely synchronised between the two. The use case for this probably late night viewing or perhaps for watching a show when others are doing other things in the room. Obviously you will need to have made the rare investment of two pairs of Sonos Ace… Sonos also says it has made the active noise cancellation (ANC) more adaptable, especially for those people who have bigger hair, wear glasses or use Ace through a hat – essentially it can compensate for sound leaks caused by things that get in the way of a seal. Play Finally, call quality has also been enhanced with higher resolution audio plus there's a feature called SideTone. This enables you to hear a little bit of your own voice during calls if ANC is on, meaning the conversation will feel more natural.
The Verge
10-06-2025
- The Verge
Sonos is finally updating its Ace headphones with a long-delayed feature
Sonos has released a major software update for its Ace wireless headphones bringing performance improvements and a feature that was supposed to originally be available late last year. TrueCinema mode, which adapts the headphone's spatial audio to your space and makes the virtual surround sound effect more convincing, is finally available, as spotted by What Hi-Fi? The feature is similar to Sonos' TruePlay that optimizes the sound of the company's speakers by measuring the acoustics in a room using a smartphone that listens to how sounds reflect off walls and surfaces. With TrueCinema, a Sonos sound bar measures a room's acoustics while the mics on the Ace headphones determine your exact listening location and adapt the 3D spatial audio so it sounds like there's speakers all around you. The new software update is also expanding the headphones' TV Audio Swap feature which lets you send the audio from a supported Sonos soundbar to the Ace for private listening. The feature was originally limited to the Sonos Arc soundbar and needed to be activated with an iPhone or iPad. Last August, Sonos expanded the TV Audio Swap's compatibility to include its more affordable Beam and Ray soundbars, and Android devices. Sonos' update further expands TV Audio Swap's capabilities so that it now works with two sets of Ace headphones simultaneously, allowing two people to watch TV together without disturbing others. Sonos says the Ace will also benefit from enhanced active noise cancellation that adapts to how the headphones fit on your head. The ANC will now compensate in real-time for sound leakage caused by hair, glasses, or hats preventing the Ace from making a tight acoustic seal around your ears. The headphones will now also use high resolution audio during phone calls and a new feature called SideTone will add a bit of your voice to the audio when ANC is turned on so calls sound more natural.
Engadget
10-06-2025
- Engadget
Sonos Ace headphones get long-awaited TrueCinema sound and more in big update
Sonos has announced a major software update for its flagship Sonos Ace headphones that brings some new features to the premium wireless cans. Chief among them is the long-awaited TrueCinema feature, which was first promised as upcoming when the headphones launched in 2024. TrueCinema uses a compatible Sonos soundbar to measure the acoustic dynamics of the room you're sitting in. It then uses that data to increase the accuracy of the spatial sound in your headphones, in the same fashion as Trueplay on Sonos speakers . The idea is for the audio the user hears to mimic that of a well-balanced surround sound system thats sits right in the room you're listening in. TV Audio Swap is also getting an update and will now support two sets of Sonos Ace headphones synced to the same compatible soundbar, where it previously supported just one set. This feature allows users to seamlessly transfer the audio from their soundbar to their headphones. The update also improves the headphones Active Noise Cancellation by leveraging on-board sensors to adapt to a user's hair, glasses or hats in real time. Using the sensors, the Sonos Ace will then compensate for sound leaks. Some improvements to call quality are also coming to Sonos Ace with the addition of SideTone, a feature that plays a user's voice back to them at low volume while on a call. The audio fidelity on phone calls has also received a bump through this update, though details on what bitrate or exactly how it was improved are not available. Jason White, head of software at Sonos, said the company's goal has been to share meaningful software updates that deliver new enhancements to existing products. 'Our goal has always been to create products that earn their place in people's lives for years, and this Sonos Ace update is a great example of that. It proves that your best tech investment doesn't need to be your newest, it just has to be built right,' White said. This update launches globally today and is available through the Sonos app. If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.
