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.
