Sonos’ Ace headphones have a great feature called TV Audio Swap that allows users to enjoy home theater audio by connecting to a compatible soundbar. Since their launch, that compatibility has been exclusive to the Sonos Arc, but that is now changing.
At launch in June, the brand promised that support would eventually roll out to other soundbars sometime in the “late summer [to] early fall.” That date is coming earlier than expected because TV Audio Swap now works with the brand’s more affordable options, including the first- and second-generation Beam soundbars and the compact Ray.
To get started, you will need to first download the latest software update for the Sonos app onto your Android or iOS mobile device and ensure your headphones and soundbars are up to date.
Setting up TV Swap Audio
According to a support page, users have to go to the Settings menu and then select the “Sonos Ace in the Headphones section.” This connects the pair to the smartphone. Then, you'll navigate to the Home Theater section and tap “Add TV Audio Swap.” From there, you can choose whatever soundbar model you own and follow the instructions to finish setting everything up.
After that, you can enjoy your favorite movie or show on your headphones through TV Audio Swap. Once set up, there are two ways to activate the connection. You can either long-press the Content Key on the right ear cup or go to the mobile app and tap the Swap button. Doing so changes audio sources from one device to the TV.
TV Audio Swap is pretty handy, especially if you want to watch a film or TV show on a big screen but don't want to disturb others. You can have that audio, without a drop in quality, beamed to your Ace headphones and listen with full fidelity. The switch takes just a few seconds, and if needed, you can easily send it back to the soundbar.
Better yet, the Ace headphones support Dolby Atmos spatial audio with TV Audio Swap, and you can even engage active noise cancellation to block out the world around you and get deeper with whatever you're watching. These more advanced, immersive capabilities work in TV Audio Swap with all compatible soundbars – Arc, Beam (1st and 2nd Gen), and Ray included.
Sonos' promise
Returning to the patch, there is more to this update besides expanding support for TV Audio Swap. Sonos CEO Patrick Spence published a letter last month on the company’s official blog apologizing for their new app. It saw a highly controversial update that removed many favorite features, and he laid out a bi-weekly update plan that’ll run until October and consist of several improvements. And that is exactly what we’re seeing here.
The iOS patch notes reveal multiple performance enhancements in the latest update. Group Volume controls will experience less latency, speech enhancement will become more reliable, and users can clear out the app’s queue, among other things. Future updates are set to improve Alarm consistency and restore edit mode to Playlists.
Also, be sure to check out TechRadar's list of the best soundbars for 2024.
