'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?
ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.
ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.
Sonos just brought TV Audio Swap to more devices. Here's why it's my all-time favorite headphone feature
In June, the home audio company Sonos announced its first pair of over-ear headphones, the Sonos Ace. The Sonos Ace are the culmination of many years of product research and development, and Sonos took direct aim at Sony, Apple, and Bose's premium over-ear headphones.
Review: Sonos Ace
I reviewed the Ace headphones when they launched, and I enjoyed their comfort, simple and functional design, and dynamic and vibrant sound. When Sonos launched the Ace headphones, it was clear that the standout feature was TV Audio Swap, which allows users to swap audio from their Sonos Arc soundbar to their Sonos Ace headphones with the press of a button.
Yesterday, Sonos announced that TV Audio Swap is now available in the Android Sonos app and is compatible with the Sonos Beam and Ray, the company's more affordable and compact soundbars.
I've tested many headphones with unique features that miss the mark, and Sonos' breakout feature is far from gimmicky. This feature alone has made me a new member of the Sonos fan club. If you live in close quarters with others and frequently disagree on the household's TV noise levels, you may also want to invest in the Sonos Ace and soundbar combo. Here's why.
View at Best BuyMy partner works as a night nurse, which means he sleeps during the day while I'm in peak TV-watching mode. Our Sonos Arc soundbar lives on our living room fireplace mantel right below our 70-inch TV, one of our most prized possessions. If you aren't familiar with the Arc soundbar, it's enormous and heavy, so moving it to another room is wildly inconvenient.
Also: Sonos Era 300 review: Close to a perfect smart speaker, but with one big drawback
With the Ace headphones, I don't have to limit myself to watching TV with the volume on a low level. I can press the Content Key and watch TV as loud as I want without disturbing him. Additionally, I can wear the headphones while I run up and down the stairs with laundry baskets or keep them on while I cook lunch without missing my show's audio.
Conversely, when he's up all night while I'm sleeping, he can wear the Ace headphones and watch his favorite shows in immense clarity with Dolby Atmos. And because the Arc soundbar is connected to our TV's audio outputs, he can play video games as loud as he wants without me hearing anything.
You may share a compact space with others and have a smaller Sonos soundbar, like the Sonos Ray. Your shared space, whether a college dorm or an apartment building with thin walls, may make it difficult to watch an action movie at theater volume past quiet hours.
However, with the Sonos Ace headphones, you won't have to compromise your TV audio for the collective good again. TV Audio Swap is the main reason I use my Ace headphones, and their immense comfort makes them easy to wear for even the longest movies, like the extended cuts of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Also: The best headphones of 2024: Expert tested and reviewed
This feature is also incredibly reliable, and you don't have to open the app to activate it. Now that TV Audio Swap is available on Android and for Sonos Ray and Beam soundbars, I can confidently say that if you already own one of these soundbars, you won't regret purchasing the Ace headphones.