Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Wondering how to set up Sonos TV Audio Swap feature and how it works? Let us help.
Sonos announced its first headphones in May 2024 in the form of the Sonos Ace and while they don’t offer any extra features for most Sonos speakers, they do if you have a Sonos Arc. Sonos TV Audio Swap is a feature designed to allow you to easily switch audio between your TV and your Sonos headphones.
Here’s everything you need to know about Sonos TV Audio Swap, including what it is, what Sonos products you need and how to set it up.
What is Sonos TV Audio Swap?
Sonos TV Audio Swap is a feature that was announced alongside the Sonos Ace headphones, allowing you to transfer audio between your Sonos Arc soundbar and your Sonos Ace headphones.
You need to have set the feature up in the Sonos app, after which you can either use the Sonos app or press and hold the Content Key on the right ear cup of your Sonos Ace headphones to switch audio between Arc and Ace. If you use the Sonos app, you have the option to switch head tracking on or off, as well as Spatial Audio on or off, depending on your preferences.
What Sonos products is the TV Audio Swap feature compatible with?
The TV Audio Swap feature is currently exclusive to the Sonos Arc soundbar. It will be available on Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and Sonos Ray at some point, but currently, it only works between Sonos Arc and Sonos Ace.
It is not the same as Sound Swap, which is is a feature on the Sonos Roam and Roam 2 that allows you to press and hold the play/pause button to switch audio from the Sonos Roam and another Sonos speaker as you come inside, though it’s a similar idea, just with TV audio instead.
What you’ll need
- Your smartphone or tablet
- The Sonos app
- A Sonos Arc soundbar
- Sonos Ace headphones
The short version
- Open the Sonos app.
- Make sure your Sonos Ace headphones are turned on and in range.
- Go to System Settings.
- Select Sonos Ace.
- Tap on + Add TV Audio Swap.
- Select Set up.
- Choose your Sonos Arc.
If you do have yourself a Sonos Arc and a pair of the Sonos Ace headphones, then setting up TV Audio Swap is nice and easy. Once setup, control is easy. You’ll see a yellow button called ‘Swap Back’ on your smartphone or tablet screen in the Sonos app that will allow you to send audio back to your Sonos Arc and a pop up will appear allowing you to set the soundbar’s volume.
If the sound is on the Arc already, a white button appears saying ‘Swap’ which will enable you to transfer the audio to your Ace headphones. You can also use the Content Key to switch between the Arc and Ace, but as mentioned, if you use the Sonos app, you have some extra control, including being able to turn head tracking on or off and turning Spatial Audio on or off,
That’s it! Once setup, you just swap sound in the Sonos app, or you press and hold the Content Key. As we said, you can use the Sonos app to choose between having head tracking on or off, as well as Spatial Audio on or off. You can also flick between the Noise Cancellation and Aware modes in the app, or use the small button below the Content Key on the Sonos Ace headphones themselves.
FAQs
Currently, Sonos TV Audio Swap is only compatible with the Sonos Arc soundbar. Sonos has announced that the feature will be available on Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and Sonos Ray in the future, but there is no confirmed date for when this will happen.
There are two ways to switch the audio back to your Sonos Arc from your Sonos Ace headphones. You can use the Sonos app, or you can use the headphones themselves.
In the Sonos app, there will be a yellow button called “Swap Back” when the audio is playing through your headphones. Tapping this button will send the audio back to your Sonos Arc and a pop up will appear allowing you to adjust the soundbar volume.
On the Sonos Ace headphones, there is a Content Key on the right ear cup. A long press of this button will also switch the audio back to your Sonos Arc.
