Sonos Arc Ultra Gets Smarter: New Update Boosts Dialogue Clarity

Sonos has announced a new update for its Arc Ultra soundbar to improve how people hear dialogue more clearly when watching TV or movies.

An update to the Speech Enhancement feature is rolling out today, May 13, and now offers four levels of adjustment (was previously 3) to make spoken words stand out—especially helpful for those with hearing loss.

TV dialogue has become harder to hear in recent years due to factors like fast production, poor sound mixing, and even room acoustics. Turning up the volume often makes everything louder, but doesn’t always help with clarity. Sonos worked with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) to develop this updated feature after gathering feedback from 37 testers over a year.

“It’s not just practical, it’s emotional. One of the most important aspects of TV and movie watching is the opportunity to bond over cultural and entertainment events that are watched in real time. If one viewer cannot fully hear the dialogue, their ability to enjoy and participate in the moment can be lost,” said Matt Benatan, Principal Research Scientist at Sonos, in a statement to iPhone in Canada on Tuesday.

The Speech Enhancement levels range from subtle to strong. The top setting, called Max, is designed specifically for people with hearing loss and boosts dialogue while lowering background sounds. Options include: Off, Low, Medium (recommended for most people), High and Max (new).

Here is a breakdown of each level of Speech Enhancement:

• Low – A subtle, artistic nudge that emphasizes dialogue while maintaining the original experience and creator intent.
• Medium – A medium enhancement that provides better dialogue clarity and a tasteful balance of the surrounding mix elements.
• High – A higher setting that makes dialogue obviously prominent while reducing other mix elements.
• Max – The most pronounced setting where dialogue clarity takes full priority, designed for those with hearing loss. Unlike the more balanced approach of Low, Medium and High levels, Max level further controls the dynamic range of non-speech elements, placing dialogue firmly at the forefront of the experience.

Other highlights include improvements to smoothing out volume spikes so sound is at a consistent level, which is tailored for times when you’re watching late at night or within shared spaces on the Arc Ultra.

The company also partnered with award-winning film sound mixer Chris Jenkins to ensure the technology improves clarity without ruining the sound quality of effects or music.

Sonos says the feature uses AI and machine learning to pull speech from the rest of the audio in real time. The update is now available through the Sonos app and doesn’t require new hardware.