Finally! This New Technology Makes Movie Dialogue Easier to Understand

AI Improves Speech Intelligibility - But How?

We've all been there: movies and series where a mix of effects and music drowns out dialogue. Especially in high-quality productions with complex sound design, speech intelligibility is often a challenge. In addition, accents and varying speaker volumes are becoming increasingly common.

Previous solutions usually rely on simply increasing the volume. The problem is that not only does the speech get louder, but all other sound elements do, too—a real dilemma. This is exactly where Sonos's new, AI-supported speech enhancement comes in.

How Does the Technology Work?

By implementing machine learning, the Arc Ultra can extract dialogue specifically from the center channel. Speech is recognized in real time and separated from background noise. This extraction is dynamic, meaning that the AI only intervenes if it recognizes that other sounds are overlaying dialogue. The rest of the sound image remains untouched - an essential factor for an immersive home cinema experience.

The Central Role of AI

• Machine learning: Separates speech from other audio sources.
• Real-time processing: Recognizes problematic passages immediately and reacts directly.
• Dynamic adjustment: Does not change the volume unnecessarily, but focuses specifically on the dialog.

Not every listening room and not every scene requires the same intensity of speech enhancement. That's why Sonos offers four individually adjustable levels:

• Low: Subtle enhancement of speech clarity - ideal for movies with easily understandable dialogue.
• Medium: Stronger amplification to make quiet passages more audible without destroying the atmosphere.
• High: Clear focus on dialog - useful for films with a lot of background noise.
• Max: Absolute prioritization of speech - specially developed for users with hearing loss.

These levels can be adjusted directly via the Sonos app, and the changes are immediately audible. For fine-tuning, the app also offers the option of switching the function off completely if required.

Why Only the Arc Ultra?

Sonos' decision to initially only offer the new voice enhancement on the Arc Ultra is probably due to technical reasons. The real-time processing of voice signals requires considerable computing power. The Arc Ultra's powerful processor is probably the only one in the current Sonos portfolio that can calculate the complex algorithms in real time.

Other models such as the Sonos Beam or the Sonos Ray are also equipped with voice enhancement features, but are unlikely to be able to work with the same AI-supported precision due to their hardware limits.

How Does the AI Perform in a Practical Test?

We tested the speech enhancement intensively - both in films with complex sound design and in series with dialog-heavy scenes. The result: the AI is clearly superior, especially in films with loud background sounds. Explosions, music, and sound effects recede audibly, while the dialogue remains clear and understandable.

The subtle effect is interesting: after a short period of familiarization, the improvement is perceived as natural. Only when switching between the levels does it become clear how much the AI actually intervenes. The highest level, "Max," in particular, shows how well speech can be in the foreground without disturbing the overall picture. With the new AI-supported speech enhancement, Sonos proves that modern machine learning can be used sensibly not only in smart speakers but also in home cinema. Users who value clear dialogue will particularly benefit from this technology.

It remains to be seen whether the function will also be available on other Sonos soundbars. If Sonos is able to adapt AI processing to weaker models, the function is likely to find its way into cheaper devices in the future.