LONDON: Wireless home speaker specialist Sonos is today releasing a free software update that allows users to tune the speakers to suit their room in minutes, a process that would usually involve professional help and specialised equipment.
With Trueplay, which is currently only available for iPhones and iPads, the Sonos speakers emit a special tone for 60 seconds, while the user walks around their room and waves the iPhone or iPad slowly up and down.
The software then adjusts the speakers automatically so that they produce great sounding audio even if they’re inside a cupboard, for example.
Sonos co-founder Tom Cullen told The Australian in an interview he thought Trueplay would be the biggest thing to happen to audio since surround sound, which was a big deal in itself.
“We want regular people to be able to live more like rockstars,” he said. “Normally you’d have a technician charging 500 dollars for this, wandering around your home for hours. I really think people will be stunned at what’s possible.
Mr Cullen said he predicts that for 80 per cent of users or so they will experience a marked improvement in sound even though they use the same speaker they might’ve bought years ago.
“People just get tired of listening to audiophiles spew technical jargon at them but with what we’re doing, all they have to do is wave their phone around and i’tll sound amazing.”
Sonos said Trueplay is compatible with all of its PLAY: 1 and PLAY: 3 Wi-Fi speakers, and will be available with both the discontinued PLAY: 5 and its successor which will be available later this month.
“The original PLAY: 5 now features Trueplay, so a speaker that was released more than six years ago is going to have its best year yet after it was discontinued,” Chief Product Officer Marc Whitten said.
“We believe a great experience is one that also stays current.”
