After months of anticipation and delays, Sonos has officially launched its latest flagship soundbar: the Sonos Arc Ultra.
As expected, the newest soundbar in Sonos’ ever-growing home cinema arsenal introduces groundbreaking transducer technology, from Mayht, a Netherlands-based startup that Sonos acquired in 2022, for $100 million, which Sonos is calling Sound Motion.
The Arc Ultra was widely expected earlier in 2024, but the launch was delayed due to persistent issues with the brand’s new app.
Sound Motion shrinks the size of the transducers while delivering double the bass compared to its predecessor.
The new soundbar packs an impressive 9.1.4 spatial audio system, boosted by Dolby Atmos support and 14 custom drivers. These include a Sound Motion woofer and specially designed tweeters.
Sonos tells us that Sound Motion technology enables the soundbar to produce booming bass while maintaining a compact design that fits seamlessly into living spaces; it’s actually a little bit more compact and lighter than the original Arc at Height: 75mm x 1,178mm x 110.6mm and 5.9kg.
The new soundbar also features advanced Speech Enhancement, allowing users to customize dialogue clarity for an improved viewing experience.
It will, of course, be compatible with Sonos’ home cinema-focused Sonos Ace headphones.
The addition of Bluetooth makes the new Arc more versatile, offering options to stream podcasts or playlists directly from your phone. You’ll still have HDMI and AirPlay connectivity too and the Ethernet port remains.
Sonos is also launching a new subwoofer to pair with the Arc Ultra; although it will still work with older Sonos subs.
The Sonos Sub 4 is the brand’s most advanced subwoofer to date, boasting increased processing power and memory, as well as new Wi-Fi radios for better connectivity.
What I think…
While the launch of the Arc Ultra is definitely exciting and something, finally, for Sonos fans to get excited about, there is something – dare I say – a little desperate about Sonos’ messaging still.
The press release that announced the Arc also mentions an update for the much-maligned app, stating:
“The new app’s performance is expected to surpass the performance of the previous app across important metrics, including those essential to new purchasers — system identification, the set up of new devices, and the ability to group Sonos devices together. For current Sonos customers, the update will reintroduce 90% of the new app’s missing features.”
So the app is now capable of identifying your system, letting you group your speakers and setting up new kit? Like, er, the old app was always capable of? Except it’s still evidently missing 10% of what it had?
I just think Sonos should have focused on the exciting new hardware for this news cycle, instead of reminding us once again about all of its troublesome app.
Because the Sonos Arc Ultra is exciting. Incredibly exciting… the transducer technology from Mayht has been anticipated for a few years now and it’s amazing it’s now finally here. I’m looking forward to putting it through its paces.
The original Arc was and still is an absolute beast of a soundbar, so I’m hugely keen to hear the improvements the Arc Ultra adds to the mix.
Stay tuned for our Sonos Arc Ultra review. The new soundbar will be available later this month for $999 Stateside, £999 in the UK.
The Sub 4 is $799 / £799 – Sonos is currently offering a discount of just over 10% if you buy the new duo as a bundle.
