Some people got Sonos Arc Ultra early – here’s what they think of the next-gen soundbar

DA Gadgets October 29, 2024 Soundbars, Televisions

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It’s
nice
to
be
reporting
some
good
news
about

Sonos:
if
the
early
user
opinions
of
the
new

Sonos
Arc
Ultra
soundbar
are
representative,
it
looks
like
the
firm
has
a
hit
on
its
hands.

A
number
of
customers
have
had
their
Ultras
delivered
early,
and
naturally
they’ve
turned
to
the
Sonos
subreddit
and
to

YouTube
to
share
their
initial
impressions.

As
ever
with
early
adopters,
when
people
have
spent
a
lot
of
their
own
money
on
a
product
they’re
going
to
be
approaching
it
from
a
position
of
excitement
rather
than
hard-bitten
cynicism,
and
it’s
worth
bearing
that
in
mind
when
you
read
or
watch
their
reviews.
But
that
doesn’t
mean
what
they’re
saying
isn’t
worth
considering
–
and
what
they’re
saying
so
far
is
very
positive.

What
are
Sonos
customers
saying
about
the
Sonos
Arc
Ultra?

Let’s
start
on
Reddit,
where
r/sonos
is
often
home
to
some
of
the
most
passionate
Sonos
customers
as
well
as
some
of
its
most
disappointed
app
users.
According
to
redditor

AJ989,
who
says
they
got
their
Ultra
delivered
from
a
European
retailer
on
Tuesday,
their
experience
with
the
setup
process
was
that
everything
was
straightforward
and
smooth.
Responding
to
a
post
about
Ultras
apparently
being
software-locked
until
28
October
they
say
that
they
didn’t
encounter
any
such
issues:
“from
the
first
day
I
could
use
it
and
set
it
up
in
the
app.”
It’s
“100%
working
(and
sounding
awesome).”

The
most
detailed
post
so
far
to
the
Sonos
subreddit
is
by

AnotherGK,
who
compares
the
new
Ultra
with
the
previous
Arc.
“I
couldn’t
believe
how
different
they
sounded.
The
first
thing
I
noticed
is
the
extreme
wide
soundstage
for
a
soundbar…
I
hoped
that
the
Ultra
[would]
be
better
than
the
Arc
but
it
is
significantly
better
in
every
regard.”

The
feature
we
think
most
people
will
be
curious
about
is
the
Sound
Motion,
which
promises
to
deliver
a
bigger
built-in
bass
experience.
According
to
AnotherGK,
“The
sound
isn’t
filling
the
room
anymore
it
seems
more
like
the
sound
is
the
room.
You
can’t
tell
from
where
the
sound
is
coming
from
because
it
is
so
well
balanced
between
the
front
and
the
back.”

Over
on
YouTube,
two
European
customers
have
shared
multiple
videos
of
the
Ultra
in
action.

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Lifestyle18
has
uploaded
three
sound
tests
with
the
soundbar
by
itself:
one
testing
out
the
Sound
Motion
and
then
two
more
for
music
and
movies.
“The
sound
motion

does
move
the
air!”
they
say,
adding
that
it’s
“too
bad
that
the
Atmos
effects
don’t
come
through
on
YouTube
because
they
are
great”.

For
music
the
sound
is
“pretty
similar”
to
the
Arc
but
has
“better
bass”;
dialog
is
“definitely
better”
on
the
Ultra.

Roel
Willemsen
has
also
uploaded
multiple
demonstrations,
including
one
comparing
the
Arc
and
Ultra
for
music.
Of
course
YouTube
isn’t
the
ideal
listening
comparison
when
you’re
listening
to
someone
else’s
room
but
even
with
that
limitation
the
Ultra
does
appear
to
sound
more
spacious.
“More
bass,
the
treble
is
nicer.
I
like
it,”
Roel
says.
And
for
movies,
“The
voices
were
lacking
but
now
they’re
pronounced.
They’re
here…
I
do
think
it’s
an
upgrade.
I
do
think
the
Arc
Ultra
is
better.”