Sonos’ Arc Ultra soundbar is official, with revolutionary new speaker tech that offers ‘double the bass’
DA Gadgets The
Sonos
Arc
Ultra
is
official,
and
it’s
launching
on
October
29,
2024,
at
a
price
of
$999
/
£999
/
AU$1,799.
It’s
a
massive
upgrade
over
the
existing
Sonos
Arc,
and
introduces
a
brand-new
speaker
technology
that
promises
to
deliver
incredible
immersion
which
looks
set
to
rival
the
best
soundbars.Here’s
what
you
need
to
know…
Sonos
Arc
Ultra:
key
features
and
specifications
The
original
Sonos
Arc
was
a
5.1.2
surround
system,
but
the
Arc
Ultra
is
9.1.4.
And
it
has
what
Sonos
calls
Sound
Motion,
the
technology
it
acquired
when
it
bought
speaker
firm
Mayht
a
few
years
ago.
The
technology,
previously
known
as
HeartMotion,
enables
speakers
to
be
made
much
smaller
than
those
with
traditional
speaker
drivers
without
compromising
on
power
or
sound
quality.
Sonos
says:
“A
significant
breakthrough
in
audio
engineering,
Sound
Motion
drastically
reduces
the
size
of
the
transducer
while
supercharging
the
bass,
opening
a
new
chapter
in
sound
innovation
where
bigger,
better
sound
can
be
delivered
from
smaller
products.”
That
means
Sonos
has
been
able
to
cram
more
bass
power
into
what’s
still
a
relatively
slim
soundbar
–
in
fact,
Sonos
says
it’s
18%
smaller
by
volume
than
the
original
Arc.
The
Arc
Ultra
has
dimensions
of
2.95
x
46.38
x
4.35
inches
(75
x
1178
x
110.6mm),
and
weighs
5.9kg.
It
comes
in
black
and
white
finishes,
as
usual
for
the
best
Sonos
speakers.
There
are
14
drivers
here,
three
more
than
in
the
Arc:
seven
silk-dome
tweeters
“with
waveguides
on
both
ends”,
six
mid-range
drivers,
and
a
a
built-in
Sound
Motion
woofer.
Sonos
adds
that
“a
proprietary
four-motor,
dual-membrane
woofer
delivers
exceptional
bass
in
a
revolutionary
flat,
compact
design”.
There
are
15
channels
of
Class
D
amplification
behind
all
of
this
–
I
presume
two
channels
are
going
to
the
Sound
Motion
woofer,
otherwise
there’s
a
spare.
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deals,
and
more.
Of
note
in
the
speaker
configuration
is
that
only
two
of
the
tweeters
are
upfiring,
which
raises
questions
about
the
9.1.4
configuration
–
is
Sonos
just
using
processing
to
suggest
more
upfiring
channels,
or
has
it
arrived
at
this
figure
some
other
way?
I’ll
aim
to
find
out.
As
ever
there’s
built-in
support
for
wireless
streaming
services
and
easy
integration
with
other
Sonos
devices.
There’s
also
a
redesigned
touch
control
panel,
and
the
addition
of
Bluetooth
to
bring
the
Arc
Ultra
in
line
with
Sonos’s
other
products.
Image
1
of
11
Sonos
Arc
Ultra:
clever
customization
The
Sonos
Arc
Ultra
can
listen
to
the
sound
of
your
room
and
adjust
its
configuration
accordingly
thanks
to
the
combination
of
integrated
microphones
and
Sonos’s
Trueplay
software,
which
is
available
for
Android
as
well
as
for
iOS
for
the
first
time,
and
there’s
also
a
more
advanced
Speech
Enhancement
tool
that
“lets
you
choose
your
preferred
level
of
dialogue
clarity
in
the
Sonos
app.”
Sonos
says
the
Arc
Ultra
is
also
designed
for
“improved
serviceability”
compared
to
the
Sonos
Arc,
using
“more
screws
and
fewer
adhesives,
halogen-free
PCB
materials,
less
silicon
material,
and
a
reduced
idle
power
consumption
by
as
much
as
20%
as
a
standalone
player
compared
to
Arc.”
The
Arc
Ultra
is
also
designed
to
work
with
the
new
Sonos
Sub
4
subwoofer
($799
/
£799
/
AU$1,299)
for
even
more
low-end
power.
The
Sub
4
has
also
been
“rebuilt,
inside
and
out”,
even
though
Sonos
also
says
it
has
the
“same
iconic
design”.
It
includes
“increased
processing
power
and
memory,
as
well
as
new
Wi-Fi
radios
for
better
connectivity”
and
can
be
used
in
a
pair
with
either
another
Sub
4,
or
with
previous
Sub
models.
Sonos
Arc
Ultra:
what
we
still
need
to
know
I’ve
approached
Sonos
for
information
about
whether
it
will
have
only
one
HDMI
eARC
port,
though
I
strongly
suspect
so
based
on
the
available
information
–
this
will
be
a
huge
disappointment
if
so.
I’m
also
waiting
to
hear
whether
any
DTS
decoding
is
supported
(I
doubt
it)
and
whether
the
Sonos
Ace
headphones’
switching
feature
is
supported
(I’m
99.99%
certain
it
will
be,
but
Sonos
didn’t
explicitly
say,
though
one
of
the
press
images
shows
them
being
used
together).
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