The Sonos Arc Ultra is the company's newest flagship soundbar. Photo: Sonos
Sonos has just updated its lineup of wireless home speakers with two new additions: the Arc Ultra soundbar and Sub 4 subwoofer.
According to Sonos, the Arc Ultra is the company’s first product to utilise transducer technology from Mayht, a Dutch startup that Sonos acquired for US$100 million in 2022.
The Arc Ultra has three more drivers than the old Arc soundbar. Photo: HWZ
Sonos calls this technology “Sound Motion” and it allows them to create a transducer that can produce sound that belies its size. This is exactly what you need when you want to make a hard-hitting soundbar that is compact and sleek.
Although the Arc Ultra is roughly the same size as the original Arc, it has more drivers – 14, to be exact. There are 7 tweeters, 6 midwoofers, and a single Sound Motion woofer. Together with 15 Class-D digital amplifiers, Sonos says the Arc Ultra is capable of delivering a 9.1.4 spatial audio experience.
The Sonos Arc Ultra (black) is nearly identical in size as the Arc (white). Photo: HWZ
But the proof is in the listening, and when I listened to the Arc Ultra and Arc soundbars played back to back, there’s no question that the newer Arc Ultra sounded fuller, more impactful, and more immersive. The upwards-firing drivers made a big difference, as did the Sound Motion woofer. The only thing I noticed was how much clearer movie dialogue sounded.
Like the Arc, the Arc Ultra also works with the Ace headphones’ TV Audio Swap feature. If you put on your Ace headphones and press the Content button, audio will be immediately transferred from the Arc Ultra to the Ace for private listening.
The Sub 4 retains the iconic design of Sonos subwoofer but has improved internals that has better processing and connectivity capabilities. Photo: HWZ
Sonos also announced the new Sub 4 subwoofer to complement the Arc Ultra. The Sub 4 retains the signature aesthetic of Sonos’ subwoofers but has improved internals that offer faster processing and support for 5GHz Wi-Fi 6 for better connectivity.
I had the chance to listen to the Arc Ultra with the Sub 4. There’s no question that having an additional subwoofer improves the low-frequency performance. That said, the Arc Ultra doesn’t only work with the Sub 4, it’ll also work with the older Sub 3. And if you want to take the experience further, you can add Sonos’ Era 300 as surround speakers.
Overall, I was impressed by the short time I had with the new Arc Ultra, it sounded good on its own, and it sounded even better when you add the Sub 4 and Era 300. But what really stood out to me was how noticeably better it sounded than the older Arc, which was already a pretty good soundbar. The new Arc Ultra may cost S$200 more, but I think that the premium is well justified.
Availability and pricing
The Sonos Arc Ultra is available now in black and white and is S$1,899. The Sonos Sub 4 is also available now in black and white and is S$1,449.
You can also get the Arc Ultra with a Sub 4 for S$3,348 or a set of Arc Ultra, Sub 4, and two Era 300s for S$4,946.
You can find them on the Sonos/TC Acoustic Online Store.
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