Sonos wants a win. An issue-riddled replace to the Sonos app over the summer time virtually fully sank the model’s popularity, and the discharge of its Ace headphones was met with far much less enthusiasm than the distinguished dwelling audio firm anticipated. Fortunately, Sonos had one thing else up its sleeve: a brand new, reimagined model of its flagship soundbar that took a scientific strategy to creating a terrific sound profile even higher. The Arc Ultra is right here, and its 9.1.4-channel, bass-happy, Bluetooth-enabled system could also be precisely what the audio engineers ordered to drag Sonos out of its hunch.
Sonos Arc Ultra – Design and Features
From an aesthetics perspective, the Arc Ultra doesn’t differ a lot from the Arc. Its dimensions stretch an inch or so right here, and some ounces lighter there. But the Ultra is essentially the identical sleek-looking addition to your leisure middle or TV stand that its predecessor is thought to be.
Under the hood, although, the Ultra had some critical work carried out. Sonos’ new flagship bar now has 14 whole audio system (in comparison with the Arc’s 11), together with a woofer, a set of up-firing drivers for Dolby Atmos content material, and side-firing midrange drivers to enhance the bar’s capability to simulate encompass sound motion from a single cupboard. The redesign is made potential largely by SoundMotion know-how, one thing Sonos describes as “one of the vital important breakthroughs in audio engineering in almost 100 years.” Marketing communicate apart, this new tech focuses on crafting drivers that may do an entire lot extra with out a lot room to work with, which is the secret with regards to soundbars. We’ll dive extra into this later.
The similar patented Sonos options are all again within the Arc Ultra, from the expansive world of wi-fi music streaming service choices to built-in Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility, and naturally the power to work in tandem with different Sonos audio system round your home for a whole-home audio expertise. And, identical to the Arc, the Arc Ultra is ready to seamlessly swap TV audio to a pair of Sonos Ace headphones for late-night listening. I didn’t have an Ace available to check this characteristic, however I’ve beforehand examined the Ace with the Arc, and it labored flawlessly. Hopefully not a lot has modified on that entrance.
Not normally one to face pat, Sonos did introduce a couple of new (and lengthy overdue) options with the Arc Ultra. The model’s Trueplay know-how, which is meant to robotically alter the speaker’s sound to match the acoustics of your listening house, is now obtainable on iOS and Android after beforehand being an Apple-exclusive perk. And, apparently, the Ultra now has Bluetooth connectivity choices. Those who’ve been following Sonos since its early days bear in mind how adamant it was about WiFi being superior to Bluetooth for audio high quality. They’re proper, after all. But it’s important to see that Sonos has lastly accepted the comfort issue that Bluetooth affords, particularly when a visitor desires to rapidly put one thing on.
One of the principle blemishes that carries over from the Arc is the singular HDMI eARC port and unlucky lack of HDMI passthrough inputs. The logic is considerably sound right here: trendy TVs are likely to have a number of HDMI ports and might successfully function as an leisure hub that your entire gaming and streaming units can hook up with. Still, although, it wouldn’t damage to have no less than one HDMI passthrough port obtainable.
Sonos Arc Ultra – Performance
After organising the Arc Ultra within the much-maligned Sonos app (the method was, fortunately, easy and with out difficulty), I instantly began browsing by way of my library of Dolby Atmos-outfitted content material. With the Ultra’s driver configuration now standing at 9.1.4 in comparison with the Arc’s 5.0.2, and with Sonos itself claiming that with its Sound Motion tech, the brand new bar has higher readability, depth, stability and double the bass output, it was time to see what the fuss was all about.
Well. The hype is actual. The bass is deeper, and extra impactful. The Ultra’s peak channels add extra presence and immersion. The sound profile is extremely balanced total and provides noticeably extra element to an already-outstanding expertise when in comparison with the Arc. I first cycled by way of a couple of scenes from Blade Runner 2049, with the Ultra proving to have way more low finish than I anticipated, although not a lot that its devoted woofer overshadowed the Ultra’s midrange drivers and tweeters. After being captivated by the visceral sounds of the Vietnam struggle in The World’s Greatest Beer Run – machine gun fireplace, overhead choppers and all – I navigated over to an outdated favourite, Avengers: Endgame. While the film isn’t essentially revered for its Dolby Atmos combine, I used to be impressed by the place the sound was positioned when Thanos’ warship “rained fireplace” from above within the movie’s pivotal motion sequence. I performed the identical scene by way of my Arc, and whilst you do must account for the bars being in several rooms with totally different acoustics, the Arc Ultra carried out higher in an setting that truly had taller ceilings for its upfiring drivers to certain hold forth of.
Based on my time testing the Arc, I anticipated music by way of the Arc Ultra to sound nice, and it as soon as once more exceeded expectations. The sound signatures weren’t as totally different as they had been once I was testing with film content material, however the Ultra as soon as once more had extra pronounced, exact bass notes that actually helped to spherical out the tracks I used to be listening to. It was punchy for upbeat nation songs by Shaboozey and dug deeper than I anticipated for thumpers like Kendrick Lamar’s Swimming Pools. I even thought Chappell Roan’s dwell Saturday Night Live efficiency sounded distinctive by way of the Arc, even with SNL broadcasts not precisely being lighting rods for excellent sound.
My solely efficiency points with the Arc Ultra are two-fold. First, whereas we do have the power to regulate bass and treble, flip up or down peak audio, and entry options like Speech Enhancement or Night Mode, it feels just like the app is in actual want of a graphic EQ of some kind. Now, the bar itself sounds glorious out of the field. But most flagship soundbars provide the flexibility to tune your system’s audio to your actual tastes, with choices just like the Samsung HW-Q990D even including perks like with the ability to improve or lower the output of particular person channels. I perceive the notion of not messing with (relative) perfection, however let the audio nerds tinker, man.
Finally, that darn Sonos app. Fortunately, I by no means handled the widespread performance points which have tarnished the Sonos expertise for thus many. That stated, I do have beef with elements of the interface. For occasion, I can’t alter the soundbar’s bass or peak ranges from the app’s “now enjoying” display. Instead, I’ve to toggle over to my units, faucet on the Arc Ultra, and dive into its audio settings from there. It’s a small annoyance, but it surely was a constant one each time I wished slightly extra bass or rather less peak.
Sonos Arc Ultra – The Competition
There’s no scarcity of soundbars attempting to compete with a bundle as full because the Sonos Arc Ultra, however we’re going to the touch on the few that truly can. First, naturally is the Sonos Arc. There’s a bunch of Arc homeowners on the market proper now mulling whether or not to make the transfer to exchange their bar with the Arc Ultra. As I’ve stated, the Arc Ultra is a major enchancment over the Arc with regards to sound high quality. With that in thoughts, the Arc nonetheless will get you fairly darn shut performance-wise. As an Arc proprietor myself, I might lean in direction of ready for a reduction (of which there are few within the Sonos world) to seal the deal on the improve. If you’re new to the Sonos world and attempting to choose between the 2, nonetheless, it’s value it to spend the additional money to get the higher bar.
The bar finest geared up to match (or, in some circumstances, eclipse) the Arc Ultra is Samsung’s HW-Q990D. It’s costlier (although it goes on sale usually), however Samsung’s flagship has its personal wi-fi rear audio system and subwoofer. The Arc Ultra’s bass output and large soundstage are each spectacular, however they gained’t be capable to match the output of the true deal just like the HW-Q990D can. You can, after all, spend money on Sonos audio system just like the Era 100 or 300 and Sonos Sub in your bass, however including these items to the puzzle greater than doubles the price of an Ultra. By these metrics, the HW-Q990D represents a greater worth whereas nonetheless including cinematic sound to your own home.
