The originalSonos Archas been one of the bestsoundbars around for some time now.
It now features 9.1.4 virtualDolby Atmossurround, for example, rather than the 5.1.2 setup of the old model.
In a word: Good.
In a few more: This is thebest soundbarthat it’s possible for you to buy right now.
Heres all the pros and cons in my Sonos Arc Ultra review.
What dont we like?The price, and music performance could beslightlybetter.
Sonos Arc Ultra review: Design
Sonos design language is well known at this point.
But let’s get one thing out of the way first this is not a small soundbar.
Even better, wall mount it under your TV with the screw holes on the back.
Once placed or mounted, the Arc Ultra should blend in perfectly with your room decor.
Despite its otherwise impressive size, it’s not particularly tall, so itll fit easily under most TVs.
Or at least the old one was.
Theres no USB port, and no optical port either.
That Wi-Fi connection allows you to use the internet-enabled portions of the speaker.
In terms of streaming music to your Arc Ultra, theres only AirPlay 2 support.
Theres two options for voice assistants.
From there it just kind of… works, which is useful.
Once youre all plugged in, you might want to fine-tune the way that the Soundbar sounds.
The Advanced tuning, on the other hand, was problematic in my experience.
The weakest part of the sound profile in the original Sonos Arc was the dialogue.
The car chase inThe Matrix 2features cars zooming around you, as the characters leap from machine to machine.
Spatial Audio performance is where it’s really at though with the Arc Ultra.
Its very impressive coming from a single gear.
Pterodactyls whoosh overhead inPrehistoric Planet,as David Attenboroughs dulcet tones talk you through their hunting rituals.
In other words dont feel too bad if you cant afford to add a Sub 4 or Sub mini.
Now, having said that, adding in one of Sonoss subwoofers takes the experience to the next level.
The Subreallybrings the rumble, enough to make the windows shake and the floor pulsate.
But thats probably not why youre looking at the Sonos Arc Ultra.
Youll be happy to know that the Arc Ultra is well worth the upgrade over the older model.
It sounds more expansive, with much better Spatial Audio and top-notch dialogue processing.
