Sonos Arc Ultra

I've recommended Sonos' various speakers on several occasions, and I still stand by them completely. Especially over the past three or four years, it's clear that Sonos' investment in a more stable, proprietary ecosystem was smart in the end, as it's now packed with great functionality, but is also far more reliable than, for example, Google Home's Speaker Groups (which works a quarter of the time in my case).

At the same time, Sonos has made its mark in home cinema, where it seems that the Arc soundbar in particular struck a chord with the average consumer. Tampering with the newly established legacy is risky, but they have now chosen to replace the popular Arc with the Arc Ultra, a soundbar that quite surprisingly changes many things on the inside, and with a slightly increased price too.

Visually, you first look at the either black or white long cylindrical soundbar and think that Sonos hasn't changed much. But don't be fooled, because there are indeed changes here. It's a little wider, but not as tall either. Ports, physical volume controls and other features have been moved to the back on a different, more square, matte plastic construction that gives the entire back a two-piece look. It looks great, and there's no more fiddling with volume up or down, as the aforementioned controls are now located at the back to one side. It would have been nice if Sonos, on a soundbar they call "Ultra", had included a couple of passthrough HDMI ports, since it itself occupies one of the valuable ports in your TV, but you could turn it around and say that most consumers interested in an Arc Ultra probably have four HDMI ports total anyway. It's a small thing.

Inside, we have a completely new construction. The actual distribution is now 9.1.4 instead of 5.0.2. More specifically, this means we're dealing with 15 D-class amplifier units that together power 14 drivers, all customised by Sonos. That's seven tweeters, six mid-range woofer units and a brand new Sound Motion subwoofer.

Sonos says that these are arranged differently and that this gives a better illusion of surround. Of course, this is still a Dolby Atmos soundbar with special tuning, so there will be some of the drivers firing upwards to wrap you in the sound - again to create the illusion of a cinema experience where the physical devices are around you, rather than just in front. Sonos is particularly proud of the drivers that are aimed directly at you, and that this new front-firing array is a much better experience. Is there a significant difference between it and a standard Arc? It's very hard to say, but if you're really granular, you can actually notice that the soundstage has more depth, a bit like the difference between a mediocre and a genuinely great 3D film experience. It's just a little more tactile dimension this time. It's hard to say exactly whether it's the arrangement of the devices, their quality or the new Sound Motion subwoofer.

Sound Motion is actually a revolution in itself. The concept is actually a total reinvention of the speaker as a piece of technology, and was realised by two Dutch brothers who started the company Mayht to develop this technology, then called "Heartmotion". Sonos was so impressed with this that they bought Mayht in 2022, and the Arc Ultra is the first product to utilise the technology. The Sound Motion subwoofer is an incredibly flat transducer in the centre of the soundbar, which is designed to allow much more room for the speaker cone to move. The extra space not only allows for more granularity in a given soundscape, but also means that the units themselves can be smaller. This can eventually lead to bigger soundscapes from smaller speakers, but now that Arc Ultra has roughly the same dimensions as Arc, Sonos has simply packed the soundbar with more devices. That's why the seven tweeters are doubled, and why there's room for the Sound Motion sub to have four motors and two membranes. In theory, this means that the Arc Ultra can produce around twice as much bass.

This effect can be felt immediately - right away. The original Arc impressed with balance and with surround, but here there's a JBL-like "oomph" behind it, a punch to the diaphragm of pure bass that really packs a punch. Sound Motion will no doubt be tuned by Sonos over the next few years, but right now it's pure power, and combined with the rest of the Sonos ecosystem, it's a true delight.

Arc Ultra is still as easy to set up, there's still TruePlay, there's still support for all smart home assistants, it still works as a regular smart home speaker. Everything is as it should be.

The verdict is clear - at £1,000, this is the soundbar we would recommend going forward, and while there are decent cheaper alternatives, few can match Sonos' unique blend of ecosystem, power and balance.