Sonos Arc Ultra Soundbar: All information on prices, features and leaked images with our analysis

Sonos Arc Ultra is reportedly the name of Sonos’ next elite Dolby Atmos soundbar, and like many of the company’s recent releases, it’s not exactly the most mysterious device in the world.

The Sonos Arc Ultra has been rife with leaks about possible pricing, images, claims of delays and then a pre-release, information about its cutting-edge new speaker technology, and—of course—its name.

The Sonos Arc Ultra will be the successor to one of the best (and most popular) soundbars, the original Sonos Arc. However, given the high prices rumored for the Sonos Arc Ultra, it’s entirely possible that this model will move above the regular Arc in Sonos’ lineup and the first model will stick around.

In short, we expect the Sonos Arc Ultra to be a premium all-in-one soundbar priced between $999 and $1,199 that features new speaker technology previously known as Mayht HeartMotion that delivers significantly better bass without a subwoofer, as well as significantly improved Dolby Atmos 3D spatial audio positioning effects.

Written by

Matt Bolton

I use a Sonos surround sound system at home based on the Sonos Arc, so I’m extremely excited about the idea of the new and improved model – and I’ve tested every Sonos soundbar and home speaker released in the last five years. Here’s all the information we’ve gathered so far, plus my analysis and explanation of what it all means.

Sonos Arc Ultra: Rumors about price and release date

In September 2024 alone, two different prices for the Sonos Arc Ultra were mooted. First, a screenshot of an accidental upload of the product page to Sonos’ online store allegedly surfaced, which seemed to confirm the “Arc Ultra” name previously revealed by regular leaker Arsène Lupin, and promised a price of $1,199 (about £900 / AU$1,750).

A screenshot of the Sonos Store showing the Sonos Arc Ultra, allegedly leaked via Reddit

(Image credit: Reddit)

However, Lupin came back almost immediately to offer his own opinion that the Sonos Arc Ultra would cost $999 (about £750 / AU$1,450) and to include some pictures.

As for the timing of arrival, it feels like it could land at any time, but it looks like it will arrive before the end of 2024.

There were reports that Sonos had been delayed due to ongoing issues with the reliability of its new app, but more recent reports say it is back on track.

Generally, companies don’t want to release these types of products too far into October or November so they can catch people before they spend their entire budget on Black Friday.

While we don’t have a concrete release date yet, we’re getting closer to when I would expect it to launch.

Sonos Arc Ultra: possible leaked design

Since some of the best Sonos speakers have recently been redesigned with a new, slightly different design language (see Sonos Era 100, Sonos Era 300, and Sonos Move 2), I was hoping for the same from the Sonos Arc. Especially because it’s such a big beast, and that can be a problem with low TV stands.

However, it looks like that won’t be the case. From the images we have so far (which, to be honest, are pretty zoomed out because it’s a really long boy), the design seems to be very similar to that of the original Sonos Arc.

So you get a rounded side profile, a hard plastic grille, the choice of white or black finishes, and ports in a central, recessed hub at the back.

Sonos Arc Ultra: rumored features

Unfortunately, I don’t expect any drastic changes in technical features compared to the original Sonos Arc. Based on the current leaks and the fact that Sonos is adding it to all of its new products, it seems clear that Bluetooth will be on board.

It will still be a Dolby Atmos soundbar, and we can assume it will have the same HDMI eARC port as the Sonos Arc. But based on the specs and the image leaks that have leaked so far, it seems like it still won’t support HDMI passthrough – according to the images leaked to The Verge, there only seems to be room for one HDMI port.

On the back of the Sonos Arc Ultra you will find an HDMI port, an Ethernet port, a Bluetooth button, and a microphone button.

A picture published on The Verge of the connections of the supposedly new soundbar. (Image credit: The Verge)

This makes me angry. When the original Sonos Arc came out, the fact that it didn’t have HDMI passthrough was a minus point. That was in 2020. Here in 2024, it will be borderline unacceptable. Other premium soundbars in this range (the Sony HT-A7000 and the Samsung HW-Q990D) have several HDMI passthroughs that support HDMI 2.1 gaming features such as 4K HDR at 120 Hz.

This is also a problem because many of the best TVs still only have two HDMI 2.1 ports, and one of those ports is usually the HDMI eARC port. This means that if you have both next-gen gaming consoles and the Sonos Arc (or Ultra), only one of your two gaming consoles can be connected with full 4K 120Hz support.

I’ve spoken to Sonos about this in the past and the company said it finds the simplicity of a single HDMI connection more user-friendly. I really hope we’re all surprised and Sonos has changed its mind for the Sonos Arc Ultra, but I’m not going to hold my breath.

Additionally, we can expect the Sonos Arc Ultra to work with the TV Audio Swap feature found on the Sonos Ace headphones. I really liked this feature when I tested it for my Sonos Ace review, and it seems like a no-brainer that it will be supported from launch.

I would also expect Sonos’ new TruePlay Quick Tuning to be supported on Android, as well as the full Advanced TruePlay available on iOS. This was recently released for use with the Sonos Era 100 and Era 300 and should help fine-tune the sound for your particular room, as well as help improve the detail and precision of the Dolby Atmos effects.

And that’s going to be important given the new speaker technology inside, so let’s talk about it.

Sonos Arc Ultra: Next-generation speaker technology explained

The most exciting thing about the Sonos Arc Ultra will be the new speaker technology that will almost certainly be used inside. It was developed by a company called Mayht, which Sonos later acquired – and the Arc Ultra is likely to be the first product to showcase this technology.

Originally called HeartMotion—though Sonos’ version might be called Sound Motion if the store page leak mentioned above is genuine—this technology can essentially halve the size of speakers by using an innovative design that outputs sound from both sides simultaneously.

When Mayht first introduced the technology, the company compared it to Sonos products and claimed that something the size and quality of the Sonos Five would fit in the Sonos One’s chassis. Unfortunately, Mayht was acquired just before I could even demo the technology, but I spoke to the company about it and it was incredibly clever.

An important part of this is the way the sound is driven from two sides at once, which has the advantage of reducing vibrations in the cabinet as the forces acting in two opposite directions cancel each other out. This principle is well known to Sonos as it uses a ‘push-push’ configuration in all of its subwoofers – but this is achieved by using two different speakers, so that in fact increased Size and complexity. Sound Motion should make it very small and very simple.

This could have two potential benefits with the Sonos Arc Ultra. The first is a massive improvement in bass performance even without a subwoofer, as this technology simply allows the company to cram a lot more woofer power into the same space. The best soundbar I’ve ever heard for bass that didn’t have its own subwoofer was the Devialet Dione, and that was achieved by arranging eight individual woofers in a push-push configuration (so they don’t vibrate right off your TV stand). This made it massive in terms of both its size and price, but it worked.

If Sonos can get close to that level with a smaller number of Sound Motion drivers, the Arc Ultra could be something really special.

The second benefit is that if the bass performance can be achieved with a smaller woofer configuration than required by the original Arc, there is more room to use and add angled tweeters to create compelling 3D sound that rivals the best Dolby Atmos soundbars.

I wonder if Sonos can even use the same professional compression drivers as the Era 300, which are great at creating precise spatial effects.

Whatever happens, a drastic improvement in dynamic range and surround effect is promised, and considering how far companies like Samsung and LG have overtaken Sonos in this area since the Arc’s release, that’s very welcome.

topicnews · September 19, 2024

Sonos Arc Ultra Soundbar: All information on prices, features and leaked images with our analysis

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