The new Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar sounds fantastic, but I’m much more impressed with its smart features
When the Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar and Sub 4 were finally unveiled, all eyes (or should that be ears?) were on whether they sounded better than their predecessors, and by how much.
As our full Sonos Arc Ultra review shows, this is “the best single-box Dolby Atmos soundbar for the price.” It’s not without its immediate shortcomings, namely the retention of a single HDMI input (yes, Sonos still refuses to offer HDMI passthrough) and there’s no support for DTS, although this is as most spatial audio movie soundtracks available being in Dolby Atmos, shouldn’t happen. alienating too many potential customers.
I wholeheartedly agree with the statements made by my colleague Matt Bolton in our full Arc Ultra review, but after spending some time with both the Arc Ultra and the Sub 4 – which have temporarily replaced my Arc and Sub 3 at home to to test – I’ve discovered a few extra little features that, combined with the great sound output, have me reaching for my credit card to upgrade.
The Sonos Diet
When we first spied leaked photos of the Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar, it was difficult to determine if there was any design change at all from the Arc. In reality, there’s certainly not much to separate them, and the Ultra is still unmistakably Sonos. The only difference is that the new soundbar is slightly longer, but also – crucially for me – slightly shorter in height. Official dimensions are 87 x 1142 x 116 mm for the Arc and 75 x 1178 x 111 mm for the Arc Ultra.
The biggest impact the Sonos diet has had for me is that the soundbar now doesn’t cut off the bottom of my LG G4 OLED. My previous Arc didn’t block the bottom of the screen terribly, but I often found my eyes drawn to it more than I’d like. Now, with the Arc Ultra in place, I can clearly see the bottom of the screen and I’ve found myself much more immersed in the on-screen action as the G4 OLED’s ‘floating screen’ effect becomes more prominent.
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The change in depth is also an added bonus for me. The LG G4’s stand, plus the fact that the TV is naturally at a slight angle (I have the 77-inch version – the 65- and 55-inch models sit flat) meant there wasn’t much room for my old Arc to sit on the approximately 40 cm deep stand. Although the Arc Ultra is ‘only’ six millimeters thinner, it has made a huge difference on my media unit.
Matte attack
Another feature that I’ve found to have a subtle but significant impact at home is the Sub 4’s new matte finish. When I first read about it before receiving the review unit Sonos sent me, I wasn’t sure exactly what I could expect. I was already quite taken with the glossy finish of the Sub 3 and I still think it is a premium product.
But when I took the dust bag off the Sonos Sub 4, I let out an “oooh, that’s nice” response. The white matte finish matches perfectly with the Era 300 speakers I have for surrounds, and I’m sure it would match a white Arc Ultra (I got the black version for this article).
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But the surprising effect it had for me was that it blended in more with the white wall it was placed against. It’s not a huge change, but when you’re spending the money Sonos is asking for the Sub 4, you want it to look as good as possible, and I think it’s stunning.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m only getting to test the Sub 4 – and the Ultra soundbar – for a limited time, and I’m admittedly fine with going back to the Sub 3 if the new gear needs to be returned. If you already have a Sonos sub, I’m not sure it’s worth upgrading just now because of the matte finish, but ultimately I’m glad Sonos is making the design change. And as our review of the Arc Ultra states, most people may not feel the need to add a subwoofer at all, given how well the soundbar handles low frequencies.
Speech-y clean
Okay, so this one has something to do with sound, but not entirely. Along with the new Sound Motion technology used in the woofer, the Sonos Arc Ultra has introduced a new speech enhancement feature to boost dialogue. It’s not a revolutionary update when it comes to soundbars – the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 8 calls its version Voice Zoom, for example – but it was something I was excited about, as I previously thought the Arc sometimes struggled when it came to voice. brightness.
The Speech Enhancement feature is accessible via the Sonos app – which I never really had a problem with during SonosAppGate, but which I appreciate and which has now been vastly improved – and works on a scale of Low, Medium or High. You also have the option to disable it.
When in use it really works, with dialogue coming through much clearer, with a much clearer idea of a ‘center channel’. The highest setting comes at the expense of softening other aspects of soundtracks, such as bass levels, so I’ve personally found that low or medium are the better options, as the rest of a soundtrack remains as it should, just with given vocals a slight boost .
To be honest, the speech enhancement feature is the biggest improvement over the Arc in my opinion, and really worth the upgrade.
Long awaited Bluetooth
Sonos and Bluetooth haven’t always had the most harmonious relationship. The brand was traditionally a Wi-Fi-only operator until it introduced the Sonos Move as its first portable Bluetooth speaker. This was followed by the Roam, and Sonos has since added Bluetooth support to its home speakers, including the Era 100 and Era 300.
I haven’t always seen the need for Bluetooth in Sonos’ home gear – they’re constantly connected to Wi-Fi and benefit from music quality when streamed via AirPlay or directly from the Sonos app – but at least Sonos gives its speakers and soundbars the ability to receive a Bluetooth stream and share it with other compatible speakers. After all, it is a multi-room speaker brand.
To make connectivity much easier, Sonos has added a dedicated Bluetooth button to the back of the Arc Ultra. It is also possible to activate Bluetooth pairing from the Sonos app. It’s a quick process and you’ll have music streaming throughout your home in no time.
Final credits
If you already have a Sonos Arc, you might still be wondering if it’s worth upgrading to the Arc Ultra. As with almost everything, that depends on your use case. Personally, I spend a lot of time at home searching the best streaming services for movies and TV shows to enjoy. I also like good sound, so of course I want the best that is available to me. I would like a ‘good’ speaker package and an AV receiver, but I just don’t have the room for it.
That’s why in my opinion the Arc Ultra with Era 300 surround speakers and a Sub is the next best thing. The new speech enhancement feature is a huge step forward and solves perhaps the biggest problem I had with the original Arc. For me it’s worth the upgrade, but for you it might not.
As for the Sub, if you already have a Sub 3 or older, I don’t think it’s worth moving to the Sub 4. I didn’t notice much of a difference in the bass response. Sonos’ large subwoofer has always been a top performer in my experience (and realistically could be). at a lot in some rooms) and I have no complaints about the Sub 3’s performance. Do I prefer the new matte finish? Yes. Is it worth spending $799 / £799 / AU$1,299 for that finish alone? No.
If you currently have a full Sonos home theater setup, but you want to make the overall soundstage bigger, wider and more powerful, then I’d recommend at least auditioning the Arc Ultra at your local hi-fi or electronics store. Even if you ultimately decide that the improvements aren’t significant enough to warrant an upgrade, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
