Sonos Reveals Arc Ultra, The New Soundbar Featuring Sound Motion™
Today we are announcing the introduction of Sonos Arc Ultra, a new premium soundbar that also debuts the brand’s revolutionary transducer technology called Sound Motion™. A significant breakthrough in audio engineering, Sound Motion™ drastically reduces the size of the transducer while supercharging the bass, opening a new chapter in sound innovation where bigger, better sound can be delivered from smaller products. Arc Ultra delivers up to double the bass of its predecessor, with an unprecedented 9.1.4 spatial audio experience in a sleek, sophisticated design.
We are also introducing Sonos Sub 4, the next generation of our iconic subwoofer with a refreshed design and internals that elevate your favorite movies, hit shows and more with rumbling bass.
Arc Ultra: Breakthrough Sound for Your Home Theater
Built with first-of-its-kind technology and deep industry collaborations, Arc Ultra provides boosted bass, spine-tingling spatial audio with support for Dolby Atmos, and advanced Speech Enhancement for even more levels of control — all in a sleek package that blends into your space and complements large TVs.
Theater Sound in Your Living Room: Arc Ultra delivers a massive sound stage that precisely places every detail of sound in your room to envelop you in content. The all-new architecture features 14 Sonos-engineered drivers, including a Sound Motion™ woofer and a cluster of tweeters with waveguides on both ends to deliver a 9.1.4 spatial audio experience. Tune with Trueplay™ to pinpoint the best sound for your space, now available for both iOS and Android.
Never Miss a Word or Whisper: With a new center channel architecture, Arc Ultra maximizes vocal clarity so it’s easier to follow dialogue. An all-new advanced Speech Enhancement feature lets you choose your preferred level of dialogue clarity in the Sonos app.
Cinematic Collaborations: Arc Ultra is the product of deepened Sonos Soundboard relationships.We worked with veteran movie producers and creators like Chris Jenkins and Onnalee Blank to fine-tune Dolby Atmos content and assemble a studio-worthy experience that rivals professional sound systems.
Design Worthy of Your Home: Arc Ultra is thoughtfully crafted with a distinctive curved profile, matte finish, and a slimmer appearance that looks elegant when mounted and doesn’t obstruct TV bezels when placed on a credenza. Its wrap-around grille extends around the back of the speaker so sound can travel in every direction to completely surround you.
Seamless Setup and Control: Unlock theater-quality sound in a matter of minutes with a simple HDMI eARC connection and effortlessly control with your TV remote, the Sonos app, Sonos Voice Control, or Amazon Alexa. Touch controls are cleverly housed in a dedicated ledge behind the soundbar to prevent visual distraction. With Bluetooth line-in, Arc Ultra also gives you more ways to stream - whether binging a podcast or setting a playlist before guests arrive.
Committed to Sustainability: Arc Ultra was designed responsibly with improved serviceability by using more screws and fewer adhesives, halogen-free PCB materials, less silicon material, and a reduced idle power consumption by as much as 20% as a standalone player compared to Arc. Its packaging is 100% recyclable and also 18% smaller in volume, making it more efficient to ship.
Sub 4: Our Most Immersive Subwoofer, Revamped
Sub 4 is the next generation subwoofer producing bass you can feel, transforming your home theater experience to draw you closer to the content you love.
Pulse-Pounding Sound: Feel every beat, roar or rumble in your chest with dual custom woofers that generate deep, dynamic low frequencies to enhance your entertainment. No buzz or rattle either — both Sub 4 woofers face inward to create a force-canceling effect that neutralizes distortion.
Rebuilt, Inside and Out: Sonos’ most advanced subwoofer to date, Sub 4 includes increased processing power and memory, as well as new WiFi radios for better connectivity so you never miss a beat.
Same Iconic Design: Sub 4 sports an elegant sculptural shape maintaining much of its predecessor’s aesthetic, with an updated matte finish in Black and White and a profile that’s easy to stand upright, lay on its side, or tuck under the couch. Sub 4 also comes in a more sustainable form through dematerialization efforts and a nearly 50% reduction in idle power consumption.
Breathtaking Home Theater: Add more drama to your movies and shows when you pair Sub 4 with Arc Ultra, Arc or Beam for deeper lows. Pair two subwoofers together for maximum bass that supercharges every scene and song — Sub 4 is compatible with previous generations of Sub.
Arc Ultra and Sub 4 will be available beginning October 29, 2024 for USD 999 (EUR 999, GBP 999) and USD 799 (EUR 899, GBP 799). For more information, visitsonos.com, and follow along on@sonos.
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Hi @GuitarSuperstar
From the Sonos website:
Arc Ultra: Compatible with two Sub 4s, Sub (Gen 3)s, or one of each.
Very unfortunate. This is probably a deal breaker for me.
I think it’s possible you have misunderstood - for a Dual Sub configuration, the two Subs must be Gen 3 or newer.
Arc Ultra is compatible with all versions of Sub, but a connected Gen 1 or Gen 2 Sub may restrict Arc Ultra’s abilities in the future.
From the product page:
I hope this helps.
Hi @JakeSteed
I’d like expand slightly on @GuitarSuperstar’s excellent answer:
You can set your Blu-ray player to play the DTS audio as lossless Multichannel PCM which likely sounds very similar to DTS-HD Master Audio.
It will actually sound exactly the same - all you are doing is specifying that the player should decode the audio rather than the soundbar. It makes no difference which device does the decoding, and this is the precise reason why we do not increase the price by adding more supported formats - it’s just not necessary. McPCM will require eARC to play, but so does DTS-HD.
I hope this helps.
Hi @GuitarSuperstar
From the Sonos website:
Arc Ultra: Compatible with two Sub 4s, Sub (Gen 3)s, or one of each.
Very unfortunate. This is probably a deal breaker for me.
I think it’s possible you have misunderstood - for a Dual Sub configuration, the two Subs must be Gen 3 or newer.
Arc Ultra is compatible with all versions of Sub, but a connected Gen 1 or Gen 2 Sub may restrict Arc Ultra’s abilities in the future.
From the product page:
I hope this helps.
Hey @Corry P. My current dual Sub setup is with a Gen 2 and Gen 3. So the Arc Ultra won’t work for me unless I upgrade my Gen 2. The Ultra will have to be a significant upgrade in sound quality for me to consider upgrading my Sub Gen 2.
Hi @GuitarSuperstar
Yeah that’s fair - I was thinking you might have thought that the Arc Ultra didn’t support Sub Gen 1/2 at all.
@Corry P Can we get some clarity on the 9.1.4 classification of the Arc Ultra? The Sonos User Guide listed the Ultra as 5.1.2 (with a Sub added). @Marco.B said this information was accurate. That information has since been removed from the User Guide (US edition). A Sonos team member (Liz) on Reddit said it is 9.1.4 as a standalone sound bar, and all of the product descriptions and tech news articles seem to indicate this too. So which is it?
If it is 9.1.4 as a standalone sound bar, can you explain how that works?
Hi @JakeSteed
I’d like expand slightly on @GuitarSuperstar’s excellent answer:
You can set your Blu-ray player to play the DTS audio as lossless Multichannel PCM which likely sounds very similar to DTS-HD Master Audio.
It will actually sound exactly the same - all you are doing is specifying that the player should decode the audio rather than the soundbar. It makes no difference which device does the decoding, and this is the precise reason why we do not increase the price by adding more supported formats - it’s just not necessary. McPCM will require eARC to play, but so does DTS-HD.
I hope this helps.
Thank you so much for the input and clarification. I currently don’t have a TV that supports passthrough since it has no dts licenses either (Samsung Q85R from 2019) so I am getting either something Dolby or 2 channel Stereo. My understanding is that that the TV needs these as well to make passthrough work and a lot of manufacturers don’t have these at all or only in their top model. I am planning on getting a new one like the new Sony Bravia 9 (supporting dts:x) hoping that this will do the trick. As a player I am using a PS5.
I have an Arc, 2 ERA300s, a 2G Sub and a 3G Sub
So if I understand this correctly here is what is supported and not supported as far as sub configurations with the Arc Ultra.
Supported:
Gen 1
Gen 2
Gen 3
Gen 4
Gen 3 + Gen 3
Gen 4 + Gen 3
Gen 4 + Gen 4
Not supported:
Gen 1 + Gen 1
Gen 2 + Gen 1
Gen 2 + Gen 2
Gen 3 + Gen 1
Gen 3 + Gen 2
Gen 4 + Gen 1
Gen 4 + Gen 2
I’m rather uncertain about the underlined cases, but that’s the way I’m interpreting the conversation between @GuitarSuperstar and @Corry P.
Hi @JakeSteed
I’d like expand slightly on @GuitarSuperstar’s excellent answer:
You can set your Blu-ray player to play the DTS audio as lossless Multichannel PCM which likely sounds very similar to DTS-HD Master Audio.
It will actually sound exactly the same - all you are doing is specifying that the player should decode the audio rather than the soundbar. It makes no difference which device does the decoding, and this is the precise reason why we do not increase the price by adding more supported formats - it’s just not necessary. McPCM will require eARC to play, but so does DTS-HD.
I hope this helps.
Thank you so much for the input and clarification. I currently don’t have a TV that supports passthrough since it has no dts licenses either (Samsung Q85R from 2019) so I am getting either something Dolby or 2 channel Stereo. My understanding is that that the TV needs these as well to make passthrough work and a lot of manufacturers don’t have these at all or only in their top model. I am planning on getting a new one like the new Sony Bravia 9 (supporting dts:x) hoping that this will do the trick. As a player I am using a PS5.
I have an Arc, 2 ERA300s, a 2G Sub and a 3G Sub
Is your TV equipped with eARC?
So if I understand this correctly here is what is supported and not supported as far as sub configurations with the Arc Ultra.
Supported:
Gen 1
Gen 2
Gen 3
Gen 4
Gen 3 + Gen 3
Gen 4 + Gen 3
Gen 4 + Gen 4
Not supported:
Gen 1 + Gen 1
Gen 2 + Gen 1
Gen 2 + Gen 2
Gen 3 + Gen 1
Gen 3 + Gen 2
Gen 4 + Gen 1
Gen 4 + Gen 2
I’m rather uncertain about the underlined cases, but that’s the way I’m interpreting the conversation between @GuitarSuperstar and @Corry P.
great idea, sonos need to use this
So if I understand this correctly here is what is supported and not supported as far as sub configurations with the Arc Ultra…...
You should get a job writing product release notes. Such clarity
Hi @JakeSteed
I’d like expand slightly on @GuitarSuperstar’s excellent answer:
You can set your Blu-ray player to play the DTS audio as lossless Multichannel PCM which likely sounds very similar to DTS-HD Master Audio.
It will actually sound exactly the same - all you are doing is specifying that the player should decode the audio rather than the soundbar. It makes no difference which device does the decoding, and this is the precise reason why we do not increase the price by adding more supported formats - it’s just not necessary. McPCM will require eARC to play, but so does DTS-HD.
I hope this helps.
Thank you so much for the input and clarification. I currently don’t have a TV that supports passthrough since it has no dts licenses either (Samsung Q85R from 2019) so I am getting either something Dolby or 2 channel Stereo. My understanding is that that the TV needs these as well to make passthrough work and a lot of manufacturers don’t have these at all or only in their top model. I am planning on getting a new one like the new Sony Bravia 9 (supporting dts:x) hoping that this will do the trick. As a player I am using a PS5.
I have an Arc, 2 ERA300s, a 2G Sub and a 3G Sub
Is your TV equipped with eARC?
It actually is. And Atmos/TrueHD works just fine from disc but in regards to dts I tried every setting possible in the player settings. On the current PS5 as well as my former Sony X800M2. My TV is set to „HDMI passthrough“ which is pretty much the only available setting there is. After a lot of google research I read that the TV also needs the dts license, even for passthrough. Which my Samsung hasn’t. Of course.
Hi @melvimbe
So if I understand this correctly here is what is supported and not supported as far as sub configurations with the Arc Ultra.
Supported:
Gen 1
Gen 2
Gen 3
Gen 4
Gen 3 + Gen 3
Gen 4 + Gen 3
Gen 4 + Gen 4
Not supported:
Gen 1 + Gen 1
Gen 2 + Gen 1
Gen 2 + Gen 2
Gen 3 + Gen 1
Gen 3 + Gen 2
Gen 4 + Gen 1
Gen 4 + Gen 2
I’m rather uncertain about the underlined cases, but that’s the way I’m interpreting the conversation between @GuitarSuperstar and @Corry P.
Correct.
Though, my documentation has caveats for the Sub Gen1 and Sub Gen2 - having one of these connected may be a performance limiter in future system configurations (their radios differ from Gen3/4’s and use more of the host’s resources as a result). Any such limitations will be announced when they become a factor for a new product experience being introduced.
Note that Gen 1 + Gen 1, Gen 2 + Gen 1 and Gen 2 + Gen 2 have never been Dual Sub supported configurations, so are nothing new.
Sub Mini is supported, but not in Dual Sub configuration.
I hope this helps.
Hi @JakeSteed
I’d like expand slightly on @GuitarSuperstar’s excellent answer:
You can set your Blu-ray player to play the DTS audio as lossless Multichannel PCM which likely sounds very similar to DTS-HD Master Audio.
It will actually sound exactly the same - all you are doing is specifying that the player should decode the audio rather than the soundbar. It makes no difference which device does the decoding, and this is the precise reason why we do not increase the price by adding more supported formats - it’s just not necessary. McPCM will require eARC to play, but so does DTS-HD.
I hope this helps.
Thank you so much for the input and clarification. I currently don’t have a TV that supports passthrough since it has no dts licenses either (Samsung Q85R from 2019) so I am getting either something Dolby or 2 channel Stereo. My understanding is that that the TV needs these as well to make passthrough work and a lot of manufacturers don’t have these at all or only in their top model. I am planning on getting a new one like the new Sony Bravia 9 (supporting dts:x) hoping that this will do the trick. As a player I am using a PS5.
I have an Arc, 2 ERA300s, a 2G Sub and a 3G Sub
Is your TV equipped with eARC?
It actually is. And Atmos/TrueHD works just fine from disc but in regards to dts I tried every setting possible in the player settings. On the current PS5 as well as my former Sony X800M2. My TV is set to „HDMI passthrough“ which is pretty much the only available setting there is. After a lot of google research I read that the TV also needs the dts license, even for passthrough. Which my Samsung hasn’t. Of course.
Be sure to set the PS5 to these settings:
Output Device: HDMI Device (AV amplifier)
HDMI Device Type: AV amplifier
Number of Channels: 7.1 ch (or 5.1 ch)
Audio Format (Priority): Linear PCM
When watching Blu-ray discs, there is another audio setting that must be adjusted when you start the disc. Tap the Options button on the controller, select the “…” and change the Audio Format setting to Linear PCM for all DTS-encoded discs.
Hi @JakeSteed
My TV is set to „HDMI passthrough“ which is pretty much the only available setting there is. After a lot of google research I read that the TV also needs the dts license, even for passthrough. Which my Samsung hasn’t. Of course.
I don’t disbelieve you, but this is strange to me - the very concept of Passthrough is that the device performing it simply does not do anything at all with the audio - it just passes it along. This is why volume control (sometimes) and audio settings (always) on the TV have no effect when Passthrough is set.
This is not the first time that I have heard of TV manufacturers playing a little with the definition of Passthrough, but I really don’t know if it’s legal requirement that they have licenses to Passthrough certain formats or not - if pressed, I would have guessed they’d only need a license to decode the stream. If you’ve done research, however, then that is more than I have done - I’ll take your word for it!
I have heard of some TVs having both Passthrough and Bitstream options (even though they sound like they should be the same) - is Bitstream available on your TV? If so, please try it out.
I hope this helps.
Hi @GuitarSuperstar
@Corry P Can we get some clarity on the 9.1.4 classification of the Arc Ultra? The Sonos User Guide listed the Ultra as 5.1.2 (with a Sub added). @Marco.B said this information was accurate. That information has since been removed from the User Guide (US edition). A Sonos team member (Liz) on Reddit said it is 9.1.4 as a standalone sound bar, and all of the product descriptions and tech news articles seem to indicate this too. So which is it?
If it is 9.1.4 as a standalone sound bar, can you explain how that works?
Marco is working on getting some clarification on that point from Marketing - we’ll update you all on this as soon as we can.
It's ironic to me that Marketing are the ‘go to’ for this and not Engineering or similar.
Where do Marketing get their information from?……
It's ironic to me that Marketing are the ‘go to’ for this and not Engineering or similar.
Where do Marketing get their information from?……
Patrick Spence?
Hi @GuitarSuperstar
From the Sonos website:
Arc Ultra: Compatible with two Sub 4s, Sub (Gen 3)s, or one of each.
Very unfortunate. This is probably a deal breaker for me.
I think it’s possible you have misunderstood - for a Dual Sub configuration, the two Subs must be Gen 3 or newer.
Arc Ultra is compatible with all versions of Sub, but a connected Gen 1 or Gen 2 Sub may restrict Arc Ultra’s abilities in the future.
From the product page:
I hope this helps.
Hey @Corry P. My current dual Sub setup is with a Gen 2 and Gen 3. So the Arc Ultra won’t work for me unless I upgrade my Gen 2. The Ultra will have to be a significant upgrade in sound quality for me to consider upgrading my Sub Gen 2.
yeah, so it was what I originally thought… that is why I ultimately ordered a Sub 4 with the Ultra, it will pair with my Sub 3, and I will just move my Sub 2 to another room in my case.
So if I understand this correctly here is what is supported and not supported as far as sub configurations with the Arc Ultra.
Supported:
Gen 1
Gen 2
Gen 3
Gen 4
Gen 3 + Gen 3
Gen 4 + Gen 3
Gen 4 + Gen 4
Not supported:
Gen 1 + Gen 1
Gen 2 + Gen 1
Gen 2 + Gen 2
Gen 3 + Gen 1
Gen 3 + Gen 2
Gen 4 + Gen 1
Gen 4 + Gen 2
I’m rather uncertain about the underlined cases, but that’s the way I’m interpreting the conversation between @GuitarSuperstar and @Corry P.
great idea, sonos need to use this
Just need to add a solo Sub Mini to the list
Updated for clarity:
Supported:
Sub Mini
Gen 1
Gen 2
Gen 3
Gen 4
Gen 3 + Gen 3
Gen 4 + Gen 3
Gen 4 + Gen 4
Not supported:
Gen 1 + Gen 1
Gen 2 + Gen 1
Gen 2 + Gen 2
Gen 3 + Gen 1 *
Gen 3 + Gen 2 *
Gen 4 + Gen 1 *
Gen 4 + Gen 2 *
* This Configuration is supported with Arc, but not with Arc Ultra
Note: Sub Gen1 and Sub Gen2 - having one of these connected may be a performance limiter in future system configurations (their radios differ from Gen3/4’s and use more of the host’s resources as a result). Any such limitations will be announced when they become a factor for a new product experience being introduced.
Although I really love the Atmos experience and the easy setup with a TV and it‘s streaming apps, I really have an issue with the lack of decent dts support. I get that it plays no role in streaming but am I really the only one who has a lot of the 11cm shiny silver discs left or still buys them?
some 4K releases have a dts x oder dts HD Master Audio track
Some good movies from the past just never made it to any of the streaming services. At least not here in Germany. Remember „A life less ordinary“ or „Feeling Minnesota“? Or is my taste just weird?
And dts is stil big on discs. So what can I expect from the new Arc ultra? The same „small“ solution with somewhat dts compatibility if my TV supports the passthrough? I mean it’s way better than a PCM 2 channel downmix, but real HD master 7.1 or x support would be nice. How much are these licences? Any chance we get them with a firmware update?
People have been asking for this for years and years.
Noticed all the new sony Atmos soundbars offer DTS-X
Guess Sonos thinks it doesn’t cost any sales, and if anything soon only streaming will be left sadly…..
Disney offers Imax enhanced for some stuff on streaming so full DTS support would be nice. Some TVs support it. I’m getting a G4 and it supports DTS along with Atmos. Eventually I will upgrade from my Playbase I think. Not anytime soon but I’ll want DTS support.
Just checked the Pre-Order listing online and a little disappointed at the price in Australia. From the local sites, Arc Ultra in US is USD 999… in Australia AUD 1,799. At the current exchange rate USD 999 equates to about AUD 1,500. So why are we being charged so much more here for the same product? 🤨
Just checked the Pre-Order listing online and a little disappointed at the price in Australia. From the local sites, Arc Ultra in US is USD 999… in Australia AUD 1,799. At the current exchange rate USD 999 equates to about AUD 1,500. So why are we being charged so much more here for the same product? 🤨
Doesn’t the AUD price include the GST (sales tax)? The $999 price in the US doesn’t include sales tax.
I’m not Australian so I could be wrong.
Just checked the Pre-Order listing online and a little disappointed at the price in Australia. From the local sites, Arc Ultra in US is USD 999… in Australia AUD 1,799. At the current exchange rate USD 999 equates to about AUD 1,500. So why are we being charged so much more here for the same product? 🤨
Doesn’t the AUD price include the GST (sales tax)? The $999 price in the US doesn’t include sales tax.
I’m not Australian so I could be wrong.
Yes, ten percent.
Actually you might be right there but even if I take out the GST it still works out to about AUD 1,635 before tax.
