I tested Sonos’ new high-end soundbar, the Arc Ultra. Verdict: an immersive and powerful sound experience, in a compact and timeless format. All this comes with good news: the software bugs are gone. There remains a price (€999) which is a bit stinging. Is it justified? We go around…
Sonos has a big advantage in the soundbar market: its products aren’t just for streaming your best video content with the best sound. A pioneer of the connected speaker (which searches for music on the internet itself, the phone application is just a super remote control), the American company is taking advantage of its long experience to include its sound bars in the hardware and software ecosystem that it has built over the years. You can also very easily pair 2 individual Sonos speakers to the soundbar to create an even more immersive home cinema in your living room. But it’s not obligatory, because the Ultra Arc is a beast of war, you will read it. A machine to magnify the sound of a TV series, while being perfectly capable of adapting to all types of music.
Design et fabrication
From the moment you unbox it, the care taken in manufacturing is evident. The device is robust, with an impeccable finish and a simple design that will fit perfectly into any living room. The lifespan of the design is a constant at Sonos: 10 year old speakers still have a look & feel appreciated and appreciated. This is the case with the elegant curves of the Arc Ultra, which exudes solidity both in terms of weight and assembly.
Audio quality
But it is of course the audio quality that takes precedence. And there, the Arc Ultra impresses. Despite its compact size, it delivers powerful and enveloping sound, with surprisingly deep bass for a device of this size. What explains this feat? A sophisticated and revised acoustic architecture compared to the first Arc model. Made up of 14 speakers instead of 11, including a new integrated bass module which works wonders, it offers the sound balance we are looking for.
Whether listening to music or watching a movie, the sound is clear, precise and detailed. The voices stand out perfectly (it’s even adjustable on 3 levels), and all the instruments stand out, even in the most complex passages. The Arc Ultra envelops you in the movie or music, with natural, almost life-like sound, without the need for an additional subwoofer (of course, some would argue that by adding the Sonos Sub 4, the experience will be complete – but this is clearly not a necessity).
Connected Features
And the Arc Ultra isn’t just a great soundbar. Thanks to the Sonos ecosystem, it transforms into an intelligent and autonomous connected speaker, controllable through the application. You can easily stream music, control the volume, and even create a multiroom system with other Sonos speakers. Bluetooth is included, to allow a friend to broadcast directly from their smartphone, if necessary. Finally, since the release of the Ace headphones, it is possible, via the Sonos application, to send the sound from the bar to the headphones, while retaining all the initial audio qualities.
There is no remote control, but using your TV’s to change the volume is done automatically if you plug the HDMI cable (provided) into the correct port (eARC) on your television. To control your music, there is a microphone in the Arc that allows you to call the voice assistants of Google and Amazon, as well as the more limited one of Sonos. There are also a few capacitive buttons to control your music, switch to Bluetooth, group or ungroup speakers.
Getting started
After a difficult year in 2024 on the software front, Sonos seems to have found the path to stability. The application has been revised and corrected, and getting the Arc Ultra up and running was child’s play. Configuring and calibrating the sound according to the room (with the help of a smartphone, therefore) is done just as quickly and intuitively; the user experience is again optimal, in line with Sonos’ historical reputation (and the asking price).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Sonos Arc Ultra is an exceptional soundbar that delivers powerful, precise and immersive sound, in a compact and timeless format. It is easy to install and use, and has established itself as a benchmark in the high-end soundbar market. But as sometimes with Sonos, this excellence comes at a price. That of the Arc Ultra amounts to 999€. Knowing that we can now do without a subwoofer, this is a price that becomes almost justified for demanding home cinema enthusiasts. et of music. Because with Sonos, it’s a bit like Apple: you don’t just buy a soundbar or a smartphone, but also the entire software and hardware ecosystem that goes with it.
sonos soundbar Review Mathieu’s tests multiroom
