Sonos just introduced their new Arc Ultra soundbar, and it’s designed to take home entertainment to the next level, especially those with larger TVs
At the heart of it is Sound Motion, Sonos’ new tech that improves both bass and clarity. Compared to the previous Arc, the bass is deeper, and dialogue is much clearer. It’s loaded with 14 speakers, which help create a super-wide soundstage that fills the room, giving you that true surround sound feeling.
There are also side and upward-firing speakers that bounce sound off the walls and ceiling, making it feel like audio is coming from all around you. It supports Dolby Atmos still of course and now brings a 9.1.4 spatial audio experience.
Trueplay, which adjusts sound automatically based on your environment, for the first time, now works with Android as well as iOS.
A new advanced Speech Enhancement feature lets you tweak how clear the vocals are, so no more missing out on what people are saying during action-packed scenes.
Design-wise, the Arc Ultra is sleek and slim, with a curved shape and matte finish that looks similar to before. It can be mounted on the wall or placed on a TV stand, and it won’t block the screen. It connects to your TV through HDMI eARC, making setup easy, and you can control it with your TV remote, the Sonos app, or even voice commands.
Sonos explained to iPhone in Canada it worked with veteran movie producers and creators like Chris Jenkins and Onnalee Blank to fine-tune Arc Ultra when it comes to Dolby Atmos content playback, to bring an experience that aims to rival pro sound systems.
In terms of sustainability, Arc Ultra now uses less adhesives and more screws, plus uses halogen-free PCB materials, less silicon and when in idle, consumes 20% less power compared to a standalone player versus Arc. Packaging has been reduced by 18% and pallet weight is 15% lighter compared to its predecessor.
You can pre-order Arc Ultra today for $1,299 CAD, with a release coming on October 29, 2024 (yes, the price is $200 more than Arc).
Alongside its Arc Ultra launch, a new generation of its Sub is here, known as Sub 4, still using the same design as before. But this time it comes with a matte finish in both black and white, to go with an updated enclosure, faceplate and cable cover.
This next-gen Sub still has woofers that face inward that neutralizes distortion, while it was rebulit both inside and out. There’s increased processing power and memory plus new Wi-Fi radios for better connectivity.
Sonos says you can pair the Sub 4 with Arc Ultra, Arc or Beam. You can also pair two subwoofers for insane bass, while the new Sub 4 is also compatible with previous generations of Sub.
Sub 4 can be pre-ordered today for $999 CAD and releases on October 29 as well (same price as before).
Sonos today also released updates for its mobile app, bringing the following features:
For existing Sonos customers, this update brings back 90 percent of the new app’s missing features. The company says for new users, today’s update bring performance that is expected to surpass the previous when it comes to setting up new devices and grouping of speakers.
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Still no HDMI input ports on the Arc? Hard to see what’s the point of such an expensive standalone soundbar when Samsung and other brands have superior offerings (with subwoofer included) for a similar price.
Huh? "It connects to your TV through HDMI eARC"
Input. Do you know the difference between HDMI In vs. Out? Apparently it would seem that you do not.
Um, HDMI eARC is two-way and much superior to a simple HDMI input.
You have no clue what you’re talking about. Input ports are very handy for several reasons.
First off, it makes it easier to hide cables when they’re plugged into the soundbar. Second, every soundbar with input ports also comes with an eARC port. Third, input ports allow the soundbar to play Dolby Atmos content. Most TVs don’t passthrough Atmos properly even with eARC support. This is a big problem for Apple TV users.