Sonos Arc Ultra Soundbar Review: Big Bar, Better App

Nothing cures a slump like a big win. That’s exactly what Sonos needed from the new Arc Ultra. Built on the bones of the already great Sonos Arc (9/10, WIRED Recommends), the Ultra is slimmer, clearer, bassier, and more immersive for just $100 more, and it is the first product launched in what Sonos claims is a bug-free app-mosphere.

Software bugs have plagued the Sonos app since the company revamped it alongside the release of its first headphones, the Ace (8/10, WIRED Recommends), earlier this year. This is the bug that keeps on giving. In my review period I found another issue where the bar disappeared from the app after linking the new Sub 4 and a pair of Era 300 speakers (9/10, WIRED Recommends) in a surround system.

Thankfully, the woes finally seem to be resolved. After a simple power cycle, I’ve experienced over a week of error-free operation which, when combined with a lack of similar reports online, leads me to cautiously call my troubles settled. The Ultra is now stable and responsive for me, while its sonic skills place it among the best soundbars I’ve tested all year.

Subtly Slimmed Down

Sonos has always provided a luxe unboxing experience, and the Arc Ultra abides. Minimalist packaging gives way to a sleek, perforated matte tube of hulking proportions that looks strikingly familiar to the original Arc.

There are some telltale tweaks, including a shorter 3-inch height to sit more comfortably below TVs, and a wider stance that stretches to over 46 inches across. A plate at the backside hosts venting for the amplifiers and Sonos’ latest touch controls, including play/pause, song skip, voice control, and a granular volume slider to match the in-app version. Like all Sonos speakers, the Ultra comes in traditional black or white.

Within the cylindrical shell are 14 individually powered drivers (three more than the Arc), including seven tweeters, six midrange drivers, and a new “Sound Motion” woofer for bass. You’ll get support for all major Dolby audio formats, including lossless Dolby Atmos, and support for DTS surround (Sonos says it’s not a “licensed decoder”), but no DTS:X, the 3D Atmos rival.

There are some new additions to the Ultra’s back cubby, including a pairing key to connect over Bluetooth, which the Arc and older Sonos speakers lack. This complements Wi-Fi streaming over 2.4-GHz or 5-GHz frequencies and third-party options like AirPlay and Spotify Connect. There’s also a hard switch to cut the built-in microphones. In keeping with the Era line, the Ultra drops Google Assistant voice control for a mix of Alexa and Sonos’ built-in assistant.

The lack of a remote in the package is pure Sonos and no surprise, but it would have been a nice upgrade considering the app woes. Another disappointment is the Ultra’s lack of a spare HDMI input. It certainly keeps things simple, and the proliferation of HDMI eARC means most newer TVs can pass through any supported audio format from outboard devices, but it also keeps your TV’s HDMI ports at a premium. Most bars at this price (or lower) provide at least one spare port for a game console or other device.

Final omissions to note include the optical adapter packed with the original Arc (you can still buy one from Sonos) and any form of analog port, leaving HDMI eARC as the only way to plug in. That said, HDMI connection is necessary for Dolby Atmos, and it lets you use your TV remote to control power and volume. All other controls are handled by the embattled Sonos app.

App-rehension

Sonos made its name crafting good-sounding Wi-Fi speakers that just worked at a time when most rivals often didn’t. Even total novices could tap a key on a Sonos speaker and connect. My setup experience with the Ultra was much the same. The app walked me through a simple process, and though it initially couldn’t see my TV, turning it on fixed that.

Setting up the Sonos Sub 4 and Era 300 speakers a few days later was similarly seamless, and suddenly I had a full surround setup under a new “Room” configuration titled Living Room. While the app’s layout still feels a bit unintuitive—I’m not sure why it keeps your previously used controller window up top even when the soundbar is playing TV audio—controlling settings and features for each product is relatively simple.

I was able to group and ungroup the new system with my Era 100 speaker, and even connect and play TV audio through the Sonos Ace headphones with the Arc Ultra’s TV Swap feature without incident. The latter works brilliantly now, quickly swapping crystal clear sound between the bar and headphones from my TV. Sonos’ voice assistant is also handy, letting you start music or group and ungroup speakers with your voice.

I was all ready to rave about the app’s newfound stability, when suddenly the Living Room setup disappeared. When it resurfaced, the app showed only one surround speaker online, and over the next day or so the system played an intermittent disappearing act (though the Ultra continued to work with my TV). Here’s where a remote would have come in handy, at least allowing me to swap inputs or control baseline settings.

After speaking with Sonos support, a power cycle seemed to cure my woes. The Living Room group surround setup has been stable since then (knock on wood), though I did have one issue with my Era 100 claiming it was unregistered. Sonos said the latter issue is a known bug, and pointed to possible router confusion for my other dropouts. To be fair, my Centurylink Fiber Zylex router has its quirks, but I had no trouble with the Era 100 or 300 in the eight months I’ve had them. Whatever the cause, the system is now working well.

Take Me There

One thing that was never in doubt is how excellent the Ultra sounds. The upgrades over the original Arc are subtle yet significant, from clearer and more nuanced detail to heftier bass, and a broader, more immersive soundstage. The result is a bar with enough power and depth to accentuate the big stuff and enough finesse and sonic sensibility to sweat the small stuff in the best way.

I found myself audibly chuckling as the Ultra ramped up well-worn territory in familiar test films like Skyfall. Effects like gunshots or crunching car crashes sound almost visceral, while the broader moments like the sweeping tunnels as Bond fights his rival on top of a train seemed to swoop from the front of the room past my face. Similarly, the quaking of the London Underground trains above the new MI6 base sounded so real I looked out my window for a passing truck.

Dolby Atmos mixes take things further, as the bar’s up-firing and side-firing drivers stretched and bowed around my living room, nearly reaching behind me. The “Space Chase” scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 was a tour de force, especially on disc, matching the muscle car rev of the Milano with strafing enemy ships, gritty explosions, and random space objects zipping past my seat. You can almost feel the cabin glass breaking as the ship nearly succumbs to the Sovereign attack, while the cable scraping against the wall as Drax gets dragged cuts with textural precision.

Music, is clear, full, and fluid, at times catching me off guard with its premium touch. Strings and piano stand out, as do brassy guitar strings and buzzy synths. The Ultra’s spritely topside sometimes leans a bit too forward, veering toward sharpness in brighter instruments or thin sitcom dialog, but dropping the treble a notch or two helps a fair bit. You can adjust other effects like speech enhancement, but I never felt the need.

The overall performance comes surprisingly close to pricier bars, like Sony’s HT-A7000 or even Sennheiser’s opulent Ambeo Max. The Ultra doesn’t quite get as hefty in the bass as those bars, but the new Sound Motion tech provides enough rumble to handle all but the lowest hits. If you need more, of course, Sonos is happy to oblige with add-on components.

Killer Config

I think most folks will be pleased with the Ultra alone for most content, but those seeking the next level will find some lovely (if pricey) complements, starting with the new Sub 4. I was impressed with the sub’s musical clarity, diving into that lower sonic floor the Ultra can’t reach. I was only really aware of it for sub-bass hits like a major explosion or a 60-Hz kick hit in a hip-hop or electronica track, but it definitely takes things up (or rather down) a notch.

Its expressive sound and opposing dual drivers remind me of the excellent SVS 3000 Micro. I like the pint-size Micro better, partly because its multiple settings and dedicated app can be tuned to your room and preferences. I don’t expect a consumer-forward brand like Sonos to add such granular subwoofer settings, but adding an adjustable crossover at some point would be nice for a more tailored performance, especially given the Sub 4’s cost.

As for surrounds, there are multiple options, from older speakers like the Sonos One and Play:1 to the newer Era 100 and Grandaddy Era 300. The obvious benefit of the 300, besides its fabulous performance, is its upfiring driver that helps complete the overhead “dome” for which Dolby Atmos is prized. As well as the Ultra does on its own, the Era 300s sound glorious in surround, providing pinpoint accuracy and extraordinary depth in the mix.

The full suite of the Ultra, Sub 4, and Era 300s provides some of the best surround performance you can buy in a soundbar configuration, meeting or beating premium all-in-ones like the Sony Quad (8/10, WIRED Recommends). It’s not a cheap endeavor, but it is a fantastic experience, and thanks to Sonos’ TruePlay calibration, the components can be balanced in minutes.

Add-ons aside, the Arc Ultra provides premium stand-alone performance to beat everything I’ve heard in its class. It doesn’t offer all the features (a spare HDMI would be nice), but it’s got everything most folks need. It all comes down to whether you trust Sonos to keep its software stable for the road ahead. If you can buy that premise, you should buy this bar. It’s that good.