Arc Ultra is a complete reinvention of Sonos’s best selling soundbar, with an all-new acoustic architecture that achieves immersive sound never before possible from a soundbar this sleek. Let’s explore the design and technological advancements that make Arc Ultra the new standard for home theater sound.

Arc Ultra delivers the most immersive home theater experience in a soundbar to date. Its spatial audio capabilities extend even further than those of its predecessor, thanks to a total of 14 precisely-engineered speakers that span the full range of audio frequencies, from crisp highs to booming lows.

But these speakers don’t work all on their own. They’re nested within an entirely new acoustic architecture that makes Arc Ultra unlike any soundbar you’ve heard before. Let’s break it down.

The speakers
Seven tweeters handle the full spectrum of higher-pitched sounds. Newly designed wave guides direct these high frequencies toward both sides of the room as well as upward to fill even more space in the room with sound. Six midwoofers contribute to a rich tapestry of mid-range and vocal frequencies, ensuring that dialogue cuts through the mix with crystal clarity, even at high volume levels.

Rounding out the array is a newly designed Sound Motion woofer, which marks a revolutionary leap forward for home theater sound. The use of Sound Motion technology in Arc Ultra is the key to unlocking the soundbar’s unique acoustic architecture, which delivers a bigger and more balanced sound experience in a slimmer design. The difference is especially prominent in Arc Ultra’s bass output, which far surpasses the previous generation while reducing the height and depth of the soundbar. This sleeker, smaller footprint is made possible by an innovative flat design featuring four distributed lightweight motors and voice coils with force-canceling dual cones in a single enclosure.

Here’s where you might stop to wonder about the furniture-rattling implications of a soundbar capable of such powerful bass response. But rest assured: the Sound Motion woofer unleashes its low frequencies with virtually no mechanical vibration, which keeps distortion to a minimum while contributing to a truly cinematic home theater experience.

The sound design
The acoustic architecture is completely updated while staying true to the beloved sleek design of Arc. In fact, Arc Ultra features an even sleeker footprint compared to its predecessor. All of the above speakers are precisely tuned to fit inside an slimmer enclosure that features an extended wraparound grille and a distinctive racetrack design that allows for sound to be fired across the room at all angles.

Every aspect of Arc Ultra is designed not just with looks, but also with sound in mind. Because the new enclosure fits more speakers — and positions these speakers in such a way that they accurately beam sound around the entire room — it renders a more complete surround sound experience than has ever been available in a soundbar.

This is thanks in part to Dolby Atmos technology and its ability to create an immersive, multidimensional soundstage. But it also owes to the unique design of Arc Ultra, which can render a 9.1.4 Dolby Atmos experience (nine ear-level channels, one subwoofer, and four height channels) without any additional speakers — a huge improvement from Arc’s already-impressive 5.0.2 experience. Add Arc Ultra to a setup that also features a pair of Sonos Era 300 rear speakers and our new subwoofer Sub 4, and you have the ultimate in Dolby Atmos surround sound.

Finally, a note on size. Because space is at a premium in many home theater setups, the soundbar’s depth and height have been reduced. A shallower depth makes for a more elegant and inconspicuous on-wall presence, which is more in line with newer television models. And a shorter height accounts for the ever-shrinking footprint of modern TV bezels, ensuring that a soundbar placed at the bottom of your screen doesn’t obstruct your view of the action.

Additional features
The software and processing power on Arc Ultra are just as impressive as the hardware components. Additional features designed to improve your listening experience include:

1. Smart Tuning. It’s not just the speakers that matter — it’s the space, too. Arc Ultra’s built-in software can measure how sound reflects off the objects and surfaces in your room, then tunes the soundbar to accommodate the space. In previous iterations, this feature was called Trueplay. Arc Ultra marks the debut of a faster, easier version of home theater Trueplay called Quick Tune, which will now be available not only to iOS users, but to Android users as well.

2. Dialogue and Speech Enhancement. The popular Speech Enhancement feature now comes with multiple levels of control. This is a win for everyone who enjoys a more cinematic experience, but especially for those with hearing difficulties who have been forced to rely on subtitles in the past.

Among the key differences between Arc Ultra and Arc, perhaps none is more audible than the addition of Sound Motion technology, which delivers clear, booming bass frequencies with virtually no mechanical vibration.

But it’s not just about the low end. Sound Motion helps Arc Ultra deliver bigger and better sound across the full audio spectrum while shrinking the size and weight of the hardware required. This space-saving technology was key to outfitting Arc Ultra with a more immersive acoustic architecture that does justice to the entire range of audible frequencies. The updated soundbar boasts three different types of transducers — each one dedicated to high, mid, or low frequencies — to create a more balanced, natural sound that isn’t too heavily weighted in one direction.

Sometimes, less really is more. This was one of the guiding design principles behind Arc Ultra, which consumes an estimated 20% less power than its predecessor when idle. And this principle goes down as far as the packaging, which uses less plastic overall as well as paper elements certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Arc Ultra’s smaller design is a big part of our push toward sustainability — though in ways that may not be obvious at first glance. For example, smaller packaging allows us to fit 264 more units on a single shipping container. Everything down to the soundbar’s physical construction is designed with sustainability in mind, which is why Arc Ultra is built with halogen-free PCB material widely considered to be less toxic than halogenated alternatives.

Arc Ultra delivers on the promise implicit in its name and now stands as the top-of-the-line soundbar option for audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts. With a more spacious soundstage, clearer dialogue, and deeper bass (even at high volumes), this is a soundbar that’s easy to get worked up about. 

Want to feel it and hear it for yourself? Book an appointment at the Sonos Flagship Store at Wheelock to hear a live demonstration. You're in for a treat!