sonos real Need a great product now.
2024 will be remembered as the year that Sonos nearly ruined its brand with a hasty, premature launch of a service. Completely revamped mobile app. This resulted in unprecedented Outcry from loyal customers They face numerous errors, system performance degradation, and other issues. Many are calling for CEO Patrick Spencer to step down. That didn’t happen, but Sonos spent much of the year at a disadvantage Apologize, Turnaround planand ensure that such a serious setback will not happen again.
It is in this undesirable situation that Sonos releases short delay Arc Ultra Soundbar. The $999 Ultra aims to improve existing products Powerful Dolby Atmos soundbar. After testing the Ultra for a few hours, I can say that it is very successful. Software missteps aside, Sonos still delivers on the hardware. The Ultra is a significant improvement in basically every aspect, and it’s a worthwhile upgrade if you’re ready to trust Sonos again.
this original arc The company’s top brass must be sorely nostalgic for one of the company’s peak periods, when demand for its products surged during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Arc performed very well, delivering impressive immersion through a single soundbar, although some customers experienced loud popping noises caused by the bug. The company took too long to fix.
The Arc has other weaknesses, with bass response being at the top of the list. Unless you combine Arc with Sub (or Super mini Later), the soundbar doesn’t have enough low-end sound to give you the roar and explosions of Hollywood blockbusters. This is a shortcoming common to many soundbars and an inevitable trade-off that comes with form factor.
In 2022, Sonos spent $100 million to try to overcome this problem by acquiring a small company called Mayht Holding, which developed a “revolutionary approach to audio sensors” that allows them to operate without affecting the sound. become smaller and lighter. Arc Ultra is the first time we’ve seen this technology in an actual product. It’s used in the new “SoundMotion” woofer built into the soundbar, which produces twice as much bass as the original Arc. It’s a pretty cool looking thing, and here’s the long story short on how it works from the Sonos press materials:
– Dispersed lightweight motor expels more air for increased bass.
– Aerospace grade aluminum ribs connect the motors to provide combined power, allowing for a smaller enclosure.
– Four pairs of opposing magnets power four voice coils, producing louder sound in a smaller enclosure.
– Reinforced deadening cone minimizes vibration for clearer sound.
This compact, relatively flat woofer design freed up enough space for Sonos to fit more drivers (14 in total) inside the Arc Ultra. The original Arc had 11. At least that’s what Sonos’ marketing says. Don’t get hung up on the numbers; some of them are virtualized phantom channels, but at the end of the day this is still a soundbar. Objectively speaking, the soundstage produced by the Arc Ultra is noticeably wider and more dynamic than its predecessor. It is implemented in a cylindrical housing, the dimensions and overall design of which are similar to the original, although this one is a bit shorter (which is great if your TV is on a stand like mine) and slightly longer Some.
The touch controls have been relocated to the upward-facing panel on the rear of the soundbar, and the Arc Ultra now shares the same button layout as the Soundbar. Times 100 / 300 and move 2. Although Google Assistant is no longer available, hands-free voice commands remain. You can use Amazon Alexa, Sonos Voice Control, or both.
One welcome upgrade is the Trueplay feature called Quick Tune. Like other recent Sonos speakers, the Ultra can use its built-in microphone to adjust itself to your environment— No A manual Trueplay process is required, moving around the room while waving the iPhone around. This means Android users can finally take advantage of Trueplay, or at least a faster version of it, which wasn’t possible on the first Arc. iPhone users still have the option to make more radical adjustments as before. I didn’t notice any noticeable difference between the two, but you might, depending on your room layout.
After going MIA on the original Arc, Bluetooth audio playback is also supported on Ultra. There’s a pairing button on the back of the soundbar next to the Ethernet jack and microphone mute switch. AirPlay 2 is still there, and Ultra jumps to Wi-Fi 6 for more reliable wireless performance. sonos stuff No Solved the problem of missing HDMI pass-through function. Other premium soundbars let you plug in a game console or disc player without sacrificing another HDMI port on your TV, but Sonos clearly prefers simplicity.
I tested the Arc Ultra in three different settings: first alone; And then there are equally new ones sub 4 ($799); and finally a Sub 4 and a pair Era 300 speakers As rear surround. Even taken on its own, the improvements over the original Arc are obvious and substantial. The Sound Motion subwoofer delivers on its promise, giving the soundbar more oomph and thicker bass, which may be enough if you have a small-to-medium living room or live in an apartment with people below.
Bass aside, the Ultra simply has more clarity, dimension and depth than the Arc. The height effect is more convincing and everything sounds more spacious without becoming thin or also scattered. i’m fascinated wild robot At home, like I saw it at the Alamo Theater. Ultra also beats Arc in music. Whether it’s an Atmos track like Kacey Musgraves’ “Sway” or regular stereo, Sonos’ Sound Motion technology and added drivers will come into play. I’d still listen to most of my music elsewhere if I could, but for relaxing on the couch this works great.
Dialogue clarity is also great and another major reason to consider upgrading from Arc. Even without voice enhancement enabled (now available in three levels), the center channel has more impact. Over the roar of the engine, I could clearly hear Christian Bale’s voice. Ford v Ferrari. Guy Ritchie’s snatch An old favorite (and a good test of dialogue clarity), it caused no problems on the Arc Ultra. The introduction of Sub 4 takes the bass from good to superb. This configuration also allows the soundbar to focus on the highs and mids, while a dedicated subwoofer takes care of the roaring bass.
Yes, if you add a pair of Era 300 speakers, you’ll get the full Sonos Dolby Atmos experience. It’s happiness, it can be utter obsession, that’s what I want Bundles worth over $2,500. If you’re interested in delving deeper into frequency response plots, check out Andrew Robinson’s great YouTube comments. Whether used alone or in combination, Sonos has a winner that can top the best offerings from Samsung and other brands.
But none of that matters if you can’t rely on the software that controls everything. So what about the troubled new apps? My experience during this review was surprisingly headache-free. None of my speakers are random disappear from systemand the controls for Arc Ultra are responsive and work as expected. The process of adding heavy bass and surround sound was smooth. This is all very encouraging, but I completely understand that some people still feel frustrated when using apps.
New problems kept popping up: Early on, the Arc Ultra had a Trueplay bug that dulled bass response. The issue has been resolved, but Sonos will need to continue making performance enhancements and bug fixes in the new year and beyond. Just recently I saw Lots of complaints about a bug serious hindrance The Era 300’s surround sound performance—this also affects original Arc owners.
Arc Ultra is a great product and a key step in the right direction. It’s a major improvement over the original and is easily the best unibody soundbar you can buy. But this is just the first step, and everything that happens next will really indicate where Sonos is going. if rumors video streaming box Indeed, Patrick Spence and company better have a compelling case for moving beyond Sonos’ core audio business. The damage from an application incident will be long-lasting and has already occurred resulting in layoffs and presented Ace Headphones In less than a year, all was forgotten.
After this ordeal, I wouldn’t blame anyone for holding off on buying an Arc Ultra until Sonos proves it’s capable of making the right decision again. The company isn’t out of the woods yet. Not even close. But it still knows how to make a really good speaker, so there’s hope.
Photography: Chris Welch/The Verge
