Sonos Arc Ultra Review: Surreal bass without subwoofer

In 2019 Sonos launched the Sonos ARC, sound bar that has been the top of the range of the brand until the launch of this new bar that comes to supplant that at the top of the catalog of Sonos sound bars: the Sonos ARC Ultra.

This model comes with some improvements and optimizations compared to the previous model. Perhaps these improvements are not many, but they are enough to notice a new leap in quality, especially in the bass. I will tell you in more detail below.

Sonos Arc Ultra

$999,00

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Amazon.com

Amazon price updated: 2 de September de 2025 11:02

Feature	Specification
Dimensions	117.3 x 11.57 x 8.7 cm (W x D x H)
Weight	9 kg
Color	White, Black
Connectivity	802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax 2.4 GHz/5 GHz, Bluetooth, HDMI eARC, Optional optical digital audio
Controls	Top touch, voice control (Alexa, Google Assistant)
Audio compatibility	Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS
Amplifiers	15 Class D digital amplifiers
Drivers	1 dual diaphragm woofer, 7 tweeters, 6 midrange speakers
Assistant integration	Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Sonos Voice Control
Control	Sonos App, AirPlay 2, remote control (HDMI-CEC)

Design, controls and connections

This ARC Ultra has a very similar design to the Sonos ARC that precedes it. The size is virtually the same, with this ARC Ultra being a tiny bit wider, but it’s a matter of a few centimeters.

Sonos has maintained the minimalist look it applies to all its products with an elegant matte color, a choice of black or white, on a bar with rounded contours and a fine perforated mesh that protects the transducers on all sides.

At the top is a narrow row where the few tactile buttons on the ARC Ultra are located: the start and pause button for music playback, skip song, adjust volume, enable/disable voice assistants and/or group or ungroup other Sonos speakers.

A new feature is the Bluetooth pairing button, a connection that makes its appearance for the first time in the sound bars of the brand (it had already done so in the Sonos Era). Bluetooth is accompanied by the usual WiFi, this time compatible with WiFi 6 networks.

The connection to the TV we will, preferably, through HDMI eARC, which is the only HDMI port that has the bar. Optionally, Sonos gives you the possibility of using an optical digital audio cable, but it is through an adapter that must be purchased separately.

Thanks to HDMI-CEC you can control the volume of the bar with the TV remote – even when using the optical connection – although the full potential of the bar is best deployed using the Sonos app(iOS and Android), with which you can also use Sonos’ own assistant, or Amazon’s Alexa.

The Sonos ARC Ultra also integrates with AirPlay 2 on Apple devices, and also works with the direct control modes of most music streaming services, such as Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and Amazon Music-here’s a list of the rest of the compatible services.

Audio and drivers

One of the hallmarks of the Sonos ARC was its Dolby Atmos playback, something that is of course maintained in the ARC Ultra. In fact, the bar can play any audio format whose format is Dolby, but not DTS formats, as Sonos still does not buy the license. Thus, in the Sonos ARC Ultra the only DTS format that can be reproduced is DTS in stereo, and there is no support for DTS:X.

In addition to these, the stereo PCM and multichannel PCM formats can also be played, in this second case only if we use the HDMI eARC connection.

The great claim of Sonos in the Sonos ARC Ultra is the patented Sound Motion technology, with which the brand promises to deploy a sound fidelity superior to the previous Sonos ARC, especially in terms of bass. It is a dual membrane woofer with four motors, which allows to deploy a greater depth of bass in a more compact and flat size. Sonos has taken advantage of this space saving to add four more tweeters , as well as having six dedicated midrange drivers, which in theory serve the Sonos ARC Ultra to further enhance the sound quality.

The set is a spectacular 9.1.4-channel equipment, with four vertical sound projection cones and two side projection to generate a surround sound bubble.

Sonos has never been very artificial sound modes that add rather little to the sound, and I am glad to see that in this Sonos ARC Ultra maintains this philosophy with only two sound modes, the usual Night mode, to reduce the dynamic range of the volume and enjoy a “flatter” sound with which to hear the sound at low volume; and the Dialogue Enhancement mode, which does exactly what its name suggests.

Something interesting is that this Sonos ARC Ultra is the first sound bar of the brand that allows you to make use of TruePlay also on Android devices. To clarify, for those who do not know, that TruePlay is the calibration system used by Sonos to optimize the sound of the bar depending on the physical conditions of the room where it is installed. Now, the Sonos app also allows you to make use of the microphones of an Android device in order to carry out this calibration.

Sound quality

Sonos has always been one of the leading brands in terms of sound quality, and this is also noticeable in the ARC Ultra: the sound quality is exceptional, one of the best that can be enjoyed if we talk about a sound bar alone, without the need for subwoofer or rear speakers. Only the Sennheiser Ambeo MAX beats the Sonos ARC Ultra, with the sound difference between the two being far less than their price difference suggests.

To be fair, it must be said that the sound quality is not so, so great between the Sonos ARC and ARC Ultra, but we do appreciate a deeper bass, with more presence, filling more the soundstage, than in the Sonos ARC of a few years ago. The American brand is very optimistic with this technology and no wonder, as it opens a new world of possibilities when it comes to providing a tremendous bass punch to small speakers.

If years ago I said that it was not necessary to have the Sonos wireless subwoofer to enjoy superb sound in the Sonos ARC, the same can be said, and with more reason, of the Sonos ARC Ultra, which now represents undoubtedly the best sound bar without subwoofer on the market, with the sole exception of the aforementioned Ambeo MAX Sennheiser.

Even so, the Sonos ecosystem allows an extremely easy expansion of the equipment, adding other speakers of the brand connected to the bar through the app. If you’re interested in this, the ideal option would be to add the Sub 4 subwoofer, plus a pair of Era 100 speakers as rear speakers.

Still, I insist that it is not necessary for the Sonos ARC Ultra to shine with its own light. In the demo I was able to listen to, with the first part of Dune, the sound was absolutely incredible, with a wide and totally immersive soundstage, with a genuine sense of sound effects enveloping you and with the vocals perfectly anchored in the center. In the moments when Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack kicks in, the Sonos ARC Ultra rises to sublime levels, proving that it is also an absolutely mammoth bar when it comes to playing music.

In short, an extraordinary performance, at the height of the prestige of the brand and what makes indicate its price, fully adjusted to the sound quality it offers. It is clear, then, that from my point of view is a soundbar fully recommended if the price is not a problem, but it is also clear that there are soundbars with better value for money and that, probably, you will want to evaluate before.

One of them is the same Sonos ARC of 2019, which with the arrival of its “big” sister has seen its price reduced and is, right now, an even more interesting option than it was before.