Sonos Arc Ultra & Sub 4 Announced: Everything We Know So Far

Sonos Arc Ultra & Sub 4: Everything You Need To Know

It's official. After weeks of leaks and rumours, Sonos has finally announced the launch of their brand new flagship Dolby Atmos soundbar, the Sonos Arc Ultra as well as a brand new fourth-generation wireless subwoofer, aptly named Sonos Sub 4.

Despite being clearly inspired by the original Sonos Arc, the Arc Ultra is more than a refresh as the brand’s most advanced soundbar to date, and with that, Sonos are making some pretty big claims.

Double the bass, 9.1.4 Dolby Atmos surround sound, and one of the most significant breakthroughs in audio engineering in almost 100 years in the shape of SoundMotion™ technology; are but a few. So while the two soundbars look pretty similar from the outside, we’re expecting a considerable step up in overall performance.

Meanwhile, Sub 4 represents more of a generational refresh than an upgrade. As the name suggests, this is Sonos’ fourth iteration of the brand’s flagship wireless subwoofer. So, other than some slight tweaks to the design and hardware (to align it with Sonos’ latest releases), you can expect the same sonic performance as the previous version. But hey, if it ain't broke, don’t fix it, right?

Not much of a reader? Check out our in-depth Sonos Arc Ultra Announced & Sonos Sub 4 Announced videos on YouTube:

Jump ahead:

Sonos Arc Ultra & Sonos Sub 4: Price, Launch Date & Availability

Sonos Arc Ultra - RRP £999

Shop Sonos Arc Ultra

Sonos Sub 4 - RRP £799

Shop Sonos Sub 4

The Sonos Arc Ultra and Sub 4 are set to hit shelves with an RRP of £999 and £799 respectively. While the Sub 4 keeps the same price as its predecessor, the Sonos Arc Ultra has increased in cost from £899 (the price of the original Arc) to £999. 

While this jump in cost might raise a few eyebrows, we're eager to see if the enhanced featureset and performance can justify the increased cost in our upcoming full review.

For those interested, the Sonos Arc Ultra and Sub 4 are both available now over on our website. Plus, they come with our 6-Year Extended Sonos Warranty and 30-day return policy for added peace of mind too.

Sonos Arc Ultra

Four and a half years after its launch, Sonos are replacing their flagship Sonos Arc soundbar with Arc Ultra, and by the looks of things, this should be a BIG upgrade. Here’s a closer look at what’s new:

Sonos Arc Ultra vs. Sonos Arc: What’s New?

1. Refreshed Design

At first glance, the Arc Ultra doesn’t look dramatically different from its predecessor, boasting a similar overall form factor and curved front grille that we all know and love. 

However, after closer inspection, we can see that Sonos has added a new back panel, which houses the soundbar touch controls including a voice control toggle, playback controls and a new volume slider. 

In terms of physical dimensions, Arc Ultra is slightly wider than the original Arc, slightly deeper and slimmer, so it’s easier to fit underneath a TV. It’s also slightly lighter in weight as well. From the initial images, it's hard to tell what we make of the design, but it does look pretty slick, so we’re interested to see how it looks in real life.

2. Updated Internal Array

Internally, the Arc Ultra has undergone a complete revamp when it comes to acoustic architecture. Stepping up from the 11 drivers of the Sonos Arc, Arc Ultra now boasts a refreshed internal array that’s made up of 14 drivers in total. 

Arc Ultra has seven silk-dome tweeters for the highs and dialogue, six woofers for the mids and highs and then a newly-added Sound Motion™ woofer for added bass. (see below)

The Arc Ultra boasts upwards and side firing drivers to bounce sound off the ceiling and walls in your room for a more immersive listening experience, adding height channels and creating a wider soundstage. Sonos have also added custom colinear waveguides, which should help to accurately place sound around the room.

This all means that the Arc Ultra is capable of delivering 9.1.4ch spatial audio compared to the original Arc’s five-channel phased array—a big step up in terms of immersion.

3. Sound Motion™ Technology

From everything we know so far about the Arc Ultra, it sounds like Sonos’ new Sound Motion™ technology is going to have the most notable impact when it comes to delivering improved sound performance. 

Sonos have said this tech packs “unprecedentedly clear, deep and balanced sound into an unbelievably sleek design,” but what actually is it? 

Well, we already know that Sonos acquired Mayht Holding BV in 2022, a company that invented a revolutionary technology called Heartmotion. This technology offered a new approach to audio transducers, which meant they can offer the same output as traditional drivers but in a much smaller form factor.

From looking into the specs, Sound Motion sounds like it’s Sonos’ implementation of Heartmotion, making the Arc Ultra the first product within Sonos’ lineup to benefit from Mayht’s innovation. 

Sound Motion is being used in one of the woofers inside the Arc Ultra with dual-force cancelling membranes and four distributed motors to “unleash low frequencies with virtually no mechanical vibration.” This woofer will deliver deeper, richer bass giving us double the bass output of Arc, estimated at around 50Hz.

Not only can we expect considerably more bass from Arc Ultra, but Sonos has said this revolutionary technology will help unlock the new acoustic architecture in the Arc, allowing the other speakers within the soundbar to focus on the other frequencies, therefore improving overall sound quality considerably.

Our understanding is that this woofer will act in a similar way to adding a Sonos subwoofer to the soundbar in that it will take the load of the lower frequencies, enabling the rest of the drivers to focus on the mids and highs.

That said, we’ll have to wait and see until we can get our hands on a unit to really deduce what this technology is capable of.

4. Improved Centre Channel Clarity with Adanced Speech Enhancement

One of the big changes we can expect to see from Arc Ultra is the improvement in centre channel clarity when compared with the Arc. 

Sonos have said new array design techniques and the new acoustic architecture with more tweeters maximises centre channel performance in Arc Ultra therefore offering better vocal clarity and dialogue for movies and TV.  

Sonos have also added a five-level slider to their speech enhancement feature that can be toggled within the Sonos app. This means you can have more control over how much emphasis is placed on vocals and the other audio elements of your content.

5. Updated Trueplay Tuning

Along with the hardware overhauls, Sonos have also finetuned some of their software with their Trueplay Tuning room optimisation technology now supporting both Android and iOS.

It’s been a long-awaited change, and we're thrilled to see the brand expanding its ecosystem and offering more people the chance to experience its premium features.

6. Bluetooth 5.3 Connectivity

Following the trend of their recent product launches like the Sonos Era 100 and Sonos Era 300, the brand have also added Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity to Arc Ultra. 

That means we now have support for WiFi via the Sonos app, Bluetooth, AirPlay 2, Spotify connect and of course any content playing through the connected TV via eARC. Plus, there’s also voice control too. However, there’s still no Google Assistant support, so you're limited to either Sonos Voice Control or Amazon Alexa with this model.

More: Sonos Era 300 vs Sonos Five: Which Premium Speaker is Best?

Sonos Arc Ultra: What’s The Same?

While the Arc Ultra represents a new era for Sonos’ flagship soundbar, it still remains comfortingly familiar in a variety of aspects.

It still offers the same sleek, contemporary style that Sonos are renowned for and it still holds the top of the range position within the Sonos soundbar lineup as its predecessor did, albeit at an elevated level.

Arc Ultra also easily integrates with Sonos’ other home cinema components and makes for a great addition as part of a wider Sonos home ecosystem. 

If you’d like to see how the Arc Ultra stacks up against some of Sonos’ other soundbars, check out the table below for a quick comparison:

Sonos Arc Ultra vs Arc vs Beam (Gen 2) vs Ray: Comparison At A Glance

Read More: Sonos Beam (Gen 2) Review: Is It Worth It In 2024?

Sonos Sub 4

Accompanying the Arc Ultra, after over four years, Sonos has also decided to refresh their flagship wireless subwoofer. The Sonos Sub (Gen 3) was already a top performing subwoofer. So, despite making some tweaks, this new version isn’t due to be a complete overhaul.

You can expect the same impressive sonic performance, however Sonos have enhanced some aspects to improve the overall user experience and bring it in line with their latest releases. Here’s a closer look at what’s new:

Sonos Sub 4 vs. Sonos Sub (Gen 3): What’s New?

1. New Matte Finish

Despite boasting the same iconic sculptural shape and form factor as the Sub (Gen 3), the Sonos Sub 4 now sports a new matte finish compared with the high-gloss finish of the previous iteration. 

While the black and white colour options remain the same, this slight design tweak aligns the Sub 4 more closely with the compact Sonos Sub Mini, ensuring a cohesive look within Sonos' entire wireless subwoofer range

2. Hardware Improvements (More Processing Power, Memory & Enhanced Wi-Fi Radios)

To reflect the enhanced technology within the Arc Ultra, the Sub 4’s hardware has been refreshed to ensure it is ready to match the performance of Sonos’ latest releases.

With more processing power, memory and enhanced Wi-Fi radios onboard, Sub 4 is now fully future-proofed and more efficient, stable and better connected than ever to ensure seamless connection with the rest of the Sonos lineup for years to come.

3. Fewer Materials and More Energy Efficient Design

In an attempt to reduce its environmental impact, the Sub 4 has now been designed with fewer materials and is more energy efficient. We’ll test this in our full review, but it's good to see an opportunity where users can save a few pennies.

Sonos Sub 4: Why Should You Add A Sonos Subwoofer?

Naturally, adding a Sub 4 will instantly add an extra dimension of deep bass impact to your audio listening experience. As the larger subwoofer in Sonos’ lineup, Sub 4 is built to deliver powerful bass that you can feel in your chest, which definitely adds to the immersion of movies and bass heavy tracks.

Beyond bass, adding a Sonos subwoofer into a Sonos home cinema system can also improve the overall performance of the other components in your setup. 

By handling the low-frequency sounds, adding a subwoofer will allow your Sonos soundbar to concentrate solely on the mid and high frequencies, resulting in a more balanced and immersive audio experience overall. Plus, with the Sub 4’s dual force-cancelling woofers, it does all of the above with virtually no distortion. 

It’s also super flexible when it comes to placement too, offering the ability to be stood upright or even led flat and tucked under a sofa. Just remember to run Trueplay Tuning; this will help to deliver optimal performance even if you can't place it in the ideal spot.

Sonos Arc Ultra & Sonos Sub 4: Specifications Lowdown

While there’s still some testing to do with both the Sonos Arc Ultra and Sonos Sub 4 before we can share our verdict, our initial impressions from what we know so far suggest both of these will go down very well, especially with the home cinema enthusiasts out there. 

Sonos fans have been excited about the prospect of a new Sonos Arc for a long time and it’s great news that what we’ve been given looks very promising. Plus, the addition of newly refreshed subwoofer only helps to strengthen their position as a leader in the home cinema market.  

Of course, only time will tell whether either of these products will be a success, but with many positive changes to note, both Arc Ultra and Sub 4 appear to be compelling choices that will undoubtedly be tempting for both existing Sonos users and for those outside of the ecosystem too. 

If you’d like to see how both the Sonos Arc Ultra and Sub 4 stack up, keep an eye on our YouTube channel; a full review will be coming soon! 

For more information about the Sonos Arc Ultra, Sonos Sub 4 or any other Sonos products, get in touch and one of our Tech Guides would be happy to help!

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