In the wake of several leaks, Sonos has finally unveiled its new Arc Ultra soundbar with preorders going live today and a full release bound for October 29.
The Arc Ultra has a premium $999 starting price. It leverages serious upgrades over the base Sonos Arc, which still remains one of the best soundbars on the market.
This new design might well edge out its predecessor though, with a 9.1.4-channel system and Spatial Audio to boot. Sonos is also touting its new Sound Motion transducer, which may have come via Mayht, a startup Sonos purchased in 2022 for $100M.
Sonos is also launching a new $799 wireless subwoofer in the Sonos Sub 4. It wrangles together new WiFi radios for improved connectivity and will be compatible with several Sonos products, including the Beam, Ray, Era speakers, and more.
9.1.4-channel system with spatial audio
On the heels of several leaks, Sonos is finally launching its Arc Ultra soundbar, previously codenamed Lasso. The Arc Ultra brings premium build quality with its new Sound Motion transducer design, which are bigger and offer twice as much bass, according to Sonos.
Sonos has also kitted the Arc Ultra with 2GB of RAM and 8GB of memory on a spec that includes 15 Class-D amplifiers. Its internal Sound Motion woofer comes with tweeters and waveguides on both ends, creating a 9.1.4 Spatial Audio setup.
The Arc Ultra has the TruePlay feature that lets you tune the sound to the best potential. It also comes equipped with several dialogue-boosting functions, like a new center channel architecture and speech enhancement. This feature was a highlight with the Era speakers and the Move 2, so we're expecting great things here.
Looks-wise, the Sonos Arc Ultra brings back the modern curvaceous silhouette that dominates its current lineup. It looks pretty identical to the Sonos Arc with a long, curved front panel and matte finish.
The Sonos Arc Ultra is set to hit store shelves on October 29 at a starting price of $999. Preorders are already live on Sonos's website, but it's not the only thing Sonos is announcing today.
An upgraded subwoofer
Enter the Sonos Sub 4, a boosted subwoofer that takes over for the third-generation Sonos Sub. At $799, it's not quite as budget-minded as the Sonos Sub Mini, but does offer several premium specs that will make it a prime home audio upgrade.
When idle, the new wireless Sub 4 uses 50% less power according to Sonos. It comes equipped with two eight-inch inward-facing woofers and a set of revamped WiFi radios for superior connectivity.
Unlike the Sub Mini, the Sonos Sub 4 can be paired several times over — not just between two devices. This could make Sonos's entry-level speakers potentially even more exciting, especially given that you can connect the Sub 4 to practically any Sonos product, including the Ray, Sonos Five, Beam, and even the Era 100 and Era 300 speakers.
As with most Sonos designs, you can expect the Sonos Arc Ultra and Sonos Sub 4 to launch in both black and white colorways.
The Sonos Sub 4 is also going on pre-sale today at Sonos's web store with an official debut date of October 29 alongside the Arc Ultra. Both the Sub 4 and Arc Ultra are also available for preorder at Amazon.
