It's good to report some good news about Sonos: if early user reviews of the new Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar are anything to go by, it looks like the company has a hit on its hands.
Several customers received their Ultras early and naturally took to the Sonos subreddit and YouTube to share their initial impressions.
As is always the case with early adopters, when people have spent a lot of their own money on a product, they will approach it from a position of enthusiasm rather than staunch cynicism, and it's worth bearing this in mind when reading or reading. their reviews. But that doesn't mean what they say isn't worth considering, and what they say so far is very positive.
What do Sonos customers say about the Sonos Arc Ultra?
Let's start on Reddit, where r/sonos is often home to some of the most passionate Sonos customers, as well as some of the most disappointed app users. According to redditor AJ989who says a European retailer delivered their Ultra to them on Tuesday, their experience with the setup process was that everything was simple and seamless. Responding to a post about Ultras apparently locked by software until October 28, they say they did not encounter any such problems: “from day one I was able to use it and configure it in the app.” It is “100% working (and sounds fantastic).”
The most detailed post so far on the Sonos subreddit is from Another GKwhich compares the new Ultra to the previous Arc. “I couldn't believe how different they sounded. The first thing I noticed is the extremely wide soundstage for a soundbar… I was hoping the Ultra [would] “It will be better than the Arc, but it is significantly better in all aspects.”
The feature we think will pique most people's curiosity is Sound Motion, which promises to deliver a broader integrated bass experience. According to AnotherGK, “The sound no longer fills the room, it's more like the sound is the room. You can't tell where the sound is coming from because it's so well balanced between the front and the back.”
On YouTube, two European customers have shared several videos of the Ultra in action.
Lifestyle18 has uploaded three sound tests using the soundbar alone: a Sound Motion test and then two more for music and movies. “The sound movement does “Move the air!” they say, adding that it's “a shame Atmos effects don't appear on YouTube because they're great.” For music, the sound is “quite similar” to the Arc but has “better bass”; Dialogue is “definitely better” on the Ultra.
Roel Willemsen has also uploaded multiple demos, including one comparing Arc and Ultra for music. Of course, YouTube isn't the ideal listening comparison when listening to someone else's room, but even with that limitation, the Ultra seems to sound more spacious. “More bass, the treble is more pleasant. I like it,” says Roel. And in the case of movies, “the voices were missing, but now they're spoken. They're here… I think it's an improvement. I think Arc Ultra is better.”
TechRadar will receive a Sonos Arc Ultra review unit this week, and we'll compare it to the previous Arc and a flagship Samsung soundbar to see how it should rank among the best soundbars available today.
