OPINION : To say Sonos has n’t enjoyed the best 2024 would be an understatement .
This timelast year everyonewas looking forward to a new soundbar , and the prospect that , ultimately , a headphone was on its way , plus new speakers , and those go on rumours about a set - top box . From the outside , it looked like Sonos was about to love a bumper year .
And then it fluff the ball with its unexampled app .
The musical theme behind the freshly revised app was , I ’d still say , auditory sensation in terms of system of logic . Streaming apps and user interface are move in a more personable , customisable focusing , so it would make sensation for Sonos , the undoubted Martin Luther King in provide an port that just “ works ” , to deplume towards that focus .
And then the appgot even worse .
Months afterwards Sonos is still fixing things , not because it over - promised and under - deliver , but much like the Black Knight in Monty Python ’s The Holy Grail , the app ’s arms and legs were hacked off – except it was n’t someone else send the savagery , it was Sonos itself responsible for the grim scene .
The Arc Ultra needs to work
So a lot is ride on theArc Ultra , especially as the products Sonos has launched in 2024 have n’t unanimously caught the imagination .
The response to those long - awaitedAce headphoneswas spotty . Some were enthusiastic , others like them , some did n’t – and sales event were n’t up to Sonos ’ expectation . That £ 449 / $ 449 price look unwise in hindsight , as does the lack of obvious features ( audio hand - off to Sonos loudspeaker anyone ? )
The Roam 2 seemed an afterthought ; the new characteristic were a dedicated Bluetooth push button and … not much else . I still give the Roam a favourable review but theRoam 2didn’t feel like a true continuation , more like Roam 1.5 .
Sonos seldom ignore its products outdoors of sales events , butboth the Aceand theRoam 2were on the chop up block less than a few months after button . Something ’s not go correct .
So back to the Arc Ultra ( and the unexpected announcement of theSub 4 ) . It , for a lack of expert phrase , ca n’t afford to suck . If Sonos has put its ego - inflicted test and tribulations behind it , the Arc Ultra has to fork up the variety of operation that take dwelling cinema forward like the Starship Enterprise at warp speed . You ordinarily would n’t look against Sonos but that was before its annus horribilis of 2024 . Its assurance must have been shaken .
But there ’s an literary argument for the foeman . For all the public lecture about the Sound Motion tech at bottom ( smaller speakers , well wakeless ) , the Arc Ultra ’s attribute have n’t contracted by as much as you might cerebrate ( it ’s slightly less improbable , slenderly less mysterious , slightly wider ) . If I were to gaze at it , I might retrieve I ’m looking at the same soundbar as the Arc .
It does n’t support proper DTS ( which is reaching point - know on board dominion now ) , and appears to miss out on many of the features reviewers bang on about . I ’m bully to read the chemical reaction to a flagship soundbar that does n’t have extra HDMI interface with support for HDR pass - through , VRR , ALLM and gamey refresh rates . At least Bluetooth is supported .
The soundbar marketplace is a tough one – every home cinema make is focalize on it , especially those that make their own TVs . For all Sonos ’ success in the kingdom of nursing home cinema , it ’s not the B. B. King of soundbar sales ( that would be Samsung ) . We ’ll have to wait and see if the Arc Ultra delivers everything it promises , but for Sonos , it simplyhasto meet expectations . If it does n’t , it could be in for a wintertime of discontentment .
