The Sonos Arc Ultra and Sub 4 are official at $999 and $799 | Digital Trends
Sonos today unveiled the long-leaked Arc Ultra soundbar, and with it a new subwoofer called the Sub 4. It marks the first new release since the Sonos Ace Headphones in May and comes as Sonos continues to work its way out from under the rubble that was its failed software update earlier this year.
These also likely are the two devices that Sonos delayed in the wake of the software catastrophe. Both will be available starting October 29.
We’re all well aware of what happened earlier this year, so let’s take a look at what’s new:
The Sonos Arc Ultra
The $999 Sonos Arc Ultra uses a 9.1.4 setup with spatial audio and a new transducer that Sonos calls Sound Motion, which “drastically reduces the size of the transducer while supercharging the bass, opening a new chapter in sound innovation where bigger, better sound can be delivered from smaller products.” So bigger sound in a smaller soundbar. And you can tune things using Sonos’ TruePlay feature on both iOS and Android.
The Arc Ultra has a new center channel architecture which Sonos says will help with dialog. And if that’s not enough, there’s a new speech enhancement feature to let you set the level of clarity of the spoken word.
Sonos says it worked with the likes of Hollywood’s Chris Jenkins and Onnalee Blank to fine-tune the Arc Ultra sound profile for Dolby Atmos content.
The Sonos Sub 4
As the name implies, this is the fourth-generation subwoofer that retails for $799. The shape will be familiar, but Sonos says it’s been rebuilt “inside and out.” The sub’s two woofers face inward “to create a force-cancelling effect that neutralizes distortion.” And it has new Wi-Fi radios for better connectivity, Sonos says.
And for those who are worried about how much power a device is drawing when you’re not actually using it, Sonos says the Sub 4 sucks 50 percent less power when in idle mode.
You can pair a could of Sub 4s together for a ridiculous amount of bass. But if you already have an older Sonos Sub, you can pair the Sub 4 with it, too — Sonos says it should work just fine.