logo
Sonos Arc Ultra Delivers Bigger Bass And Clearer Dialogue In A Slimmer Design

Sonos Arc Ultra Delivers Bigger Bass And Clearer Dialogue In A Slimmer Design

Forbesa day ago

Sonos Arc Ultra
Sonos recently launched the Arc Ultra in India. It is slimmer, bassier, and just $100 more expensive than the original Arc soundbar. Those first two qualities don't usually go together, but Sonos has managed to pack deeper bass into a sleeker body. The result? A more elegant design that doesn't compromise on sound quality.
The Arc Ultra also adds new features like speech enhancement and a new Sound Motion technology. If you're in the market for a high-end soundbar, here's what you need to know about Sonos' flagship Arc Ultra.
The Sonos Arc Ultra is smaller than its predecessor and looks classier under the TV. It measures 2.95 inches high, 46.38 inches wide, and 4.35 inches deep. You can place it on a console or mount it, though the wall mount is sold separately for $79. The slimmer design looks better in modern living rooms. It comes in classic Sonos Black and White color options.
Sonos claims a 9.1.4-channel experience from the Arc Ultra's 14 drivers: nine horizontal audio channels, one subwoofer, and four up-firing channels for a truly immersive experience. The reconfigured channel layout focuses on delivering a wider soundstage and clearer dialogue.
The Sonos Arc Ultra supports Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD, and Dolby Multichannel PCM with eARC-enabled TVs. It sounds excellent but adding a Sub 4 for deeper bass and two Era 100s or Era 300s for a better surround sound takes the movie watching experience to the next level. As for the soundbar itself, the sound is clearer, more detailed, with a wider soundstage and more finesse. It accentuates the thumps in action scenes and retains the depth and details in broader moments.
Setup through the Sonos app is quick and glitch-free. It was easy and efficient to add (and group) the Sub 4 within Sonos' app. The Arc Ultra also supports TV Swap feature with Sonos Ace headphones, which worked flawlessly. Fortunately, I didn't come across any bugs in the new Sonos app while using the Arc Ultra.
Sonos Arc Ultra and Sub 4 connected to a TV
Sonos developed a new 'Sound Motion woofer' for the Arc Ultra to deliver a cinematic experience in a sleeker form factor. Whether it's the explosions in Mission: Impossible – Fallout or the wand duels in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the Arc Ultra keeps you immersed. Even subtle sounds like tunnel chases or brutal hits in The Batman feel vivid. The original Arc is more room-filling, but the Ultra feels more precise and immersive.
Unlike many TV speakers and budget soundbars, the Arc Ultra doesn't bury dialogue in noisy scenes. Sonos' Speech Enhancement feature lets you fine-tune dialogue clarity with four levels: Low, Medium, High, and Max. I set it at High most of the time and it made the dialogues more prominent than expected. In comparison, Max boosts dialogue even further by compressing background elements.
The Sonos Arc Ultra is priced at $999 in the US and ₹99,999 in India. It's available through major online and offline retailers in both countries. The premium Sonos soundbar would please most users with its clear but detailed sound, sleeker design and new features.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Motel 6 spokesman Tom Bodett sues chain for using name, voice without permission
Motel 6 spokesman Tom Bodett sues chain for using name, voice without permission

New York Post

time43 minutes ago

  • New York Post

Motel 6 spokesman Tom Bodett sues chain for using name, voice without permission

Tom Bodett, known for his radio and TV ads telling travelers that at Motel 6 'we'll leave the light on for you,' has sued the motel chain for using his name and voice without permission, after their nearly four-decade relationship broke down. In a complaint filed on Monday night in Manhattan federal court, Bodett said he cut ties with Motel 6 after its new owner, India-based OYO, missed a $1.2 million annual payment due on Jan. 7 under their contract, which was to end in November. Bodett said Motel 6 nonetheless kept using his name and voice on its national reservation phone line, violating his rights under the contract and federal trademark law. Tom Bodett, 70, is known for appearances on National Public Radio and in several Ken Burns documentaries Crazy Good Turns The 70-year-old author and voice actor is known for appearances on National Public Radio and in several Ken Burns documentaries, as well as for his smooth baritone. Bodett said he tried negotiating a confidential settlement that would recognize his role in building Motel 6, not hurt its image or franchisees, and provide 'graceful closure,' but the chain responded only with 'misrepresentations, obfuscations, and delay tactics.' The lawsuit seeks $1.2 million, plus additional unspecified damages and a share of profits. A spokesperson for G6 Hospitality, Motel 6's immediate parent, said it was surprised by the lawsuit but hoped to resolve the dispute amicably. 'We appreciate Mr. Bodett's contributions over the past years,' the spokesperson said. 'Of course, we will continue to advertise keeping the lights on for you.' Reached by email, Bodett said: 'The complaint says all there is to say.' Bodett had been Motel 6's lead spokesman since 1986, and said he coined 'we'll leave the light on for you' as an ad-lib. Motel 6 has more than 1,450 locations in the United States and Canada, according to its website. Bodett had been Motel 6's lead spokesman since 1986, and said he coined 'we'll leave the light on for you' as an ad-lib. REUTERS OYO is a global travel technology unit of Oravel Stays, which bought Motel 6 from Blackstone Real Estate for $525 million in December. The case is Bodett et al v G6 Hospitality LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 25-04854.

Apple's upgraded AI models underwhelm on performance
Apple's upgraded AI models underwhelm on performance

TechCrunch

timean hour ago

  • TechCrunch

Apple's upgraded AI models underwhelm on performance

Apple has announced updates to the AI models that power its suite of Apple Intelligence features across iOS, macOS, and more. But according to the company's own benchmarks, the models underperform older models from rival tech firms, including OpenAI. Apple said in a blog post Monday that human testers rated the quality of text generated by its newest 'Apple On-Device' model — which runs offline on products including the iPhone — 'comparably' to, but not better than, text from similarly-sized Google and Alibaba models. Meanwhile, those same testers rated Apple's more capable new model, which is called 'Apple Server' and designed to run in the company's data centers, behind OpenAI's year-old GPT-4o. In a separate test evaluating the ability of Apple's models to analyze images, human raters preferred Meta's Llama 4 Scout model over Apple Server, according to Apple. That's a bit surprising. On a number of tests, Llama 4 Scout performs worse than leading models from AI labs like Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI. The benchmark results add credence to reports suggesting Apple's AI research division has struggled to catch up to competitors in the cutthroat AI race. Apple's AI capabilities in recent years have underwhelmed, and a promised Siri upgrade has been delayed indefinitely. Some customers have sued Apple, accusing the firm of marketing AI features for its products that it hasn't yet delivered. In addition to generating text, Apple On-Device, which is roughly 3 billion parameters in size, drives features like summarization and text analysis. (Parameters roughly correspond to a model's problem-solving skills, and models with more parameters generally perform better than those with fewer parameters.) As of Monday, third-party developers can tap into it via Apple's Foundation Models framework. Apple says both Apple On-Device and Apple Server boast improved tool-use and efficiency compared to their predecessors, and can understand around 15 languages. That's thanks in part to an expanded training dataset that includes image data, PDFs, documents, manuscripts, infographics, tables, and charts.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store