Thanks! Appreciate the time and hard work you put into these videos. I was waiting on your input to decide to upgrade. You always coming with the hard data. Also picking up that sub, I have two minis (separate rooms) already, but never bought the larger one because of the gloss finish. Look forward to future videos!
Yes me too! And finally someone with a founded test, not only subjective listening. As known bugs remain with Trueplay and the surround drivers not fireing properly when connected to Ultra, looking forward getting your tests on surround setup and best setting recommendation and most important software update safety!
you are joking right? the review seems very biased. showing frequency responses at different sound levels to exaggerate the bass in the ultra soundbar. Also failing to emphasize that if you have a sub none of this matters.
Thank you for the great content peter! A reminder to all viewers of how you can return something in a very simple way: Like for engagement Comment for engagement Dont skip the ads at the beginning of the video Least we can do :)
My Arc ultra installed and worked great, factory reseted all products before installing Arc ultra. Both me and my angry girlfriend that didnt want me to buy it said omg when we listend to it with and without full system. Full system era 300 as surrounds and sub gen3. Its not 2 times as good but the sound quality is alot better, alot more bass in the soundbar + a huge improvement in vocals+ a small atmos improvement makes it overal a very big diffrence for the price. Remember its a small cost over Arc so dont expect anything insane. For 350 it costed me after selling Arc its worth it without a doubt
I factory reset to but only because I've been reading a lot of horror stories. I found i had to tone down the era300 to only +1 for tv. After trueplay they seem louder then usual. Hard to really test until this bug gets fixed
I struggled for like a whole week trying to figure out why all of the loud portions of movies and games were muted on the Arc Ultra... turns out the speech enhancement completely ruins all loud noises, no matter the content, not just when there is talking. This happened for gaming on PS5 Pro w/ dolby atmos enabled (MK1, Harry Potter, etc.) and Apple TV 4K (Dune II, The Batman, etc.). Clearly that feature is just an equalizer adjustment that completely ruins the immersiveness of loud explosions and detailed gameplay sound effects. It even made the voices WORSE in Harry Potter. Anywho, that's my rant. Thanks for the video. It's a solid overview.
@@PeterPee Great review, as always. The new Sonos Arc Ultra makes the old Arc sound hollow and thin in comparison. I’ll personally be upgrading for the improved dialog clarity, but overall, it sounds so much more full and immersive.
Key question for is whether it is a substantial upgrade when paired with Era 300 surrounds and Sub Gen 3. And whether this extra benefit is worth giving up on the second sub (as Gen 2 not compatible in dual sub setup)
@@MrGettemTV You can show facts; that doesn't "prove" an opinion. I hate the taste of tea, and there are no charts, graphs or numbers that will "prove" it.
I'm pretty new to your channel and I'm more of a full on HT guy, but I'm Sonos curious as simplifying my setup does have some appeal. That said, your reviews are great. I watch a lot of reviewers on YT and your attention to detail and your willingness to make comparisons and back those up with measurements and also add recordings is just plain awesome. Keep up the good work.
The lack of DTS-X is what is holding me back. I think for this price it should support every audio codec out there. I watch a lot of physical media still so this is important for me.
I am so happy with my Arc gen 1, I just don’t think I will upgrade this time round. I run the SL’s as surrounds, with the Sub too and it is just incredible… maybe the next release will get me to upgrade. Awesome review as always mate!!
From Canada, this is the first video for a Saturday morning. Great review as always. More convincing, All the more reason for an upgrade from my Arc 1 to Arc ultra for my cinema room.
Peter Pee your #1 in your Reviews. I will say that I upgraded without hesitation to the Ultra and Sub Gen 4 from my Sub Gen 2. I have the ERA 100’s because of the living room open concept. Peter as always will be watching every review coming out. Best of luck as always from Tampa Florida ✌️✌️
Looking into my first Sonos setup, waited for the Arc Ultra to be announced. Now it's there I'm in doubt if te Era 100 is good enough, or that I should save up for the Era 300's. How is te balance when pairing the era 100 with the arc ultra? Can you share your expierience. with the era 100 as most of the reviews are about the era 300's. Also what do you meen with the 'living room open concept' ?
I think we all get that the Arc Ultra is a better sound bar by itself. But the question is what happens to those benefits once paired with Dual Subs and Era 300’s? Are they still as noticeable or just keep what you’ve got?
Great video. Subbed. I have gen 1beam, gen 1 sub and 2 play SL 1s. My dilemma is whether to just get pair of Kef LSX ii with stands (1.3k) for excellent quality stereo separation or just get ultra and move beam into our second small lounge to go under a cheapy hisense TV with internal speakers.
@@504coolyes. Brings the Era 300s to life. Like glass shattering scenes it’s like I can hear every piece of glass hitting the ground. Footsteps are more prominent. Helicopters airplanes flying around are louder.
First, I had about 4 attempts to pair this with Era as surround - but, that is fine. I bought this for extra base that I thought my Gen 1 was lacking, but to my surprise it fixed a problem that really was bothering me with Gen1 - dialogue. As you say, the extra mid really made the difference, and that is what make this upgrade worth it for me. Base, that was just a bonus in the end.
Thank you for the update. I'm just starting to watch. But also concur that the updates went through smoothly last night without a flaw.... Whilst my decision isn't purely based on this review, I am looking to finalise my purchase of the Ultra tomorrow. My Arc will be reunited with the 2 x One's in a new space, and the Ultra will be joining the Gen 3 and 300's in the movie room.
Cheers Peter, definitely upgrading now, only got the Gen 1 with a sub mini but this certainly feels like a great update, certainly around the improved vocals and soundstage.
The much awaited review! For someone who is yet to enter the Sonos ecosystem, I definitely would go for the ultra! Thanks, Peter! Talk of expectations, I never felt it was gonna be a big upgrade considering the price difference.
Just set mine up along with my gen 3 sub, very impressed, it’s a very nice upgrade over the 1st gen arc. Playing Apple Music via the Sonos app sounds great, I know it might not be the greatest for music, but it sounds really good to me.
It’s much better for music than as a home theater in my opinion. My discrete Atmos theater blows away the Arc setup I have. You just can’t beat physics.
Great review as always Pete. As someone who's running two subs, bass isn't an issue with me, therefore the bass improvement on the ultra will be negligible and not worth the 'upgrade'. For new Sonos prospectives buyers I will definitely recommend, but for arc gen ones this is not worth the upgrade and quite frankly I was expecting a lot more from Sonos after years with the current arc gen one.
Sold my arc and gen 3 for arc ultra and gen 4. Loving it. I gave my first impressions on sonos user fb group, and there are people commenting it is placebo and my reply to them is to talk to me only if they have tested the ultra themselves 😂😂😂 Im glad my observations are proven by you. I observed the similar things you have mentioned. Loving the clear dialogues in movies, and the clearer vocals in the songs I have listened to. I am also glad i can switch off my sub for late night movie watching with just the soundbar alone with decent bass. You earned a sub to your channel P.S: I burst out laughing by your new router comment 😂
@@TheCdM1981 nah, i prefer to offload to renew the warranty as a set. Just my personal preference. And my arc and sub 3 is in white, i changed to black as it suit my furniture more
Got the Ultra as well to pair with 2 300s and G3 Sub. As you said, the dialog is much better on the Ultra, albeit the Ultra appears to take a lot more of the bass load than the G1 Arc. I kind of prefer more bass to come out of sub than soundbar. I think Sonos is overbalancing the bass to the Ultra. Separately, the headphones clips at the end of the video does not do the Ultra justice. You have to hear for yourself how much better it is, which it is IMO.
Great video Peter as always! Received mine on Saturday for 650 swiss francs! Amazing piece of hardware. Paired with my two Era 300 and Mini Sub, my living room feels like a cinema sound system...
Couldn't hold out and waiting for delivery to upgrade my v1 Arc with the Arc Ultra (dual Gen 3 subs and Fives). Improvement with the Arc Ultra with dialogue is always welcome; but, I never felt I had an issue with low dialogue volume with my LG OLEDs (C9, C1, & C2 models). Planning to move the v1 Arc into master bedroom to replace v1 Beam, Gen 3 sub, and Symfonisk bookshelf rear speakers. Old v1 Beam to spare bedroom with LG LCD with no soundbar. One of the main reasons I went with Sonos because of the flexibility to mix, match, reused, expand, and move as needed depending on budget and needs. Couldn't do this with my old Nakamichi 7.2.4 I had before Sonos.
I realized the instructions could have been clearer about replacing the Arc Gen1 during the installation. Pairing the Ultra with the ERAs was truly impressive; it felt like magic! The song I was listening to in Atmos sounded as if the music came straight from heaven. It’s an outstanding feat of engineering!
Thanks Peter, keep up the good work, now the question is indeed of the difference is still perceiveble with Sub taking on the bass duties, if the crossover changes and if the wider soundstage and additional 2 horizontal channels vs Arc 1 is noticeable
I was waiting for your review! I upgraded from Arc + Sub Gen 3 + 2 Sl to Arc Ultra + Sub Gen 4 + 2 Era 300s. I can tell the difference in bass right away just using the Arc Ultra. Can't wait to test the whole surround set.
I’ve been waiting for this! Thanks for the time and effort you put into these. I can’t wait for future videos highlighting the Ultra with a sub (or 2). I may only upgrade in a year or so but gladly soaking up all the feedback. Not sure if anyone else is experiencing this but I can’t select the notification icon anymore on your channel. Says something about content made for kids lol.
Hey Peter, thank you for the review. When you're covering set ups like the Ultimate - Arc ultra + 2 gen 4 subs + 2 era 300’s, don't forget about the mid tier set up. Arc ultra + Sub Mini + 2 era 100's. A lot of us also have that set up as well. Thanks
You took the words right out of my mouth, Pete. I had the bar for three days now and after all the comparisons I did I tell people it’s like going from the iPhone 15 to the iPhone 16 if anything I hear a very minimal difference in the bars, otherwise I hear no difference that if I didn’t have somebody buying my arc today I would return the ultra and keep the arc. I see mixed reviews as many people and I don’t understand say they hear this big difference from the ultra to the arc as as many people as I see saying that he no difference and I’m one of them the only difference that I really hear is that my sub doesn’t sound the same. The base isn’t kicking as hard. I have to put it at at least a +5 to get the Base really going as before at zero it sounded like a +5. I’m hoping some updates tweak the bar to make more of a difference Val Sonos has a past of bringing an update that made the bar sound worse, which I’m hoping doesn’t happen again. Even Best Buy has open box ultras for sale for $699 which I would say in that case sell your arc and upgrade, otherwise so far this upgrade is disappointing to me. But then again when they released the price and it’s only $100 more then the arc, I wasn’t expecting much anymore as I am a firm believer you pay for what you get. Now if the ball was going to be the roommate $1200 price then I definitely would’ve expected a bigger upgrade. But A great video Pete. I appreciate everything that you do. I just wish that what your graph chart you show and the things that you say that you and other people here (in a positive way) I as well as all the people I see who don’t hear a difference or much of a difference heard 🤷🏻♂️
This is why i didn't rush to replace my old arc as other reviews saying the arc ultra and the old arc difference is 20% or 30% performance. Exactly as you point out, it's like going from iPhone 15 to 16. Don't expect day and night differences.
Not sure why people are expecting night and day difference. This is an upgrade to an already premium product. It's like upgrading last year's Benz and expecting it to fly. This new sound bar is more suited for first time buyers who will start with the bar only. This will give them a more complete surround sound with bass until they're able to buy a true sub and true surrounds. If you already have a complete setup then the only reason to upgrade is if you want to move the original equipment to another room. Or if you want to go through the hassle of selling the Arc to pay for the difference of the Ultra. And of course if you have disposable income and enjoy upgrading, go for it. We all like the new car smell.
@ Never expected a night and day difference, especially for $100 more. But four and a half years later I did expect a difference to say the least. And as of now I basically hear no difference outside of my sub sounding worse now
It made a huge difference in my setup. The bass sounded more even when paired with a sub. My bass didnt decrease at all. I also get much better atmos. I imagine different living rooms probably effects how much of an upgrade it will be
My Ultra arrives today and this video comes right in the nick of time. I’m a first time soundbar owner and had my doubts about them. I currently have a 18year old 5.1 in-wall home theater system at is so complex turn on that nobody ever uses it. I’m expecting the Ultra to simplify my home theater experience. Thanks Peter.
What the sound motion speaker does is pull the bass image to the front stage (through DSP) is what you were trying to explain without being too technical. So there is better integration to the bubble all together. Definitely a good jump in balancing the sound. The only way I cured the issue with the gen one and rta was +4 on both bass and treble with speech enhancement to remove the lower db in 400-700hz but they should be about 1DB lower than the other frequencies to sound natural as opposed to phony like in a well done bass front and back in a good dsp car sound system. So far the subs perform like you stated way better flanking the ark to each side so they give good response down to 28hz as opposed to the peak in 45-65hz range when I place one diagonally behind me due to the room configuration.
Hey Peter, looking good! I check in once in a while to see your videos. You look more fresh than a year ago / two years ago. Hope you feel good as well.
Also!!!! Mix both soundbars with the mini sub please! And I think with Sonos making the move to a built in sub by the way I think is genius because they can get customers who have money like that to put one on all their tvs in all tvs in household. Anyways I think the ultra does pump high quality sound with or without added satellite speakers and/or subs. It’s amazing to know the that the Ultra is tuned for dialogue in films absolutely awesome!!!
Hi Peter! There is a bug with Era 300 paired with Arc Ultra at the moment, where not all channels are playing. The rear channel is coming trough the height channel in dolby atmos. In surround sound mode 3 of the 4 driver of the Era 300 should play but paired with the Arc Ultra there are just playing 2 drivers. In 5.1 content the side channel is playing trough the height channel and not the side channel. Could you test this?
@@KnTde Didnt even notice this before i read forums and heard of it. Dosent seem to be a noticable change in my setup but maybe it is. Cant do much about it anyway more then waiting on updates
@@alebaler I called the support and luckily got a really ambitious guy. He asked in-house and got the answer that it is a "feature" now, because otherwise the sound would collide. He was also suprised about that response. He put it on a feature request. Hope we will get it back soon.
At the time of posting, there is a big doscount on the Samsung HW-Q990D set. Which home theatre system would you buy? 1) s$4950 for the Sonos ARC Ultra + pair of Era 300s + Sub Gen 4 for 2) s$1700 for the Samsung HW-Q990D set
The most interesting part of the upgrade for me is: do they fix the problem with the quiet voices in films? Is it worth to upgrade from v1 to the ultra in terms of speech clarity and speech loudness?
Have you noticed that when using with surrounds and you adjust the volume for the surrounds it also increases the volume of the surrounds within the arc ultra. This means if you want to bias the sound towards the rear you can’t really do that anymore. It also has removed all the impact from a Sonos amp and in ceiling surrounds.
Being able to bias the sound toward my rear fives is a big deal for me. It would be a deal breaker for me. I will stick with Arc Gen 1 until this gets addressed.
The sense of space afforded by the Ultra is readily apparent compared to the Arc (1). Waaay more open, with pin-point sound localization in space. Wow! Great comparison clip there.
Peter once again a great video!! I also upgraded to the ultra! I definitely hear a big difference. But my biggest problem is Trueplay. I have probably done it about 30 times and get a different sound profile each time. My biggest wish is that they make trueplay more reliable. Keep up the good work. Ps. would love a best settings video, without trueplay obviously because your room is different to mine😂
Surround sound wise, is that volume a separate slider on the Arc Ultra just like the height channels are? I know it’s active for the Era 300’s, but it would be great if we could increase the volume of the surrounds on the arc itself.
Peter...just wanted to send you a note. I did a search for Arc Ultra vs Arc and of course, tons of videos came up. I scrolled through and was like ...."hey I know that guy....i've seen his videos before and they're good." So I skipped all the other people and came straight to you. I'm less than a minute into this video and you already have me captivated.... emphasis on "....upgrade without your wife noticing" .... Lol. Ok let me go back and actually watch the review..... just wanted to take a moment to thank you for being awesome.
Thank you for these great video. I love to see if the upgrade is worth to do if you have a setup of 2 subs and 2 era 300 and see if there is a change of notice having a arc gen 1 or a ultra.
This is great, thank you for helping me decide to upgrade! I would love to see you compare the differences when paired with a sub as I suspect most users who are upgrading already have a sub so we don't care about the Arc needing to generate bass
12:16 Nice rewiew as always! But can you match the curves to the same loudness here? This is necessary of you want to compare the frequency response and - 3db point...
Peter: Can you recommend a good doctor? (member of the 80+ Crew). JK 🤣 Excellent presentation using objectivity, expectation setting, and entertainment. Top-notch all around - thank you.
What I don't like about the arc is the lack of channel separation, so effects that should be moving across the screen don't. The arc in essence is a big ol' center channel. Is this drastically improved with the ultra?
Glad to know your installation of the Arc Ultra went smoothly at 1st attempt. Do u think you could do a video about your installation process so others might also hope to have a painless upgrade to the Arc Ultra?
Hi Peter! Appreciate all your review videos! If I have to choose between upgrading from Sonos One SL to ERA 300 or Arc to Arc Ultra, what would you recommend? My setup is Arc, 2x Sub gen 3, and 2x One SL.
Excellent Peter, It will be interesting to see how the new arc affects the crossover in your future reviews, I have the original Arc and sub mini which sounds great
Always thank you for info peter~! I'd like to ask you one thing. I'd really appreciate your response. I thought about installing Sonos Arc products upside down on the screen rather than under the screen in a beam projector environment. There's a problem with this, There's a point where the sound changes left and right. Is there anything that changes left and right in the Sonos Arc hardware settings? I'd appreciate it if you could advise me on my ideas.
Thanks! Appreciate the time and hard work you put into these videos. I was waiting on your input to decide to upgrade. You always coming with the hard data. Also picking up that sub, I have two minis (separate rooms) already, but never bought the larger one because of the gloss finish. Look forward to future videos!
All we need now is a best settings video for the arc ultra + 2 gen 4 subs + 2 era 300’s!
No one better with reviews. 🎉
Thank you for the kind words! 😄
@@PeterPeei think most people would agree. I've been refreshing my youtube since the ultra came out to watch your thoughts.
Yes me too! And finally someone with a founded test, not only subjective listening. As known bugs remain with Trueplay and the surround drivers not fireing properly when connected to Ultra, looking forward getting your tests on surround setup and best setting recommendation and most important software update safety!
@@mickdenley same here
you are joking right? the review seems very biased. showing frequency responses at different sound levels to exaggerate the bass in the ultra soundbar. Also failing to emphasize that if you have a sub none of this matters.
Thank you for the great content peter!
A reminder to all viewers of how you can return something in a very simple way:
Like for engagement
Comment for engagement
Dont skip the ads at the beginning of the video
Least we can do :)
My Arc ultra installed and worked great, factory reseted all products before installing Arc ultra. Both me and my angry girlfriend that didnt want me to buy it said omg when we listend to it with and without full system. Full system era 300 as surrounds and sub gen3. Its not 2 times as good but the sound quality is alot better, alot more bass in the soundbar + a huge improvement in vocals+ a small atmos improvement makes it overal a very big diffrence for the price. Remember its a small cost over Arc so dont expect anything insane. For 350 it costed me after selling Arc its worth it without a doubt
Why did you factory reset everything out of interest?
@faytelan to install from 0 and avoid any problems, also deleted previous rooms etc i had in sonos app
I factory reset to but only because I've been reading a lot of horror stories. I found i had to tone down the era300 to only +1 for tv. After trueplay they seem louder then usual. Hard to really test until this bug gets fixed
@Sauron6600 dont notice anything diffrent with mine, did normal trueplay with newest iphone
@@alebaler mine either. This is all subjective.
I struggled for like a whole week trying to figure out why all of the loud portions of movies and games were muted on the Arc Ultra... turns out the speech enhancement completely ruins all loud noises, no matter the content, not just when there is talking. This happened for gaming on PS5 Pro w/ dolby atmos enabled (MK1, Harry Potter, etc.) and Apple TV 4K (Dune II, The Batman, etc.). Clearly that feature is just an equalizer adjustment that completely ruins the immersiveness of loud explosions and detailed gameplay sound effects. It even made the voices WORSE in Harry Potter. Anywho, that's my rant. Thanks for the video. It's a solid overview.
I’ve been waiting for your review! Watching it now with a cuppa
Enjoy your coffee! :)
Me too!!!! Was refreshing youtube once evwry couple of hours in the last days
@@PeterPee Great review, as always. The new Sonos Arc Ultra makes the old Arc sound hollow and thin in comparison. I’ll personally be upgrading for the improved dialog clarity, but overall, it sounds so much more full and immersive.
Thank you for the video
You are the only reviewer I trust to be completely honest to help me make the decision as to whether to upgrade or not. Thank you.
Key question for is whether it is a substantial upgrade when paired with Era 300 surrounds and Sub Gen 3. And whether this extra benefit is worth giving up on the second sub (as Gen 2 not compatible in dual sub setup)
@peterpee, please drop the full sub3+arc+300's vs. sub4+arcU+300's soon!
Some of us are waiting for it like madmen
Same here
As am I
Same here 😂. I think it’s great that the Ultra sound great by itself, but doesn’t augment an Era300x2Sub system?
This the way
@@kenyonsinclair702this is the way
Fantastic channel . Love the fact that Peter backs everything up with evidence based data 👍👍👍
You can't back up opinions with "evidence based data".
@@Mr21scott did you watch the video?
@@MrGettemTV You can show facts; that doesn't "prove" an opinion. I hate the taste of tea, and there are no charts, graphs or numbers that will "prove" it.
@@Mr21scott I noticed you failed to answer the question. Most prefer an objective decision process rather than subjective opinions.
I'm pretty new to your channel and I'm more of a full on HT guy, but I'm Sonos curious as simplifying my setup does have some appeal. That said, your reviews are great. I watch a lot of reviewers on YT and your attention to detail and your willingness to make comparisons and back those up with measurements and also add recordings is just plain awesome. Keep up the good work.
The lack of DTS-X is what is holding me back. I think for this price it should support every audio codec out there. I watch a lot of physical media still so this is important for me.
Ich teste mal wie DTS klingt, soviel Mehrwert wird es nicht sein. Der Atmos Effekt ist auch eher subtil.
If you are using an Apple TV, the DTS topic is vanishing...
@@bakelitsuisse7707 why ? The bar still won't support DTS-X 😆
@@remco3819 because most of the movies that you stream from Apple TV are not in DTS Codec...
I am so happy with my Arc gen 1, I just don’t think I will upgrade this time round. I run the SL’s as surrounds, with the Sub too and it is just incredible… maybe the next release will get me to upgrade. Awesome review as always mate!!
I’ve been waiting all week for your review Peter 😊
Me too
Sorry to have kept you guys waiting!
@@PeterPee Worth the wait 😊. I’m watching your entire review right not!!!
From Canada, this is the first video for a Saturday morning. Great review as always. More convincing, All the more reason for an upgrade from my Arc 1 to Arc ultra for my cinema room.
Peter Pee your #1 in your Reviews. I will say that I upgraded without hesitation to the Ultra and Sub Gen 4 from my Sub Gen 2. I have the ERA 100’s because of the living room open concept. Peter as always will be watching every review coming out. Best of luck as always from Tampa Florida ✌️✌️
Looking into my first Sonos setup, waited for the Arc Ultra to be announced. Now it's there I'm in doubt if te Era 100 is good enough, or that I should save up for the Era 300's. How is te balance when pairing the era 100 with the arc ultra? Can you share your expierience. with the era 100 as most of the reviews are about the era 300's. Also what do you meen with the 'living room open concept' ?
I echo the below .... "No one better with reviews." This guy has the touch. Thorough and insightful. Best
I think we all get that the Arc Ultra is a better sound bar by itself. But the question is what happens to those benefits once paired with Dual Subs and Era 300’s? Are they still as noticeable or just keep what you’ve got?
IMO it’s amazing. Brings Atmos to life with dual subs and Era 300s. Hearing things I didn’t hear before in movies I’ve seen a bunch of times.
Up
@@pokezimm to me the key feature from the Era 300’s where the ambient sounds from the side firing surrounds. Is that more active with the Arc Ultra?
Great video. Subbed. I have gen 1beam, gen 1 sub and 2 play SL 1s.
My dilemma is whether to just get pair of Kef LSX ii with stands (1.3k) for excellent quality stereo separation or just get ultra and move beam into our second small lounge to go under a cheapy hisense TV with internal speakers.
@@504coolyes. Brings the Era 300s to life. Like glass shattering scenes it’s like I can hear every piece of glass hitting the ground. Footsteps are more prominent. Helicopters airplanes flying around are louder.
Was waiting for this review to pull the trigger, and now I have done! Thank you Peter, your reviews are the best!
As always, wonderfully clear and intelligently presented. Thanks!
First, I had about 4 attempts to pair this with Era as surround - but, that is fine.
I bought this for extra base that I thought my Gen 1 was lacking, but to my surprise it fixed a problem that really was bothering me with Gen1 - dialogue. As you say, the extra mid really made the difference, and that is what make this upgrade worth it for me. Base, that was just a bonus in the end.
Almost forgot - Thanks!
I buy NOTHING until I check your videos 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
This. This is what we’ve been waiting for! 😍
You’re the man! I’ve been waiting for your review. Even gave it a like 30 seconds in. Thank you.
The review we were all waiting for!
What a review and a comparison. My goodness. Earned a subscribe button for sure
Thank you peter for the review, i recently upgraded to the Arc ultra, from the Sonos Beam Gen2 and it makes a huge difference amazing sb
Do you had the Beam 2 in a 5.1 Set up?
@@crashi8328i had the beam with the 300 as suround and a mini sub
I’m still rocking the Beam Gen 1, is the difference worth it?
@@crashi8328yes
@@lewishague123hige difference in everything amazing purchase
Thanks Peter as always! So appreciate the hard work you put in!
Thank you for the update. I'm just starting to watch. But also concur that the updates went through smoothly last night without a flaw.... Whilst my decision isn't purely based on this review, I am looking to finalise my purchase of the Ultra tomorrow.
My Arc will be reunited with the 2 x One's in a new space, and the Ultra will be joining the Gen 3 and 300's in the movie room.
Thanks!
Danke!
Cheers Peter, definitely upgrading now, only got the Gen 1 with a sub mini but this certainly feels like a great update, certainly around the improved vocals and soundstage.
The much awaited review! For someone who is yet to enter the Sonos ecosystem, I definitely would go for the ultra! Thanks, Peter!
Talk of expectations, I never felt it was gonna be a big upgrade considering the price difference.
Just set mine up along with my gen 3 sub, very impressed, it’s a very nice upgrade over the 1st gen arc.
Playing Apple Music via the Sonos app sounds great, I know it might not be the greatest for music, but it sounds really good to me.
It’s much better for music than as a home theater in my opinion. My discrete Atmos theater blows away the Arc setup I have. You just can’t beat physics.
For the past four days, I’ve been waiting for your review.
Recommended settings for Arc Ultra PLEASE🙏🙏🙏
Great review as always Pete. As someone who's running two subs, bass isn't an issue with me, therefore the bass improvement on the ultra will be negligible and not worth the 'upgrade'. For new Sonos prospectives buyers I will definitely recommend, but for arc gen ones this is not worth the upgrade and quite frankly I was expecting a lot more from Sonos after years with the current arc gen one.
Sold my arc and gen 3 for arc ultra and gen 4. Loving it.
I gave my first impressions on sonos user fb group, and there are people commenting it is placebo and my reply to them is to talk to me only if they have tested the ultra themselves 😂😂😂
Im glad my observations are proven by you. I observed the similar things you have mentioned. Loving the clear dialogues in movies, and the clearer vocals in the songs I have listened to. I am also glad i can switch off my sub for late night movie watching with just the soundbar alone with decent bass.
You earned a sub to your channel
P.S: I burst out laughing by your new router comment 😂
Should’ve just kept the gen3.
@@TheCdM1981 nah, i prefer to offload to renew the warranty as a set. Just my personal preference. And my arc and sub 3 is in white, i changed to black as it suit my furniture more
Got the Ultra as well to pair with 2 300s and G3 Sub. As you said, the dialog is much better on the Ultra, albeit the Ultra appears to take a lot more of the bass load than the G1 Arc. I kind of prefer more bass to come out of sub than soundbar. I think Sonos is overbalancing the bass to the Ultra. Separately, the headphones clips at the end of the video does not do the Ultra justice. You have to hear for yourself how much better it is, which it is IMO.
Thanks for your insights and review, we just preordered the ultra today!
I’ve been waiting for this video 👍
Great video Peter as always! Received mine on Saturday for 650 swiss francs! Amazing piece of hardware. Paired with my two Era 300 and Mini Sub, my living room feels like a cinema sound system...
Couldn't hold out and waiting for delivery to upgrade my v1 Arc with the Arc Ultra (dual Gen 3 subs and Fives). Improvement with the Arc Ultra with dialogue is always welcome; but, I never felt I had an issue with low dialogue volume with my LG OLEDs (C9, C1, & C2 models). Planning to move the v1 Arc into master bedroom to replace v1 Beam, Gen 3 sub, and Symfonisk bookshelf rear speakers. Old v1 Beam to spare bedroom with LG LCD with no soundbar. One of the main reasons I went with Sonos because of the flexibility to mix, match, reused, expand, and move as needed depending on budget and needs. Couldn't do this with my old Nakamichi 7.2.4 I had before Sonos.
Great video! I did not expect the extra 20Hz on the low end will make so big difference.
I realized the instructions could have been clearer about replacing the Arc Gen1 during the installation. Pairing the Ultra with the ERAs was truly impressive; it felt like magic! The song I was listening to in Atmos sounded as if the music came straight from heaven. It’s an outstanding feat of engineering!
Been waiting for Peter to drop his review! Dont trust anybody else when it comes to Sonos! Most excellent as always! 👌🏻
Thanks Peter, keep up the good work, now the question is indeed of the difference is still perceiveble with Sub taking on the bass duties, if the crossover changes and if the wider soundstage and additional 2 horizontal channels vs Arc 1 is noticeable
Thanks for the great analysis and review and your tempering of expectations comments.
I was waiting for your review! I upgraded from Arc + Sub Gen 3 + 2 Sl to Arc Ultra + Sub Gen 4 + 2 Era 300s.
I can tell the difference in bass right away just using the Arc Ultra. Can't wait to test the whole surround set.
Coming from a Samsung 990b and now the Sonos Ultra full set up, it is already a step forward. Hope you do the sub4 and Era 300. Great video thanks !
How big is the difference for you, going from 990b to Ultra (with Era300 I presume)?
Can it connect to 5ghz wifi now? The arc only supports 2.4ghz which is a pain.
I’ve been waiting for this! Thanks for the time and effort you put into these. I can’t wait for future videos highlighting the Ultra with a sub (or 2). I may only upgrade in a year or so but gladly soaking up all the feedback.
Not sure if anyone else is experiencing this but I can’t select the notification icon anymore on your channel. Says something about content made for kids lol.
Hey Peter, thank you for the review. When you're covering set ups like the Ultimate - Arc ultra + 2 gen 4 subs + 2 era 300’s, don't forget about the mid tier set up. Arc ultra + Sub Mini + 2 era 100's. A lot of us also have that set up as well. Thanks
You took the words right out of my mouth, Pete. I had the bar for three days now and after all the comparisons I did I tell people it’s like going from the iPhone 15 to the iPhone 16 if anything I hear a very minimal difference in the bars, otherwise I hear no difference that if I didn’t have somebody buying my arc today I would return the ultra and keep the arc. I see mixed reviews as many people and I don’t understand say they hear this big difference from the ultra to the arc as as many people as I see saying that he no difference and I’m one of them the only difference that I really hear is that my sub doesn’t sound the same. The base isn’t kicking as hard. I have to put it at at least a +5 to get the Base really going as before at zero it sounded like a +5. I’m hoping some updates tweak the bar to make more of a difference Val Sonos has a past of bringing an update that made the bar sound worse, which I’m hoping doesn’t happen again. Even Best Buy has open box ultras for sale for $699 which I would say in that case sell your arc and upgrade, otherwise so far this upgrade is disappointing to me. But then again when they released the price and it’s only $100 more then the arc, I wasn’t expecting much anymore as I am a firm believer you pay for what you get. Now if the ball was going to be the roommate $1200 price then I definitely would’ve expected a bigger upgrade. But A great video Pete. I appreciate everything that you do. I just wish that what your graph chart you show and the things that you say that you and other people here (in a positive way) I as well as all the people I see who don’t hear a difference or much of a difference heard 🤷🏻♂️
This is why i didn't rush to replace my old arc as other reviews saying the arc ultra and the old arc difference is 20% or 30% performance. Exactly as you point out, it's like going from iPhone 15 to 16. Don't expect day and night differences.
Not sure why people are expecting night and day difference. This is an upgrade to an already premium product.
It's like upgrading last year's Benz and expecting it to fly.
This new sound bar is more suited for first time buyers who will start with the bar only.
This will give them a more complete surround sound with bass until they're able to buy a true sub and true surrounds.
If you already have a complete setup then the only reason to upgrade is if you want to move the original equipment to another room. Or if you want to go through the hassle of selling the Arc to pay for the difference of the Ultra. And of course if you have disposable income and enjoy upgrading, go for it. We all like the new car smell.
@ Never expected a night and day difference, especially for $100 more. But four and a half years later I did expect a difference to say the least. And as of now I basically hear no difference outside of my sub sounding worse now
It made a huge difference in my setup. The bass sounded more even when paired with a sub. My bass didnt decrease at all. I also get much better atmos.
I imagine different living rooms probably effects how much of an upgrade it will be
Maybe in the future the lineup will be just like Apple’s. Arc/Arc Ultra/Arc 2..
My Ultra arrives today and this video comes right in the nick of time. I’m a first time soundbar owner and had my doubts about them. I currently have a 18year old 5.1 in-wall home theater system at is so complex turn on that nobody ever uses it. I’m expecting the Ultra to simplify my home theater experience. Thanks Peter.
Presententation done w/ passion! Very well done!
What the sound motion speaker does is pull the bass image to the front stage (through DSP) is what you were trying to explain without being too technical. So there is better integration to the bubble all together. Definitely a good jump in balancing the sound. The only way I cured the issue with the gen one and rta was +4 on both bass and treble with speech enhancement to remove the lower db in 400-700hz but they should be about 1DB lower than the other frequencies to sound natural as opposed to phony like in a well done bass front and back in a good dsp car sound system. So far the subs perform like you stated way better flanking the ark to each side so they give good response down to 28hz as opposed to the peak in 45-65hz range when I place one diagonally behind me due to the room configuration.
We have been all waiting for your review. Thanks for this!
Hey Peter, looking good! I check in once in a while to see your videos. You look more fresh than a year ago / two years ago. Hope you feel good as well.
Yay!!! Finally the Peter Pee review I was waiting for!🎉🎉🎉
First time checking out your channel. I like your style and wit, good content as well.
Good thinking about everybody's expectations and fine tuning the review. Great review as usual.
Such a well put together video. Thanks
Looking good peter, hope you’re well!
I am! Have been getting in the exercise that I need!
I was thinking the same, noticeably looking good!
Also!!!! Mix both soundbars with the mini sub please! And I think with Sonos making the move to a built in sub by the way I think is genius because they can get customers who have money like that to put one on all their tvs in all tvs in household. Anyways I think the ultra does pump high quality sound with or without added satellite speakers and/or subs.
It’s amazing to know the that the Ultra is tuned for dialogue in films absolutely awesome!!!
Hi Peter! There is a bug with Era 300 paired with Arc Ultra at the moment, where not all channels are playing.
The rear channel is coming trough the height channel in dolby atmos.
In surround sound mode 3 of the 4 driver of the Era 300 should play but paired with the Arc Ultra there are just playing 2 drivers.
In 5.1 content the side channel is playing trough the height channel and not the side channel.
Could you test this?
@@KnTde Didnt even notice this before i read forums and heard of it. Dosent seem to be a noticable change in my setup but maybe it is. Cant do much about it anyway more then waiting on updates
@@alebaler I noticed it immediately. The soundstage from the Era 300 is smaller as with my Arc Gen.1 before.
this is how Beam2 works with the ERA300. In 5.1 mode, the rear ones do not work. Only the side channels work
@@alebaler I called the support and luckily got a really ambitious guy. He asked in-house and got the answer that it is a "feature" now, because otherwise the sound would collide. He was also suprised about that response. He put it on a feature request. Hope we will get it back soon.
I have the same problem. Any tips/ fix? Was a bit disappointed. My set-up is arc ultra, sub 4 and era 300 as surrounds
As long as I get a big smile, getting the sound for my Sonos arc I’m happy and satisfied!😇
Thanks Peter mine came in today cant wait to test it , in the US we can use the upgrade program if you buy thru Sonos and get 15% off also
Same in the UK👍
At the time of posting, there is a big doscount on the Samsung HW-Q990D set. Which home theatre system would you buy?
1) s$4950 for the Sonos ARC Ultra + pair of Era 300s + Sub Gen 4 for
2) s$1700 for the Samsung HW-Q990D set
First time watching…convinced me to upgrade. Great Review and Thank You
The most interesting part of the upgrade for me is: do they fix the problem with the quiet voices in films? Is it worth to upgrade from v1 to the ultra in terms of speech clarity and speech loudness?
Thank you again Peter, the bass sound much deeper than the gen 1 . Have a good weekend!
I agree! The Ultra does have a wider frequency range than the Gen 1. It goes down deeper.
Already got mine but still wanted to see this video 😅
How is it with music ? I’m mostly interested in a sounbar for music
@ToThe-kk1dm I haven't actually tried music on it yet.
@@Infinitelight8888 Please report back when you do. I would love to know how it performs
@@ToThe-kk1dm Yeah will do.
Peter is the go to for sonos reviews. Hes the most trustworthy person. I camt wait for more sonos videos
Have you noticed that when using with surrounds and you adjust the volume for the surrounds it also increases the volume of the surrounds within the arc ultra. This means if you want to bias the sound towards the rear you can’t really do that anymore. It also has removed all the impact from a Sonos amp and in ceiling surrounds.
Being able to bias the sound toward my rear fives is a big deal for me. It would be a deal breaker for me. I will stick with Arc Gen 1 until this gets addressed.
The sense of space afforded by the Ultra is readily apparent compared to the Arc (1). Waaay more open, with pin-point sound localization in space. Wow! Great comparison clip there.
My favorite part of my new Arc Ultra is the wider soundstage. Moved my original Arc to the bedroom so thats great too lol
I was waiting for this review to make my decision on upgrading .
Peter once again a great video!!
I also upgraded to the ultra!
I definitely hear a big difference. But my biggest problem is Trueplay. I have probably done it about 30 times and get a different sound profile each time. My biggest wish is that they make trueplay more reliable.
Keep up the good work.
Ps. would love a best settings video, without trueplay obviously because your room is different to mine😂
Don't use the advanced trueplay for now. Sonos confirmed it's bugged. Use the quick trueplay to have normal bass response
@@Ventus7777 link to them officially confirming this is a bug?
Surround sound wise, is that volume a separate slider on the Arc Ultra just like the height channels are? I know it’s active for the Era 300’s, but it would be great if we could increase the volume of the surrounds on the arc itself.
Peter...just wanted to send you a note. I did a search for Arc Ultra vs Arc and of course, tons of videos came up. I scrolled through and was like ...."hey I know that guy....i've seen his videos before and they're good." So I skipped all the other people and came straight to you. I'm less than a minute into this video and you already have me captivated.... emphasis on "....upgrade without your wife noticing" .... Lol. Ok let me go back and actually watch the review..... just wanted to take a moment to thank you for being awesome.
Thank you for these great video. I love to see if the upgrade is worth to do if you have a setup of 2 subs and 2 era 300 and see if there is a change of notice having a arc gen 1 or a ultra.
Thanks Peter pee for sharing your experience. Basically we shouldn't expect day and night difference with this new arc compared to the old one.
Is it worth updating from a Arc Gen 1 with a Sub Mini to an Arc Ultra only?
Nice review
No. You’re gonna miss that deep 25hz low frequencies
@ Thanks for the reply
I do like my new ultra. Finally able to hear voices out of the sound bar
Peter: This video made my decision. Sonos should give you a commission. Thank you!
That would be a huge conflict of interest and these videos would no longer be trustworthy.
@@AndrewC89 Apparently my humorous compliment to Peter and all the amazing things he does for us on this channel were lost on you.
This is great, thank you for helping me decide to upgrade! I would love to see you compare the differences when paired with a sub as I suspect most users who are upgrading already have a sub so we don't care about the Arc needing to generate bass
Great review, you really are the best with Sonos products.
I felt a difference and speech enhancement at High can be felt. I have a setup of Sonos Arc Ultra, Sonos Fives and Sub Gen 3. Thank you,
Does anyone have recommendations for how to play a dobly sound test? TH-cam apps don’t play atmos.
12:16 Nice rewiew as always! But can you match the curves to the same loudness here? This is necessary of you want to compare the frequency response and - 3db point...
Peter: Can you recommend a good doctor? (member of the 80+ Crew). JK 🤣 Excellent presentation using objectivity, expectation setting, and entertainment. Top-notch all around - thank you.
What I don't like about the arc is the lack of channel separation, so effects that should be moving across the screen don't. The arc in essence is a big ol' center channel. Is this drastically improved with the ultra?
Glad to know your installation of the Arc Ultra went smoothly at 1st attempt. Do u think you could do a video about your installation process so others might also hope to have a painless upgrade to the Arc Ultra?
Keep on being the best ❤️🙏🏽
Hi Peter! Appreciate all your review videos! If I have to choose between upgrading from Sonos One SL to ERA 300 or Arc to Arc Ultra, what would you recommend? My setup is Arc, 2x Sub gen 3, and 2x One SL.
Excellent Peter, It will be interesting to see how the new arc affects the crossover in your future reviews, I have the original Arc and sub mini which sounds great
Always thank you for info peter~!
I'd like to ask you one thing.
I'd really appreciate your response.
I thought about installing Sonos Arc products upside down on the screen rather than under the screen in a beam projector environment.
There's a problem with this,
There's a point where the sound changes left and right.
Is there anything that changes left and right in the Sonos Arc hardware settings?
I'd appreciate it if you could advise me on my ideas.
Sonos Masterchief 💪🏽 Great work