What Hi-Fi?100
The Sonos Arc Ultra is a significant sonic upgrade over its predecessor, offering exceptional clarity, detail, and controlled bass performance.
Sonos Arc Ultra
11 expert reviews#2 in soundbarsChecked 1 Nov 2026
Quick answer
The Sonos Arc Ultra has a critic score of 89 out of 100 from 11 professional reviews, and 11 of them recommend it. It ranks #2 of 5 soundbars we score. Critics praise its performance and sound quality. The most common complaint is price.
Reviews checked 1 Nov 2026
Image: SonosBest overall
Our verdict
All 11 reviewers recommend Sonos's flagship soundbar, mostly for its deep bass and convincing Dolby Atmos from a single bar. It is expensive, it's large, and it has no HDMI passthrough, so you lose a TV input.
The catch: Expensive, and no HDMI passthrough.
Critic agreement: Medium
Scores run from 79 to 100
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What do critics say about the Sonos Arc Ultra?
The Independent100
The Sonos Arc Ultra is a significant upgrade over its predecessor, offering vastly improved bass performance through new driver technology and much clearer dialogue.
Gaming Trend90
The Sonos Arc Ultra is a significant upgrade over its predecessor, offering exceptional dialogue clarity through AI processing and impressive bass performance via its new Sound Motion technology.
PCMag Australia90
The Sonos Arc Ultra is an outstanding, high-performance soundbar that delivers impressive spatial audio and clear dialogue, making it a top-tier choice for those who can justify the premium price.
SlashGear90
The Sonos Arc Ultra is a high-performing flagship soundbar that offers significant improvements in Dolby Atmos immersion and dialogue clarity over its predecessor.
PCMag Middle East90
The Sonos Arc Ultra is a top-tier soundbar offering excellent dialogue clarity and impressive bass performance.
CNN Underscored85est.
The Sonos Arc Ultra delivers exceptional audio performance and improved bass in a sleek design, though its high price and lack of certain connectivity features make it a difficult upgrade for existing Sonos Arc owners.
Business Insider85est.
The Sonos Arc Ultra is a highly capable, space-saving soundbar that delivers impressive bass and dialogue clarity, though it remains expensive and lacks some advanced format support like DTS:X.
ZDNET85est.
The Sonos Arc Ultra is a highly capable standalone soundbar that excels in modularity and ecosystem integration, though it lacks the out-of-the-box surround immersion of dedicated multi-component systems.
CNET81
The Sonos Arc Ultra is a refined, bass-heavy soundbar that excels at music playback, though it lacks the expansive, fun cinematic soundstage of its predecessor.
RTINGS.com79est.
The Sonos Arc Ultra is a high-performing soundbar that delivers excellent sound quality and immersive audio, though its high price point and reliance on the Sonos ecosystem may be limiting for some users.
Scores are converted to 0–100. "est." means the outlet gave no number, so we estimated one from its verdict. How we score
What critics praise most
Performance10 of 11
Sound quality5 of 11
Design3 of 11
What critics dislike most
Price9 of 11
Missing features8 of 11
Software and app3 of 11
Alternatives
Not sure about the Sonos Arc Ultra?
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Image: Sonos
Image: SonosCommon questions
Is the Sonos Arc Ultra worth it?
Most critics think so: 11 of 11 recommend it. Expensive, and no HDMI passthrough.
What do critics dislike about the Sonos Arc Ultra?
Price (9 of 11 reviews), Missing features (8 of 11 reviews), Software and app (3 of 11 reviews).
What is the best alternative to the Sonos Arc Ultra?
The Samsung HW-Q990F (critic score 92), full surround system.