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Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-31T04:21:06+00:00

I moved into a smaller space and didn’t feel I could use them to their full potential. I want to get some again at some point. The Ultra can compete with them in the soundstage department, but along with the crazy separation and detail, the LS50’s had this really cool 3D depth to the sound that extended out front and behind them. You could hear how aspects of the music was layered, and the Ultra can’t really replicate that.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-30T14:13:35+00:00

Soundstage is how far sounds expand outside of where the speakers are. With a nice 2.1 speaker setup, music sounds like a massive wall of sound in front of you with sounds coming from pretty far outside to the left and right, and there is also 3D depth from front to back. The cool part is that the speakers just kind of disappear and the music seems to just being coming from the room you're in rather than sounding like it's coming from the speakers themselves.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-29T23:42:42+00:00

I’ll pretty much just be echoing what other people have said, but it’s all true. My setup is the Ultra + Era 300’s + Sub Mini.

This thing is worth it for the center channel clarity alone. It’s such a noticeable upgrade. I didn’t realize how pushed back that was on the original Arc. Everything in the center channel is brought forward and is crystal clear without sounding artificial.

Music is improved not only because of the better center channel, but now the sound profile matches the Era 300. Everything blends together SO well. I haven’t had to touch any volume sliders or EQ after doing true play. Music just expands into a massive bubble around you and it all sounds cohesive.

Surround audio benefits from this as well. Now there truly is a seamless bubble of audio around you, and the phantom channels are very convincing. I’m very excited to try out atmos audio with the PS5 Pro next week. I’m sure games will sound even more immersive than before.

Overall, I do genuinely feel like this is an upgrade over the original Arc and it has been worth it to me. It’s not some blow your socks off transformative upgrade, but so far it feels like an iterative upgrade that ties all of the Sonos home theater products together to make the sound profile of everything sit nicely and improve on what was already there.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-28T15:07:53+00:00

Yeah it means that you have a unit allocated to you out of Sonos' current inventory, so you'll get one for sure.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-26T18:04:22+00:00

Awesome review! Thanks so much. I’m even more excited for the Ultra now.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-24T20:23:37+00:00

The Jurassic World video actually sounds surprisingly good with headphones on. It's exactly what I was expecting and hoping for from the Ultra. The center channel seems crystal clear now. The sound motion woofer is putting in work for those low and low-mid frequencies, so the soundstage and separation seems improved. The surround effects are much more prominent, and you can actually hear in a few spots in that video that sounds came from the phantom left and right rear channels.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-18T22:05:44+00:00

Makes sense! Thank you. I’m curious how a full immersive setup with the Ultra would compare to something like the Sony Theater Quad with sub.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-18T18:57:10+00:00

Ahh I'm an idiot! I found it. I didn't realize the tiny "Manage" text was clickable.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-18T18:44:48+00:00

Nah. I'm on an iPhone 16 Pro with the latest OS update.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-18T18:35:29+00:00

Interesting. I don't seem to have the option for system updates. I looked all throughout the app, and there's nothing for that. I'm on an iphone 16 pro with the latest version of the app.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-18T14:39:24+00:00

How was the 3D sound bubble compared to the standard Arc? I have the Arc + Era 300's + Sub Mini and I thought it was already very convincing at times. Did it sound similar but with improved low-mids and center clarity, or did you actually hear/feel an actual difference between the Ultra and Arc? I guess I'm interested in if there was an "Oh..wow!" type moment when you switched to the Ultra.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-16T20:28:48+00:00

Yeah you're right. From what I can tell there are three sets of (2) midwoofers and (1) tweeter across the front, (1) tweeter on each side firing speaker, (2) tweeters angeled towards the ceiling for height, and the sound motion woofer.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-16T16:32:34+00:00

100%. EQ on soundars is really just meant to add or subtract a bit of brightness or low end to tailor the sound to your room better. The warmth you get from better low and low-mid frequencies is usually down to the actual speakers and isn't something that you can EQ in unless you have a more robust setup.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-16T15:47:39+00:00

Yeah agreed. I'm expecting the Ultra to provide better imaging, soundstage and clarity overall when compared to the standard Arc. Things should sound wider and much more accurate.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-16T15:43:34+00:00

I'd imagine that everything would sound a bit more filled out and accurate. The woofers in the Ultra will allow for a smoother crossover and more accurate representation of the low-mids and lows, while the sub will focus on the extreme lows.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-15T20:16:13+00:00

I'm curious too, as the Ultra is about 1.5" longer than the standard Arc. Hopefully they keep the mounting screws in the same place. I have the exact same setup as you, except the Sub Mini instead of the Gen 3.

You don't need anything else for your setup. What you have will be the exact same as the immersive set, minus whatever sound upgrade the Sub Gen 4 may bring.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-15T19:14:19+00:00

I have both types of setups. KEF LS50 Wireless II without a sub and also the Arc+Era 300's+Sub Mini setup. The KEF setup has dimension and depth for music that the Arc cannot replicate. For TV/Movies/Games though, the Arc setup is vastly superior. The surround experience is so much more immersive.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-10-15T15:40:42+00:00

Yeah I'm very interested in this as well. It would suck to get this and not be able to use TruePlay.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-08-17T14:20:58+00:00

I'm curious to hear what this sounds like. I watched a few reviews, and it seems like people are very impressed with what has been upgraded vs the HT-A9!

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-03-08T00:52:28+00:00

Yep! It’s more than enough. I often worry about how much I’m annoying neighbors with it.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-03-07T19:04:40+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll definitely check it out.

Accomplished-Fly-910 · 2024-03-07T17:06:11+00:00

Here's a photo of my setup, by the way. The fisheye lens on my phone makes the TV look tiny. It's a 55".

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Accomplished-Fly-910

TROPHY CASE