The Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra is one of the premium bundles available for the 2024 all-in-one Sonos Arc Ultra. This soundbar set comes complete with two Sonos Era 300 satellites and a Sub 4 subwoofer, using the company's modular design, which allows you to group most of the existing speakers in the line to the soundbar. As the follow-up to the Sonos Arc, this soundbar has most of the same conveniences and features, such as integration with other products within the same app, the ability to position your subwoofer vertically or horizontally, and TruePlay, a room calibration tool. Support for Dolby Atmos is highlighted through the bundle's up-firing speaker design, while accessories are stripped-back and add up as extra costs like mounting hardware.
Our Verdict
The Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra is great for mixed usage. Its full ecosystem integration allows you to easily manage and group it within the same network and app, so you can conveniently swap out your Sonos Ace Wireless headphones for the soundbar when you get home. Besides small quality-of-life considerations, the soundbar performs well with most audio formats, such as Dolby Atmos and Dolby Digital, with low latency and an immersive soundstage. It boasts tools to tailor the sound to your space, such as a TruePlay (room calibration), speech enhancements, 'Night' mode, bass and treble sliders, and height adjustments for the speakers. There are some limitations: no full graphic EQ or support for DTS:X media, and the single HDMI eARC port limits how much flexibility the soundbar has as an entertainment hub.
Immersive soundstage.
TruePlay room calibration tool.
Modular design allows you to add and group other Sonos speakers.
Balanced sound across different audio formats and types of playback.
No HDMI In.
No graphic equalizer.
No dedicated Optical port.
The Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra is great for watching dialogue-heavy content and TV shows. It supports most common audio formats used on streaming and physical media platforms like Dolby Digital and Dolby Atmos. By default, speech comes across as clear and articulate via the dedicated center channel, and you can also use its voice enhancement tools to augment the sound with poorly mixed source audio. 'Night' mode means you don't have to end a series marathon just because the sun sets. Action-packed shows take advantage of the soundbar's rumble and punch in the bass range, while its low latency ensures that TV shows with plenty of dialogue match the visuals, and you can adjust the sync in the app if needed. Unfortunately, the app has no dedicated EQ, so you'll need to contend with bass and treble sliders and listening modes to alter the sound profile.
Immersive soundstage.
TruePlay room calibration tool.
Modular design allows you to add and group other Sonos speakers.
Balanced sound across different audio formats and types of playback.
No HDMI In.
No graphic equalizer.
No dedicated Optical port.
The Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra is an impressive soundbar for listening to music. Thanks to its subwoofer, it outputs bass with ample low-end extension that captures the sub-bass frequencies of genres like hip-hop and electronica, rendering kick drums with plenty of rumble and punch. Fundamentals such as melodic instruments and vocals sit reasonably well in the mix, while cymbals and vocal articulation harmonics come across as bright and clear. Even if you blast your tunes, the soundbar gets loud and doesn't compress much at max volume. There's no graphic EQ available, but you can adjust the listening modes alongside the bass and treble sliders to alter the soundstage and use the TruePlay room calibration to adjust the frequency response to suit your room. You have plenty of wireless options for connecting to the soundbar, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Apple AirPlay 2.
Immersive soundstage.
TruePlay room calibration tool.
Modular design allows you to add and group other Sonos speakers.
Balanced sound across different audio formats and types of playback.
No graphic equalizer.
The Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra is very good for watching movies. It's compatible with most audio formats, such as DTS for your Blu-Ray collection and Dolby Atmos for newer movies, while older formats like Dolby Digital playback are true to their mastering. The dedicated outboard subwoofer supplies a good low-end extension rumble, while details in the top-end sound bright and cut through the mix well across different kinds of format playback ranging from stereo and surround. There is an okay sense of verticality thanks to the up-firing drivers in the bundle. You get sound enhancement tools like bass and treble sliders alongside 'Night' mode, but there isn't a dedicated EQ. Connectivity is a bit limited by the sole eARC port and no full HDMI In port, and you'll need to buy an Optical adapter (which takes up the eARC port) for older TVs.
Immersive soundstage.
TruePlay room calibration tool.
Modular design allows you to add and group other Sonos speakers.
Balanced sound across different audio formats and types of playback.
No HDMI In.
No graphic equalizer.
No dedicated Optical port.
Changelog
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Updated Jul 14, 2025:
The Stereo Dynamics box was updated to mention the Nakamichi Shockwafe Wireless.
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Updated Feb 05, 2025:
In response to community comments about volume differences between channels, we tested the set's individual channels to determine their output loudness relative to each other, as described in the Dynamics section.
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Updated Jan 30, 2025:
This review was updated to include more information about the 'Ambient' and 'Full' modes in Sound Enhancement Features. The Surround 5.1 section has been updated to add more information about the implementation. Sonos no longer supports Google Assistant, so that has been removed from Voice Assistants Support.
- Updated Jan 10, 2025: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra is one of the available bundled configurations of the soundbar. It's available in 'Black' (see the label of our unit) or 'White.' Sonos sells various other configurations of the Arc Ultra, bundled with different combinations of the Sub 4, Sonos Era 100 speaker, and Sonos Era 300 speaker via their website. We haven't tested any configurations beyond this one and the standalone Sonos Arc Ultra, but you can expect some similarities in performance across the range.
If you come across another version of this bar, let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Soundbar Comparisons
The Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra replaces the Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc, and they share the same Sonos Era 300 satellites. Cosmetically, they look almost identical, but the bar and updated Sonos Sub 4 perform a bit differently out of the box than the last generation bundle's soundbar and Sonos Sub 3. The Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra has a slightly more immersive Atmos performance and a default frequency response that offers more low-end oomph than its predecessor. Quality-of-life conveniences, such as added Bluetooth connectivity, make it easier to have impromptu at-home parties. That said, some of the same limitations persist, such as only a single HDMI eARC port and no HDMI passthrough, which hinders your ability to connect multiple wired devices. For greater connectivity, it's worth checking out soundbars with HDMI In ports like the Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 9 with Speakers + Bass Module or the considerably larger Nakamichi DRAGON. Still, these both force you to make other compromises, like losing out on Sonos' modular ecosystem.
For more ideas, take a look at the best Dolby Atmos soundbars, the best soundbars with a subwoofer, and the best soundbars for movies.
The Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra and Samsung HW-Q990F are both flagships catering to slightly different needs. The Sonos appeals to people who already have products from the Sonos ecosystem and who are familiar with using their phone as a remote. It has a slightly wider stereo soundstage and a punchier bass by default. Both soundbars have alright performance for height channels, though the Samsung may have an edge due to the greater audio format support. It also has more ports for HDMI In and Optical, which are absent on the eARC-only Sonos (unless you get an adapter for Optical). The Samsung's sound is more balanced out of the box as well, though both have sound enhancements that could tilt either in your favor.
While the Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra is better than the all-in-one Sonos Arc Ultra, they share virtually the same features. The key improvements that the added satellites and outboard subwoofer included in the Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra offer are a more immersive Dolby Atmos and surround sound experience, alongside greater bass extension. However, if you're short on space, the all-in-one Arc Ultra outputs an impressive stereo soundstage on its own and still provides an alright Atmos experience, considering it lacks drivers situated behind you.
The Samsung HW-Q990D is slightly better for most people than the Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra, though this depends on your priorities to an extent. Across the board, the Samsung incrementally outperforms the Sonos, except for its stereo soundstage, which is a bit narrower. While capable of heavy bass, the Samsung isn't as rumbly out of the box as the Sonos, but its mid-range is considerably flatter, resulting in clearer dialogue. It also boasts an EQ. Its connectivity is greater, too: there are HDMI In and Optical ports in addition to eARC. That said, if you're already in the Sonos ecosystem, there are advantages to grouping your speakers together from a convenience perspective, and it's easier to incrementally upgrade your system over time, thanks to its modular design. Meanwhile, its actual sound performance isn't completely outclassed, though it does have fewer sound enhancement features.
Depending on the types of media you mainly consume, either the Sony BRAVIA Theater Quad with Bass Module or the Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra may be a preferable choice, as they each have different strengths. The Sony has a wider stereo soundstage, though this depends on how far apart you place its speakers, and it has better connectivity so you can use it as an entertainment hub, thanks to its HDMI 2.1 In port for passthrough. On the other hand, the Sonos gets louder and doesn't compress as much. It also has a discrete center channel, ensuring dialogue sounds clearer and more accurate out of the box. Both soundbars are fairly evenly matched unless you want the Sony's greater connectivity and slightly better format support, though it's easier to add other speakers by the manufacturer to the Sonos.
Test Results
