Yes, yes. This is the old model. Before you zip away to the X in the corner of your browser screen, know that the newest model, the Sonos Arc Ultra, costs $1,000. Nabbing the previous model, which remains very, very good in this, the year 2025, for $599 is a wild deal.
sonos arc: still competitive
At $599, the Arc carves out its own niche in Sonos’ lineup. For years I’ve kept tabs on the Arc, but unlike many (if not most) of the big tech companies, Sonos hasn’t followed the others down the slide into constant sales and deals.
Through the Sonos app, you can fine-tune the Arc through a feature called Trueplay. It works surprisingly well to effect spatial audio that bounces sound around the room and mimics a true surround sound system. With the Arc Ultra, at least, I’ve had better luck with the simplified version of Trueplay than with the customized version, and I’m not the only person who has had that experience.
Part of the Arc’s appeal is the rather impressive bass from a soundbar. No soundbar is going to give you incredible bass, though, even though the Arc does it better than most. For the kind of bass that makes you hide under the couch when the T. Rex appears in Jurassic Park, you should upgrade to the Sonos Sub 4.
It’s truly an incredible experience, and even though it’s wildly punchy and powerful, its opposing drivers keep it from rattling my apartment’s walls as badly as most subwoofers, even weaker ones.
Is It Worth It?
Spending $760 on a sub to accompany a $599 soundbar can seem a little goofy, though. The Sonos Sub Mini for $429 is less powerful but comes with a price easier to swallow.
Even if it did piss off its users with a glitchy app not too long ago, Sonos makes a damn good soundbar. The app’s issues have been fixed now for months, anyway. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Arc is on a permanent sale, now that the Arc Ultra has been out since October 2024.
But I also wouldn’t be surprised if the price rebounded a little after Prime Day (July 8-11), so I wouldn’t sit on this deal for too long if you’ve been waiting for the Arc’s price to drop from the stratosphere.
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