It looks like the Sonos Arc has sung its last song: the soundbar is now listed on the Sonos website with a ‘last chance’ flag, and is currently on sale in the US for its lowest price of $649, suggesting Sonos is clearing out remaining stock.
I approached Sonos for an official comment on the future of the Arc, but the company’s style is to quietly end production of older products when a new replacement comes along, as seems to be the case here now that the Sonos Arc Ultra is out.
The company told me that this is exactly what it did when the Sonos 100 era launched: the Sonos one stopped being produced and the remaining shares were sold until everything was gone.
It hadn’t been clear whether the Arc Ultra would be a full replacement for the ARC, or sit on a higher-tier model, but it looks like we have our answer. Still, with deep discounts, the ARC could get a nice upgrade while stocks last, if you’re in the market for one of the best soundbars.
Today’s best Sonos arc deal
Mind the gap
However, the disappearance of the arc leaves a very large price gap between the Sonos Beam Gen 2 and the Sonos Arc Ultra. The $999/£999 ARC Ultra is literally double the price of the $499/£449 Beam, and I know from experience that a lot of people are interested in powerful soundbars that fit between those prices, something like the Samsung HW -Q800D, which is regularly available in the region of $700-$800.
I hope Sonos is working on something new to fill this gap including its Sound Motion Bass Driver, which helps make the Arc such a full sound for a soundbar without a subwoofer. Something that adds suddenly real speakers for Dolby Atmos, which the beam is missing, and that fuller bass driver for a punchier soundstage, but without as many angled drivers as the Arc Ultra, and a smaller size than the ARC Ultra.
On the other hand, perhaps Sonos thinks four soundbars are a bit much, or has data that its buyers want to keep the budget lower or are happy to pay in bundles.
Either way, it feels like the end of an era for the arc to go: I reviewed it when it released in 2020, locked in my house, and I’ve been writing it constantly ever since. Still, it’s not that Sonos hasn’t provided other things to talk about.
