Sonos, the audio technology company, has been on a rocky road lately, with a series of software missteps and customer complaints threatening to tarnish its reputation. However, with the release of the Arc Ultra soundbar, the company seems to be taking a crucial step in the right direction. The $999 Ultra is a notable improvement over its predecessor, delivering more immersive sound and substantial bass gains, making it a worthwhile upgrade for those willing to give Sonos another chance.

The original Arc soundbar, released during the COVID-19 pandemic, was a strong performer, but it had its weaknesses, particularly in terms of bass response. Unless paired with a Sub (or the Sub Mini), the soundbar lacked the low-end bite to make users feel the booms and reverberating explosions in Hollywood blockbusters. Sonos addressed this issue by acquiring Mayht Holding, a company that developed a "revolutionary approach to audio transducers" allowing for smaller and lighter designs without compromising on sound. The Arc Ultra is the first product to utilize this technology, featuring a new "SoundMotion" woofer that produces twice as much bass as the original Arc.

The SoundMotion woofer is a compact, relatively flat design that frees up space for additional drivers, resulting in a total of 14 drivers inside the Arc Ultra. This arsenal of speakers enables the soundbar to deliver a 9.1.4 surround experience, with a noticeably wider and more dynamic soundstage than its predecessor. The playback controls have been repositioned, and the touch controls have been relocated to an upward-facing panel at the rear of the soundbar, sharing the same button layout as the Era 100/300 and Move 2. Hands-free voice commands remain, although Google Assistant is no longer available.

One welcome upgrade is the Trueplay feature called Quick Tune, which allows the soundbar to tune itself for the user's environment using its built-in microphones, eliminating the need for manual Trueplay process. Bluetooth audio playback is also supported on the Ultra, and the soundbar makes the jump to Wi-Fi 6 for more dependable wireless performance. However, Sonos has not addressed the lack of HDMI passthrough, a feature available on other premium soundbars.

In testing the Arc Ultra, the improvements over the original Arc are obvious and plentiful. The SoundMotion woofer delivers on its promise, giving the soundbar more oomph and a thicker low end that will likely be more than enough for small to medium-sized living rooms or apartments. The height effects are more convincing, and everything sounds more expansive without getting thin or too dispersed. Adding a Sub 4 or Sub 3 takes the bass to a whole different level, and the full Sonos Dolby Atmos experience with the Era 300 speakers is nothing short of mesmerizing.

However, the success of the Arc Ultra is overshadowed by the ongoing software issues that have plagued Sonos. The company's new app has been criticized for its bugs and performance problems, leading to customer frustration and mistrust. While the reviewer's experience with the app was surprisingly headache-free, others continue to report issues, and Sonos needs to keep the performance enhancements and bug fixes coming to regain customer trust.

In conclusion, the Sonos Arc Ultra is an excellent product that marks a crucial step in the right direction for the company. It's a significant improvement over the original and easily in contention for the best all-in-one soundbar you can buy. However, the damage from the app episode will be lasting, and Sonos still has a long way to go to prove it's capable of making good decisions again. For now, the Arc Ultra is a beacon of hope, but only time will tell if the company can redeem its reputation.