We're nearing the end of the year, and for many of us, that means it's finally time to feel guilt-free about staying in and watching our favorite festive movies. Nothing beats a warm, cozy evening when it's frosty outside.
This year, I've decided to invest in my own space and upgrade my home entertainment setup with a soundbar. It's a slim, stylish, and supremely effective device that will boom high-quality movie-theater style audio straight into your living room.
The Sonos Arc Ultra Is Rarely Discounted, Let Alone by This Much
I can't emphasize enough how incredible the Sonos Arc Ultra sounds, whatever you're watching.
As I revealed in my Sonos Arc Ultra review, I'd never heard audio this good in my own home. It's some serious high-tech kit. It has 14 built-in speakers – more than virtually every soundbar – which produce the most impressive sound your living room has probably ever heard.
It ultimately creates one of the most detailed, immersive, and awe-inspiring soundscapes imaginable. Whether you enjoy the tension of Die Hard or the whimsy of Elf, the Arc Ultra will make it sound as if you're in the movie theater, with clear dialogue, gorgeous music, and high-impact sound effects.
I know this first-hand, as, during testing, everything from John Wick to Princess Mononoke sounded perfect. I'm not exaggerating here – I was hearing sounds I'd never heard before, and they were surrounding me as if I had speakers dotted around my living room.
That's the beauty of the Arc Ultra, a simple upgrade that transforms every home viewing into a movie theater experience. To compare, the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar and the Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 8, two of our best-on-test flagship soundbars, only have 9 and 11 speakers respectively, and don't sound nearly as good as the Sonos.
This is partly owed to the Arc Ultra's 'Sound Motion' woofer, an industry first. In a flat design, this singular speaker delivers exceptional bass that you can feel beneath your feet, making every action scene rumble.
But as Sonos has engineered powerful bass with just one speaker, it allows the Arc Ultra to have seven tweeters and six midwoofers that give intimate attention to the audio's highs and mids.
Why I Didn't Want to Let It Go
I tested the Sonos Arc Ultra in my home, pictured, and found it very hard to let it go after I'd finished testing.
You may not know this, but as a professional product tester, brands send us testing samples and then collect them once we've published the review.
And honestly, with the Sonos Arc Ultra, I've never been so sad to see a sample leave my home, because with it, everything sounded right. Spacious, engaging, impactful, and lush, the Arc Ultra has achieved what every audio device is essentially aiming for: Audio delivered as it was created.
And if you avoid common soundbar placement mistakes, the Arc Ultra will direct sound straight to your ears. It also has up-firing speakers that send soundwaves above and around you to create surround sound from one device, and if you do the three-minute setup task of letting the Arc Ultra learn your room's acoustics, it'll refine the sound to specifically suit your space.
I heard the benefits of this intimately during action scenes, where I could hear crowds running to the right and characters talking to the left. I could hear dialogue echoing within my own room, while background noises sounded as if they were far away.
I also track price history to help our readers make smart decisions when upgrading their homes. And as the Sonos Arc Ultra is so coveted, it is rarely discounted. This year, it's been reduced fewer than five times, and only during the recent Black Friday event, and now into Cyber Week, has its price been this low.
So if, like me, you want every Christmas movie to sound magical, this is the only upgrade you need. And it takes no longer than two minutes to set up.
The Sonos Arc Ultra is discounted to $879 for Cyber Week, only at Walmart.
More to Shop
Although it's the best, the Sonos Arc Ultra is still expensive, even with this seasonal discount. If you're not ready to part with that much cash just yet, here are some more affordable options that I also loved during testing.
All prices correct at time of publication.
If the Sonos' discounted price is a little too high, Bose's flagship soundbar is discounted to even lower right now. Sounding almost as good as the Sonos, the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar produces sound that's delicate and spacious during quieter scenes, but roaring and impactful during the loud ones.
Read more in my full Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar review.
Offering what I would say is the best money-to-performance ratio, this Yamaha soundbar delivers beyond its price point. Its two subwoofers are powerful, making the bass crash and reverberate through your room, and it can play Dolby Atmos titles that make sound come from every direction.
Read more in my full Yamaha True X Bar 40A review.
While you can't achieve Sonos or Bose sound without spending a premium, you can still massively upgrade your home entertainment for a lot less. I use the Fire TV Soundbar Plus at home, and it adds a well-needed oomph to everything that I watch, and even at this low price, it can still create a limited surround sound experience.
Read more in my full Fire TV Soundbar Plus review.
Next, see what experts recommend putting in your movie room and music room.
