Sonos has recently made headlines for releasing their first over-ear headphone, the Sonos Ace. It brought the high-quality sound that Sonos customers are used to, but brought it into a portable and personal package. While they were not perfect, they are still up there as one of the best premium over-ear headphones on the market; check out our review here. Now, it seems Sonos is pivoting back to their bread and butter, the Sonos Arc. The Verge reported that the successor to the Arc, the Sonos Lasso, is right around the corner. Here is what we know.
Codename: Sonos Lasso
The current Sonos Arc, which I use as my main theater speaker, has been one of Sonos’ best-selling and most loved products. It is a staple of their product offering, and it’s my number one recommendation for anyone looking for a soundbar under that $1000 price point. The sound quality, Dolby Atmos support, Sonos ecosystem features, and Apple-specific features like Airplay make it a joy to use. One moment, you are using it as your main theater speaker with your Apple TV; the next, you can throw music on it from your phone via Airplay. My only gripe with the Arc is that it lacks bass, so it almost forces you to buy a Sonos Sub or Sub mini. For $900, I want my sound bar to be able to provide enough bass that I do not need to spend more money on a sub. But other than that, it checks off all the boxes.
The new Sonos ‘Lasso’ seems to be the answer to the issue. In 2022, Sonos acquired Mayht, a Netherlands-based start-up known for its revolutionary approach to audio transducers. Currently, zero Sonos products have implemented any of this proprietary tech, so this could be the first one. This new tech is what should really increase not only the sound quality and immersion but also give us a much more powerful bass built right into the soundbar without changing the current form factor.
The Verge posted some images alluding to that; firstly, the form factor and look should remain relatively unchanged. This is great news for current Arc users because it means we should be able to use the same wall mounts, and it could be as easy as removing the old one and putting in the new one. The second image shows that this soundbar will feature Bluetooth connectivity for the first time. The current Arc does not support regular Bluetooth, but iOS users can use AirPlay to get around that.
Pricing, availability, and final thoughts
To reiterate, none of this is set in stone. Things can change as Sonos starts to figure out what their final go-to-market product is going to be. But from a combination of reports via Bloomberg and The Verge, we can be certain of a few things:
- Sonos is planning on a product release sometime this year
- It will have the new Mayht tech implemented
- It will have Bluetooth connectivity
- It will be more expensive than the current Arc ($1,200 seems to be the rumored price)
I am excited to see what Sonos’ next-gen sound bar will be like. Will it be enough of an upgrade to justify replacing the current Arc? Or will this be a product for people that do not have a soundbar at all and are looking for one? I also want to see how it will work alongside the Ace headphones. Lot’s of questions still remain, so be sure to follow along.
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