JBL Bar 1000MK2 vs Sonos Arc Ultra

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Bar 1000MK2 compared with Arc Ultra

	JBLBar 1000MK2	SonosArc Ultra
Overview
Released
Released	June 2025	October 2024
Sound
Type
Type	Soundbar	Soundbar
Channels
Channels	7.1.4	9.1.4
Dolby Atmos
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes
Drivers
Drivers	Main bar has six 44 × 80 mm racetrack drivers, two 25 mm tweeters and two 70 mm upward-firing drivers; rear pair has two 44 × 90 mm racetrack drivers and two 70 mm upward-firing drivers; subwoofer has one 260 mm driver	Nine silk-dome tweeters (two firing upwards), six midwoofers and a Sound Motion woofer (four motors, dual membrane)
Amplifiers
Amplifiers	Total 960 W maximum or 480 W RMS at 1% THD; maximum main bar 500 W, rear pair 2 × 80 W, subwoofer 300 W. The UK web table mislabels 960 W as RMS; the maker's PDF specifies 960 W maximum and 480 W RMS	Fifteen class-D digital amplifiers
Frequency response
Frequency response	33 Hz–20 kHz (-6 dB)	–
Audio formats
Audio formats	Dolby Atmos and DTS:X	Stereo PCM, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos (Dolby Digital Plus); with HDMI eARC also Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos (TrueHD), multichannel PCM and Dolby multichannel PCM; DTS Digital Surround
Room tuning
Room tuning	Automatic calibration, MultiBeam 3.0, PureVoice 2.0 and SmartDetails	Trueplay (iOS and Android); bass, treble and loudness adjustable; Speech Enhancement with four levels; Night Sound
Connections
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes
AirPlay
AirPlay	Yes	Yes
HDMI eARC
HDMI eARC	Yes	Yes
Voice assistants
Voice assistants	None	Alexa and Sonos Voice Control
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax), 2.4 and 5 GHz	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax), 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.3, A2DP and AVRCP	Bluetooth 5.3
Ports
Ports	Three HDMI inputs, one eARC output, optical and USB-A service port; HDR10+ and Dolby Vision passthrough. What Hi-Fi confirms 4K passthrough is limited to 60 Hz; TechRadar confirms Ethernet	HDMI eARC; optical through an adapter sold separately
Streaming
Streaming	AirPlay, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and Roon Ready	Apple AirPlay 2
Multi-room
Multi-room	Detachable speakers support TV Broadcasting and rear-only Night Listening, with main bar and subwoofer muted; the maker's description controls What Hi-Fi's contrary Night mode wording	Groups with other Sonos products over Wi-Fi; add a Sonos Sub (or two) and rear speakers; TV Audio Swap to Sonos Ace headphones
App
App	JBL One with equaliser and software updates	Sonos app (iOS and Android); works with the TV remote
Design
Weight
Weight	5.5 kg (better)	5.9 kg
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Detachable speakers up to 10 hours each, depending on content and volume; 3.635 V, 6600 mAh. Dock to recharge or use USB-C power (TechRadar)	–
Controls
Controls	Remote and JBL One; Google Assistant and Siri require an external compatible speaker, not a built-in voice assistant	Capacitive touch controls (play, pause, skip, replay, volume, voice mute, grouping); Bluetooth button; microphone switch
Microphones
Microphones	–	Far-field microphone array with beamforming and multichannel echo cancellation; switch cuts power to the microphones
Mounting
Mounting	Main bar and rear wall brackets included	M5 × 0.8 mm thread, 6.5 mm deep; Arc Ultra Wall Mount sold separately
Size
Size	Main bar 854 × 52 × 128 mm, 1203 mm wide with rears attached; each rear 189 × 52 × 128 mm; subwoofer 325 × 400 × 325 mm (width × height × depth). Main weight is bar only; each rear 0.9 kg, subwoofer 9.1 kg	75 × 1,178 × 110.6 mm (H × W × D)
Colours
Colours	Black	Black, White
In the box
In the box	Main bar, two detachable rear speakers, subwoofer, remote with batteries, power cords, HDMI cable, wall brackets and four side caps; June 2025 first release confirmed by TechRadar	Arc Ultra, power cable (2 m), HDMI cable (1.5 m), documentation