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Sonos has today announced it is joining the Dolby Atmos soundbar market with the Sonos Arc. Billed as setting 'the new standard for soundbars,' it's available for pre-order now priced £800, with shipping scheduled to begin June 10.

This range-topping new 'bar, which sits above the more affordable Beam in Sonos' stable, features 11 drive units, two upfiring for Dolby Atmos height channel immersion. These are joined by left, centre and right arrays, plus side-firing drivers for wraparound sonics. Each driver gets its own Class D amplifier.

Sonos describes the Arc soundbar as 'one of the most technically complicated products we've ever made,' and claims fine-tuning of its digital signal processing and acoustic architecture have resulted in a class-leading performance. 'It's time to give customers the premium audio experience they deserve.'

For those seeking a largescale cinematic experience, the Arc can be partnered with Sonos' new Sub (Gen 3) wireless subwoofer (£700). Additionally, two Sonos One SL speakers can be added for discrete surround, creating a 5.1.2 system.

There's no mention of DTS:X support on the spec sheet, but this won't come as a surprise to Sonos buyers.

Not designed as a switching hub, the Arc offers a single HDMI eARC connection to hook up to your TV. An Ethernet port is on-hand for hardwired networking. The 'bar integrates Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice control via a quad far-field mic array.

If you don't just want to park the Arc on a table-top in front of your TV, it can be wall-mounted using a 'near-invisible' bracket (priced £69).

Sonos has also announced a new S2 app and operating system that will roll out June 8, 'enabling new experiences including support for higher resolution audio, updated interface, and more personalization.' The Arc soundbar, Sub (Gen 3) and Five speaker (an update to the Play: 5, priced £500) will run on this exclusively.