As Sonos continues to iron out bugs and improve the performance of its ill-received mobile app redesign, the company also continues to focus on several new hardware products. Among them is an ultra-premium soundbar that will serve as a successor to the current Sonos Arc — and likely at a higher price. Codenamed Lasso, the device is currently in limited beta testing, and today I can share the first images of it.
The exterior of the Lasso soundbar strongly resembles the Arc that Sonos introduced more than four years ago. But inside, the components and speaker drivers have been completely redesigned and reworked, and that’s expected to bring the price up to $1,200. Sonos aims to ship the Lasso later this year, though the time frame could change.
Whenever it arrives, the Lasso (hardware model S45) will be the first Sonos product to integrate technology from Mayht, the Dutch startup the company acquired in 2022 for $100 million in cash. At the time, Sonos credited Mayht with “inventing a new, revolutionary approach to audio converters.” CEO Patrick Spence said the deal will provide Sonos with “more amazing people, technology and intellectual property that will further differentiate the Sonos experience, strengthen our competitive advantage and accelerate our future roadmap.”
However, it takes time to get Mayht’s ideas into a shipping product. Sonos has released a number of small speakers over the past couple of years—the Era 100, Move 2, and Roam 2 among them—that could benefit from Mayht’s innovative drivers, which it says “enable smaller, lighter forms without compromising quality. .” But it’s the soundbar that will offer the first taste of what the acquisition has brought. Sources tell me it was a challenge to make Mayht’s transducer system more cost-effective, in part because it uses “expensive” neodymium magnets.
Bloomberg previously announced the Lasso codename, its rumored price, and the inclusion of Mayht technology. The product’s end-consumer brand is not yet known, but for now Sonos is playfully embracing it Ted Lasso font on beta units.
The Arc is already a very impressive Dolby Atmos soundbar, and you can expect even more immersion from the Las and its redesigned innards. In addition, according to sources, the upcoming soundbar should deliver significantly better bass performance than its predecessor. With the Arc you really need to add a Sub or Sub Mini to get the most out of it. Sonos might be able to get away with it with an $899 product, but if they’re going to charge well over $1,000 for the Lasso, the device needs to deliver top-notch home theater sound without any extra help.
The images also reveal a dedicated Bluetooth button, suggesting that the Lasso could support Bluetooth audio playback. This feature was missing from all previous Sonos soundbars. And like the company’s other recent products, there will be a physical switch to disable the built-in microphones.
Like the Arc, the Lasso is designed to work with the recently released Sonos Ace headphones for private listening with surround sound. The company has committed to extending Ace compatibility to its more affordable Beam and Ray soundbars in late summer or early fall.
As for the more immediate future, Sonos continues to release updates to its mobile app at a frequent pace as it tries to address customer frustrations and lift the negative sentiment that has dogged the company’s community since May.
I get that Sonos is listening and moving fast, but a lot of damage has already been done: the Android version of the Sonos app currently has a brutal average rating of 1.2 stars. Apple’s App Store ratings aren’t nearly as bad, as older reviews still balance out the flood of complaints that came with the redesign.