Sonos Arc review

The Sonos Arc is an immersive and premium Dolby Atmos experience, even without a subwoofer or additional speakers. New soundbars offer even better positional sound effects, but when it comes to dynamic sound that is perfectly clear from a single speaker, this is the best you can get for the price.

When the first Sonos Playbar hit the market in 2013, it was a unique product since it was a sizable soundbar with both multiroom audio and a straightforward one-cable connection to your TV. But in the seven years that have passed, its age has begun to show, and we have come to prefer a lot of other TV speakers, including Sonos’ own Playbase and Beam. After listening to the brand-new Sonos Arc for a few weeks, I can say that Sonos has once again raised the bar. One of the best soundbars available is the Arc.

Even while the new $799 (£799, AU$1,399) Arc sounds fantastic, there are some limitations. Due to the Sonos’ dependency on a single HDMI port, you may need a brand-new TV as well as a new set-top box, such as the Apple TV 4K, if you’re in the market for a soundbar that supports Dolby Atmos. Fortunately, the Arc also performs admirably with sources other than Atmos, such as stereo music and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. For a device without a subwoofer, it has surprisingly deep bass and clear audio.

Additionally, it isn’t the most affordable Atmos soundbar on the market right now. Both the excellent Vizio SB36512-F6 and the brand-new Sony HT-G700 are less expensive and provide a second HDMI input in addition to a subwoofer. The Sennheiser Ambeo, meanwhile, costs three times as much as the Arc even though it may be the best all-in-one Atmos speaker I’ve ever heard.

Sonos Arc review: Design

As opposed to the more portable Beam Gen 2, the Sonos Arc is specifically made to pair with larger TVs. It is proportionally best paired with a 55-inch model since, at 114cm (45″), it is slightly wider than a standard current 49-inch TV. The Arc can be wall-mounted if you don’t have a sideboard big enough to fit its considerable width. The onboard Trueplay tuning software will then automatically alter the speaker’s frequency response. There are many third-party Arc wall mounts that are now readily accessible for less than the custom Sonos wall mount, which is an optional extra that costs £69, $79, or AU$99.

Once in place, the Arc is mostly visible through a 273-degree grille that conceals the array of front-mounted, upward-firing speakers. A driver covered by a grille is also present on each end. The Arc’s curved shape helps conceal its size and makes it appear slim, but its 8.5cm height is not insignificant. Even while it’s unlikely to be that high, it may theoretically block the signals your remote control is sending to your TV. If not for the built-in IR repeater, which is turned on by default and operates without a hitch during testing, at least it might.

Sonos Arc review: Features

Of course, aesthetics are vital, but features and sound quality are even more crucial. Fortunately, the Sonos Arc competes fiercely in both of those areas. Let’s start by going over the features that are offered, of which there are many. The soundbar may be used for multi-room audio because it supports Apple’s AirPlay 2, which you can access from your iPhone’s default audio apps. It’s great to be able to play to all of them rather than just one brand as someone with several Sonos speakers and HomePods scattered throughout the house. Unfortunately, Google Cast is not compatible with the Arc.

If you choose an all-Sonos setup and utilize the Sonos app to play music, you won’t get the same experience from Apple’s ecosystem. But if you use Google, you’re not totally out of luck. The Arc is compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, just like other Sonos speakers. That means you can use your favourite digital assistant (other from Siri) to manage your music, access the web for information, and operate your smart home appliances.

Sonos Arc review: Audio performance

The audio capabilities of the Sonos Arc are excellent. The tuning strikes a mix between an exceptional degree of clarity and a fair amount of warmth across the mids using eight elliptical woofers to create a strong overall bass response. The three silk dome tweeters, which offer notably clean highs with an outstanding level of control, complement this precision. The unit’s capacity to provide soundscapes that distinguished sound from individual instruments during specific configurations without seeming fragmented particularly impressed us.

This level of spatial accuracy makes sense when you take into account that the Sonos Arc was built to take full use of Dolby Atmos, an audio codec that divides sounds into object-based audio tracks, making it easier to quickly switch between speakers and bounce sounds about the room. So it should come as no surprise that the Arc is quite powerful once you’ve adjusted it to the space and are able to bounce effects off of it. It’s important to note that the Arc’s ability to offer surround sound will vary slightly because the system uses your environment to really get the sound around you.

It is virtually impossible to bounce audio around behind you in the area where we tested it because to the 20 foot (6 meter) vaulted ceiling and solid wall behind the sofa. The soundscape movement to the left and right was good, but we clearly didn’t receive the same surround sound experience as with a multi-speaker array.

Sonos Arc review: Connections

A digital optical audio adapter is provided in the box for those who prefer not to connect their Arc over HDMI, although this effectively disables any Dolby Atmos capability since Dolby Atmos requires an HDMI eARC/ARC connection on a compatible TV. Even without Atmos, you’ll still receive very good multichannel surround sound.

Additionally absent (if installed utilizing an optical link) will be full automation via the TV remote. There is an infrared (IR) sensor, so you can program your remote to also control volume, but using HDMI CEC (short for Consumer Electronics Control) between the TV and Arc is a more elegant option. The audio between them is synced automatically as well.

Even so, if that’s all you have, it’s okay because you’ll still obtain a great sound system and be prepared for the future. Additionally, even though many TVs have at least one HDMI port that supports ARC, only more current models can decode or passthrough Dolby Atmos. Even fewer devices support the complete HDMI eARC standard, so you may want to think about getting a soundbar even if you eventually want to get a new TV.

Sonos Arc review: Price

The Sonos Arc costs £799 and comes in black or white. A Sonos Beam costs £399, a Sonos Sub £699, a Sonos One costs £199, a Sonos One SL costs £179, or a Sonos Five costs £499, for example. Both the Samsung Q800T and the Bose Soundbar 700 cost £799.95.

Final Words

Our main critiques about the Arc are its weak bass and little lack of directness to the song. One of the most immersive Dolby Atmos experiences we’ve experienced from a soundbar, it really is a great performance. Only the Sony HT-A7000 and Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar are superior in this aspect, although both are considerably more expensive.

The Arc is also more than just a soundbar. It may be paired with other Sonos speakers to create a more comprehensive surround sound setup or a multi-room system. It is also a wireless speaker that can be voice or app operated and has access to almost any music streaming service. A device that can do so much and do it all so well rarely comes around. Even more unusual is when it continues to be a class leader two years after release. Without a question, the Sonos Arc is a fantastic piece of technology.

Dian Erwin
Dian Erwin
Dian Erwin is a review writer for Bollyinside, covering topics related to computing, such as laptops, tablets, phones, and other hardware. Dian spends much too much of his free time on Twitter, reading speculative fiction novels, playing video games, and reading comic books. He also enjoys reading video game manuals.

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The Arc is also more than just a soundbar. It can be paired with other Sonos speakers to create a more comprehensive surround sound setup or a multi-room system. It's also a wireless speaker that can be controlled by voice or app and has access to almost all music streaming services.Sonos Arc review