The all-new Sonos Arc is a soundbar with a beautiful luxe design that is equipped with the best audio technologies. It’s a cinephile and audiophile’s dream come true, but does it justify the high price tag? To save you from potential disappointment and a lengthy return process, our experts have conducted an extensive and informative Sonos Arc review.
Pros
- Beautifully designed
- Realistic sound with Dolby Atmos
- Enhanced TruePlay Technology
- Compatible Sonos App
- Supports Apple Airplay 2
- Powerful soundbar with 11 drivers
- Can be wall-mounted
- Alexa built-in
- Hands-free voice control
- Speech-enhanced by Oscar-winning sound engineers
- Google Assistant
- Comes in black and white
- Upgradeable system
- Room correction feature
- Dolby Digital Plus
- Dolby TrueHD
Cons
- No bass without included subwoofer
- Bass compression at a louder volume
Sonos Arc Design
The gorgeous, high end Sonos Arc takes elegance to a whole new level. It features relevant connections such as the HDMI ports and digital connections on the back, much like other soundbars, that can also improve your home theater experience.
The design of the new Sonos Arc allows for a multi-room system when you add the surround Sonos speakers and external subwoofer. The choices of black or white will allow the Arc to blend in seamlessly with your interior design theme.
The much longer profile of the Sonos Arc makes it the perfect choice for bigger flatscreen TVs. The finish is plastic, but it has a high-quality feel to it. The internal speakers are encased in a plastic grille and the entire soundbar can be wall-mounted.
The soundbar adopts a minimalist design that doesn’t feature an LED screen but it does have some subtle touch controls that allow you to input basic settings such as the volume controls and power. The shape and overall design of the Sonos Arc are great wall-mounted or placed on your entertainment unit.
The ARC has the ability to be paired with other Sonos ARC devices to either enhance the bass or to create a more in-depth soundstage. The components you can look into include the external subwoofer and the rear speakers.
Sonos Arc Features
Sound Quality
The Sonos Trueplay technology with the Arc proves to be an excellent feature for exceptional surround sound. One downside of the Trueplay tech would have to be the compatibility. Trueplay tuning can only be tuned with an iOS device, which cuts out a large portion of the demographic.
The Sonos Arc soundbar can support Dolby Atmos, which can process Blu Ray discs and other content, Dolby TrueHD, among others. The Sonos Arc can provide a very wide soundstage and multi-dimensional sound that spans the entirety of your living room. For cinephiles and audiophiles who have high expectations, the Arc will definitely give your TV speakers a run for its money.
The amazing Sonos Arc soundbar can deliver surround sound with the help of Dolby Atmos even without being a surround system. But if you would like a more immersive experience with your sound bar, Dolby Atmos can work better with external components like an added Sonos sub such as the Sonos One SL or rear speakers, which can also create multi-room audio.
There are a total of a whopping eight elliptical woofers with silk dome tweeters and upward-firing speakers. When combined together, the Sonos Arc delivers crystal clear and balanced audio for your TV shows and movies.
Aside from Dolby Atmos, the soundbar also supports Dolby Digital with a very accessible HDMI port on the back. This form of connection can support the best audio performance and high quality relays such as Blu Ray.
Performance
The soundbar is definitely worth your consideration in terms of sound with precise highs, mids, lows and surround sound. If you have an iOS device, Trueplay really comes in handy.
Sonos has one of the multi-room systems to deliver amazing surround sound experience through your streaming services. Just easily connect surround speakers as part of your sound bar system to enjoy amazing audio.
It doesn’t matter if you have a high quality Apple TV 4K or a regular flatscreen with less quality imaging, the Sonos Arc will not disappoint. The direction of the speakers will be aimed at your couch, to successfully produce that “sweet listening spot”.
The biggest attraction of the Arc would be the support of the Dolby Atmos audio format. However, this can be complicated to process if your TV doesn’t support eARC. Your TV’s HDMI cable connection will be enough to process Dolby Digital and other 5.1 content.
The Sonos Arc also only gives you one HDMI port, which is quite a hassle if you need Sony TrueHD, Dolby Digital HD or Dolby Atmos processed.
There are also adjustments to the audio levels that are permitted within the Arc. The room correction feature in the Arc will take into account the setup of your room and optimize its settings accordingly.
The Arc can also optimize speech with a dialogue enhancement feature that will bring the dialogue to the forefront. You will never miss a conversation again with this feature turned on. This is done via the dedicated center channel.
There is also auto-volume or night mode available with the Arc that can tone down the Atmos and Dolby Digital Plus. Night Mode will allow the Arc to eliminate loud noises from your TV and suppress them in the dead of night to not disturb others in your household.
There are also other adjustments to the audio levels that are permitted within the Arc. Aside from this, the ARC also allows for bass and treble adjustment to enhance the signals from your TV.
Another aspect to boast about in the Sonos Arc review is the fact that each and every bar was specially tuned by Oscar-winning sound engineers to deliver the best quality any audio bar can offer.
Connections
The connections included on the Arc are wired and wireless plus an ethernet port. It’s easy to keep the Arc connected to your TV with many connection hookups. For easier processing of advanced audio technologies such as Dolby Atmos surround sound, HDMI connects are our experts’ top recommendation.
HDMI can process the highest quality content and come with different forms such as CEC, HDMI ARC and eARC, to name a few. Each of these options is created to deliver a superior sound profile and high definition performance for all users.
For example, the main difference between the HDMI Arc or audio return channel and eARC is that the latter significantly optimizes the bandwidth and speed at which the audio transmissions are relayed. The eARC is more efficient than just a regular HDMI connection. The HDMI Arc port is found on the back of the device.
It doesn’t matter if you have an Apple TV, LG, or Samsung, the Arc was designed to be compatible. Other than HDMI, digital optical is another form of connection that can process high quality frequencies such as Blu Ray.
Then there are the wireless forms of connection via Alexa or Google Assistant. While the ARC has both built in, you can only choose to use Amazon Alexa or Google at a single time. These voice assistants can carry out basic commands in lieu of a TV remote. These simplistic tasks include setting alarms, playing your music and checking the weather.
The voice assistant you use on your Arc soundbars can be chosen through the Sonos App. Just determine which is more compatible with your devices and select the option. The app can also be used to integrate other devices and function as a control center. The app can be downloaded in any app store.
Then the Arc also offers wireless connections. These connections are useful for streaming movies or music from external devices wirelessly to enhance the sound or for a cable-free setup. You can find both Wi Fi available for a multiroom setup but unfortunately, streaming via Bluetooth is not supported.
However, quality content can still be relayed through Wi-Fi if both your devices support this form of connection.
Bass
The Arc does not come with its own subwoofer [1] for added bass but it does well on its own to emulate the deep tones. If you do want to add more low tones to the output of the Arc, you can look into adding an external sub. The Dolby Atmos technology can be better felt through the TV with the addition of a subwoofer.
Keep in mind that adding components into your theater setup will require more space and calibration.
Price & Availability
Our experts admit that the Arc is not classified as an affordable soundbar for your TV. However, it has its reasons for being more expensive than other models.
For one, it will enhance your TV loudspeakers to an impressive level with the help of Dolby Atmos. Dolby Atmos and DTS technologies are among the most coveted in the sound industry for clear, accurate and expansive sound.
FAQ
Is the Sonos arc worth it?
Yes, the Sonos Arc is worth it. It can enhance the audio emitted from your TV with the help of Dolby Atmos to create a full surround sound experience regardless of having the whole package.
Is Sonos arc the best soundbar?
Yes, the Sonos Arc is the best soundbar. The Sonos Arc is an excellent option for enhanced audio that surpasses your TV speakers with Dolby Atmos and other advanced technologies to help create a unique listening experience.
Is Sonos arc worth it without Atmos?
Yes, the Sonos Arc is worth it without Atmos. It is capable of supporting Dolby Atmos but it can perform just as well without it. Your TV shows and movies will be elevated due to the featured advanced technologies.
Should I upgrade to Sonos arc?
Yes, you should upgrade to the Sonos Arc if you do not have audio enhancement for your TV. The Arc will produce heavily optimized sound compared to other soundbars and deliver a unique and multi-layered acoustic performance.
Does Sonos arc need eARC?
No, the Sonos ARC does not need eARC but the presence of the latter will greatly enhance your experience. It optimizes the bandwidth and speed at which the audio transmissions are relayed and is more efficient than regular HDMI ARC.
Sonos Arc Review Conclusion
After a thorough Sonos Arc review, our experts have found that this soundbar has incredible performance and does wonders to your TV content. Equipped with Dolby Atmos, the Arc can deliver expansive room-filling sound without the need for a full surround sound system.
The soundbar also features both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to assist you in your bar control needs. The Arc is tuned to perfection, thanks to the careful curation of Oscar-winning sound engineers. The Arc sounding bar from Sonos will create a balanced and realistic sound stage that can be adjusted with the remote or app.
The post Sonos Arc Review — An Atmos Soundbar for Your Home Theater (2020) appeared first on The Product Analyst.
from The Product Analyst https://theproductanalyst.com/soundbar/sonos-arc-review/
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