We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
05/08/2023 09:18 am GMT
Consumers will also find a 6-foot (approximately 2 meters) long power cable and a 4.9-foot (1.5-meter) long HDMI cable, offering placement flexibility, especially in large rooms.
Lastly, the box contains an optical audio adapter that connects the Arc sHDMIport to the TV s optical input port, which is helpful for devices that lack an HDMI ARC/eARC port.
Sonos Arc Hardware
Features
Specifications
Dimensions
3.4 x 45 x 4.5 inches (87 x 1142 x 116 mm)
Weight
13.78 lb (6.25 kg)
Speakers
5.0.2 channels
CPU
Quad Core 1.4 GHz A-53
Memory (SDRAM)
1GB
Non-volatile memory (NV)
4GB
Connectivity
1 HDMI port 1 Ethernet portWi-Fi
Controls
VolumePlay/PauseNext/Previous
At 3.4 inches high, the Sonos Arc has a greater height than most soundbars, which barely reach 3 inches in size. It is also slightly longer than some soundbars to help accommodate the multiple speakers in the device.
You will also notice that the Sonos Arc is quite heavy compared to other soundbars within its price range. However, it is lighter than some flagship soundbars from other manufacturers. Overall, the Sonos Arc has satisfactory hardware features.
The Sonos Arc became the first Sonos soundbar to include the Dolby Atmos surround sound feature. The Arc also runs on the upgraded Sonos S2 operating system, which is only compatible with the Sonos S2 app and not the Sonos S1 app.
Review of the Sonos Arc
Our team ordered the Sonos Arc soundbar from the company s online store, which was delivered in a few days. We then spent at least a week testing the Sonos Arc s audio quality, performance, user-friendliness, and compatibility. As a result, we ve assembled the following review of the Sonos Arc soundbar.
Price and Availability
Many customers had to wait until June 10, 2020, to buy the overachieving Sonos Arc, which retailed at $799. But Sonos had other strategies for attacking the competitive soundbar market as it raised the retail price to $899. Later, Sonos announced that they increased their soundbar s price to combat the effects of COVID-19, which froze several businesses.
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
05/24/2023 09:11 am GMT
Unfortunately, Sonos doesn t include wall mounts, so you must cough up an additional $79, which seems unfair, especially when paying $899 for the product.
Moreover, if you want to test the soundbar s full potential, you can add accessories like theSonos One SL, Era 300, and Sonos Five, which give you the best surround sound to immerse yourself in the experience fully.
Design
With a sophisticated and boundary-breaking design, the Sonos Arc looks stylish and blends with any interior d cor. Moreover, you can acquire it in black or white colors, which cap off its minimalist look. As a result, it will perfectly blend in your living room irrespective of color and art.
In addition, Sonos designed this cylindrical soundbar with a cut-out at the back, which has power and connectivity ports. But the gist is the front, sides, and top, which Sonos dressed with a plastic grill that allows sound flow when playing music at a high volume.
This new design may seem odd, considering we were used to theSonos Beam scloth-like grill. However, on the plus side, it means less cleaning for us. Moreover, Sonos packed this soundbar with a microphone light, play and pause, next and previous, and volume controls, making it easy to use; the Sonos Arc doesn t come with a remote.
Overall, design-wise, the Arc adds something extra to your interior decor, but position it in a suitable location to avoid limiting its performance.
Audio Performance
Our review of the Sonos Arc cannot be complete without covering the soundbar s audio performance. Many of us were gushing over the Sonos Arce before its release, mainly because it was Sonos first soundbar with Dolby Atmos.
Our main criticism of this soundbar audio-wise is that it doesn t have a separate subwoofer like other devices on the market. But Sonos makes up for this shortcoming by including eight elliptical woofers and three angled tweeters, which perfectly balances bass and treble when binge-watching or playing music.
Moreover, with Dolby Atmos technology, you will enjoy the best three-dimensional spatial sound experience, which involves being engulfed with sound from all directions.
Also, with the soundbar s upward-firing drivers, surround sound technology works even better to envelop you with the sound completely. Ultimately, the Sonos Arc s audio performance is so impressive that you may assume it s a newly-released soundbar.
Connectivity and Compatibility
Sonos, Inc. prides itself on creating wireless devices. One of the company s founding principles was finding a way to do away with unnecessary cables by leveraging the power of wireless connections. Since then, Sonos has become a leader in wireless audio equipment production.
The Sonos Arc is an excellent example of the company s ability to shift to wireless connections. The Arc only needs two, at most, three, wired connections. One is the AC power cord, the second is an HDMI cord to connect with the TV, and the third but optional cable is an Ethernet cord for those who want to connect physically to routers.
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
05/08/2023 09:18 am GMT
The Sonos Arc also supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections. Unfortunately, having only one HDMI port means the Arc does not support HDMI passthrough. This means once you connect the device to the TV, you cannot connect it to another device, such as a gaming console, which makes it one of the soundbar s biggest criticisms.
Consequently, users must connect the console to the TV instead, resulting in sound imbalances that you wouldn t relish when streaming. Regarding compatibility, the Sonos Arc only supports using the Sonos S2 app because it has the upgraded Sonos S2 operating system.
Furthermore, the Arc is not compatible with cold-cathode fluorescent (CCFL) backlit TVs which are some of the most common types of LCDs available. Overall, except for the Sonos Arc s limited HDMI ports, this soundbar s wireless connectivity is impressive.
Smart Features
The Sonos Arc boasts multiple voice control features, likeAmazon Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, and Sonos Voice Control, which all work perfectly as your virtual assistant. But you need to set them up properly, either using the Alexa and Sonos apps for Alexa or the Sonos app for the Sonos voice control.
Moreover, Sonos packed this soundbar with a Trueplay feature only available for iOS users. But if you can get it, you will enjoy its technology, which measures the acoustic range of your room and optimizes your Sonos speakers accordingly.
Also, you can adjust the speakers volume limits to ensure they are not loud. All in all, the Sonos Arc s smart feature is what separates it from other Sonos models and other soundbars on the market because it gives you something extra that you wouldn t necessarily find in others.
Should You Buy a Sonos Arc?
Since the Sonos Arc was released in 2020, we have witnessed multiple modern soundbars above the Arc. But this soundbar is the best option for a wholesome device that doesn t shy away from audio performance.
Moreover, its cutting-edge design will elevate your living room s appearance, but the stand-out feature is the Arc s wireless technology that doesn t clutter your entertainment setup. Nevertheless, you must use Trueplay technology to place the soundbar at the best acoustic spot for optimal performance.
Sonos Arc: The Basics
