Sonos Arc test: this sound bar is worth its weighing gold

Obviously, you need an E-ARC compatible television as well as a compatible audio source. Since it is a relatively recent codec, it is not yet very widespread, but it is found on most Blu-ray as well as in a large part of the catalog of films, reports or series on Netflix or Still Amazon Prime Video.

Test – Sonos Arc: a very complete dolby atmosphere sound bar

When it was released in 2013, the Sonos Playbar was a flagship product that offered both multiroom music and connection to the TV by a single cable. But time has done its work and the playbar began to take an old one under the effect of the competition and the new bars of its house, the Playbase and Beam that Sonos has released in recent years. But after a few weeks spent in the company of the brand new arc, we can say that Sonos has again fulfilled its mission. This all in one soundbar is simply one of the best we can find at present.

As great as it is, it is obviously not free from defects. If you are looking for a sound bar capable of doing Dolby Atmos, the presence of a single HDMI port means that you may need a new TV or even a new decoder like the Apple TV 4K. Fortunately, the arc also sounds very well with non-attack sources, whether for stereo music or Dolby Digital 5.1. It offers clear sounds and surprisingly deep bass for a device without independent box.

But at 899 euros, it does not offer the best quality/price ratio among the bars of its current atmosphere. The new Sony HT-G700 costs almost two cheaper and offers a second HDMI entrance as well as a dedicated bass box. It remains as less good as the Ambeo of Sennheiser, which is perhaps the best all-in-one atmospheric bar that we have heard, but it costs more than 2.Euros

Unlike these two competitors, the Sonos fits into the brand’s excellent multiroom system and can work with the Google or Alexa assistant from Amazon. Its design is superb and its audio quality very good. If you are looking for a sound bar rich in functionality and you don’t need the punch of a subwoofer, the arc will satisfy you without the shadow of a doubt.

An elegant design and very complete features

The arc measures 87 x 1141.7 x 115.7mm. Its round design gives off a high -end printing reinforced by an impeccable finish. It is equipped with eleven speakers including eight elliptical woofers and three tweeters with a silk dome.

The voice capture goes through a network of four long -range microphones to better detect vocal commands when the music sounds. When we tested the arc with a beta version of Sonos software, we could not use the Google assistant, but Alexa worked very well.

At full volume, the soundbar was not able to hear our voice, even shouting. No problem, however, with music at a normal volume. We can say that the arc is in the average in terms of listening performance.

It uses wi-fi wireless connection and has an Ethernet port. Like the other sound models, the arc is compatible with Apple Airplay and Spotify Connect, and unfortunately, like the others, it does not have Bluetooth.

The HDMI problem

The Arc uses HDMI Arc and its replacement, EARC, to restore the sound of the TV. ARC, or Audio Return Channel, is a technology that allows streaming applications integrated into the TV and devices that you connect to the TV to broadcast audio at a connected speaker via a simple HDMI cable. Basically, you connect the Arc sound bar to the HDMI Arc port of your TV and other devices in the other HDMI ports of the TV. Then, the sound of all the devices goes through the bar. If your TV is not equipped with an HDMI port, the speaker also includes an optical entrance for the normal Dolby Digital decoding.

But because there is only one HDMI port on the arc, the Dolby Atmos support for the sound bar depends on the capacities of your TV. Atmos sound can take two forms: Dolby TrueHD (usually available via a 4K Blu-ray player) and Dolby Digital Plus (broadcast via an Apple TV 4K, Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K or Nvidia Shield). In order to reproduce the TrueHD Atmos flows from a 4K Blu-ray, your TV must take care of the new EARC protocol or have a Dolby Atmos native decoding. Only a few LG and Sony televisions of 2019 and 2020 are capable of it, as are certain Samsung models of 2020. In summary: if you do not have compatible television, the Atmos function of the arc will not serve you.

Audio quality

We tried the Sonos Arc with several televisions in two different rooms: a Sony XG95, a Samsung D8000 and a Samsung 6 Series. And we found that the part of the room, more than the HDMI capabilities of the TV, dictated audio quality. If you want a maximum of surround and height effects, you will need a square or rectangular part with the sound bar placed at one end. One of the parts we used was irregular and there was almost no width effects.

If you do not have a recent television to take advantage of the Dolby Atmos, this will not necessarily be a drama. We listened to a series of different programs for two weeks, from television shows to movies, including music and video games. In any case, the arc delivered an excellent and balanced sound, a little retained in the treble, but nothing that the equalizer of the application could not settle. Unlike the Sonos Beam, which is very shy in the bass, we did not feel the need for a subwoofer with the arc.

We confronted it with the Sony G700 which has a wireless bass box and a separate HDMI input, ensuring total compatibility with Dolby Atmos. The sound of the arc was much more open than that of the G700, which was particularly notable on the song Feel My Love of Adele. Charles Mingus’s piano on Myyself when I am real sounded more naturally than on any other sound bar that we remember.

Hearts a mess of Gotye has gained all its magnitude, with the strings coming from the corner of the room and the clear boxes of the other. Who needs a song in 360 Reality Audio with that ? The arc is not the best option for so -called deep listening, it is rather a fun fair.

During our tests with films, we were continuously surprised by the intensity whose sonos was capable. The sound would be better with the bass box, that’s for sure, but it can really do without it.

The point on competition

In addition to the models we have already talked about, there are some big names at the price level of this Sonos Arc, including the Sony HT-ST5000 which, although a little old today, remains a very beautiful model with more connectors , a wireless box and audio quality at least as good. You can also cite the Samsung HW-Q70R. Cheaper, it is our favorite atmospheric bar under the € 500. The Sony like the Samsung also offer a lot of functions, Bluetooth and increased Atmos compatibility. We particularly recommend the Samsung, but if you already have other sound devices, then the arc will be preferred for its multiroom functions.

Conclusion

At 899 euros, the arc is today the most expensive product in Sonos. But it offers audio quality and comfort that no brand soundbar can match. Even if you do not use the Dolby Atmos functions, it offers an excellent set of functions and a very good quality sound for all other types of content, from jazz to rock through action movies. Unlike the Beam, you do not need to add the new Sonos Basse Bases at 799 euros, which makes the arc economically more advantageous. Of course, you can opt for sound bars that offer separate boxes and a plethora of features, but the arc remains a very nice proposal from Sonos.

Image: Ty Pendlebury/Cnet

Read the full test

• Writing note

Sonos Arc test: this sound bar is worth its weighing gold ?

Sonos finally announced a new high -end soundbar stamped simply: arc. 8 years after the excellent Playbar, the arc adopts one of the most sought after features for the home cinema: Dolby Atmos. We had the opportunity to test it.

Where to buy the
Sonos Arc at the best price ?
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990 € discover the offer
990 € discover the offer
990 € discover the offer
999 € discover the offer

In short
Sonos Arc

• Sound quality and design
• Dolby Atmos
• Sonos ecosystem
• Warranty of long -term updates

• Price
• Size
• Trueplay reserved for iPhone
• Lack of DTS (and others) care

This test was carried out on June 25, 2020 and the market may have evolved since. Consult our comparison to discover more recent products potentially more relevant to you.

Our full opinion
Sonos Arc

June 25, 2022 06/25/2022 • 12:00

On March 17, 2014, I established a Sonos Playbar under my TV. Since then, this soundbar has not moved from my home and nevertheless experienced three generations of different television. Last May 6, 2020, Sonos finally revealed its replacement: Sonos Arc.

Before taking an interest in it, it remains important to evoke the longevity of the Sonos Playbar, an eternity in the world of new technologies. It was unveiled in 2012 and it was the first connected soundbar. After more than 8 years, the American Sonos has finally decided to design a new product, the Sonos Arc, because the new standards require new equipment. We had the opportunity to test the arc for two weeks.

NB: The copy tested was loaned to us by Sonos

Ergonomics and design

Sonos Arc is a high -end soundbar. If the price is your first criterion, it is clearly not a product for you. This sound bar adopts a complete overhaul of the design of the playbar with a grid which covers 270 degrees, four integrated microphones for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Most importantly, it has all the power of treatment, memory and the pilots necessary to activate one of the most sought after features on this type of product: The management of Dolby Atmos. We understand better why Sonos finally buried his playbar, it is to bring his home cinema solution to a much higher level.

As explained above, it adopts an elliptical form at 270 degrees, it is a design to remain compact while guaranteeing the best possible performance. It is therefore imposing, with 115 centimeters long … this is the length of a 55 -inch TV. Nevertheless, we quickly forget it on the TV furniture. You can also stick it to the wall, it is expected, the sound rendering is automatically adapted thanks to an accelerometer which detects the position of the sound bar.

It is longer than the playbar, but Sonos installed eleven speakers , Eight woofers and three tweeters, compared to the nine, six woofers and three tweeters from the playbar. The whole is really sober and modern, the design is clearly refined. Very few buttons on the front, two connectors (HDMI and Ethernet) at the rear and no remote control.

You can connect it via Ethernet, if you prefer wired installation, but the arc also incorporates Wi-Fi. Personally, I prefer to avoid unnecessary cables to unload the back of my TV furniture from these too many cables.

Audio, home cinema and dolby atmos

On the arc, there are 11 class D amplifiers (5 for Sonos Beam), 8 elliptical Woofers (4 for the Sonos Beam) and 3 tweeters with silk dome. Indispensable, class D amplifiers are used for the reproduction of low frequencies (subwoofer). Woofer is the loudspeaker in charge of reproduction of the grave. Finally, tweeters are in charge of reproducing high frequencies (acute frequencies).

Without bass box, you will therefore have the impression of having 5 sound.0: The arc does not play the acute and medium sounds, but the low frequency sounds which are omnidirectional. But you can add a bass box to this bar as well as two additional speakers, we talk about it a little further in the test.

The arrangement of these speakers was designed to create virtual spatialization in Dolby Atmos: there are side speakers as well as speakers located on the upper part of the sound bar to enjoy a sound distribution in as much angle possible. This system exploits the environment around you, the sound will bounce back on the walls and the ceiling to reach your ears in order to simulate dozens of sound sources around you.

If you have never been aware of this audio technology, it is not complicated. In Dolby Atmos, there is already Dolby Digital: an audio compression codec which is responsible for the distribution of audio on several speakers. Atmos extends this functionality in a three -dimensional plan by taking into account the notion of height. The sound will therefore spread everywhere to your ears, bouncing on the ceiling and the walls.

You need an E-ARC compatible television as well as a compatible audio source

Obviously, you need an E-ARC compatible television as well as a compatible audio source. Since it is a relatively recent codec, it is not yet very widespread, but it is found on most Blu-ray as well as in a large part of the catalog of films, reports or series on Netflix or Still Amazon Prime Video.

As mentioned just above, make sure you have a TV that has an EARC connection or at the standard HDMI-arc limit. Besides, if your TV has standard HDMI, it is not 100 % sure that Dolby Atmos can work, unlike EARC where compatibility is 100 % guaranteed.

If you do not have EARC or HDMI-Arc, you can use an adapter for an optical connection (supplied with the arc), but you will not be able to benefit from the Dolby Atmos. Atmos is unfortunately not accessible via an optical connection, because this connection does not have sufficient flow, but you can always benefit from a excellent quality Dolby sound.

We have intentionally connected the arc to a classic HDMI TV, the Arc sound bar always immerses you using its side speakers. Besides, there are still a lot of non -compatible Dolby Atmos content which still offers a certain immersion. So refer to the technical characteristics of your TV.

The Dolby Atmos remains one of the arguments of the arc : This is also a technology that is difficult to describe that you will really have to discover for yourself. Bring the sound to the ceiling, the side walls and the rear wall, to make believe that there are speakers everywhere … it’s magic for many people.

It should be noted that Arc also supports Dolby True HD and Mat, which are the uncompressed versions of Dolby Codecs. Finally, note The lack of DTS care (and others). It is an alternative to Dolby and a whole family of compression formats (including DTS: X). The presence of the Dolby Digital instead of DTS is a question of choice, but that remains unfortunate for users.

So are we convinced by the technical choice of Sonos ? The simple answer is yes. The longer answer is yes, but we have not been captivated by the sound specialization created by arc speakers. This remains less effective than a real home-cinema installation, but it is not really a surprise. The choice to count on the EARC is open to openness because it ignores the old TVs, but it is a choice of future. We appreciate the simplicity of the product, few cables and a simple configuration. As for sound quality, it is devilishly qualitative.

Should we add a surround and a Sub Sonos ?

For 8 years, Sonos allows you to add two speakers and a bass box to the bars of its they sell. Personally, I use two play speakers: 1 that always work very well. By adding these three products, you get a 5 sound.1.2.

The two additional speakers will bring a real plus if you have a very large space. Nevertheless, thanks to its Dolby Atmos design and compatibility, it is not necessary to invest in two additional speakers with an arc sound bar. It all depends on the constraints of your room and your budget.

The Sub brings, however, something that the arc does not have: deep bass. It is a heavy product, 16 kilograms, and large. Like the soundbar, it works in Wi-Fi, but if you prefer a wired connection, there is also an Ethernet port. When activating the SU, the differences in dynamics are clearly obvious. The arc sound bar works with the bass box by stopping emitting the lowest sound frequencies. It’s up to Sub to deal with it.

Forget the bass box that buzzes. The Sub (whether the second or third generation) is really a well -designed product, with no rattling or noise parasites. You can put it in any direction, its addition to your home cinema will pass the whole to a higher level. This is not compulsory, but this is the kind of DLC that you can buy later to complete your Home Cinema Audio set.

The Sonos application, the asset of Sonos

Sonos was built around their sacrosanct ecosystem: an application to order everything. Sonos is the first manufacturer to have designed multi-room.