The SONOS Arc is a massively powerful soundbar from one of the biggest audio brands in the business. But is the SONOS Arc worth the asking price? Let’s find out…

If you’re keen on improving the audio performance of your TV, dropping the best part of $1000 on a soundbar like the SONOS Arc, even if you’re slightly flush, is still a big ask. Most 4K TVs don’t cost that much, so why would anyone spend that much on a soundbar? It’s a good question, but the answer is a little more nuanced.

If you’re a film buff or a gamer, the SONOS Arc will essentially pay for itself right out off the bat. You’ll set it up, switch it on, and as soon as you start using it you will know where all that money has gone. Your TV’s audio capabilities will be elevated considerably, bringing a cinema-like experience to your living room. If you want an immersive experience without headphones something like the SONOS Arc is exactly how you achieve it.

The SONOS Arc replaces the SONOS Playbar, SONOS’ longstanding flagship soundbar. I had one of these in an old flat in London and it was incredible. But the SONOS Arc is its successor; it looks better, has more features, and it packs in a load of additional tech and performance inside its refined and completely redesigned chassis. The ARC is a big update too, it’s not just cosmetic – there are a ton of changes, both internally and externally, that makes it a considerably better soundbar option.

The point of this post is to A) give an overview of the SONOS Arc and its specs and updates, B) what reviewers made of the SONOS Arc, and C) whether or not the SONOS Arc is actually worth buying in 2022 and beyond.

First, let’s take a look at the specs and hardware you’ll find inside the SONOS Arc. After that, we’ll go over some of its key changes and updates, and after that, we’ll take a broader look at a selection of SONOS Arc reviews. Finally, we’ll do a recap of everything to answer the question of whether or not the SONOS Arc is worth it.

SONOS Arc Specs & Hardware

Connections: HDMI, optical, ethernet
ARC/eARC: eARC
Surround format support: Dolby Atmos, Dolby True HD, Dolby Digital+, Dolby Digital
Bluetooth: No
AirPlay 2: Yes
Voice control: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant
Dimensions: 8.7 x 114 x 12cm / 3.4 x 45 x 4.5 inches
Weight: 6.3 kg / 13.8 lbs

SONOS Arc vs. SONOS Playbar – What’s The Difference?

The first thing you’ll notice about the SONOS Arc when comparing it to the older Playbar is that it looks completely different. The design is sleeker and more modern with a focus on rounded edges and elliptical ends. It is slightly longer, but its savvier design makes it appear more compact and it also helps it blend into your room’s aesthetic more easily. It is a big change in design language, but it works – the Arc is far better looking than the now-aging Playbar.

Next, SONOS has changed how you connect your Arc to your TV. With the Playbar, SONOS used a single optical digital audio input. With the SONOS Arc, the soundbar now connects via its HDMI eARC capable port. SONOS still includes an optical digital audio input in the Arc’s box, in case you’re using an older TV, but the switch to HDMI ARC (or eARC) makes life easier for new users – all modern TVs support this format.

SONOS ARC REVIEWS — Is the SONOS Arc worth the money? I think so, yes. This isn’t something you’ll have to replace anytime in the next decade, so think of it as a long-term investment for your living room, something that’ll add new life to TV shows, your music, films, gaming sessions, even YouTube, and home videos. It looks better than ever, as all the connectivity you’ll ever need, and it now comes with two of the best digital assistants on the market, so don’t even need the SONOS app to get it to play music.

With sound, the Arc is once again the superior option. SONOS added in support for Dolby Atmos aboard the Arc, so you get all of the benefits associated with that. Internally, the SONOS Arc is designed to deliver SONOS’ trademark 5.0.2 experience. This is achieved by angling the end speakers, and then using the two centrally mounted speakers for left and right sound direction. In total, there are eight elliptical woofers in total and three tweeters with each being powered by 11 Class D amplifiers.

With the Arc, you get two additional speakers, however, that point upwards in order to take advantage of Dolby Atmos’ height channels which helps it provide a fuller, more immersive sound than its predecessor (and if you’ve heard the Playbar in action, you’ll know that’s no mean feat). Overall, what you’re getting with the Arc is just bigger, better, and more refined than before. As premium soundbars go, the Arc is very much at the sharp end of the stick.

Beyond this, the SONOS Arc is just a more modern system, a system designed for users in 2022. This means it comes fitted with your choice of digital voice assistants, either Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant, HDMI eARC with HDMI CEC and auto sync, as well as support for Apple’s AirPlay 2. This means connecting devices, like an iPhone or iPad, is super simple. You also get high fidelity playback too, thanks to AirPlay 2’s codecs, which is great if you’re using TIDAL and want to hear your music in the highest possible quality via your Arc.

That’s my hot-take on the SONOS Arc and how it compares to its predecessor, the SONOS Playbar. Let’s now take a look at some SONOS Arc reviews to find out what the general consensus is around the SONOS Arc and find out whether or not this soundbar system is worth the asking price. After that, we’ll do a quick recap of everything we’ve covered and point you in the direction of the best current deal for the SONOS Arc.

SONOS Arc Reviews

100

What HiFi

That slight lack of directness to music is our only criticism of the Arc. It really is a stunning performer, delivering one of the most immersive Dolby Atmos experiences we’ve heard from a soundbar. Only the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar and Sony HT-A7000 are better in this regard, and both are significantly more expensive.

The Arc is more than a soundbar, too. It’s also an app- or voice-controlled wireless speaker with access to practically every music streaming service, and it can be combined with other Sonos speakers in order to create a more complete surround sound arrangement or a multi-room system.

Rarely does a device arrive that does so much and does it all so well. Be in no doubt; the Sonos Arc is a superb bit of kit.

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Full Review

100

Trusted Reviews

Prospective customers who are already partial to the Sonos system (and who consequently know how simple and straightforward it is to live with) are unlikely to spend much time considering alternatives. The Arc can handle music as well as film soundtracks. In that sense it doubles up as home cinema system and a music system.

Although, you could save a significant sum of money and check out some cheaper Atmos soundbars that also support a subwoofer to boot, though they don’t sound quite as good.

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Full Review

80

Guardian

The Sonos Arc is a big, sleek, premium soundbar that sounds every bit as good as you’d expect from a £799 speaker.

It looks the part. Despite being about the length of a 55in TV, it is neither thick nor tall which makes it easier to position on the wall or on a TV stand. It is simple to set up and use, can be combined with other Sonos speakers and has extensive music service support.

Regular TV sounds good, with super clear vocals, but feed it a Dolby Atmos soundtrack and be rewarded with truly immersive, fully-rendered sounds with surprisingly good height elements. It really comes into its own with music, though, completely blowing away competitors. It simply sounds fantastic.

Using ARC makes it simple to connect but invites the same infuriating lipsync issues that can plague other soundbars, particularly with TV services such as Sky and Virgin in the UK.

It might be pricey and long, but the Arc is just about the best-sounding soundbar you can get. Just maybe think twice if you have Sky.

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80

The Verge

The Sonos Arc is a success from a performance standpoint, but the experience you get will depend heavily on what TV you have. It’s an unfortunate reality of home theater that you’ll have to spend time mucking with your TV’s settings for this $800 soundbar to receive the right audio signal and sound its best.

But if you’ve got a TV that supports Atmos over HDMI ARC — and if that TV is in a conventionally shaped room — the Arc delivers immersive sound that will help enhance your favorite movies and TV shows far beyond the lower-priced Beam.

It’s the Atmos soundbar to beat if you’re invested in the Sonos ecosystem. And even for those who aren’t yet, the Arc is still easy to recommend as a starting point.

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100

Pocket Lint

When listening to the Arc you get an impression of audio above the seating position, plus a widening of the soundscape. But you also get a bold, cinematic presentation that seemingly comes straight from the TV screen. Having a dedicated centre also allows for clean vocal tracks.

In music terms, listening to high-res mixes of Price’s Purple Rain and The Rolling Stones’ You Can’t Always Get What You Want streamed over Tidal perfectly illustrated the bar’s ability with mid and high frequencies. Even bass response is more than acceptable for music playback.

Sonos has not only followed up its previous full-fledged soundbar offering, it has improved it in every way possible. The Arc is a superb Dolby Atmos soundbar – right up there with the best – and has all the bells and whistles of Sonos’ multi-room system and more. You just need to match it with a Dolby Atmos supporting TV to get the best performance.

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Is The SONOS Arc Worth It?

The SONOS Playbar, upon its launch and throughout its lifespan, was a helluva soundbar. It looked great, it performed brilliantly, and it sounds massively impressive. It also benefits from SONOS wireless playback technology, so it is great for house parties and/or when you’re entertaining.

But the Playbar is now an old system now and while it still has plenty of chops in the sound-performance department, it is lacking plenty of mod-cons – things like HDMI eARC, Google Assistant, and Dolby Atmos. Its replacement, the Arc, effectively takes everything that made the Playbar brilliant and just ups the ante considerably, adding in everything the modern user needs, while also improving the overall sound quality considerably with additional speakers and Dolby Atmos support.

Is the SONOS Arc worth the money? I think so, yes. This isn’t something you’ll have to replace anytime in the next decade, so think of it as a long-term investment for your living room, something that’ll add new life to TV shows, your music, films, gaming sessions, even YouTube, and home videos. It looks better than ever, as all the connectivity you’ll ever need, and it now comes with two of the best digital assistants on the market, so don’t even need the SONOS app to get it to play music.

It still costs the best part of a grand, but for all the stuff you get, as well as its supreme audio performance and overall capabilities, I think that will be money well spent. Of course, you’ll need to be the kind of person that will actually get something out of it – you’ll need to really love your gaming, TV shows, or movies. If that sounds like you, the SONOS Arc could well be the thing that’s been missing from your living room setup all along?

Sonos Arc

$943.80

The Arc takes everything that made the Playbar brilliant and just ups the ante considerably, adding in everything the modern user needs, while also improving the overall sound quality considerably with additional speakers and Dolby Atmos support.

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06/17/2022 12:05 am GMT