I just tried the Sonos Arc soundbar and it's now my new at-home audio system
Soundbars are a dime-a-dozen these days. For the most part, consumers aim to get the best bang for their buck, opting for the best soundbars that meet their needs in tandem with their budget, but not every soundbar is built equal.
Enter the Sonos Arc, a premium soundbar that will run you upwards of $800. It leverages Dolby Atmos support, granting you access to simplified (and yet still premium) surround sound that’s perfect for both music and movies.
I’m not a huge fan of soundbars by any means (in fact, I got rid of my last one in favor of the more compact OXS computer speakers, which I called my favorite soundbar of 2023) but I have a new favorite now, one that enlists ample audio immersion and a variety of handy features to boot.
It might not come equipped with additional speakers or a subwoofer. Despite that, however, the Sonos Arc is the best part of my at-home audio arsenal.
Audio you can feel
The Sonos Arc is one of the most bombastic soundbars I’ve experienced in a long while. It's built on a 5.0.2 channel system that uses three tweeters, eight elliptical woofers, and 11 class-D amplifiers for superior audio quality on a soundbar design. The Arc also tailors itself to the specific room, presenting audio to the best possible attunement to match the room its occupying.
I had to give the Sonos Arc varied testing across a range of content, including movies in both standard and with Dolby Atmos turned on, as well as with music playing over HDMI eARC and over Apple AirPlay from my iPhone. Out of the gate, it's clear the Sonos Arc is an instant winner among the best Dolby Atmos soundbars, delivering superb audio clarity and bass for the codec.
Obviously, you'll get better performance out of a multi-speaker setup, but the Sonos Arc still proved its weight (and, if you really wanted to, you could always pair it up with another product, like the Sonos Move 2). It doesn't even need a sub, as you get quite the performance and bass out of the Arc alone, and you can always tune the sound to your liking using the handy EQ settings in the Sonos app.
Despite skimping out on Bluetooth connectivity, the Sonos Arc does have AirPlay for wireless music-listening. One thing to note is that the Arc does have Sonos Trueplay tuning capabilities, which allow it to analyze the room for balanced output, but it's only compatible with iOS devices.
Overall, I really enjoyed using the Sonos Arc as both a stand-in TV speaker and a general wireless music player. It delivers crisp and punchy audio where it counts and stretches its profile to meet all kinds of varied setups, so even if you have a larger room than me you'll get ample coverage. But, while it might be on the short list among the best Sonos speakers, there are some blemishes I'd like to highlight.
The drawbacks
This means that, although Apple AirPlay proved to be a handy feature, I can’t easily connect my phone or other devices to the soundbar when I'm not using it for TV audio.
While I might love the Sonos Arc, it isn’t without some drawbacks. One major downside is that the Sonos Arc doesn’t use conventional Bluetooth for wireless connectivity. This means that, although Apple AirPlay proved to be a handy feature, I can’t easily connect my phone or other devices to the soundbar when I'm not using it for TV audio.
As mentioned, I can connect using AirPlay, though this only works with Apple products. It’s not a major downside, but definitely is something that buyers should consider when looking for that next soundbar upgrade. If wireless connectivity is important to you, you might want to check out the best Bluetooth speakers to find one that better suits your needs.
The Sonos Arc is also pretty easy to set up, but once that's accomplished it can run into some snags. After connecting the soundbar to my home Wi-Fi, it struggled to reconnect to the app. This is clearly a commonality among Sonos Arc users, given the plethora of Reddit pages and forums that exist on the topic, and it realistically comes down to the router over the actual speakers, more than likely.
Still, as a major drawback, Sonos should take some steps to amend this issue and aim to ensure the Arc can stay afloat no matter what router and Wi-Fi mesh it launches on. The fact that it doesn't come with its own remote was also a bit strange for me, but having the ability to use the TV remote or my phone as a controller over dealing with an extra one is more a blessing than a curse.
One major curse that does afflict the Sonos Arc, though, is its rather high premium. Last on the list of drawbacks, a $900 price tag is quite a hefty investment for a soundbar, but it's hard for me to knock this given all of its positives.
Looking for Atmos sound? It's worth the upgrade
There's so much to love about the Sonos Arc and its immersive audio qualities that I'm willing to see past this high price point in service of quality sound.
Unless you're picking up a budget soundbar, it's hard to find good Atmos for less than $800. Add to that the fact that you can expand on this system with additional Sonos products like the Sonos Move and Sonos Move 2, and you've got a rock-solid soundbar that can become more immersive as you have more time and money to invest.
If money's tight, there are cheaper options out there, but in a little less than two weeks' time, the Sonos Arc has proven itself to be the MVP of my home entertainment setup.
