After several months testing the new Sonos soundbar , today I am going to tell you what it feels like to have a 900 euro speaker connected to your TV. Or should I say 11 speakers ? Is a sound system of these characteristics worth it?
Sound in every corner
If you’ve ever been through one of those minimalism outbreaks or are immersed in one of them right now, probably one of your biggest obsessions is reducing cables at home. And on that mission to eliminate cables, you will probably come across your idea of setting up a home theater. Is there no way to bring the speakers to that recommended location for the best surround experience? Do you rule out placing speakers throughout the room? Relax, you’re in luck.
Sound bars have evolved in such a way that today they are capable of emulating surround sound systems with quite surprising precision, but at Sonos they have wanted to go further, and with their Sonos Arc we will be able to enjoy a surround sound system. full sound without having to place multiple speakers around the room. For this they have developed a sound bar made up of a total of 11 speakers , all of them oriented towards different points so that you can enjoy a completely immersive sound experience.
The result is quite surprising, since with a correct calibration (which is done in a very simple and practically automatic way), the speakers will know how to project the sound correctly depending on the dimensions of the room in which the speaker is located.
Pure Sonos
Having a Sonos speaker implies enjoying a series of advantages and technologies that make it a tremendously complete solution, and in the case of this Sonos Arc it would not be less. In addition to its intention of becoming your home cinema system, the equipment has functions such as smart assistants (Google Assistant and Alexa), so it will also serve as a central point for your home automation management.
The finish of the device continues to offer the high quality that permeates the brand in each of its products, with an unmistakable seal that is perceived from the moment we open the box.
An extremely easy setup
The idea of del Arc is that with a single cable you can bring the sound from your TV to this speaker thanks to an HDMI connection . Modern (and not so modern) TVs have an HDMI input labeled ARC, and this is obviously not a reference to the Sonos speaker (it’s just the other way around). These acronyms stand for Audio Return Channel, and it is a means by which an HDMI cable can carry sound to another device.
With this technology, we will be able to listen to the sound of the TV (whether it is original from any HDMI device, the TV antenna or the streaming applications), through our speaker, thus allowing to improve the original sound of the speakers of the a television when using an external speaker system. And that’s where the Arc comes in.
Calibrating the speaker
All you have to do is connect the speaker to the HDMI (ARC) port of your television for everything to start working, but if what you want is to enjoy the most exact and perfect experience, you can calibrate the system with a very simple assistant that you will find in the official application .
And it is that with Trueplay calibration the speaker will recognize every corner of the room to emit sounds correctly and thus achieve the best spatial projection. In this way, the speaker can reproduce sounds that come from the rear or from above (Dolby Atmos), allowing us to immerse ourselves in an amazing sound experience.
Beyond watching TV
One of the advantages of Sonos speakers is the wide range of options available to us. In addition to listening to the sound of the television, we can also use the Arc with the TV turned off, since we can play music from Spotify, Amazon Music, Plex, YouTube Music and other streaming services. As if that were not enough, it also includes AirPlay 2, so if we have an Apple device we can bring the sound to the bar with a click.
This means that we can use the Arc at all times, and added to the perfect symbiosis of the brand’s ecosystem, we can also unify this system with other Sonos systems distributed around the house to create a single environment.
Very effective, but options for improvement
The surround sound feature is superb, and will satisfy those looking for an eye-catching and colorful result, but the most demanding may not be entirely satisfied with the surround feeling, so they will have to choose to expand the system with a couple more speakers. .
And the thing is that in terms of sound there are practically no limits, and luckily Sonos allows you to add two Sonos One speakers to the system as rear satellites with which to cover your back. Thanks to these wireless speakers, we will only need a power cable to make them work, and after completing the configuration, we will have a complete surround equipment with which to listen to what we have behind us even more perfectly.
Do we recommend the Sonos Arc?
Possibly the first thing that catches your attention about the Arc is its imposing price. With a label of 900 euros, this sound bar is positioned as one of the most expensive options on the market, however, its excellent sound quality, expansion options and simple operation make it one of the sound bars with Dolby Atmos most recommended on the market.
One of the drawbacks that we find and that makes its price worse is that the wall mount is not integrated in the package, it must be purchased separately and its price is no less than 79 euros, an amount that seems too high considering the total price of the equipment.
With all that, the Sonos Arc currently seems to us the best soundbar with Dolby Atmos that you can buy today on the market.
