Sonos Arc, when excellence comes in soundbar form

A little over a week ago, Sonos launched a battle of novelties, including the new Sonos Arc, a sound bar that came to replace the Sonos Paybar. Right here we unboxing and we told you our first impressions about the product, and now the final conclusions arrive.

We bring you an in-depth look at the benchmark new soundbar, Sonos Arc. Stay with us because we have a video in which we show you its capabilities, we will also focus on all the details, the best and the worst, of our user experience.

As always, at the top of this article we leave you a link so that you can see in video our exhaustive analysis of the new Sonos Bar, if instead you want to know how it is configured or what is the content of the box, in THIS LINK We leave you absolutely everything. On the other hand, if you are already totally sure, You can buy the new Sonos Arc on Amazon at the best price and with full guarantees.

Design: A successful achievement

It will be hard to believe everything that is inside when you know the technical characteristics. Although we will agree that we are facing a product that measures no less than 1141,7mm long, 87mm high and 115,7mm deep. It is extremely long, and extremely thin. Of course, we do not forget that it weighs 6,25 kg, you realize quickly as soon as you try to remove it from the box.

The fact that an audio product weighs a lot is generally good news, in the case of Sonos Their devices are not particularly light despite their polycarbonate construction, but much of the blame is on high-quality interior metals focused on delivering sound to match.

The Sonos Arc works especially well under TVs that are around 50 inches, we have a fully oval micro-perforated polycarbonate box (76.000 holes in total), although at the bottom we have a flat silicone base It helps its stability and deliver clear sound. Available in two colors: Black and white, this Sonos Arc adds to the brand's design.

We have two LED indicators, one in the central part with the IR sensor for the remote that will notify us of setting changes, as well as an activity indicator LED for the microphone on the far right. Touch media control stays in the top center and the microphone where its own LED.

Technical characteristics and connectivity

We go to another section where unquestionably this Sonos Arc reminds us that it is a premium range product, Let's see what we have inside:

• 3 3/4 ″ Tweeters
• 8 elliptical woofers
• 11 Class D Amplifiers.

However, we also have a brain that will move all this:

• QuadCore 1,4GHz CPU A53 architecture
• 1GB of SDRAM memory
• 4GB NV storage

The result is as expected, compatibility with Dolby Atmos and Dolby True HD. Obviously we already know other reasons for your purchase:

• AirPlay 2
• Amazon Alexa
• Google Assistant

With regards to connectivity We will not miss absolutely anything, we highlight the optical audio converter to HDMI 2.0 that is included in the package:

• HDMI 2.0 with ARC and eARC technology
• Optical input (converted to HDMI)
• 45/10 RJ100 Ethernet connection
• 802.11bg dual band WiFi
• Infrared receiver
• 4 long-range microphones

Sound: Sonos brings out the wand again

We have a 5.1 soundbar that we can also configure as a surround system, as is our case. We have used a Sonos Arc under the TV and two Sonos One for support behind the sofa. We must emphasize that we need a TV with HDMI ARC / eARC to be able to squeeze the potential, because without this connection we will lose almost all the charm.

The Sonos Arc identifies what it is going to emit and processes it perfectly, The result is that the dialogues are not lost, we have total clarity in the voices, both listening to music and in movies.

This does not suffer when we raise the volume to high levels, and songs with a lot of complexity like Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody allow us to easily differentiate all the voices, instruments and harmony. This is when we quickly realize that we are before the soundbar with the best dynamic range that has ever passed our test bench.

• Stereo PCM
• Dolby Digital 5.1
• Dolby Digital +
• Dolby Atmos

Although, the only "but" that we could find is the bass, although we can adjust it in the EQ, obviously does not cause the "Wow" effect of the rest of the harmonies. They're good, loud, and punchy, but not at the level of excellence you'd deliver with a Sonos Sub.

The added value: Configuration and customization

We talk about the small adjustments that we make daily as we get to know the product more in depth. Movie nights, football afternoons and holidays are here. This Sonos Arc allows us to enjoy Dolby Atmos sound without causing the neighbor's anger, have a great time watching our team win and even throw the party of the century at your home, each moment has its configuration:

• Night Sound: This mode will allow us to limit the sounds like explosions and loud music from the movies without losing a bit of content. It works incredibly well.
• Constant improvement de dialogues: Many times the background sound or music can interfere with the dialogues of certain films, that Sonos knows well and prepares this mode that will not lose the script.

Apart from it, the S2 d appand the one we talk about HERE, includes a simple but effective equalizer that will adjust the sound to our tastes.

Virtual assistants and other services

A great addition to the Sonos Arc is precisely that we have absolute compatibility with the three great managers of the smart home: Apple HomeKit (AirPlay 2), Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. We have explained to you on other occasions how to control your digital home with Sonos, and the experience with this Sonos Arc has been up to the task.

Once the desired virtual assistant has been added, in our case Amazon Alexa, Its four long-range microphones have allowed us to perform daily actions without any impediment, even when the Sonos Arc was playing content at high volume:

• Play music on Spotify
• Turn smart lighting on and off
• Manage TV content and turn on and off

The limits are set by you in this regard. The S2 application we saw earlier (HERE) has already taught us what it is capable of. Mainly we have enjoyed Spotify Connect, Apple Music and Sonos Radio with the same excellence as always.

• Download Sonos for Android
• Download Sonos for iOS

Editor's opinion and user experience

Little more we have to say about this Sonos Arc, must be without a doubt the rival to beat inside the sound bars, we have versatility, premium range sound, connectivity and smart features. Sonos has re-tried soundbars with its Arc and they are going to be hard pressed to stand up to it. If you liked it, you can buy it HERE from 899 €, or on the official website of Sonos.