![]() ![]() The rear panel has a polymer shell that has been assembled with millimetric precision. The front panel and a large part of the top panel feature a honeycomb grille that hides the many drivers. Upholding the reputation of Sonos devices, the Sonos Arc boasts exemplary design quality. ![]() The Sonos Arc soundbar features 11 drivers and as many amplifiers for 5.0.2 Dolby Atmos sound. ![]() This connected amplifier is capable of delivering up to 2 x 50 watts in Class D and was an immediate hit with the world press, who praised its easy installation, design, reliability and sound quality. After extensive research on antenna placement and the development of a user-friendly system, Sonos revealed its very first product in January 2005: the Sonos ZP100. The founder therefore turned to a team of engineers that found the solution in 2003 through mesh networking, which up until then had mainly been used for military purposes. A new system had to be designed to transfer sound instantly and wirelessly to several speakers without the user noticing any synchronization errors. However, virtually no technologies existed at the time that would allow Sonos to achieve its goal. It was founded in 2002 by John MacFarlane with the idea of making it easy for music lovers to wirelessly stream any song at home. The American brand Sonos is a pioneer of multi-room audio. It is multi-room compatible and can be paired to Sonos connected speakers to create a true wireless 5.1.2 home theater system. But before you think: I want better sound on TV… i’ll buy a sound bar: there are other options.The Sonos Arc soundbar is equipped with 11 drivers to provide a 5.0.2 Dolby Atmos sound. Now we understand that the target group for a soundbar is different. Or one set of DALI Rubicon 2C with the receiver box. And if we take that in calculation, we’ll end up with 2500 euros very quickly. In addition, the Sonos ARC does not really play surround without the addition of the rear speakers and sub. But the fact is: they sound better with music, offer much more connectivity. Now these stereo setups are not Atmos wonder boxes. That could also just be very interesting. DALI is going to come with a cheaper range (under Calisto). Those sell for 1200 euros a pair, also offer streaming, look very nice and sound very good, better with music even. Then the question: a Sonos ARC or a set of active speakers? We see numerous alternatives. Anyway, is that at all comparable? We don’t think so. Although it does have a lot of added value over a TV without a decent speaker system. But pin point exact placement? No, it doesn’t. However, it does not feel like real surround. And the Sonos knows how to reproduce that to some extent. Especially the DTS-HD track is well mixed. This concert has quite some surround information. Occasionally a car or some weather effects. We also watched some episodes at the office (on the main AV-system) and the surround effects are subtle, shall we say. It’s not really spatial, but that’s not mixed in these series either. Also Better than Us is easy to follow through the Sonos ARC. Now there is a ‘night-mode’ that limits the dynamics a bit, but even then the dialogues are hard to follow. And that results in dialogues that are almost impossible to understand, and music that is far too loud. We watched Joker (blu-ray) via the Sonos ARC and after 10 minutes we decided to turn on the ‘main system’ again. The flatter the tv, the worse the sound… Filmsįilms we are alternately enthusiastic. Although that seems quite logical given the current state of TV sound. It is also much better than from the speakers of the TV. Voices come neatly from the middle, are not boomy or excessively coloured. The intelligibility of the Sonos ARC is very good. Conclusion after these two weeks: that works very well. We assume that everyone watches the news, a talk show or checks a piece of Ridiculousness. ![]()
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