After several months testing the new sound bar of sound, Today I am going to tell you what it feels like to have a 900 euro speaker connected to your television. or should i say 11 speakers? Is a sound system with these characteristics worth it?
Sound in every corner
If you've ever gone through one of those outbreaks of minimalism or are currently submerged in one of them, probably one of your biggest obsessions is reducing cables at home. And in that mission to eliminate cables, you will probably come across your idea of ​​setting up a home theater. Is there no way to get the speakers to that recommended spot 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 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 facing different points so 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 correctly project the sound 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 to become your home cinema system, the equipment has functions such as intelligent 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 the brand permeates each of its products, with an unmistakable seal that is perceived from the moment we open the box.
https://youtu.be/-78MeCO-YpE
A very easy configuration
The idea of ​​the 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 (either original from any HDMI device, the TV antenna or streaming applications), through our speaker, thus allowing us 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
Simply 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 .
https://youtu.be/8QgJHUy93T0
And it is that with the calibration true play the speaker will recognize every corner of the room to emit the sounds correctly and thus achieve the best spatial projection. In this way, the speaker will be able to reproduce sounds that come from the rear or 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 one 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 throughout the house to create a single environment.
Very effective, but room for improvement
The surround sound function is great, and will satisfy those looking for a striking and attractive result, but the most demanding might not be entirely satisfied with the surround sensation, so they will have to opt to expand the system with a couple more speakers. .
And it 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 even more perfectly to what we have behind us.
Do we recommend the Sonos Arc?
Possibly the first thing that strikes you about the Arc is its impressive price. With a tag 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 found and that makes its price worse is that the wall bracket is not integrated into the package, it must be purchased separately and its price is no less than 79 euros, an amount that seems too high to us considering the full price of the equipment.
With all this, the Sonos Arc currently seems to us to be the best sound bar with Dolby Atmos that you can buy today on the market.
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*Note to the reader: in the text you will find links to Amazon that are part of an affiliate program by the brand. All have been freely selected by the editors of El Output, and at no time are our recommendations conditioned by any request.