Sonos Arc Soundbar Black

The Sonos Arc is Sonos's flagship soundbar, sitting above the Beam in the range and designed to bring cinematic Dolby Atmos sound to living rooms with TVs of 50 inches or larger. It was succeeded by the Arc Ultra, which adds a further three drivers and Sound Motion technology, but the Arc remains a highly capable Dolby Atmos soundbar and a What Hi-Fi? Awards 2024 winner, rated five stars.

Driver Architecture

Arc houses eleven precisely engineered internal speakers: eight elliptical woofers handle mid-range frequencies and bass, three silk-dome tweeters reproduce crisp high frequencies, and two dedicated upward-firing height channels create the Dolby Atmos overhead sound layer. Each driver is powered by a dedicated Class-D digital amplifier, giving eleven amplifiers in total, each tuned to the acoustic characteristics of its assigned driver and the overall cabinet geometry.

Dolby Atmos & Audio Format Support

Arc supports a comprehensive range of audio formats delivered via its HDMI eARC connection. Supported formats include Stereo PCM, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos via Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos via Dolby TrueHD, Dolby TrueHD, Multichannel PCM, Dolby Multichannel PCM, and DTS Digital Surround. The eARC connection is required for lossless Dolby Atmos (TrueHD) passthrough; a 1.5m HDMI cable is included. An optical audio adapter is also included for connection to TVs without an ARC or eARC HDMI port.

Trueplay Room Calibration

Trueplay software analyses the unique acoustic characteristics of the room and adjusts the equalisation and driver output accordingly, including calibrating the height channels for precise spatial localisation of Atmos overhead effects. Trueplay requires an iOS device with microphone access to perform the calibration sweep. Adjustable EQ settings for bass, treble, and loudness are available in the Sonos app independently of Trueplay.

Dialogue & Listening Modes

Speech Enhancement mode raises the frequencies of the human voice relative to other content, designed to clarify dialogue in film and television without requiring the volume to be raised. Night Sound mode reduces the dynamic range of loud sound effects relative to quieter passages, making late-night listening more comfortable.

Voice Control & Smart Features

Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are both built into Arc, accessible via the far-field microphone array. The array uses beamforming and multi-channel echo cancellation to enable voice commands even during playback. Arc also supports Apple AirPlay 2, allowing music, podcasts, and other content to be streamed directly from Apple devices running iOS 11.4 or later. The Sonos app provides full control and setup, and Arc synchronises with the TV remote via infrared for unified volume control.

System Expansion

Arc is designed as the foundation of a Sonos home cinema system. It can be wirelessly paired with a Sonos Sub or Sub Mini for added bass, and with a pair of Sonos Era 100, Era 300, or One SL speakers as rear surrounds. Arc is not compatible with CCFL-backlit televisions manufactured between 2004 and 2012.

Connectivity

Arc connects to the TV via its HDMI eARC port. A 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port allows a wired network connection where Wi-Fi is unreliable. Wi-Fi operates on 2.4 GHz using 802.11b/g/n. Touch controls on the top panel provide direct access to play/pause and volume functions.