Sonos Arc Soundbar Review

The Arc is Sonos' 2020 soundbar and is very high-end. Like the previous Sonos Beam and Sonos Playbar, the setup can be upgraded with a separate subwoofer and satellites, which are the same as the Beam. The main competitors of the Sonos Arc are the Sonos Beam, the 2019 Samsung HW-Q90R, and the Bose Soundbar 700.

This soundbar is a lot longer than the Sonos Beam. It has a similar plastic finish, though it still feels high-end and sturdy.

This setup comes without a subwoofer, although you can buy a separate one.

This setup comes without satellites, although you can buy separate ones.

The Sonos Arc is noticeably longer than the Sonos Beam or the Sonos Playbar. It's too long to fit between the legs of 55" TVs and although it's also a bit taller, it shouldn't cover the bottom part of your screen.

This setup doesn't include a subwoofer.

This setup doesn't include rear satellites.

Like most soundbars, the back is fairly straightforward. There's a small opening for your power and inputs. Note that the mounting holes are proprietary to Sonos and you'll need to buy special wall-mounting brackets that aren't included in the box.

This setup doesn't have a subwoofer.

This setup doesn't have satellite speakers.

The build quality of the Sonos Arc is very good. Although it's entirely made of plastic, it has a similarly very sturdy feel as the Sonos Beam. The speakers are also well-protected by plastic grilles.

• Bar power cable
• HDMI cable
• HDMI to Optical adapter
• Manuals

Update 07/06/2020: After updating the soundbar to its latest software version, we heard a noticeable improvement in the bass range with real-life content, although our graph results didn't change much. The bar still lacks bass, but not as much as before. The bass is much more present and tighter. The overall sound profile is still somewhat bright.

The stereo frequency response of the Sonos Arc soundbar is mediocre. It lacks bass, and because of its overemphasized treble, it sounds bright and a bit piercing. Unfortunately, you can only tweak the volume of the bass and treble ranges as you don't have access to a proper EQ. Also, note that we tested this soundbar after calibrating it using the room correction feature, but this is only available on iOS.

The stereo soundstage of the Sonos Arc soundbar is great. It feels larger than the bar itself thanks to the side-firing speakers that reflect sound from the walls to the listener. The focus is also very good and you can easily pinpoint where the sound is coming from.

Update 09/21/2020: We've discovered a value input bug that would cause the Dynamics box results to be slightly off. All soundbars reviewed since January 30th, 2020 have been updated.

Update 07/06/2020: Even after updating to the latest firmware version, the bar's bass range still struggles at max volume. The text has been updated.

The stereo dynamics of this soundbar are decent. The bar can get very loud, which is nice, but there's noticeable compression in the bass range.

The stereo THD performance of this soundbar is decent. There isn't much harmonic distortion at a typical volume level, but there's a noticeable jump in THD when raising the volume to its max.

The Sonos Arc soundbar has a great dedicated center channel. It reproduces clear and accurate dialogue and vocals, although it can sound a bit bright on some content.

Update 07/06/2020: After the latest firmware update, the surrounds performance got slightly better. The bass is still somewhat lacking, but it isn't as bad as before. The review has been updated.

The surround sound performance of this soundbar is decent. This setup doesn't come with dedicated surround speakers but instead uses the side-firing speakers on the bar itself. Overall, sounds can seem like they're coming from around you since they're reflecting off walls, but it won't be as immersive as if you buy the dedicated satellites. If you watch a lot of surround content, check out the full Sonos Arc with Sub + One SL Speakers setup.

Update 07/06/2020: After the latest firmware update, the bass dip isn't as noticeable, although our graph results didn't change much.

The Sonos Arc soundbar has a decent Atmos performance. Unfortunately, the overall volume level is greatly reduced when watching Atmos content and the bass is a bit lacking, which can affect your favorite action movie. On the upside, this is a noticeable upgrade from the Sonos Beam, which doesn't support Atmos.

The Sonos Arc has just okay sound enhancement features. It has a Room Correction setting which can help adjust the bar's performance based on your room setup. Unfortunately, it's only available on iOS. There's also volume adjustments for bass and treble, but unlike the Sony HT-G700, it lacks a proper EQ to fine-tune its sound profile to your preference. Also note that there's no remote available, so everything has to be done inside the app.

The Sonos Arc has a limited number of inputs. It has an HDMI ARC port and an optical one, though you'll need to use the included HDMI adapter. You can also connect the bar to your home network by using the Ethernet port.

This soundbar has very good audio format support via its HDMI ARC port. The bar supports pretty much every Dolby signal, and thanks to its eARC support, it can also play lossless Dolby TrueHD. Unfortunately, it doesn't support DTS like some other high-end soundbars such as the LG SN11RG.

This soundbar doesn't have a Full HDMI In port.

Via optical, the soundbar can play Dolby Digital which can be found on most streaming services and some Blu-ray discs. Unfortunately, it doesn't support DTS content, which is even more common on Blu-ray.

Sonos soundbars all don't support Bluetooth connectivity, and the Sonos Arc isn't an exception as it only supports Wi-Fi connection. There are a few apps like Spotify that have built-in support to cast easily to the bar. For iOS users, the bar also supports Apple AirPlay 2. It also features both Google Assistant and Alexa built-in.

There's no Full HDMI In port on this soundbar.

This setup doesn't come with a subwoofer.

This setup doesn't come with satellite speakers.

The interface of this soundbar is quite minimal. There's a main light that changes color and blinks depending on the command. There's also a second one that lights up whenever the soundbar's microphone is activated, but that's about it.

This soundbar has touch-sensitive controls that allow you to play/pause, raise or lower the volume, and mute the microphone.

This soundbar doesn't have a remote, as everything is done through its app.

The Sonos S2 app offers tremendous control over all your Sonos products. It's pretty much an upgraded version of the Sonos Controller app, previously found on the Sonos Beam. You can link music services to the app, directly cast to the bar, and have access to different features like setting alarms. It also allows you to set up room configurations for all of your Sonos products. Note that the room correction feature Trueplay is only available on iOS.

The Sonos Arc doesn't have a power-saving feature. When connected via its HDMI ARC port, you can also use your TV remote to control basic settings such as the volume of the soundbar.