Sonos Arc, The premium smart soundbar for TV, movies, music and more, with Dolby Atmos. (White)

Product Information

So what about this financial year? Again, it's looking unlikely considering we're only weeks from the end of Sonos's. Plus the company has fairly recently, in March, announced the Era wireless speakers. We would imagine something else will appear before the end of the year, mind – though whether that would be an Arc sequel, Move sequel or indeed a brand-new product like headphones (Spence has promised Sonos's expansion into a new product category...) is anyone's guess. There’s two rear reinforced holes to wall mount the 13.78 lb (6.25 kg) unit for a forward facing mounting setup, but naturally the bass response is a little more concentrated when it can reflect off a tabletop surface. About the only audible shortcoming, except for the latent treble response, is the area where low frequencies become midrange frequencies. Presumably Sonos has deployed its digital sound processing to allow some of the forward-facing drivers to deliver all that midrange fidelity, leaving the other drivers to deal with more of the lower stuff - but there’s a slight disconnect between the two. A kind of concavity exists in this section of the frequency range, a slight disconnect between bassy sounds and those higher up. Typically it is an issue when using external devices connected to your TV, rather than the apps and services integrated into your TV, and very common with Sky Q, Virgin and other TV set-top boxes in the UK. In my testing, none of the audio adjustments of the LG TV, Sky Q or Arc could solve the problem because the sound came after the picture, not before. It is such a common problem with ARC-based soundbars there is a cottage industry built around it from bizarre sets of configuration steps to a vast array of HDMI gadgets. One of the most commonly requested upgrades from users is support for Dolby Atmos rival DTS:X, which, while not as commonly used, is still widely available on soundbars from other manufacturers.A recent firmware update gave Sonos soundbars DTS capacity but only in its basic compressed form, not the full lossless DTS:X or DTS HD MA.

In-between, though, the Arc is far more sure-footed. Dialogue is centred, rich and detailed - the more actorly a voice, the more character the Sonos gives it. It projects well forward of the rest of the frequency range, too, so voices remain distinct even if there’s audio chaos surrounding them. The centre channel is the most hard-working speaker in any home cinema set-up of any type, and Sonos has ensured the middle section of the Arc has what it takes. According to Fink, Sonos put much work into iterating the curvature of the internal waveguides, revamping Trueplay to account for ceiling distance, angles and acoustics, and tuning Arc with Atmos content producers in music, movies and TV. This product does not have any user-serviceable parts. Do not open or disassemble or attempt to repair it or replace any components. Refer all servicing to Sonos qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as power-supply cable or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped. Improved stereo. Again, why? For being a sound bar and limited by it's physical shape and dimensions, it's already excellent. Buy separate speakers if you want true stereo separation. What would you like to see from a second-generation Arc soundbar? Is there any area where you think positive changes could be made? Let us know in the comments below.

Overview

Playing the bombing run scene from Unbroken and we’re immediately transported to within the fuselage of the B-24 Liberator. Our listening room is filled with wind noise and the whirr of the plane’s engines, and the incidental creaks and rattles are placed in specific spots, including right in the top corners of the wall we’re sitting against.

There’s a Night Sound mode too, which reduces the difference between quiet and loud sounds – useful for hearing what’s going on when listening at lower volumes. Getting sound Featuring eleven high-performance drivers for crisp highs, dynamic midranges, and surprising bass, Arc's slim profile can be discreetly mounted or placed on furniture. A woofer in each end of the soundbar provides a wide soundstage. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The GuardianThe Sonos Arc is generally repairable, but for devices that need significant maintenance the firm typically replaces speakers with new or refurbished products to speed up the return. Most soundbars do a good job of reproducing TV and movie audio, but fall down on music. The Arc is simply fantastic as a music speaker, sounding far better than any other soundbar I have tested, including the Beam, and many dedicated music systems. General stereo TV sound was great. Everything from old reruns of Midsomer Murders and NCIS to Match of the Day sounded exactly as it should: clear, crisp and full. The Arc’s dialogue clarity was truly top notch coming across sounding natural and clear at all times. Not once did I have to turn up the sound to hear what was going on, and that was without the Arc’s dedicated Speech Enhancement mode. The Sonos Arc’s audio capabilities are seriously great. Eight elliptical woofers combine to deliver a solid overall bass response and the tuning balances a nice amount of warmth through the mids with an impressive level of clarity.

The Sonos Arc also features revolutionary Trueplay technology. Trueplay scans your room, analyses the results and then fine-tunes the speaker for the ideal listening experience. Whether your room is large or small, densely furnished or minimalist, the Arc adapts to give the most natural and realistic sound possible (iOS device required).

Performance

The LED above the Sonos logo shows when the bar is muted (here lit green) or when the smart speaker functions are active. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian