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I was lucky enough to pick up my Arc preorder from a store in Sydney today. I’ve set it up and it’s paired with a Panasonic 65” GZ1000 (which only has ARC, not eARC). Here are some initial observations. 

  • Apple TV 4K - YES - confirming I’m getting Dolby Atmos via ARC while watching 4K iTunes movies
  • Built in Apps - YES I’m getting Dolby Atmos from built in apps such as Netflix and Prime
  • The Bass on the Arc surprised me. I’m adding a Sub Gen3 this week regardless - but I can see how some people won’t need to add a Sub for everyday viewing
  • The dialogue is very clear - I thought the speech enhancement was on by default when I first set it up cos it was very clear - but it wasn’t on, which was a pleasant surprise
  • With the GZ1000 I haven’t seen any lip sync issues yet on either FTA channels or from the Apple TV 4K

 

Well I’m afraid I won’t be purchasing the Arc. I really wanted to love the Arc but after a demo in a proper sound room I think the Playbar does a better job when it comes to music, I really do. We then move to the Elephant in the room i.e. the Arc’s size. It’s simply to big. I have a 55 inch C9 on a glass table top stand and the Arc would be hanging off either end, frankly looking ridiculous. The Playbar hits the sweetspot when it comes to size. Sorry Sonos, it may have all the right credentials but my hard earned cash will be staying in my pocket.

I have the Arc and LG C9 55 OLED TV and the TV is about 4 inches wider than the Arc (2 inch either side). It therefore sounds like your glass TV unit is the issue and you cannot point a finger at Sonos (or LG for that matter) about the TV unit, that is really something for you to address.

Just to add the Arc in our home, with both sub and surrounds sounds awesome, worth every penny spent ...and perfectly compliments the excellent C9 TV too.

It isn't simply the size, though I think asthetic wise it is to big. The music reproduction just isn't as good as my Playbar, it really isn't. I purchased the Playbar at launch and will continue with it for the foreseeable. 

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