Arc specs regarding 5.1/7.1 surround

  • 25 October 2020
  • 3 replies
  • 437 views
M

Can anyone define “Drivers” in the specs for the Arc? 
 

In other words, I would like to replicate a 3 Ch sound from the Arc and then add two Play 1 in the rear to complete the surround. I’m pretty tech savvy but I’m thrown off by “drivers” versus channels. Can anyone offer some feedback? I’m not even convinced I would even need the rear Play 1 in the same room.


My other question is:

My main TV is 65” but I plan to replace that with a 70”-75” at some point. 

In terms of “power” and sound quality, I’m trying to compare the Arc versus the Beam. 
 

I see the recommended sizes of TV for each device but I’m curious to see if anyone has those circumstances. If sound quality isn’t affected, then it’s a no brainer to go with the lower cost device (Beam) in my case. If anyone has any thoughts on these topics I would love to hear your feedback!

 

Thank you!

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3 replies

Krishma M
Userlevel 5
Badge +13

Hi @Mws1118, welcome to the Sonos Community! I appreciate your interest in the Sonos products and I’d be happy to discuss it with you. 

By itself, Arc is a 5.0.2 soundbar. When adding surround speakers or Sub, it would create a 5.1.2 system with 5 main audio channels (front left, front right, rear left, rear right, and center), 1 subwoofer channel, and 2 vertical channels.

Arc creates immersive, 3D sound experiences with 6 front-firing woofers, 2 up-firing woofers, and 3 tweeters to bring Dolby Atmos and other hi-res audio technologies to Sonos for the first time. You can try Arc in your home to experience the cinema-quality sound for yourself. More about Arc here: http://sonos.com/shop/arc.html.

While the Sonos Beam is best suited for small to midsize rooms and more about here: https://www.sonos.com/en/shop/beam.html/. 

We can also wait for other’s suggestions and experiences to share with you or reach out to our Sales. 

Hope this helps. We and the community are always here to help.

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J

@Krishma M 

If the Arc is 5.0.2 by itself, and adding a sub makes it 5.1.2, and then adding surrounds makes it… 5.1.2… Do the two angled front drivers get disabled by adding the surrounds? Shouldn’t it go up to 7.1.2? It could use the two angled drivers as surround side channels...

M
Userlevel 1
Badge +1

I was wondering this as well.... I read somewhere that if you pair surrounds to the arc, it repurposes the side firing woofers to aid the rear channels. In another review I read that adding surrounds to the arc would make the surrounds reinforce the front l/r channels, as the upwards firing speakers are the rear channels.

It's very confusing and unclear what setup you create when adding surrounds to the arc to me...

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