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CNN recently reviewed three soundbars. Overall they were favorable with the ARC ULTRA, but I have a few nits to pick.

First, the review states that Android devices support Trueplay. This is incorrect. Full Trueplay supports iPad/iPhone, not Android, however, ARC ULTRA supports the Quick Tune option that does not require a phone/pad.

Also, there is a picture showing the test setup. I cannot recommend setting up a system as shown in the picture. First, there are objects near each end of the ARC ULTRA. Since both ends of ARC ULTRA emit sound, the nearby sound reflections will compromise the L/R “image” presented up front. In general you should not have any objects nearby. For this reason I cannot recommend placing  soundbars in a  confining bookcase. I also feel that a soundbar will sound better if it is brought forward to the front edge of a shelf.

Second, there are WiFi devices very close to ARC ULTRA. The risk of WiFi interference is very high when a router is located nearby. Plus, there is another device (probably a ROKU) under the ARC ULTRA. In this particular setup both ARC ULTRA and ROKU are probably wired to the router. While this will minimize some consequences for these devices, other WiFi devices in the home would perform better if the router was separated from other WiFi devices. If the ARC ULTRA is wireless, the risk of local interference issues is high.

Hi ​@buzz,

I’ve had a read through it myself, and I agree with your points here. The article should mention that, while they can Trueplay, Android users can’t use advanced tuning or at least mention the different Trueplay types. I think our Trueplay article that you linked is pretty blunt about Android only having access to quick tuning. Though to be fair, the Arc Ultra does state on the store page that Trueplay is available for both iOS and Android but not the types of tuning that are available.

Seeing how all their wireless devices are place, it’s a wonder that there wasn’t any interference issues. The article doesn’t state that they had any issues either, but the risk is still there and it does go against our placement recommendations. The article itself is still a good review besides this, and I’d agree again that’s it’s mostly nitpicks with the article that any outright misinformation.

Thanks for sharing the article with the community!

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