Arc - Is This Even Possible?

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I wish we could have the option of either adding front 300s or at the very least, being able to control the front side speaker volumes to help create a wider front sound field. Question is, is this even possible with firmware or software updates or would this require a whole new Arc, which would be ok too.

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melvimbeAnswer

Like the others said, I don’t know if the hardware in the Arc can handle it, but the better question is will they? I have to think the answer is no.

The Arc would become a very expensive center channel
You now have 4 front up firing speakers (assuming you use Era 300s)
Some customers may be confused and believe you need two additional front speakers, not an option, or just that the Arc doesn’t sound good enough on it’s own.
It’s adding 2 new devices to the home theatre setup, which Sonos has to ensure is stable and reliable in a typical home environment.
That would be additional trueplay tuning
The 2 above factors means a lot of extra development work, which may or may not result in more speaker sales.
The ultimate home theatre setup for Sonos would now cost over $4000

If Sonos were ever to do this, I would guess that they develop a separate center channel speaker that just handles sending audio to the right speakers and center channel audio only. Or, Sonos comes out with an Era 500 where a pair can handle left, right, upfiring, and a simulated center channel speaker. Or maybe you have 3 Era 500s upfront for the audio. I just don’t see them using a soundbar in this manner.

Danny

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DerekCharlesAuthor

Avid Contributor III

You could be right, but I hope not. That said, those that spend as much as we do on a sound bar + rears + subs probably expect a bit more. giving the option means we can leave it all to True Play or tweak it to our liking. As it is, I’ve got Height raised to max and still don’t know if I hear it or not as it’s not at all obvious from min to max.

There is a definite sweet spot to hear Atmos from an Arc. If you aren’t in the range of the return when it bounces off the ceiling, then you aren’t going to hear much of an effect. I sit around 11-12 feet from the Arc, with 9 foot ceilings and the effect is great. Especially with DD Atmos trailers. But if you aren’t in the proper range, or you have an irregular ceiling, you won’t hear it, no matter how loud you set the individual channel volume.

Thanks. That makes sense. I have 10’ ceilings and sit about 12’ back. Maybe my ceilings are too high for me to hear it, even at max. I still wonder if it’s technically possible make the side firing speakers controllable though?

Airgetlam

Unless one of us has access to the code base, and how it is written to interpret Atmos, we will never know.

Bruce

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NeverEnoughTech

Lyricist I

This is the vid I watched and it really got me wondering if it was even possible with the existing hardware?

Quite frankly, that guy is an idiot. #1, there will be a delay, or a lip sync error, as @ratty says. #2, the R/L/C channels will be duplicated by the grouped left and right, causing the soundstage to be a dispersed, muddied mess.

Idiot (you referenced) speaking here: you act like I didn’t call out those exact limitations in my video and address the impacts on the sound. It doesn’t mean you can’t get a glimpse (though imperfect) of what Sonos could do with their hardware. I think the experiment totally gave me a sense of the potential.

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