Arc Ultra - not a good start

Hi ​@Neven 

Thanks for your post!

Sorry to hear of your delayed package - it seems to be stuck in Zagreb at the moment, as I am sure you already know from the parcel tracking, though I don’t know why.

I can only recommend getting in touch with our sales department to see if you can get a re-attempt, or at least so we can contact DHL about it. You will be able to get a refund on the failed express shipping too - please be sure to mention it.

Your Arc Ultra will be able to play Atmos music regardless of the TV’s abilities, yes - the TV is bypassed for playing music and does not even need to be on.

I can’t really comment in terms of comparison, as I never got the chance to hear the original Arc, and it has been a long time since I heard a Playbar. I do have an Arc Ultra, however, with some One surrounds, and although I don’t use it for music, I have tested a few Atmos songs for a customer and I thought it sounded fantastic!

I am sure that you will enjoy it!

I hope this helps.

I can’t comment from personal listening but I’ve seen suggestions that adding a Sub or even the miniSub really helps the music experience.

Certainly worth listening to just the Ultra first, then trying the Sub options. Worst case you can return the Sub.

Thank you! Still no sight of my Arc Ultra. But, I am sure I will be overwhelmed with the performance, once it arrives.

Neven

the good think I have the Sub and surrounds already. My plan is to listen to Arc Ultra by itself and then add sub and surrrounds.one at a time.

Thanks for replying

Neven

I was luckier than you, got my Arc Ultra in 1 day, bought 2xEra300 after that and got them in 2 days :)

Well, my old system was a Playbar-Sub Gen2-2xPlay1.
A fantastic system, good 5.1 sound for movies and could play really loud for parties :)

When I tested the Arc Ultra alone, the experience was a bit boring, super clear sound and nice bass. But it lacked a little power.

When I connected my Sub it was a completely different story, here the depth and clear sound really came out.

In the end with the Era300 I got the full Atmos experience, it's worth all the money.

Playbar wins on power alone, but Ultra wins on sound dispersion, the fine detailed sound reproduction, it's just a more luxurious experience.

In the end, it's about the small details, if you just want to have parties and play loud music, I would just keep my old system.
If you are into good movie experiences and enjoy music in everyday life, then Ultra is definitely the right soundbar.

I used the same Playbar system as you (play one’s for rears). Interesting, to hear the Playbar is more powerfull than the Arc. My experience varied, if the source was low quality stereo, I had to crank it up to hear it. In that scenario my TV’s speakers were superior. But, when fed with 5.1, the sound was magnificent. I never had it above 30% volume. I am hopefull the Arc will be better in two things. Clearer dialogue, and maybe it will project the sound further towards the listener. 

Thank you

Neven

Now that you mention it, the Playbar had a problem with fluctuating volume a lot with different audio formats, I had completely forgotten and haven't experienced it with Ultra 🤞🏼

Ultra has a much better and more precise dialogue, not to mention clarity. You can also choose between 4 settings in dialogue, Off-low-medium-high, I have it on medium, although there is not much difference between the various settings, but enough that you can hear the changes. I think it's very individual what you prefer as not all ears are the same 😉

Don’t pay much attention to a Volume control indicator on any audio unit. There are no standards. If you walk through the audio section in a big box store you’ll notice that the cheap, inferior units get “loud” at low numbers. This impresses the inexperienced customers who are impressed that they only need to “crack” the Volume control. But, the unit does not get much louder after that initial “crack” and the units are very difficult to control at lower Volumes.

The more consistent volume is very good news. Asa much as I enjoy the surrounds and the sub gen 2 bass in movies, the most important thing is the dialogue. My playbar sits on a shelf above my TV and the soudn is quite goood anchored to the screen. However, the 45 degrees angled speakers shoot the soudn upwards towards the high vaulted  ceiling. The fact that Arc Ultra’s drivers are not angled up is making me happy.

Neven  

very good opservation, thanks. The Sonos system impressed me. It does sound better as you increase the volume, but at low volume it is really good. Night sound, speech enhancement help to fine tune your listening experience.

Neven