Location of Sonos Arc Ultra

Speakers should not be behind the TV at all, either Arc or Playbar I'm afraid so definitely place in front…

Any overhead surface before the ceiling will also potentially colour the sound of the upward firing speakers. Potentially seriously messing with any Atmos effects from the Arc/Arc Ultra...

Plenty of threads here discussing Arc/Arc Ultra placement ideals.

Google is right and provides all the forum references searching for 'Sonos arc placement advice'. In a nutshell though:

Key Placement Rules

• Forward Positioning: If placing the Arc on a TV stand, pull it forward until the front edge of the soundbar is almost flush with the edge of your furniture. Avoid pushing it far back, as the front lip can interfere with audio. [1, 2]

• No Enclosures: Never hide your Arc in a cubby hole or recessed space. The side-firing drivers need at least 30 cm (1 foot) of clearance on both ends to bounce virtual surround sound off your walls. [1, 2]

• Wall Mounting: If wall-mounting, keep at least 14 cm (5.5 inches) of space between the bottom of your TV and the top of the soundbar to allow sound to project upwards. [1]

• Orientation: Always place it horizontally with the touch controls facing up. Never place it flat on its back or vertically on its side. [1, 2]

• Trueplay Tuning: Once the soundbar is in its final spot, always run Trueplay in the Sonos app. This uses your room's acoustics to perfectly tune the EQ for height channels and dialogue. [1]

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Before I give my two cents about the Arc placement I have two questions:

1. Did you run a diagnostic within 10 minutes of the last occurrence of the audio drop, make note of the reference ID and then call Sonos Tech Support to discuss the findings? I ask because replacing the Playbar may not resolve issues with audio drops as the cause may be network related.
2. Are you purchasing a used Arc as it is no longer in production or did you just forget to state your purchase as an ArcUltra?

Placement:

1. I prefer forward placement on a stand or entertainment center top below the TV; if possible.
2. However wall mounting below the TV following Sonos guidelines is acceptable.
3. If wall mounting I suggest using the approved Sonos wall mount because for some reason the Arc series recognizes it and adjusts low-end accordingly. I have no experience either way to prove or disprove the claim.

4. 

    

For placement on a shelf I like to have mine back a bit from the edge to prevent it from being bumped into. That isn't optimum for sound, but several sellers offer stands of various heights to raise the Arc and reduce the surface reflections.

Mine sits about 2" back from the edge and about 2" above the shelf. Fractions of an inch to 7" ones available or make your own that can be cheaper wnd/or better looking.

Lots of options, Amazon here but there are many other options.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sonos+arc+ultra+speaker+stands

All great responses! I purchased the Arc Ultra. And yes, I have run multiple diagnostics to no avail. I believe the Play Bar cannot handle the signal my 85 inch Samsung is pushing and therefore the drop offs.

Will definitely place in front of my TV.

There is a limit on how much bandwidth an optical connection can carry. That being said, I’d think the onus was on the TV set not to try to push too much data through that connection. All in all, though, I suspect life will be easier using ARC, since the speaker can talk back to the TV, something that wasn’t possible with the one way nature of an optical connection.