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ProUSAConstitution
Avid Contributor I
January 30, 2023

Sonos Arc value or lack of

I just hooked up and finally got the Arc working. 
in my opinion, unless I am missing something the Arc is in NO way worth $900!

My Arc only displays 5.1 in the S2 app NOT ATMOS!

One of the multiple seemingly all foreign( I mention foreign due to our language differences and therefore difficulties of communication) Sonos employees I tried to get the Arc working with , said ATMOS is just marketing and no different or better than Dolby Digital 5.1.

 I am seriously thinking of returning the Arc and buying some self powered Yamaha HS8 studio speakers for $800. 
In my opinion the the dynamics, sound quality, and overall enjoyment will be far superior with 2 quality self driven studio monitors. For less $.
Prove me wrong?

What do you think is a better way to go for the $900 usd.

 I’m just trying to be honest and factual. 

All productive comments are welcome!

No BS or propanda please. 
Thank you and best wishes to all. 

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65 replies

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John B
February 3, 2023

I would certainly buy the Arc again, although not particularly for Atmos. 

What the Arc does is entirely in line with my expectations. What I know now is pretty much the same as I knew when I bought it.

I would only expect decent surround sound, with or without Atmos, with the addition of rear speakers.  My experience is that these make a big difference (although that depends on the nature of the film).

    John B
    February 3, 2023

    not psyche about spending another $330 to get the Soundbar to work!

    Ho hum. The Arc works fine. You would be spending the money to overcome the limitations of your TV.

    I live in hope that eventually this will sink in.

      ProfessorFrag
      Enthusiast II
      February 3, 2023

      I wouldn’t buy it again because I haven’t been able to turn Atmos on for my Apple TV and Xbox in about two years. Once you get the pop, Sonos recommends you turn off Atmos since it will just reoccur within about 30 minutes.

      Sonos Arc sounded good for the short while I could use Atmos. If Sonos fixes the problem, I would go back to enjoying it. But at the moment, with the problem having been going on for years, I would not recommend Sonos to anyone who wants to use Apple TV or Xbox. 

        Ken_Griffiths
        Ken_Griffiths
        February 3, 2023

        I would buy the Arc again too. It has always worked fine with my old LG C9 TV and Nvidia Shield - so I’m happy. It sounds great in our Living Room. I added surrounds and Sub (in that order) but I maybe should have perhaps got the Sub first as that (for me, at least) made a huge difference when watching action movies, or listening to music.

        The other thing is it fits in really well with the TV and of course there’s the multi-room wireless functionality with our other Sonos devices around the Home. There’s just no way I would have been happy with any other brand of soundbar. It’s integration with our other speakers is the one thing I would really miss.  

        Outburst
        Enthusiast II
        February 6, 2023

        I use a 2021 Apple TV 4K, AKA 2nd gen 4K. 

        Ok I got the older version, so the 1st gen 4k, but as other mentioned this might also be a limitation from my TV. Or not really a limitation since I have no issues with a pop sounds luckily.

        I would also buy the Arc again, but not really because of Atmos. In the end it’s a soundbar which tries to achieve some kind of Atmos sounds with tricks, it will never reach the quality of a real Atmos setup. So don’t expect too much of it, in most rooms it’ll probably not even work properly. 

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