The Sound (of space?)
Contents
Admittedly: the Sonos ARC is a nice piece of electronics to look at. It sits neatly in front of the TV (maybe a bit high in our case, but I’m sure that can be adjusted) and also transmits the infrared signal. So even though it’s in front of the sensor, the remote control just works. Also, the TV immediately passes on all commands via the hdmi-cable. That just works flawlessly. Very nice, because if there was something annoying until a few years ago, it was the hassle with all those standards that wouldn’t work. That’s a thing of the past: this is just plug and play.
Speech
The first thing we judge by is speech. We assume that everyone watches the news, a talk show or checks a piece of Ridiculousness. Conclusion after these two weeks: that works very well. The intelligibility of the Sonos ARC is very good. Voices come neatly from the middle, are not boomy or excessively coloured. It is also much better than from the speakers of the TV. Although that seems quite logical given the current state of TV sound. The flatter the tv, the worse the sound…
Films
Films we are alternately enthusiastic. We watched Joker (blu-ray) via the Sonos ARC and after 10 minutes we decided to turn on the ‘main system’ again. The dynamics in that movie are huge. And that results in dialogues that are almost impossible to understand, and music that is far too loud. Now there is a ‘night-mode’ that limits the dynamics a bit, but even then the dialogues are hard to follow.
Series like The Sinner are doing fine. Also Better than Us is easy to follow through the Sonos ARC. It’s not really spatial, but that’s not mixed in these series either. We also watched some episodes at the office (on the main AV-system) and the surround effects are subtle, shall we say. Occasionally a car or some weather effects. But it’s not more than that.
Then a live concert. We set up Muse Live in Rome. (2nd Law tour). This concert has quite some surround information. Especially the DTS-HD track is well mixed. And the Sonos knows how to reproduce that to some extent. However, it does not feel like real surround. It is spatial and nice to listen to. But pin point exact placement? No, it doesn’t. Although it does have a lot of added value over a TV without a decent speaker system. Anyway, is that at all comparable? We don’t think so.
Alternatives?
Then the question: a Sonos ARC or a set of active speakers? We see numerous alternatives. Think of a set of KEF LSX. Those sell for 1200 euros a pair, also offer streaming, look very nice and sound very good, better with music even. DALI is going to come with a cheaper range (under Calisto). That could also just be very interesting.
Now these stereo setups are not Atmos wonder boxes. But the fact is: they sound better with music, offer much more connectivity. And they can also stream music. In high-res. In addition, the Sonos ARC does not really play surround without the addition of the rear speakers and sub. And if we take that in calculation, we’ll end up with 2500 euros very quickly. You buy two pairs of LSX for that. Or one set of DALI Rubicon 2C with the receiver box.
Now we understand that the target group for a soundbar is different. And so is the application. But before you think: I want better sound on TV… i’ll buy a sound bar: there are other options.