![]() The Arc sounded a lot more open than the boxy Sony, and especially good with tunes like Adele's Feel My Love. I compared the Sonos Arc head-to-head against the Sony G700 and it should have been no contest - the Sony has a wireless sub and a separate HDMI input, ensuring full Atmos compatibility. ![]() ![]() Unlike with the bass-shy Sonos Beam, I never felt like I needed a subwoofer with the Arc. In all cases, the Arc sounded excellent and balanced if perhaps a little reticent in the treble - nothing that tweaking the onboard EQ couldn't fix. I listened to a host of different material over a couple of weeks - from TV shows to movies to Dolby Atmos Music to video games. You may need a newer TV to hear Atmos effects and see that Dolby logo in the Sonos app, but if you don't have a newer TV, you might not even miss Atmos. One of the spaces in which I listened to the Arc was the corner of an irregularly shaped room and there were almost no width effects. If you want maximum surround and height effects you will need a square or rectangular room with the soundbar situated at one end. I found that the sound of the room, more so than the HDMI capabilities of the TV, dictates how good the speaker sounds. I used the Sonos Arc with a number of different TVs - the Sony X950G LCD, the Samsung D8000 plasma, the Samsung 6 series LCD - in two different rooms. Compared to other smart speakers it rates as about average in terms of "listening" performance, with the Apple HomePod being the best I've tested. The speaker wasn't able to hear over maximum volume dialog - even when I shouted - but with music at a normal volume I was able to use my speaking voice. As I tested the Sonos with a beta version of the Sonos software, I wasn't able to get Google Assistant working, but Amazon Alexa worked just fine. The Arc has a four far-field microphone array to better pick up voice commands when your music is blaring. The speaker has a total of eight elliptical woofers, including upfiring drivers for Dolby Atmos effects, and three "precisely angled" silk-dome tweeters. The curvaceous cabinet comes in black or white, and it certainly looks and feels like a premium product, exemplified by a mesh grill and touch-based controls. The Arc is long and sleek at 45 inches wide, 3.4 inches tall and 4.5 inches deep. Ty Pendlebury/CNET Slim single speaker packed with features
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