Sonos launched its all-new soundbar last month and ahead of the first customers who will get the next-gen Sonos speaker starting next week, reviews are starting to come in. So far, it looks like the Sonos Arc is living up to its appointment as the company’s top of the line speaker and may be one of the best wireless soundbars available on the market… with one notable caveat.
In its review, The Verge scored it an 8/10 with the positives including “Excellent, powerful, immersive sound” and eARC support giving it some future-proofing. However, the biggest drawback it noted was that there’s no HDMI passthrough, meaning you’ll need a relatively new TV to hook it up with the single HDM ARC port. There is an HDMI to optical audio adapter included, but notably, you lose Dolby Atmos support with that configuration.
TechCrunch said that “Sonos has managed a miracle of audio engineering with its latest home theater speaker.” The review was less disappointed by the single HDMI ARC port for audio and praised the sound separation and virtual sound immersion of the premium soundbar.
In closing TC said, “If you want the best, most versatile and well-designed wireless soundbar available, the Sonos Arc is the speaker for you.”
Engadget noted that the difference between the Sonos Arc and its Playbar predecessor was very apparent.
In conclusion, Engadget called it a “truly outstanding product” but reiterated the disappointing HDMI situation.
The Sonos Arc is available now priced at $799 in black or white and is currently shipping in a couple of weeks.
Two other products the company updated along with the launch of the Arc are the Sonos Five and the 3rd gen Sonos Sub. You can learn more about those products in our launch coverage.
Top image via TechCrunch
