From Sky to Netflix, Amazon Prime to Disney+ and everything in between, there are so many ways to stream and access films now – and who doesn’t love a movie night? Especially as so many films can now be enjoyed with Dolby level sound quality, right in your home. Of course, whether you can fully appreciate and enjoy this all depends whether the equipment you’re using is capable of delivering such a high level of sound quality. Dolby Atmos capabilities are not something we’re used to having from the sofa.
Sonos have become synonymous with the best sound quality available, and the launch of its new premium smart soundbar this month, the Arc, takes this one step further. Complete with high performance drivers which can even support 3D audio, they seem to have pulled out all the stops on this one. The sound quality has even been tweaked by Oscar-winning mixing engineers to ensure its tuning is right on point, adjusting depending on what you’re watching and what set up you have it on – whether that’s home cinema, Dolby Atmos, stereo or Dolby Audio 5.1.
Of course, you can also adjust the sound yourself, to your own preference, with the Sonos app, your TV remote, Apple AirPlay2 or with your voice using Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. If you’re watching one of those films where everyone seems to be whispering or you can’t quite pick out every word, there’s a Speech Enhancement option, to give extra clarity to vocals. If you’re worried about the neighbours or watching something after the kids have gone to bed, there’s a Night Sound option to balance your enjoyment of loud explosions with the happiness of others.
Designed to go with larger TVs which are increasing in popularity, it’s their widest soundbar yet, coming in at 114cm, to create an ultra-wide, high clarity soundstage, and replacing Playbar and Playbase. By plugging into a TV’s HDMI port (if you have an older TV, don’t worry, there’s an adaptor) the Arc makes use of the HDMI and audio return channel (ARC) functions to increase the sound quality. This is what sets it apart from other products on the market – including Sonos’ own products – as it is able to support the enhanced audio return channel (eARC) and deliver the Dolby sound.
It comes with an update to the tuning technology Sonos Trueplay, which adjusts the Arc’s sound according to the size of your room, to make the quality even more immersive, taking into account the horizontal and vertical area it’s being projected into. This adjustment also factors in whether the Arc is on a piece of furniture – in front of your TV, for example – or wall mounted. The wall mount costs a little extra, but we’ve found with other Sonos products that better sound quality is delivered in this position.
If you do have it sitting in front of the TV, you may be worried about the 8.5cm height blocking your TV remote signal – but there’s no need. The integrated IR repeater ensures that everything is set up with the user in mind, and you wouldn’t expect anything less from Sonos.
Available on pre-order now, the Sonos Arc will be shipping to us from the 10th of June. If you’d like to get on the list to order yours and enjoy films and music in a whole new way, get in touch.
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