Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Review

By bundling the impressive Arc soundbar with the Sub Gen 3 and Era 300 speakers pair, listeners can achieve premium home theater sound quality matching far more complex traditional A/V receiver systems. I think most audiophiles would agree the experience should match the price tag, so I tested precisely what Sonos promises in an attractive package. So here is my Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc review.

Build and design

A huge plus is the size of Arc; you can place it on a TV stand or the wall under the TV using the original fasteners. As soon as I took it out of the package, it was immediately clear that the item was expensive and of high quality. The device is made in a monolithic plastic case. I like that the plastic is non-staining despite the white color. The overall build quality is impeccable. I didn’t find any untreated joints, nothing shakes inside, and there were no obvious weak points in the Sonos soundbar design.

Sonos Sub (Gen 3) features a perfectly cubic, sleek, monolithic shape. Engineers worked hard on it so that the sub can work in any position, which is also a great advantage, and you have options on how to set it. The design of Era 300 speakers is absolutely different from other models Sonos has, but in its unique way for sure. For the lower part of the speakers, anti-vibration silicone and support anchors remain, and the upper part is crowned with touch controls, redesigned in this model for ease of use.

Setup and connectivity

Sonos Arc has several connection interfaces. First of all, it can be connected to the TV via HDMI (ARC and eARC for maximum functionality) or optical. The soundbar includes only 1 HDMI connector for this. However, with the included adapter, you can connect to a TV without HDMI.

Arc soundbar can be connected to the Internet to access all its functionality. This can be via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Of course, I connected via Wi-Fi, but it’s great that there are options. The Wi-Fi connection quality was excellent. It would be strange if not. The soundbar almost constantly played content from the Internet. I only updated the firmware a couple of times, luckily without bugs and issues. I’d prefer to include Bluetooth as well, but the option isn’t available.

The setup process is extremely simple, you just need to download the Sonos app on your phone and follow the instructions, which boil down to waiting and pressing the group button (on the back with an infinity icon).

You get the missed Bluetooth function with Era 300 speakers, which integrates Bluetooth 5.0. They also include a USB-C port. You may connect an audio device via a 3.5mm cable via the separately available Sonos Line-In Adapter or the Ethernet + 3.5mm Jack Adapter, also available separately.

Features and specs

As a soundbar, the Arc provides high-quality sound, supporting all major decoders like Dolby Atmos. In most cases, I used an app to control the whole system. Various streaming music services and music libraries can easily be managed with the Sonos app.

While the TV was running, 2 useful functions appeared: night mode and speech emphasis. Nothing can make you happy when these functions really work. When it’s late, but you want to watch some action movie, you simply turn on the night mode, and the dynamic range narrows: the difference between loud and quiet sounds decreases without much loss of quality. You won’t have to turn down the volume during loud scenes and turn it up again to hear dialogues. Well, if you need to emphasize the voice, the second useful function also works great.

As for the cool feature of speakers and the sub, there is a function for adjusting the sound to a specific area. Thanks to Trueplay technology, the acoustics in the room are changed, creating a large-scale sound picture. Unfortunately, it is only available on the iOS version of the Sonos app, so get one of Apple devices if you haven’t.

Era 300 speakers shine thanks to non-standard waveguides inside, allowing you to imitate acoustic space. This is why the speakers are so heavy. All the sound is sent by 6 digital class D amplifiers, which Sub Gen 3 also features. Speakers can work independently with a variety of music streaming services and also sync with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Listening experience

The sound quality is good with Arc, and it has more than enough power and bass. However, the game changes when you add Era 300 and Sub Gen 3. The sound became more interesting, spacious, and detailed in any mode. The difference in the virtual left and right channels is clearly audible.

The initial observation that caught my attention was the evident realization of the front-to-back Atmos dome after adding the speakers to Arc. The surround sound field now exhibits a level of seamlessness that was simply absent before. I also discovered that providing some space around speakers, especially behind, enhances the sound’s fullness and clarity. In addition to enhancing the surround sound with Sub Gen 3, I got a profound and clearly defined bass enhancement.