Latest Sonos TV speaker launches alongside new Sonos Five and Sonos Sub
Sonos users who’ve been waiting for some Dolby Atmos – your time has come. The new Sonos Arc soundbar has been revealed, not only offering Dolby’s surround sound setup but also HDMI connectivity (ARC or eARC) and 270-degree multi-directional sound from that curved grille.
Our verdict: Sonos Arc soundbar review
Coming in matte black or white, the Playbar killer (it’s also killing the Playbase from the line-up too) is a step-up from the hugely popular Sonos Beam, offering a dedicated TV speaker that isn’t just Atmos-equipped, but also stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1 friendly too.
It’s a multiroom audio beast, featuring 11 drivers in total; 8 elliptical woofers and 3 angled silk-dome tweeters, the Arc uses Sonos Trueplay software to make sure you get the optimum sound for your room and setup.
Speech Enhancement and Night Sound – both popular features on the Beam and Playbase – are both on board the Arc too.
The light on the front, which looks like it would annoy the heck out of me, is actually set to ‘off’ by default and you can set the brightness of it within the Sonos app.
The HDMI eARC port, which is also backwards compatible to regular ARC, can also be used with an adapter for an optical cable.
Whether your voice assistant of choice is Google’s or Amazon’s Alexa the new Sonos Arc has you covered and it’s also an AirPlay 2 speaker as well, as are most of Sonos’ latest speakers.
You can wall-mount the Arc, or have it sit on top of an AV unit; if you choose the former then the speaker itself will know it’s been fixed on a wall and will adjust its settings automatically, so as not to overload you with extra bass.
While the Arc itself is capable of a 5.0.2 surround sound stage, you can eliminate the virtual parts by adding dedicated rear speakers (any of the Sonos One range is usually the best bet) and a Sonos subwoofer.
Third-gen Sonos Sub and Play Five
Which takes us on nicely to the second new Sonos speaker being unveiled – the third-gen Sonos Sub.
Looking more or less exactly the same as the 2nd-gen model, the new Sub has had its innards revamped with increased memory and faster processing power.
As has the final new launch from Sonos, the Sonos Five; which replaces the 2nd-gen Play:5 in the lineup, and is therefore Sonos’ top end bookshelf speaker. Like the new Sub, the design is much the same (except for a different logo placement) but there’s a new color option with an all white model joining its all black sibling.
The new trio of Sonos speakers are exclusively part of the new S2 setup. You won’t be able to use them within an S1 setup. If you’re confused as to what that means exactly, take a look at our guide to the new Sonos S2 app and legacy system.
All are available to pre-order direct from Sonos now and they will ship on 10 June. The Sonos Arc is £799, the new Sonos Sub is £699 and the Sonos Five costs £499.