The Sonos Arc is one of the hottest releases in the soundbar market right now. With its stylish aesthetic and room-filling Dolby Atmos performance, it‘s easy to see why the Arc became an instant favorite.
But before you pull the trigger on what Sonos claims as their best soundbar ever, it pays to scrutinize what exactly that $899 investment gets you.
As impressive as the Arc may seem on the surface, lurking underneath are some troubling limitations. Restrictions that rival soundbars available at the same or even lower prices simply don‘t impose on buyers.
This article highlights six compelling reasons why you may want to steer clear of the Sonos Arc altogether – and what popular alternatives solve these very same issues.
Quick Primer: What is the Sonos Arc?
The Sonos Arc represents the audiophile brand‘s newest flagship soundbar system. Launching in June 2020, the roughly $900 Arc sits at the very top of Sonos‘ home theater lineup in terms of both pricing and audio performance.
Out of the box, it‘s a 3.0.2 channel configuration – meaning three front-facing drivers for left, right and center channels augmented by two upward-firing Atmos speakers. This expands the soundstage height for a more immersive listening experience.
Connection-wise, there‘s an HDMI eARC port to handle lossless Dolby Atmos feeds plus an optical audio input as a fallback. Dual band WiFi allows for Sonos‘ proprietary wireless surround setups using other speakers, Apple AirPlay 2 streaming or direct control via the Sonos app.
All this technology combines powerful hardware with Sonos‘ audio engineering expertise for stellar, room-filling sound. At least based on the rave reviews since launch.
On paper, it seems like the perfect centerpiece for a modern home theater. But peer closer underneath the sleek exterior…
Reason 1: Only One HDMI Port for Connecting Devices
Given its premium price tag, you may reasonably expect the Sonos Arc to offer multiple HDMI inputs for your various media gadgets like games consoles and streaming sticks.
Unfortunately, the Arc provides just a single HDMI eARC port. While this enhanced Audio Return Channel connection can pass through Dolby Atmos from your television, it also severely limits what other devices you can hook up simultaneously.
Compare this to rival models like the brilliant LG SP9YA. Retailing for $100 less, this LG soundbar actually incorporates four HDMI inputs – enough for a Blu-ray deck, media streamer and videogame system to all connect at the same time.
An input selector then lets you seamlessly switch between sources. This complete home theater connectivity allows easy access to all your HDMI-equipped devices through a central hub.
Whereas Sonos Arc owners will be forced into constantly swapping cables just to use alternate gadgets. Rather unacceptable limitations considering this soundbar costs nearly a grand.
Reason 2: No HDMI Passthrough Support Either
Since that solitary HDMI port will probably need to remain attached to your television, Sonos Arc buyers frequently turn to HDMI splitters or switchers as a workaround.
These accessories take multiple device inputs, then redirect video/audio signals to output ports connecting your display and speakers. In theory, this should allow adding more media gadgets even with the Arc‘s limited physical ports.
However there‘s another problem – the Sonos Arc does NOT support HDMI passthrough from these splitter/switcher boxes.
Without passthrough, these external HDMI hubs can‘t relay the necessary encrypted, high bandwidth signals like Dolby Atmos. So any surround sound or even 4K HDR video gets blocked unless your splitter specifically passes everything unprocessed.
And virtually no affordable splitter/switcher solutions support untouched passthrough above 60 FPS 4K or with Atmos intact.
By not enabling passthrough support natively, Sonos purposefully blocks easy workarounds for its single-port limitations. An outrageous compromise among more flexible rival offerings.
Reason 3: Many Comparable Soundbars Cost Less
Even forgiving its connectivity shortcomings, the Sonos Arc might still make sense for buyers prioritizing audio performance over everything else. If its stereo and surround playback stood far above what competitors offered at this price tier.
But again, further inspection reveals you can purchase rival Atmos-capable soundbars delivering equal (or even better) performance AND more features for the same money – if not less!
| Model | Price | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Sonos Arc | $899 | 3.0.2 Channel Dolby Atmos |
| Samsung HW-Q950A | $799 | 3.1.2 Channel DTS:X Support Side-Firing Speakers |
| Sony HT-A9 | $799 | 4.0.2 Channel Wireless Surround Speakers |
| Vizio Elevate | $799 | 5.1.4 Channel Rotating Up-firing Speakers DTS:X Support |
The $799 Vizio Elevate is an obvious alternative. You gain additional surround speakers plus DTS:X compatibility – while losing nothing the Sonos Arc offers.
Even Samsung and Sony options deliver a more enveloping Dolby Atmos effect for less money than a basic Arc purchase. All offer more input ports too.
Reason 4: Lack of Bluetooth Connectivity
Streaming audio wirelessly over Bluetooth may not be critical for some buyers. But its exclusion in a thousand-dollar soundbar releasing in 2023 is still questionable for a couple reasons.
Firstly, no Bluetooth means zero wireless connectivity for the majority of non-Apple smartphones. Every Android mobile device owner cannot directly cast audio or music apps to the Arc – a major convenience shortcoming.
And newer advanced Bluetooth codecs like aptX HD and LDAC support can now stream CD-like quality. With bitrates reaching 900kbps, you can experience audibly lossless 16-bit/48kHz hi-res output rivaling physical media connections. Suffice to say, Bluetooth qualifies as a premium feature today.
Yet Sonos leaves its Arc owners completely unable to benefit from wireless fidelity improvements happening across the rest of the home audio industry.
Reason 5: TruePlay Tuning Fails Android Users Too
A vital step for optimal soundbar performance involves calibration – tailoring its frequency response specially for your room‘s unique acoustic characteristics.
To simplify this tuning process, Sonos built TruePlay – an automated EQ optimizer utilizing your mobile device‘s microphone to analyze room reflections. By tweaking output to counter artifacts like echo or muffling in your space, TruePlay can really unlock that last 5-10% of your Arc‘s potential.
But only for iOS users that is. Shockingly, TruePlay tuning refuses to function on ANY Android smartphone or tablet.
So if you don‘t own an iPhone or iPad, you lose the ability to optimize this thousand-dollar Arc purchase for your setup. Talk about feeling excluded as an Android owner!
And without TruePlay tweaks in place, you may endure noticeable performance issues:
- Muddied dialog clarity from excess bass or mids
- Piercing highs from soundwave amplification in bare rooms
- Imprecise surround imaging from spatial reflections
In other words, Android users must either put up with compromised default audio – or invest in sophisticated calibration tools to precision tune the old-fashioned way.
Reason 6: The Sonos Arc Doesn‘t Support DTS:X
If having your Dolby Atmos bases covered is enough, maybe you can overlook the Arc‘s lacking DTS:X support. But why settle when rival models in 2023 almost unanimously offer BOTH major immersive audio codecs?
The DTS:X platform powers audio on everything from DTS-HD Master Media Blu-rays, network streams from apps like Netflix, to connectivity with home theater PCs preferring DTS surround mixing.
And owed to conflicts between the competing Dolby and DTS technologies – the Sonos Arc cannot decode or play nice with any of these DTS formats out of the box. Any media or source device defaulting to DTS audio renders unusable on the Arc until you insert a compatable soundbar or processor upstream.
Of course, this nuisance flies in the face of the Sonos Arc advertised as the streamlined Dolby Atmos solution for your entire home theater.
Considering these frustrating restrictions holding back the Sonos Arc, you‘ll likely appreciate other brands working hard to deliver excellent Atmos performance without such compromises:
LG SP9YA – $100 cheaper while adding 3 more HDMI ports, DTS:X support plus a wireless subwoofer included.
Samsung HW-Q950A – Side-firing surround speakers and better pricing thanks to current discounting.
Sony HT-A5000 – Boasts a slimmer profile, cleaner styling compared to Arc. Also has Google Assistant built-in.