For yet another year, the Sonos multi-room system remains the best all-rounder.” ’What Hi-Fi?’ 2023 Product of the Year.

We really didn’t feel any desperate need to add a Sub to the Arc soundbar, there was more than enough powerful bass to allow you to feel those on-screen explosions or beat drops when turned up loud. We even felt the night mode settings that lower the bass EQ would be a useful feature for those in apartments with thin walls.Pros: sounds fantastic with music, great Dolby Atmos reproduction, super-clear vocals, Night Sound, wide soundstage, looks good, Alexa or Google Assistant, extensive music service support, simple set-up, surprisingly good bass without a sub Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus that produce heat.

We've now tested the Arc with many of the best TVs, and it's clear that mileage varies based on brand and age. The Now Playing screen in the Sonos app flags up that Dolby Atmos is being received, while the About My System part of the settings menus confirms the format in which it’s being transmitted. With a bit of fiddling in the TV menus, all of the LG OLED and Samsung QLED TVs that we've used have been able to transmit Dolby Atmos to the Arc from their integrated apps and pass through True HD Atmos from our Oppo UDP-203 Blu-ray player without issue. Playing the bombing run scene from Unbroken and we’re immediately transported to within the fuselage of the B-24 Liberator. Our listening room is filled with wind noise and the whirr of the plane’s engines, and the incidental creaks and rattles are placed in specific spots, including right in the top corners of the wall we’re sitting against. Clean only with dry soft cloth. Household cleaners or solvents can damage the finish on your Sonos products.And now Tidal has begun offering Dolby Atmos mixes of some music, the Arc has even more opportunity to demonstrate just how expansive it can sound with a well-mastered Atmos file. But the little absence between low-end and midrange is still apparent, and the tendency for the top of the frequency range to get just a little glassy is in evidence, too. Verdict Connecting the Arc is easy. Simply connect to the mains then plug in your TV via HDMI. An optical digital input is also standard. For streamlined control, an Infrared sensor syncs with your TV’s remote, giving one-remote convenience. Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 29th November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.) Using ARC rather than HDMI pass-through, as home cinema receivers do, means the Arc suffers from the same problem plaguing all soundbars that connect this way: lipsync issues, where the sound and picture are out of sync. Once noticed, lipsync issues are thoroughly vexing and difficult to solve, despite most devices having a way to delay the audio to try to compensate.