I nonetheless keep in mind visiting one among my dad’s buddies once I was a child. He had a giant bungalow, and I used to be awestruck by his high-end, elaborate dwelling theater setup. This was within the late ’90s. Again then, setups like that had been in every single place, even in high-street retail retailers in Delhi.
Minimize to 2025: neither do we have now huge bungalows anymore, nor can we see dwelling theater programs that require huge area. At the moment, with compact residences and area being a luxurious in metro cities, Sonos’ Arc Extremely soundbar and Sub 4 look like the perfect encompass sound system for anybody trying to recreate a house theater expertise in a contemporary residing area.
The Arc Extremely is Sonos’ flagship soundbar and serves as an entire audio setup by itself. Whereas the Sub 4 subwoofer is technically elective, the 2 work collectively to ship a very immersive dwelling theater expertise. I had the possibility to assessment each over the course of some weeks and right here’s what I discovered.
What: Sonos Arc Extremely and Sub 4| Value: Rs 99,999 and Rs 84,999
Massive however seems refined
I at all times inform my readers to visualise how audio system and soundbars will appear and feel in their very own houses, even whereas experiencing them at a retailer. In any case, the demo models you see in shops are positioned in managed environments, which makes a giant distinction. The Arc Extremely carries Sonos’ signature design language by way of and thru. At first look, it’s virtually indistinguishable from the unique Arc I reviewed final yr.
The Arc Extremely is noticeably wider and heavier. (Picture: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Specific)
The one notable variations are its bigger measurement and the oblong rear part that homes the ports. In comparison with the unique, the Arc Extremely is noticeably wider and heavier. That mentioned, the soundbar is gorgeous to have a look at…very minimalist, but premium, very like an Apple product. You’ll be able to place it on a TV stand or mount it on a wall, however since I had a pretty big area, I most well-liked to maintain it on a TV stand.
Like all Sonos audio system, the Arc Extremely is available in traditional black or white. It contains a stable, premium construct, with a grille on the entrance and prime that covers a complete of 14 drivers, together with seven tweeters, six midrange drivers, and a brand new “Sound Movement” woofer for bass. The rear homes the ports together with a set of bodily controls, together with Sonos’ newest contact interface for play/pause, observe skipping, voice activation, and a granular quantity slider that mirrors the one within the app.
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The Arc Extremely helps all main Dolby audio codecs, together with lossless Dolby Atmos, and likewise presents DTS encompass help, although notably, there’s no help for DTS:X, the 3D Atmos rival. Moreover, you get an Ethernet port for community stability and a single HDMI eARC port (sorry, no additional HDMI enter). Whereas the one enter may appear limiting, most individuals as we speak use an exterior hub or depend on their TV, Apple TV, or PS5 for connectivity.
The Sub 4 delivers low-frequency replica that the Arc Extremely alone can’t fairly attain. (Picture: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Specific)
The dearth of a distant may not sit effectively with some customers, however because it’s Sonos, that’s a part of the trade-off. On the plus aspect, Bluetooth help is lastly right here, together with compatibility for Wi-Fi 6 and Apple AirPlay 2, permitting for multi-room audio setups. It’s additionally suitable with the Sonos Ace headphones which, by the way in which, are my favourite pair of headphones.
Superb sound, delivered
For me, the largest distinction between the unique Arc and the Arc Extremely is that the latter produces noticeably richer, fuller bass. I used the Arc Extremely to stream content material from Netflix, JioHotstar, and YouTube, and likewise listened to music on Apple Music. Chances are you’ll or could not examine its specs however belief me, they don’t matter if you end up in entrance of the TV, watching one thing, and listening to the Arc Extremely in motion for the primary time. That have itself is on one other degree.
Irrespective of the place your sofa is within the room, the sound reaches each nook, and never as soon as did I really feel that dialogue articulation dropped. I put the Arc Extremely by way of numerous exams, together with watching Dolby Atmos content material and it was spectacular. You’ll be able to really feel the motion, thunder, explosions, and vehicles zooming previous as if you’re sitting in a movie show.
The Arc Extremely is a serious improve over the unique Arc. It not solely delivers a formidable soundstage but additionally brings out extra nuanced and refined audio particulars with out dropping the vital ones one thing film aficionados undoubtedly don’t need to miss.
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Sonos has confronted criticism for its app up to now, however issues appear to be enhancing. (Picture: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Specific)
If you happen to ask me, the Arc Extremely doesn’t attempt to mimic precise ceiling audio system like these in a standard dwelling theater setup. As an alternative, it creates an intense, immersive surroundings that pulls you into the content material and delivers the very best expertise one might ask for in a lounge. I believe it’s the height of acoustic engineering that makes the Arc Extremely so efficient at what it does. This holds true particularly when listening to dialogue: it maintains the unique expertise and stays true to the creator’s intent. The brand new dynamic Speech Enhancement instrument with 4 totally different ranges (Low, medium, excessive and max) to select from additionally helps the Arc Extremely shines.
I additionally spent a number of time listening to music on the Arc Extremely. The audio sounds wealthy and clear, with glorious stereo imaging and observe separation. The massive distinction between listening to music on the Arc Extremely versus different audio system (together with my Apple HomePod) is that it actually units the temper, particularly if you end up taking part in a observe like One Evening Love Affair by Bryan Adams. That mentioned, audiophiles nonetheless prioritise excellent stereo separation, and the Arc Extremely could not attain that degree. However for informal listening, it’s greater than ok.
Don’t count on the Arc Extremely to ship earth-shattering bass or overly dramatic results, however each time I watched a film, I discovered myself appreciating these Sound Movement woofers. They’re tremendous flat and compact, but able to deep tour for max air displacement. That’s Sonos for you.
Sub 4 brings the subsequent degree enhancement
As I discussed earlier, the Arc Extremely is an entire soundbar by itself: you don’t want so as to add one other speaker or a set of audio system to get that dwelling theater really feel in your lounge. However the benefit with Sonos is you can at all times add extra audio system to boost the expertise even additional. It’s elective, after all, however when you can afford to put money into further audio system, even with out having a big area, it’s at all times good to have that additional depth and immersion.
That’s while you realise how a lot worth the Sub 4 subwoofer brings, regardless of its value.
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Don’t count on the Arc Extremely to ship earth-shattering bass or overly dramatic results. (Picture: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Specific)
Whereas the Arc Extremely’s Sound Movement expertise could be very efficient, particularly in producing higher bass: it primarily operates within the higher bass and decrease midrange area, round 250Hz and above. Merely put, the Sub 4 provides that additional muscle, delivering low-frequency replica that the Arc Extremely alone can’t fairly attain. It’s additionally smaller and it doesn’t take up a lot area. You’ll be able to even slide it flat, in order for you.
Is the Sonos app any higher?
Sonos has confronted criticism for its app up to now, however issues appear to be enhancing. I launched the app on my iPhone 16 Professional, and establishing the Arc Extremely and Sub 4 was a seamless course of. As a part of the setup, I linked the soundbar to my community and added it to my present Sonos system. Whereas the app’s structure remains to be considerably unintuitive, it’s straightforward to regulate the speaker and discover its options.
The app contains an EQ, however it’s pretty fundamental: solely permitting you to regulate bass and treble ranges. Nevertheless, it does allow you to arrange Sonos’ Trueplay expertise, which makes use of built-in microphones to tune the audio to the precise acoustics of your room. The Arc Extremely additionally helps Sonos Voice Management and Amazon Alexa, each of which might be configured immediately throughout the app.
Do you have to purchase the Sonos Arc Extremely and Sub 4?
The Arc Extremely is the very best soundbar Sonos has ever made and presumably the most effective soundbars at present in the marketplace. I genuinely really feel that manner. It sounds magnificent and stands sturdy by itself while not having any further audio system, not even the Sub 4. Nevertheless, when you can afford the Sub 4, go for it.
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The combination between the subwoofer and the soundbar is seamless, and collectively they create an expertise that solely Sonos can ship. It’s an costly soundbar: the Arc Extremely alone prices round Rs 1,00,000, and the Sub 4 provides one other Rs 84,999. That’s undoubtedly dear, however you’re shopping for into the Sonos ecosystem for a motive. That degree of expertise doesn’t come low-cost and carries a premium price ticket, for good motive.