Three new Sonos products have been announced, including a premium soundbar with support for voice assistants and Dolby Atmos. There are also new versions of the Sub subwoofer and the Five speaker. The equipment will be released on June 10 and will only work through the new Sonos app.
The showpiece is the Arc, an 899 euro soundbar that replaces the Playbar and Playbase in Sonos’ line-up. The cheaper Sonos Beam remains on sale.
You can place the Arc under your TV or hang it via a separately available wall bracket. The soundbar is made of plastic with a matte white or black color and contains eleven drivers. Two of them point upwards for 3D audio. The Arc supports stereo sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Atmos. Connection to the TV is via HDMI eARC or ARC. The soundbar also works with the voice assistants Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, thanks to the built-in microphones and software, and is suitable for the Apple AirPlay 2 protocol. Of course, the Arc works with all kinds of smart audio services, including Apple Music, Spotify and TuneIn.
Room-filling sound
You control the basic functions of the Arc via the touch-sensitive top of the soundbar. The device also has an Ethernet port and an optical audio connection. You can connect the Arc to a Sub-subwoofer and a pair of One SL speakers, and place them behind your couch, for example. This way you create sound that really comes from all sides and the Arc adjusts its sound. For example, the soundbar focuses more on the higher tones because the SL speakers take over the low tones, and the Sub takes over most of the bass.
Renewed Sub and Five
Simultaneously with the all-new Arc, Sonos also releases upgrades to the existing Sub-subwoofer and Five-speaker. The 799 euro Sub (Gen 3) has more memory, is faster and offers improved WiFi. Above all, the subwoofer should be more future-proof than its predecessor, which is already a few years old. You can buy the new Sub in black and white.
The renewed Five-speaker (579 euros) replaces the Play: 5 (Gen 2) also offers more memory and improved performance, and includes a line-in port to connect a record player. The speaker has a different color finish (black or white) and works alone or as a stereo set with another Five.
New Sonos app
The Arc, Five and Sub are the first products to work (only) through the new Sonos Controller app. Released on June 8 for Android and iOS, this app supports hi-res audio, greater control over sound, and room group saving. The manufacturer promises to bring more features to the app in the future. A changed look should make the app simpler and more user-friendly than the current Sonos app. Sonos also claims the new app is more secure. Those who use the existing Sonos app and buy an Arc, for example, can transfer all their data and settings to the new app.
Old products continue to work
Sonos products released from now on will work exclusively through the new Controller app. The current app will remain for the time being and will be renamed to the S1 Controller app. Those who use the existing app will be notified on 8 June that the new one is available. The image below shows which existing Sonos products work with the new app.
The old products that are not suitable for the new app will continue to work, but cannot network with new equipment. It remains possible to exchange old Sonos products for a thirty percent discount on a new one, although this is subject to conditions.
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