Sonos may be a relatively newer company on the market but they sure are determined on providing their users the best in the terms of both audio pieces of equipment and services. It is important to have a good quality speaker to enjoy the music to the best standard possible. These speakers use the home network or WiFi in order to stream music or podcasts etc. All the devices are controlled using the Sonos app and what makes it different from its competitors is that with this one can listen to the same audio at the same time in different rooms, thus the audio is synchronized.
Sonos Arc vs Playbar
The main difference between Sonos Arc and Playbar is that the Arc offers more bass than the Playbar which leads to better sound quality and listening experience. It also has more woofers than the Playbar, which surely helps to give a better sound.
Comparison Between Sonos Arc and Playbar
| Parameters of comparison | Sonos Arc | Sonos Playbar |
| Sound quality | The sound quality has more bass and suns better at higher volumes. | The sound quality is good but has a lesser value of bass. |
| Woofers | 8 Woofers | 6 mid-range woofers |
| Price | More costly. | Less pricey than its counterpart. |
| Input ports | HDMI eARC is compatible with HDMI ARC and one can also use an optical input. | It has a single optical digital audio input. |
| Color | Comes in both black and white varieties. | Only black variety. |
What is Sonos Playbar?
One of the pioneer models of Sonos, the Playbar came out in 2013 and it is going 7 years strong. The Playbar connects to the house TV and makes the viewing experience better by a mile. It has a single optical digital audio input and can be controlled via the Sonos app.
It is also really simple to set up with the television and can be controlled via IR or even the app. Not just this, the Playbar gives access to a huge volume of streamed music and can play a lot of other music and podcasts via the internet radio and access to Spotify, Wynk, etc services as well.
The Playbar goes for more of an atmospheric sound dissipation and there is a width to the sound produced and there is a balance both in terms of weight and tone, thus it elevates the experience of TV watching. On its own, it is good too, with a solidly built design, balanced sound system, and easy setup one can enjoy their favorite music or podcasts at a better rate.
However, there are few drawbacks of the Playbar which include a lack of bass, HDMI ports and it does not sound as good at higher volumes. The sound too is heavily processed which may not appeal to a lot of the consumers.
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What is Sonos Arc?
This soundbar really takes the audio game a level higher, its special features include voice control and assist along with the standard remote control, app, and Apple Airplay 2. It also supports Dolby Atoms which makes the experience even more enjoyable.
Though it is slimmer and lighter than the Playbar, it is one device packing all the features within a slim profile, which includes eleven high-performance drivers for crisp highs, 8 woofers, 3 tweeters, dynamic midranges, and superb bass.
Two features that are exclusive here are the voice assistant, it has Google Assistant and Alexa built-in so that the user can check the news, music, weather, etc handsfree. The other feature is the HDMI eARC, which is absent in the Playbar. The Trueplay software which however is only compatible with the iOS ecosystem can tune the speaker to the acoustics of the room, which is unique and dynamic.
The speech enhancement system puts emphasis on the human voice so that the listener will never miss a word. It has capacitive touch controls where the user can tap to play, pause and adjust sounds and a LED indicator that sets itself with the ambient of the room. Finally, the box comes with Arc, Cables both power and HDMI, Optical Audio Adapter, Start guide, and booklet.
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| Preview | Product | |
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Main Differences Between Sonos Arc and Playbar
- The Sonos Arc has 8 woofers, 3 tweeters and it is paired with Dolby Atoms while the Sonos Playbar has 6 mid-range woofers and the same 3 tweeters.
- The price of the Sonos Arc is about a hundred dollars more than the Sonos Playbar.
- The most basic difference is in the HDMI eARC which the Sonos Arc has and the Playbar lacks. The latter only has a single optical digital audio input.
- The sound quality has more bass in the Arc as compared to the Playbar.
- The Sonos Arc has voice control and assistant which is lacking in the older model which is the Playbar.
- The color variant in the Arc is two which are black and white while in the Playbar it is only black.
Conclusion
Both the Playbar and Arc can give a better experience when compared with other entertainment sets like Sonos beam, Sonos Sub(Gen 3), etc. Finally, coming to which one to buy, depends upon the budget and what the buyer wants from the device.
If the budget is not an issue then one can easily go for the sleek and high functioning Sonos Arc, which provides good Bass and better sound quality allover. It also has an HDMI port, inbuilt voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant, and can be controlled by the Apple Airplay 2 as well.
On the other hand, the pioneer model which is going on strong since 2013, surely elevates the experience of standard TV watching and one can make it even better with added Beams and subs. It also relatively cheaper and thus can be a gateway to the Sonos brand for a new user before switching on the different models with more of an investment.
Last update on 2022-04-04 / Amazon Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API