• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Sonos 9.1.4 Theater Mini-Review

Sonos is fantastic. I'm loving my system. Of course the Sonos subs aren't capable of true sub bass. Sonos is a great alternative when you are no longer enamored with a full sized system. Pros and cons, but the sound quality of Sonos is absolutely a pro.
I don't think you can compare Sonos (using Trueplay) with something like a Revel F206/Arendal 1V/Mini DSP SHD/NAD C298 set up with DIRAC. It really is like comparing a Ford Focus ST with a Lamborghini Aventador or something similar.

I agree that for a lot of people, a Sonos set up is significantly better than the speakers incorporated into TVs and better than alternative competitor systems from the likes of Bose etc but it is not comparable with a high end separates set up for sound quality.

I really like Sonos and have spent a pretty tidy sum for convenience and adequate sound quality myself (with their ARC/Sub/surrounds and Beam) but it is not designed for someone who wants to achieve a harman curve response with the lowest possible SINAD.
 
I really like Sonos and have spent a pretty tidy sum for convenience and adequate sound quality myself (with their ARC/Sub/surrounds and Beam) but it is not designed for someone who wants to achieve a harman curve response with the lowest possible SINAD.
You want the highest SINAD, not the lowest. ;)

But yeah, I don't see how Sonos is going to cause a "free fall" for AVRs. It's certainly impressive for what it is, but it's not really a replacement for a true 5.1 (or more) system. AVRs were always a relatively small market of serious audio people and custom installers. Sound bars like the Sonos eat into that market only a little, but really mostly replace people just listening to their TVs built in speakers.

If I wasn't inclined to do the install work for my system, the Sonos would definitely be on my list, although even then I'd be a bit hesitant into buying into such a closed ecosystem. Might instead look at more integrated systems using WISA or something. Definitely beats your average soundbar though.
 
A soundbar can't image. So... this thread is kind of a waste of time lol. If your system can't image in home theater or music playback, you can't point to in space where instruments or sound effects Infront of you are, or in movies, where dialogue comes from the accurate location on the screen for sound to picture coherence.

You spent your hard earned $$ on a soundbar system, cool enjoy it. But, it will never replace a system that can image lol.
 
It's not just that it's wireless and easy to setup, it's that it has integrated streaming and you can control how many speakers are "live" for each type of listening. Anyway, pros and cons as always.
 
It's not just that it's wireless and easy to setup, it's that it has integrated streaming and you can control how many speakers are "live" for each type of listening. Anyway, pros and cons as always.
We’re enjoying it. Set, forget, great sound.
 
A soundbar can't image. So... this thread is kind of a waste of time lol. If your system can't image in home theater or music playback, you can't point to in space where instruments or sound effects Infront of you are, or in movies, where dialogue comes from the accurate location on the screen for sound to picture coherence.

You spent your hard earned $$ on a soundbar system, cool enjoy it. But, it will never replace a system that can image lol.
A soundbar can't image. So... this thread is kind of a waste of time lol. If your system can't image in home theater or music playback, you can't point to in space where instruments or sound effects Infront of you are, or in movies, where dialogue comes from the accurate location on the screen for sound to picture coherence.

You spent your hard earned $$ on a soundbar system, cool enjoy it. But, it will never replace a system that can image lol.
Dialog tracks are almost always recorded in mono, although they may be panned for special effects.

It is important for dialog to be intelligible, and that includes hard of hearing people.

More expensive soundbars extract the dialog and allow it to be emphasized.
 
But yeah, I don't see how Sonos is going to cause a "free fall" for AVRs. It's certainly impressive for what it is, but it's not really a replacement for a true 5.1 (or more) system.
In my opinion, the problem is that these days they slap an ATMOS logo on all products and then people assume that they will magically experience the best possible sound.
I actually wanted to buy a Sonos system after my last move because it seemed like a good compromise in terms of aesthetics/usability/price. However, I can't imagine that reflected sound can deliver anything close to what you get with separate speakers. I recently just swapped the speakers and aligned them all directly to the listening position; the improvement in the ability to locate individual sound events was drastic. Just listen to the Audiosphere-Atmos-Demo for this...
 
Sonos is fantastic. I'm loving my system. Of course the Sonos subs aren't capable of true sub bass. Sonos is a great alternative when you are no longer enamored with a full sized system. Pros and cons, but the sound quality of Sonos is absolutely a pro.
I'm weary of all the essentially-false advertising in the audio industry. I as a somewhat informed consumer know the Sonos sub doesn't have real bass, but look, they are advertising that it hits 25hz when it doesn't. Grado headphones advertise a 20hz frequency response as well, which is an absolute joke and everyone knows it, but no one seriously criticizes them for it. I guess I'm expected to just know these things if I'm on a site like ASR. This basically is an expectation and acceptance of being lied to.
Some people expect tech specs to actually be reliable or products to do what they're advertised to do. The numbers in the specs sheet are not the place for marketing puffery. They should be substantially true. However you really can't believe them without specific qualifications, graphs, and independent measurements.
A customer who has a basic understanding of audio but doesn't follow the countless brands and products should be able to make an informed decision based on information provided by the manufacturer. I know, buyer beware, be realistic. However, that should not excuse manufacturers' deceptions in the slightest and they should be criticized for it in any review. I'm not going to say the speakers sound bad for what they are, but I sure wouldn't want to be locked into the product line of such a company.
 
Sonos subs may not get subsonic but they definitely compete. A friend of mine has two gen 3s set up as basically near Fields by his MLP (single with grown kids so if he only cares about one seat) can you get some very impressive tactile response as well as bass in general from them. Way more than I expected. In a fully streaming base setup they are quite capable although I still like my separates better.
 
For anyone passing through, we've noticed when may be a bug in the Sonos Arc Ultra. Some content and sometimes certain scenes within a movie sound like everything's coming from the center without any Left to Right movement or surround ambiance...like it's all coming from a closet directly in front of you.

One of those "once you notice it" things that's pretty annoying. Apparently SONOS is aware of the problem but I haven't opened the ticket myself. I'd hope firmware would address.

Update: Turns out, even though the components loaded firmware updates at install, they didn’t have the latest, even though I had auto update set.automatic. Chat support had me generate diagnostics then advised to manually update. Once updated, surround and separation was better in the Civil War scene. Also went back and don’t need the -7 on surround for music mix, the vocals now center without turning down the surround mix.
 
Last edited:
Summary assessment: Simple, effective, quality surround for large room, one button control for movie sound. Music is a mixed bag. Nothing sounds bad per se and some older recordings, cd quality 2ch can sounds great, always accurate. It’s just a different immersive sound for recordings you know and love. For new stuff, mastered for Atmos, the effects can be stunning and are worth having the system in my mind.

You can definitely enjoy music and don’t “need” a separate system.

That said, if the space will be for a lot of older 2 ch music with occasional movies, I could see sticking with a good 2.1 system. I’m glad I have both

Updated: @Pretorious
Wandered into Steely Dan Aja in Ultra HD last night...and it did not sound good, not at all. So I'm revising my opinion, I wouldn't recommend this system for any moderate amount of music listening. I think it's all in the mix. For whatever reason, some 2 channel content (Van Morrison for example) still sounds good, immersive...but if it can't make Steely Dan Ultra HD sound right, then no, it's not for 2 channel listening. Kind of dissapointed. Maybe the earlier software handled 2 channel music better...maybe they'll improve it over time...but I'd definitely keep a 2 channel system for music listening.
 
Last edited:
Surprised to hear your glowing review of the Sonos with stereo music. I have an Arc and Sub setup for movies (no space for 5.1 or true atmos) and it is painfully underwhelming for music compared to my Ascend ELX towers. No sound stage, rather muddy, and not articulate. It is fine for listening to talk radio but quite a let down for any type of serious music listening. It loses the details like fingers on frets and a drumstick kissing the rim. The stuff I didn't know was there in the recording until I got into an accurate system capable of reproducing it.
 
Rtings has measurements, for what it’s worth. They show a pretty large bass overemphasis in the center and surround channels. (Those graphs are already compensated for the Harman curve). Anyone’s experience confirm this?

 
Surprised to hear your glowing review of the Sonos with stereo music. I have an Arc and Sub setup for movies (no space for 5.1 or true atmos) and it is painfully underwhelming for music compared to my Ascend ELX towers. No sound stage, rather muddy, and not articulate. It is fine for listening to talk radio but quite a let down for any type of serious music listening. It loses the details like fingers on frets and a drumstick kissing the rim. The stuff I didn't know was there in the recording until I got into an accurate system capable of reproducing it.
Yeah, I share your opinion of the soundbar and sub on its own...its much better with the ERA300s

See my notes on stereo music just above, I agree, I wouldn't use it for serious listening.

I don't have way to A/B compare but the latest software seems to have changed how music sounds.
 
Here's a plot from House Curve app (tuning signal sent over airplay) with ERA300 surrounds turned on, default settings, full range (rather than ambient).

The visual confirms what I heard on initial setup after running True Play. Full range and good accuracy after tuning with TruPlay. Look at that bass extension from that smallish Sub4!

Mind you, I'm still in the boxes stage in an open basement. I will rerun TruPlay once I've mounted the speakers on the wall, gotten furniture and projector screen set. I expect curve will get even better with some minor effort and taming the room.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0352.PNG
    IMG_0352.PNG
    194.5 KB · Views: 72
@D700 So I’m contemplating buying this setup, but I’ve seen people claiming (Reddit with link to Sonos forum) that 5.1 PCM or DD is subject to a bug whereby the surround channels get routed to the bar rather than the Eras. Have you observed/can you reproduce this? I’ve got a similar issue on my 4-year-old Samsung and I don’t love the idea of upgrading only to have the same problem.
 
@D700 So I’m contemplating buying this setup, but I’ve seen people claiming (Reddit with link to Sonos forum) that 5.1 PCM or DD is subject to a bug whereby the surround channels get routed to the bar rather than the Eras. Have you observed/can you reproduce this? I’ve got a similar issue on my 4-year-old Samsung and I don’t love the idea of upgrading only to have the same problem.
Happy to test if you have a sample track, would like to know myself as I’m still in return period. I haven’t noticed that but have mostly been playing Atmos or Stereo content
 
Back
Top Bottom