Convince me to get something other than a Sonos Arc? Apartment 5.1.2 advice

[quackmeyer]

I've had a 5.1 setup for the last couple of years, but I'm moving to a new apartment where hardwiring the speakers with a chunky AV receiver will be a nuisance. Also, TV will be mounted on a small section of the wall where I'd like to not have any shelving or media console, so I'd like the wall to just be a mounted TV and a mounted soundbar below it.  

Simply put, I'm on a quest to find the best value 5.1.2 soundbar + wireless rears. Atmos is not a neccessity but is desired.

 

I'm heavily incentivized to go with a Sonos Arc + 2 rear One SLs, as I could live without the subwoofer, plus I have a 15% company discount and get airline miles for purchasing from Sonos directly. I understand that it may not be the cheapest option, but I like the idea of their upgrade program combined with the fact that I can always add additional speakers down the road. Wireless is a huge plus, although I am a bit concerned about latency. 

 

This Vizio 5.1.2 kit has piqued my interest as well, but I love the claims of clear dialogue from the Sonos Arc.

Is there anything else I should be considering? Hoping to spend no more than $1200 max if it includes a full 5.1.2

[dizmo]

IIRC Samsung has one of the better kits in that price range. Q950A I think was the model number. You'd have to find it on sale though.

[LIGISTX]

31 minutes ago, quackmeyer said:

I've had a 5.1 setup for the last couple of years, but I'm moving to a new apartment where hardwiring the speakers with a chunky AV receiver will be a nuisance. Also, TV will be mounted on a small section of the wall where I'd like to not have any shelving or media console, so I'd like the wall to just be a mounted TV and a mounted soundbar below it.  

Simply put, I'm on a quest to find the best value 5.1.2 soundbar + wireless rears. Atmos is not a neccessity but is desired.

 

I'm heavily incentivized to go with a Sonos Arc + 2 rear One SLs, as I could live without the subwoofer, plus I have a 15% company discount and get airline miles for purchasing from Sonos directly. I understand that it may not be the cheapest option, but I like the idea of their upgrade program combined with the fact that I can always add additional speakers down the road. Wireless is a huge plus, although I am a bit concerned about latency. 

 

This Vizio 5.1.2 kit has piqued my interest as well, but I love the claims of clear dialogue from the Sonos Arc.

Is there anything else I should be considering? Hoping to spend no more than $1200 max if it includes a full 5.1.2

The Arc is, in one word, unreal.

 

I convinced my parents to get it for themselves as I have a high end 5.2.2 system and don't need one myself.... but man, with the sub (really.... get the sub, without it it sounds hallow, and with it, its SERIOUSLY IMPRESSIVE), I am blown away by it. It is phenomenal for movies and TV watching. I have JBL floorstander Studio 580 L F R and bookshelf Studio 530, with 2 JBL speakers mounted to my ceiling, powered by a Denon... I forget the name but a high end Denon receiver and some Bic F12 subs I have just had forever, and that damn Arc is impressive even when compared to that setup. 

 

I can't recommend it enough, but get the sub, you will "need" the sub.

[quackmeyer]

1 minute ago, LIGISTX said:

The Arc is, in one word, unreal.

 

I convinced my parents to get it for themselves as I have a high end 5.2.2 system and don't need one myself.... but man, with the sub (really.... get the sub, without it it sounds hallow, and with it, its SERIOUSLY IMPRESSIVE), I am blown away by it. It is phenomenal for movies and TV watching. I have JBL floorstander Studio 580 L F R and bookshelf Studio 530, with 2 JBL speakers mounted to my ceiling, powered by a Denon... I forget the name but a high end Denon receiver and some Bic F12 subs I have just had forever, and that damn Arc is impressive even when compared to that setup. 

 

I can't recommend it enough, but get the sub, you will "need" the sub.

Well this is great feedback... I plan on getting the Arc itself to start, then the two rear SLs, then the sub eventually... Kind of just adding onto the setup until I'm fully satisfied. The cost of moving has me blowing a lot of money in the meantime so I like that I can slowly build up the setup without having to drop all of the money at once. I'm by no means an audiophile, but I love true surround and wouldn't want to live without it. 

My living room will be like 80% movies/TV and 20% gaming when I have the chance.

I'm a tinkerer by nature and like to mess around with DIY setups until it's perfect, but I've had a lot of trouble with my current AV receiver and would like the audio setup to be a little more seamless. The layout of my new living room will make it almost impossible to run speaker wire around the floorboards/etc. so I'm making my foray into wireless rears. 

[LinusTech]

Arc is Godlike. I have heard others that are good, but the Arc is better.

[quackmeyer]

10 hours ago, LinusTech said:

Arc is Godlike. I have heard others that are good, but the Arc is better.

Thank you for backing up your review from almost 2 years ago 

Your few complaints about it lacking HDMI inputs don't really affect me, so it really all comes down to all-around performance. I think I'm pretty solidified in my decision now, and I don't expect wireless rear latency to be noticeable.

[LinusTech]

Here's the solution to the lack of HDMI inputs on the Arc. 

 

https://www.marantz.com/en-us/product/av-receivers/vs3003

 

Seriously, they only advertise it as compatible with their own receivers, but I am running it standalone right now

[Stahlmann]

I can strongly recommend the Samsung HW-Q80R. It's easily the best speaker i've heard so far. The included subwoofer can really stir up some trouble with your neighbours. Frequency response, soundstage, volume, it's all great. Plus it supports Spotify connect natively and it can also be used by Alexa over Wifi - no mics onboard though so that's a plus in my book. If you want you can also buy rear sattelite speakers to enhance the surround experience.

 

It's better than the Arc in practically every way. Even though it is cheaper than the standalone Arc it already comes with a sub. Plus, the sub you can get with the Arc is a lot weaker than the one included with the HW-Q80R.

Left = Arc with added Sub      Right = Q80R

 

Here is a direct comparison between the Arc and Q80R:

Sonos Arc vs Samsung HW-Q80R Side-by-Side Soundbar Comparison - RTINGS.com

 

@LinusTech I haven't seen big tech channels cover the Q80R and since it's not the current generation anymore i don't expect any more coverage by media. But man, when the Arc blew you away, then you'd probably love the HW-Q80R.

[LinusTech]

oooh I haven't tried that one. Given it's not current gen I don't know how good availability is going to be. I'd expect this is something we're going to be able to cover much better once we're all set up in the lab, but it's going to take some time.