We look at the differences between the old Playbar and new Sonos Arc in order to help you make your mind up on any upgrade decision.
Sonos has introduced a new soundbar to its line-up to replace the seven year-old Playbar and that will leave many wondering whether they need to upgrade.
After all, a lot can happen in the world of tech in seven years, and the Sonos Arc introduces some features that just weren’t possible or popular back then.
That’s why we look at the differences between the old and new in Sonos’ range in order to help you make your mind up on any upgrade decision.
squirrel_widget_73146Design and connectionsSonos Arc: 1,141.7 x 87 x 115.7mm,6.25kg, HDMI eARCSonos Playbar: 900 x 85 x 140mm,5.4kg, opticalBoth require broadband and power supply
The Sonos Arc represents a major design rethink in comparison to the Playbar, but not when you consider the rest of the current Sonos speaker family. It adopts smooth curves and elliptical ends, over the square chunky aesthetic of before. Pocket-lint
Both are able to work equally as well when wall-mounted or laid flat on a TV stand, with intelligent sensors determining the position for each bar to adjust its sound signature to suit.
The Arc is a little bigger – longer and with fractionally more height, but has less overall depth. The Playbar’s shape means that it offers a very different look when flat than when under a TV, whereas the Arc looks similar in both form factors.
They differ when it comes to the connections on the rear. The Arc has a HDMI port that is HDMI eARC capable. In comparison, the Playbar has a single optical digital audio input (TOSlink). You do get an optical audio adapter in with the Arc, in case that is still your preferred connection (from an older TV, say), but most TVs these days support HDMI ARC or eARC from at least one of their ports.
Both speakers can be connected to your home network (and the internet) via Ethernet or Wi-Fi (802.11b/g 2.4GHz).
The Sonos Arc is available in two colours, however: black and white. The Playbar has only ever been available in black (with metallic trimming).
