Sonos Arc Ultra VS Era 300 VS Sub 4 | Worth the upgrade? Black Friday Deals | Arc Ultra Review

[@guitarcrzy09]

Here to say I watched the entire video. I appreciated all of it and think you tackled it super well. It was a refreshing review with a new point of view that didn’t completely focus on the technical specs of the product.

[@seifbuys]

@@guitarcrzy09 Thanks so much for watching and letting me know! Very much appreciated 🙏 🙏

[@tacticalroshii5790]

Great video you answered a lot of my questions without searching for them ❤❤

[@seifbuys]

@@tacticalroshii5790 Love to hear it! thanks so much for watching and the kind comment 🙏 🤍

[@paulberry6622]

Great information it was very helpful! Would you recommend the 4k Apple TV box for this system?

[@seifbuys]

Hey Paul, I would rather you use your inbuilt TV OS (especially if you have a sony Bravia TV) or a google TV 4K streamer. There's just some issue with apple TV 4K for sound which I dive into in depth here: STOP Using Apple TV 4K! VS Google TV 4K VS Ultra HD Blu Ray (Sony Vs Panasonic) kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipS0qn-pgbuasK8

[@coolwaters2829]

Great Channel. I live in Washington DC but my wife is from Mississauga…i have to support a Canadian channel since she supports my local sports teams…so yea im here. One thing we both wonder is 1, Toronto is expensive, how do you afford all this stuff, and 2, what do you do for work? It’s none of our business but we do wonder while watching the videos. I will say this about the full Sonos system, i purchased it during the pandemic when i had a large single family home basement giving the 300’s and duel subs room to work. My mind was blown. My wife and I found no reason to go to the movies anymore because we had it at home. We went to a home cinema design center and listened to the “ready player 1” race a 9.2.4 in wall speaker system…we couldn’t tell the difference from our Sonos basement system. We have since moved to a town home and let me tell you…it doesn’t sound the same at all. It sounds like an out of the box sound system. The room layout matters. Brother, whenever, if ever, you own a home in Toronto (god knows when that will be since your prime minister seems to be on his way out this week) your mind will be blown. If the basement was a 10/10 id say this smaller town home I’m in is a 4/10. The couch sits against the wall with the 300 next to us, in the basement the 300s were behind us with the wall maybe 6 feet in the rear..it made a huge difference having the 300s be able to bounce sound off the rear and rear-height channels. I play COD competitively, if the Sonos system has space to work then its the better option over headphones because the sound literally “spreads out” and adds distance to objects that gaming atmos headphones cant, but in a smaller room the headphones are superior for sure.

[@seifbuys]

hey Cool, thanks for watching! a thoughtful reply deserves a thoughtful reply, see below; 1 & 2) I work as a project manager for a software company. I don't save much. That's how I afford this stuff 🤣 I like to think God (Allah, Yahweh, The Tao.. whatever your preferred flavour) is my supply more so than the illusory number in my bank account. Highly recommend channels like 'Nero Knowledge' and Myron Golden, they really get me going. Anywho, keep following the channel to see how this goes I guess. It's an experiment 🧪 😅 And wow, noted! I always had my suspicions surrounding that. Will be cool to see how it performs when I move to a bigger place. Also, i'll try trueplay tuning with my chair in the center of the room and see how I do in CoD. You play on ps5?

[@coolwaters2829]

@@seifbuys i have both PS5 and X box. Right now I’m on xbox because its “free” with gamepass. Looks like it will be xbox for the future due to that, although playing on the PS5 pro could change that if i aquire one

[@MacF6868]

I just bought the Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set and with your video and your love of my favorite movie of all time I got to subscribe

[@seifbuys]

@MacF6868 Love to hear it Mac! thanks for joining the journey 🙏

[@jeffbarner1747]

Thanks for mentioning the differences between the speech enhancements on the Ultra because I haven’t seen any mention of this really. I thought I was on my own on those thoughts

[@seifbuys]

@@jeffbarner1747 thanks for watching Jeff! glad to hear and know that I too am not alone in this speech enhancement experience 🙏

[@rahulm5386]

Great video btw! Quick question how did the built quality feel between sanus and Sonos stands ? TIA

[@seifbuys]

@@rahulm5386 Hey Rahul, thanks for watching! I would say build quality between the two is on par.. just a matter of which design you prefer. For what it's worth, I definitely prefer the Sonos stand look.

[@kwelitysoul]

The part of the movie right after the credits hits so hard 22:19

[@seifbuys]

that it does!

[@javicrespo98]

great video man! i really love the sonos ecosystem, they are truly doing a good job. also considering to go for the white set, it looks neat!

[@seifbuys]

thanks as always Javier! and couldn't agree more, literally makes me want to watch movies and game all day 😅

[@sujanmahajan5626]

Hi @siefbuys, I’m considering white as well. But my wife is concerned that it will get lit in dark room when my playing A movie on my 75inc Sony. Any thoughts?

[@seifbuys]

@ Hey Sujan, interesting! didn't consider that and haven't been noticing anything like that with my Sony A95L 77inch. Neither in complete darkness nor when the room is semi-lit. Will double check when I get home but pretty sure it's not an issue on that front or I would have noticed. Like feels the same as when I had all black sonos system from a visual perspective when watching a movie or show or whatever.

[@seifbuys]

@@sujanmahajan5626 hey Sujan, so turned off all the lights and watching house of the dragon, I see what she means now with the Arc Ultra below the TV. It does have a slight light reflection on the white, but personally doesn't distract from the viewing experience. Like I have to want to notice it haha

[@sujanmahajan5626]

@@seifbuys Thank you for you time. This is very helpful. I have Sonos Playbar from 2013, first one they made, paired with Sub Gen1 and Sonos One SL. In what priority order will you replace/upgrade. Based on your video and others, I was thinking 1. Arc Ultra, 2. Sub Gen 4 and 3. Era 300.

[@charliezobel511]

Great vid mate and totally agree with ya about wanting to watch more and game more when you buy new gear. I upgraded from the OG Arc to the Ultra a couple of weeks ago, been rocking the 300’s for at least a year and been shaking the house down to its foundations since buying a second Sub Gen 3 in the summer. Maybe being a bass monster makes me feel that now I’ve got a pair, the two Subs are almost as much an integral part of the rig as the 300’s are. With the missus over in Wales visiting the sister-in-law for the week and me on holiday you best believe I am cranking the volume up to stupid levels, that is one of the biggest advantages of living in a detached property🤫

[@seifbuys]

Haha love to hear it Charlie!! Thanks for watching mate 🙏 Not going to lie, I do get tempted to crank it up to stupid levels too, gotta move into a detached first. Do you set the sub audio setting on both to 0? I've got the one Sub 4 (previously Sub Gen 3) set to +3 on Peter Pee's recommendation 🤔 also what do you set the height channels to? I'm doing +10 and loving it

[@charliezobel511]

@@seifbuys I've got mine set from Peter's recommendations too. I got mine from one of his shorts which suggests the subs be set at +6 and the height set at +5 for an 8' ceiling which our living room is.

[@seifbuys]

@ nice! gonna try that out next 👌

[@charliezobel511]

@@seifbuys I know it don't support Atmos, well not the version I've got stored on our Sky Q Box don't, but The Dark Knight Rises with two Subs booming will wake the dead in so many different scenes 😃

[@bmahmood8987]

Hello Amazing video. 👏 Jusy ordered 2x ERA 300's to be wall mounted. I've heard that if these are to be wall mounted, I should position them upside-down. Any thoughts?

[@seifbuys]

@@bmahmood8987 Hey 👋 thanks for watching! Congrats on the new speakers!! hmm I just looked that up and sounds like only needs to be upside down if wall mounted with less than 2 feet of clearance from the ceiling. Here's a video from sonos that outlines wall mounting, they talk about it at 0:33 kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaeqYYOimNWIo8k

[@georgevillalvazo9154]

I own the Sonos art, and the Sonos gem three and a pair of Sonos five! It’s outstanding!👍

[@seifbuys]

@@georgevillalvazo9154 love to hear it George! thanks for watching 🙏

[@donpablo2]

Great video. I have the same approach to tech like you. And also upgraded my Sonos system , from Arc to Arc Ultra and from Era 100s to 300s. With Sub 3 the whole system rocks :)

[@seifbuys]

Love to hear it Don Pablo, thank you! good to know I am not alone 😅

[@michael-4k4000]

When will you upgrade the Sub Gen 3 to the all new Sub 4? or is it not necessary?

[@donpablo2]

@@michael-4k4000for me there is no point for getting Sub 4. I’m sure that the Sub 3 still has enough power.

[@robertbuckley3480]

@@seifbuysthe thing to get straight Sonos is trash waste of money the app trash plus thay had bad problems, the top speaker have problems playing with the other built in speaker, am a head of you with my gear but nice try

[@padgettga]

Thank you very much for the Speech Enhancement advice. I will preferably use the Apple TV 4K setting. Do you know if the Sonos Arc Ultra upmixes 2.0 or 5.1 audio using the Height and Side channels? I do not feel inmersión only if its Dolby Atmos content. I come from a JBL 9.1 and everything felt spatial. Any recommended settings overall?

[@seifbuys]

Thanks for watching George! I can confirm it does upmix both 2.0 and 5.1 and I experienced this with 5.1 sources personally when watching the Matrix trilogy and all of the Mission Impossible movies (the first 3 didn't have ATMOS but just 5.1). To me in my 250 Sq ft living room, yes everything feels spacial through the Sonos setup I mentioned in the vid. Here's my understanding of what happens with non-atmos sources: 1) Stereo Sources (2.0): Sonos uses its DSP (digital signal processing) to simulate surround and height effects, upmixing audio across all channels for an immersive experience. 2) 5.1 Surround Sources: Sonos will ensure all directional cues are placed correctly while still attempting to leverage height channels for added immersion. My Sonos system settings are as follows, stolen from youtuber Peter Pee's recommendation haha: 1) Height Audio settings set to +10, 2) Sub Audio setting set to +3, 3) Do proper TruePlay tuning through iPhone.

[@padgettga]

@ Thank you very very and very much brother! God bless!

[@seifbuys]

@@padgettga 🙏🙏

[@padgettga]

@ question! Apple TV 4K to Samsung Tv. And Sonos Ultra to Samsung eARC. Earc Auto, Passthrough and Dolby Atmos enabled is good? Everything I stream through ATV4K usually only Atmos sounds rich and full. I know some people use Auto in the TV instead of Passthrough. Fyi Auto, Atmos on ATV4K. If you force to Stereo on Non Dolby Atmos content it sounds even better. Any advice bro?

[@seifbuys]

@@padgettgaoh man you just took me down a rabbit hole. I recently upgraded my TV to Sony A95L so testing passthrough vs auto now with different content. There's a bunch of settings for the audio I'm learning more about now too. Let me see if I notice or discover anything here 🤔

[@kds5102]

Thank you for the activate credit imformation. I didn't know it worked that way in Canada too! I have just the Beam Gen 2 and 2 Sonos 1 SL & I am trying to decide if I should get the Arc or 2 era 300's?

[@seifbuys]

@@kds5102 Hey Kevin, thanks for watching! ouff tough decision right there. If I was a gambling man, I would say the Arc would add more to the experience if you're coming from a beam gen 2. Though can't say I've experienced the beam gen 2 personally to say for sure 🤔

[@kds5102]

@@seifbuys The Beam gen 2 only simulates Dolby Atmos so it lacks the ability to reflect the sound? I bought the 1SL's only a few months before the 300's which were a bit $$$? I am just a bit worried that the era 300's would over shadow my Beam? My office is only 8ft by 10ft & my budget for audio is tight? Immerseness of the sound of a movie is more important to me than the picture quality & my wife could care less about surround sound so huge bass would not fly in my home! The arc is on sale for Black Friday in the $700+ range so I might just go with that 1st & use my credits later to get the era 300's? Any advice

[@seifbuys]

@ ahh I see! I agree with your thinking bro. Arc first at that great price and then era 300s later when you can swing it 👍

[@kds5102]

@@seifbuys right😊as it is my wife just asked why I needed another speaker/soundbar? You already have 3 speakers??? I want to upgrade😭😭😭

[@seifbuys]

@ hahah happy wife happy life bro 😬 she'll be happy when she experiences the difference i'm sure! 🤞

[@efthimios]

my living room isnt suitable for any rear speakers. I have no idea what combo is better- Arc and Sub, or 2 Era300 and Sub?

[@seifbuys]

@@efthimios hey Herakles, if you don't have room for rear speakers then I would go with arc and sub. I don't even think the era300s would be able to connect to your TV without an arc or main sonos soundbar driving it.

[@robertbuckley3480]

The other thing upfiring speakers never bounce off a ceiling why does Sonos say if put them on wall put upside down, thats just normal sound coming down

[@dloc2907]

PERFECT video!! Thx much

[@seifbuys]

@@dloc2907 love to hear it! thanks so much for watching 🙏

[@HelveticaBold1]

I purchased the Ultra and the 300s this week and one of the first movies i watched was The Matrix - it sounded incredible! Watch The Batman, great stuff.

[@seifbuys]

@@HelveticaBold1 love to hear it! Helvetica is an underrated font too so mad respect. Can't wait to watch the Batman, been finishing up the Penguin gonna get on that 🔜

[@dboyd4317]

Nice video, thanks for the info.

[@seifbuys]

Thanks for watching! 🙏

[@giacintorenta7579]

I currently have Sonos Arc + Era 300 surrounds + dual (Sub Gen 3 + Gen 2) in a medium room (20sqm). Like you, I use it mainly for movies (via Apple TV 4K) and games (via PS5). I sit about 2.5 meters from the Arc that sits on a low TV stand. Would upgrading to Ultra be a meaningful upgrade? Even if I will have to give up one sub? I am interested mainly to improve front height channels to match the Era 300. Thank you

[@seifbuys]

Hey Giacinto, thanks for watching! Love to hear we have similar setup, I sit about 3m from my TV stand in about 23 sqm living room/kitchen space and yes, I would absolutely give up one sub in favour of the Arc Ultra. When I had both subs (Sub 4 and Sub Gen 3 before I sold the gen 3), I tested it out watching a variety of stuff like a bunch of mission impossible movies and didn't notice that much of a difference. The Arc Ultra made a much bigger difference imo. Adds more height and wider sound stage too in my experience, ontop of the improved vocal/speech clarity (even with enhancements turned off on both the Sonos and Apple TV 4K). Hope that helps!

[@giacintorenta7579]

@@seifbuysthanks

[@mrgold3591]

You shouldn't have to give up the dual sub set-up to replace your Arc with the Arc Ultra. You need one Gen 3 or 4 sub to have dual subs with a second 1-4 Gen sub with Arc/Arc Ultra. The Arc Ultra will replace the Arc and give you improved dialogue, better center channel clarity, and additional Atmos height. I replaced my Arc with the Arc Ultra with dual Gen 3 subs and Fives. A noticeable improvement with all audio content (stereo, 5.1, Atmos). Didn't really notice the same improvement with the Arc Ultra with bass because I have both subs on either side of the soundbar. Make sure to remove the sub(s) and surrounds in the app first before replacing the Arc Ultra; then, add sub(s)/surrounds back in after the app/soundbar software updates.

[@giacintorenta7579]

@@mrgold3591​​⁠unfortunately Arc Ultra works either with 2 Sub Gen 3, 2 Sub Gen 4 or 1 Sub Gen 4 and 1 Sub Gen 3. No other dual sub combinations allowed with Ultra. It really sucks.

[@giacintorenta7579]

@@seifbuyswould you recommend upgrading to Ultra from Arc, in a set up with Era 300 surrounds and Sub Gen 3?

[@brianbose7569]

I just got a beam 2 and want to add rear speakers next. Can I have one 300 for Dolby Atmos movies from the rear or do I have to order two to play movies in atmos

[@seifbuys]

@@brianbose7569 Hey Brian, I believe the beam 2 already supports dolby atmos on its own, no? I checked with chatGPT and sounds like Dolby Atmos should still work with even just one era 300 added. Kinda curious to try this out myself tbh like how much better is having 2 vs 1.. will let you know if I have time to give it a go tonight

[@benjaminsmith3915]

I believe it has to be a pair of speakers I’m afraid and they have to be the same I.e 2 x era 300 or 2 x era 100. You cannot mix two different types for surround rears

[@elonmust8859]

I have my era 300s as surrounds but i am unable to adjust the left and right channels in the ap because i don't see an option, google says i should see one but some people are not seeing it in the ap and tells me to contact sonos support. Anyone know how to solve this ? Allso i am on android.

[@seifbuys]

hey hmm not sure what you mean by adjusting the left and right channels. Adjust what about them? on my iphone the only thing we can adjust for the surrounds alone is located in settings > select system > scroll down to 'Surround Audio'

[@seifbuys]

i just confirmed on my pixel android too, it's located in same area in the sonos app

[@elonmust8859]

@seifbuys I was wanting to control each era 300 individually for the volume loudness as in volume quieter or louder. Can this be done ?

[@seifbuys]

@ ​​⁠hmm no, not to my knowledge. It automatically determines that either 1) based on true play tuning or 2) adjusting 'Surround distance' manually. I.e. telling it how many metres away from the seating position each speaker is. I would just do trueplay and call it a day though I know for android it uses the sonos arc mics to do the trueplay tuning

[@2themoonfc537]

can one SL connect with arc ultra as surround ?

[@seifbuys]

@@2themoonfc537 🚀 confirming yes, a pair of Sonos One SLs will work as surrounds with the arc ultra no problem

[@kds5102]

If you have the Beam Gen 2 & 2 1SL's for surrounds which would you buy 1st the Arc Ultra or 2 Erra 300s to enhance Bass & Atmos? Or would you just buy the Gen 4 or 3 subwoofer? If only my wife gave a c%$@ about sound! I agree withh you 100% great sound immersion for movies is more than 50% of the experience that makes or breaks great movies!

[@seifbuys]

@@kds5102 hey Kevin, thanks for watching! hmm in your setup I would upgrade the beam gen 2 to an Arc Ultra. I think that would make the biggest overall difference for sure. Haha ya I don't like generalizing, but the women typically won't know what ur talking about till they experience it first hand. Then they're sold! every time (provided they love watching movies/shows as much as you). Needs to be introduced to them with a banger of a movie or show though so choose wisely 😅

[@kds5102]

@@seifbuys That was the way I was leaning but I haven't bought it yet because Sonos is out of stock until the end of the month. I used to have an old school 5.1 complete home theater that I loved until my 12 inch Cerwin Vega sub stopped working. After that & several years of marraige I lost tjhe passion to upgrade. I've got that vibe again & I can do it a lot cheaper with Sonos, only now I am married with no money to, in my wifes opinion, waste on this Hobby!

[@seifbuys]

@@kds5102 ​​⁠I see! I would lean into your passions Kev, always! Only good comes of it as long as it's not harming anyone.. in my humble opinion. I'm going to get married soon and found the following book to be eye opening for me and my relationship. Helped me overcome ideas/fears of not having enough for the ring, wedding and providing for her at the same time as pursuing my passions, etc... Both the audible audiobook and physical book are great whatever is your preferred way of taking it in.. I would do audiobook if you haven't gotten into habit of reading. It's called The Way of The Superior Man by David Deida. Don't judge it by its title haha it's a profoundly enlightening book as good as any movie or show I've ever watched.

[@kds5102]

@@seifbuys I hear you & I will look into that book. Thank you again for your help, it is appreciated!

[@seifbuys]

@@kds5102 cheers 🥂

[@JN-jw9ov]

What about samsung soundbar 990d??

[@seifbuys]

@@JN-jw9ov a lower price for sure! but based on vid reviews, not as impactful as the sonos. The channel I trust the most for soundbars is NothingButTech he has a roundup of all of the best ones and explains pros and cons of each.

[@JN-jw9ov]

@seifbuys thanks dear, cause I want to use the soundbar mostly for listening to music (making my neighbors dance with me lol) and movie watching so not for gaming.. am deciding between sonos arc ultra and samsung HW-Q990D... so if there were no prices on these which one would you choose?

[@seifbuys]

@ oh for music and movies, I would definitely go for the 'sonos ultra ultimate immersive set' if price were no barrier. I would also consider the Sony Bravia theatre quad system, especially if I have a Sony Bravia TV and have the space for those 4 square speakers. While I haven't tried this one myself, people say it's even better for both music and movies, but the user experience just might not be as seamless/straightforward as Sonos. Hope that helps! let me know if anything else 🙏

[@JN-jw9ov]

@@seifbuys thank youuuuuu sonos ultra set it is 💋

[@seifbuys]

@@JN-jw9ov np! hope you enjoy it as much as I am 🙏

[@javierrosadomunoz]

Just one thing! Hooooooot! ❤❤❤

[@seifbuys]

@@javierrosadomunoz 🙏 ❤️

[@mikeghanley]

Has anyone used the ikea symfonisks as surrounds and compared them to the 100s/300s?

[@seifbuys]

@@mikeghanley Hey Mike, can't say i've come across any such comparison, but I imagine the results would be as expected in terms of sound performance and overall surround sound experience: symfonisk < Era 100 < Era 300

[@mikeghanley]

@ as expected, thanks seif! We have a pair of symfonisk that we use as kitchen audio and I’ve moved them in to the TV room on occasion to pair with a beam + sub and found the surround to be a bit underwhelming and unnatural, it will either add very little surround or over emphasise certain sounds like horse hooves of all things

[@seifbuys]

@ Anytime Mike! btw one thing I did that drastically improved the sound quality and surround sound effect of my setup was making sure the signal the Sonos system is getting is 'Dolby Digital 5.1' or 'Dolby Digital Plus 5.1' this should be the case for most/all 5.1 content that is not dolby atmos (provided ur tv has an eARC port and/or is not too old I think). Then obvs make sure that the signal you're getting is dolby atmos when it should be. What I realized was the Apple TV 4K for non dolby atmos content was sending 'multichannel pcm 5.1' signal which to my ears sounded literally half as good as the 'Dolby Digital Plus 5.1' signal that I was getting directly through my TVs streaming apps or through the Google TV 4K streaming apps. Suffice to say, I stopped using the Apple TV 4K on my main living room tv and demoted it to my old bedroom TV.

[@mikeghanley]

@ thank you sir! Appreciate the tip.

[@giacintorenta7579]

Dune movie needs to be added to your list

[@seifbuys]

ya for sure, watched both of them in IMAX theatre when they came out 💯

[@allangarcia7288]

Bose for me

[@seifbuys]

@@allangarcia7288 nicee just looked it up, looks proper 👌

[@robertbuckley3480]

Simple thing is don’t waste your money, i got a Sony sound bar and its 800 watts to 120 to 140 watts Sonos my Sony blow that Sonos away, plus upfiring don’t work on anything there gimmicks, thay say put the era 300 upside down cos as said upfiring never works, get a av receiver and put speakers in corners

[@seifbuys]

@@robertbuckley3480 dang that's another way of looking at it Robert. Thanks for sharing!

[@mikeycologne]

Your meant to put them up side down if your have them higher up on a wall bracket near the ceiling

[@robertbuckley3480]

@@mikeycologne can you read english, there sopose to bounce off ceiling and no speakers do just gimmicks, plus ask people who put them upside down 🤣, just get a normal speaker facing downwards does the same thing, no matter in corner at top of wall or in the middle at top thay dont bounce off ceiling, why you think thay get told to face them upside down

[@robertbuckley3480]

@@mikeycologne other words waste of money, get a normal speaker facing down even 100 pound a pair do the same thing, the difference is aswell Sonos face down yer but get normal speaker on wall face down and forward you will hear it better, cos you got to be right underneath Sonos , anything else prove me wrong

[@mikeycologne]

@ yeah English is my seventh language, again when the speakers are up high you face them down. The REASON For this is. It sounds a lot clearer to your ears because technically you hear the sound straight from the speaker. Now don’t you think It would be a bit silly facing them upwards if there already up high. That would mean the sound needs to travel up deflect of the ceiling then come back down. Pretty straightforward if you ask me capeesh ?

[@robertbuckley3480]

The other thing upfiring speakers never bounce off a ceiling why does Sonos say if put them on wall put upside down, thats just normal sound coming down

[@robertbuckley3480]

Simple thing is don’t waste your money, i got a Sony sound bar and its 800 watts to 120 to 140 watts Sonos my Sony blow that Sonos away, plus upfiring don’t work on anything there gimmicks, thay say put the era 300 upside down cos as said upfiring never works, get a av receiver and put speakers in corners