Sony HT-A9 vs Sonos Arc: Which is the Best?

what's up guys jonah mathis here today i'm going to be comparing sony's new hta 9 system paired with the sony sasw5 subwoofer against the sonos arc system which is made up of the sonosark soundbar the gen 3 sono sub and two sonos 1sls used as surrounds i'm not going to lie i love comparison videos like these it really does give us a much better understanding of which system will truly perform the best in different scenarios as you can imagine both of these systems are extremely difficult to get your hands on right now both sony and sonos are struggling to keep stock and manufacture enough products to keep up with demand i'm going to do my best to squeeze as much information that is necessary into this video but if you want to hear all about the specific details for each system then check out the individual reviews i did for both of these systems so i'll mainly be covering and comparing sound quality with music and movies the setup process ease of use durability and what most of us consider to be the top of the list price i picked these two systems due to the extreme popularity of both of them by no means does this video discredit one or the other as a good sound system but i'm simply trying to narrow down which might be the best for you before we get into things be sure to hit the like button as it helps my channel grow and get this video out to more people thanks even though you may be tempted to skip this next part i'd encourage you to tune in design is a very important aspect especially if your home is heavily trafficked by kids pets or anything else for that matter too many times have i seen systems lose their visual appeal with the cheap materials used to produce them fortunately with these two systems you aren't getting anything cheap starting with the hta 9. once you unbox this system you are met with four massive speakers and a control box i was really surprised with how sturdy the speakers felt each speaker has a good bit of weight to it and they seem to be pretty resilient i can't imagine if one of these were dropped or knocked over it would make much of a difference not that i've dropped one the only downside is that they only come in a light gray color it's a bit odd to see this color as sony's choice for the hta 9. black is usually the go-to color for soundbar systems unless you are sonos or bose where they offer both black and white colors for most of their soundbar systems the sa sw5 subwoofer which is purchased separately only comes in black so it's a little odd to have them paired together but it doesn't look bad in my opinion if you have a neutral color room like me you may not have a problem with gray once you've set the system up i think it looks really nice and goes well with the room since sony designed and advertised the system to be as versatile as it is it's going to be a great system for most homes being able to move speakers around and just them according to the layout of your room is a feature that nothing else out there has right now i believe this is one major thing that gives the hta 9 a bit of an edge over the sonos arc system the speakers are also mountable and if they're aligned well you can't quite beat the look of them if i didn't have other sound bar systems to test all the time then i'd definitely be mounting all the speakers on my walls another benefit of the hta 9 is that you don't need a physical center channel what i mean by that is that most systems usually have a physical sound bar that traditionally sits under the tv while the hta 9 has what they call a phantom center channel that i'll get into a little further on but this does allow you to free up space you don't have with other systems now for the sonos arc system one thing i do like about sonos is the multiple color options i've discussed you can get the sonos arc system in either white or black and i don't think you could go wrong with either of them what's also really convenient is that you can purchase the components to this system separately so you can start with the sonos arc soundbar then add the sub and surround speakers later on whenever you want to one thing that does make a surprising difference from other systems is how well the design works with almost any living room from the moment you unbox this system you'll notice how it's fairly compact especially compared to other sound bar or surround speakers even though it's smaller than other systems don't let that fool you this system can put out some seriously great sound and look good while doing it overall this system is truly one of the sleekest looking and most durable you can get this video is sponsored by narwhal narwhals t10 robot mop and vacuum has been an amazing addition to our home we've used other brands of robot vacuums but we're never really impressed with them but the t10 is capable of much more than anything i've ever seen first off it's a robot vacuum and mop with a base station that charges the robot and automatically cleans the mop pads for you there's also a clean water tank and a waste water tank built into the base station so you don't have to worry about it spreading dirty water across your entire floor using lidar and various algorithms the t10 will map out the entire floor of your home so it knows exactly where it can go and doesn't get stuck or bump into things every four seconds the app for this thing is extremely impressive and simple to use once the robot has mapped out your floor you can set schedules for when and how often it should clean certain rooms or all of the rooms a great example is our cat's litter box area our cats constantly track litter out of their litter box and if i don't sweep it up every few days it's definitely gonna make its way around the entire house but i've set a schedule up to vacuum this area twice a day then vacuum the hole downstairs once a day this has kept our downstairs area much cleaner than we've ever kept it before you can learn more at the link down below now i mentioned the phantom center channel earlier let me break that down quickly the sony hca9 with a sub is a 4.1.4 channel system while the sonos arc system is a 5.1.2 channel system so basically all high-end soundbar systems have at least three channels of audio in the front a front left right and then a center channel well the hta9 doesn't have that center channel at all just a front left and front right channel so now both of the front speakers share the burden of what should be playing from the center channel this is mostly dialogue and some other background or ambient sounds mixed in there the other functional differences between these systems aren't really that big the sony ht a9 has an hdmi 2.1 input hdmi 2.1 output er port a network jack and an s center out port used to connect to sony tvs the sonos arc only has an hdmi er port and a network jack the sonos components communicate via your existing wi-fi network unless you hardwire the sonos arc itself then they'll create their own separate internal network to communicate the hta 9 control box uses a dedicated frequency to send and receive data to all of the speakers it doesn't even require wi-fi to properly work for music playback the sonos arc only supports airplay spotify connect and wi-fi streaming from connected services in the sonos app and that's basically all the major streaming services out there you just have to manually connect it in the app first so yeah no bluetooth connectivity for the sonos arc that's a big downside that many people gripe about it doesn't really bother me but i know it's a big deal for a lot of people the hta 9 has basically every wireless music playback option available airplay chromecast spotify connect bluetooth etc the sonos arc doesn't have any remote control and is completely controlled through the sonos app you can adjust the volume using your existing remote control the hta 9 comes with a basic looking remote control and a really useful user interface that i went super in depth on on my individual review when it came down to the sound quality while watching movies and tv shows this was a very difficult one to decide on if you've seen my previous reviews you know that i've raved about both of these systems for many different reasons the differences between these systems were mostly minimal but there are some important differences to note all around sony did an excellent job with the hta 9. the most impressive part of this system is the fully enveloping 3d bubble i've stressed in the past how difficult it is to get accurate surround sound when you have an open concept living room like most homes have so when i find a system that can do this really well i really have to commend them sony engineers have done some voodoo magic to get the audio processing as good as it is and that's not to say that the sonos r does a bad job with a 3d audio bubble it's still really good but in certain movies there's a noticeable disconnect in audio when sounds transition around the room especially overhead with the sony system i didn't experience this at all it sounds completely seamless in my living room now where the sonos arc beats the sony hta 9 is with dialogue this may seem pretty obvious because the hta 9 doesn't have a center channel but you'd be surprised how close they actually are when it's just a quiet scene with two people talking they are extremely similar i have no preference for one or the other but when there are many other things going on that's when the sonos arc prevails in dialogue i really struggled as to which subwoofer i liked more i think they both sound excellent but they are quite different the sw5 offers a powerful and punchy base that can handle the low notes and deliver those low frequencies that physically shake you and actually shake itself as well if you have it sitting on a hardwood floor or vinyl flooring if it's loud enough it will actually start sliding backwards but the sonos gen 3 sub has what i think is a more clear less boomy sound definitely less shaking because of its force-cancelling drivers i honestly think this comes down to personal preference and your living situation we own our home and are solid 30 feet away from our neighbors we also don't have any kids so i have no issues with very loud boomy bass but others may not want this if this is the case for you then you may experience better results with sony's sw3 subwoofer i haven't personally tested it but i know that it's far less powerful but having a more subtle subwoofer like the sono sub is a way to go for places like apartments town homes or any other circumstance where overbearing sound may be an issue but of course you can always just volume down the subwoofer in the system settings so it's not really a huge deal but if you want to use the full potential of the subwoofer then the sonos sub is probably the better option because of the less vibrations the sonos gen 3 sub can accurately deliver that desired low end without shaking the whole house due to its two force canceling subwoofers it's very good in my opinion and still one of my favorite subwoofers that i've tested it's just not as loud or as you know evident as the sw5 so when it comes to the hard hits and deep bass that is really going to be up to your circumstances and honestly what you like the most now the surround speakers are where i heard the most drastic differences the hta 9 surrounds are far superior to the sonos 1sls they are much larger and have an upward firing speaker as well that's a big deal they also spread the audio out much better than sonos this allows the 3d audio bubble to further immerse you into whatever you're watching again that's not to say that the 1sl suck they are very good speakers especially for their size they can put out an incredible amount of audio and sound very clear doing so but with them going up against a speaker three times their size it is sure to have some shortcomings and not seem all that impressive the 1sls also seemed to be passing the audio back and forth while sony had a much cleaner transition in all directions overall i think the sony hta 9 system provides a fuller and slightly more detailed audio experience than the sonos arc system it's just really a joy to use editor jonah here completely forgot to mention sonos true play and that's sonus is 3d audio processing technology where it essentially uses your iphone and it use the microphone to kind of help calibrate the audio for your specific room i've done this in my living room in the studio in the office space and it works really really well with adjusting the audio for your like layout of the room but it doesn't really compare to sony's 3d audio processing like it makes a marginal difference definitely worth doing but nothing near as good as sony's so just thought i'd mention that because i completely forgot to again the 3d spatial sound processing is absolutely incredible and i think this sort of technology will be game changing in the near future for many other systems when it comes to music they are extremely close there are minor details that if you own both of these systems you would probably never even know what's missing from one or the other i mentioned in my individual review of the sony hta 9 that i'd argue that it's a close contender to the sonos arc system and after side by side testing these with music i'd say that's still my opinion for me i honestly don't have a clear favor which is strange because even when testing like four other systems against the sonos arc i was able to pick my favorite they both genuinely sound really really good with all types of music but there are some key differences to know when it comes to music get it note music because music has no yeah okay anyways the sony sub is a little more boomy than the sonosub but the sonosub does have a cleaner sound to it the hta 9 does a better job with enveloping the entire room with music especially when listening to sony 360 reality audio tracks on tidal but with normal music from spotify the difference is not massive by any means also what i really like about sony system is the built-in ui taking over when playing any music regardless of what the source is the hta 9 will display the music information on the tv so i guess after saying all that it sounds like i enjoy the hta 9 more than the sonos arc which might be slightly true but with a price difference of six hundred dollars i don't think for music alone the six hundred dollars more is worth it but to each their own music is not my top priority when it comes to sound bars or any sound system for that matter but it might be for some people if music is really important to you and that's one factor you care about most i really think sonos is probably the better decision with their multi-room technology it allows you to easily play music to all of your sonos speakers at the same time sony just really doesn't have something like this right now but if your priority is to make movies and tv shows as immersive as possible then the hta 9 is likely going to be one of the best choices out there right now overall if i were going to choose one of these systems from my home entertainment center i'd go with the sony hta 9 based on performance alone each system does amazing job without a doubt but when it comes to sony's near perfect 3d audio the ability to place the speakers in the most ideal location for your room and the sw5 subwoofer it's just an all-around amazing choice but you do have to consider what those extra details cost on crutchfield you can get the sonos arc sub and two 1sls for 2046. while the hta 9 is 2 000 not including the sw5 sub so if you want sony's full system you know the hta 9 and the sw5 sub you're going to be spending over 600 more than you would with the sono system since price does play the biggest role in choosing a system for most people it's hard to say if sony is worth the price difference or not there are many different factors that play into this not just pure sound quality think about your room layout how you will use it and the different features that are most important to you that'll help you decide which is worth the extra money or not in my opinion if the full sony hta 9 system is in your budget by all means you will not be missing out or be disappointed but most people wouldn't be disappointed with the sono system either i know i wasn't when i first got it another comparison video i'll be making is the sony hta 9 versus the hta 7000 with the recently announced sa rs5 surround speakers the rs5 surround speakers are i think the first modular speakers with upward firing drivers in them and what i mean by modular is that they can be added to a system later on you don't have to purchase them with the soundbar itself this is something i've been requesting for quite some time now and i'm very happy to see sony doing this i really hope the other manufacturers get on board with this very soon i don't have any information as to when the rs5 speakers will come out but when they do i'll be making that video so make sure you subscribe to the channel and ring that notification bell so you know when the video drops again a big thank you to narwhal for sponsoring this video i recently hired my first full-time employee sam he's actually behind the camera to help with making these youtube videos sponsorships have made this possible and enable me to make more videos at a higher quality level so make sure you take a look at narwhals t10 robot vacuum and mop combo thank you all for watching and i'll see you in the next one bye

Channel: Jonah Matthes

Views: 135,169

Keywords: soundbar, sound bar, tv, receiver, a/v receiver, projector, speakers, projector screen, HDMI, #Narwalrobot, #NarwalT10, #Robotmop, #Robotvacuum

Id: eK3gSfzxbsE

Length: 16min 47sec (1007 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 05 2022