The soundbar that lives in my living room, the Sonos Arc Ultra, is one of the best soundbars that you can buy today. The surround sound is amazing, the dialogue clear, and even the bassy rumble is impressive. But, as with even the best TV speakers, there’s one clear issue.
What do you do when everyone else has gone to bed, and you want to watch a film? Or, what if you live in a Flat, and you don’t want to disturb everyone who lives around you while you watch an action flick? There’s a solution — although, unfortunately, it’s only for some of us.
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How I did it
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First off, I should mention that there are some irritating restrictions to my experiment. The first is that you can only use certain headphones with your TV, and they have to be connected to a specific device.
For example, you can use the best AirPods to watch TV shows and Movies, but you need to connect them to an Apple TV 4K box for it to work. That means you can’t use your AirPods to watch anything outside of the things you’re streaming from the device. That’s a shame — Apple 65-inch OLED TV when, please?
The other option is to use a pair of Sonos Ace and a compatible soundbar. This is a more flexible option, given that you can watch TV and Movies from anything plugged into your TV. There are still restrictions, however. It only works with the Sonos Ace headphones, and you need a soundbar that supports the tech.
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I’ve tried both options. The Sonos Ace connect with my Sonos Arc Ultra, and my AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods Max connect to my Apple TV. I’ve used both for about a month now, doing all my personal TV watching to see whether they might replace my soundbar.
Spoiler: No. But I might start using them more than I have before.
Sound surprising
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There were a couple of things that I was certain of going in. I knew that I would miss the bassy rumble of explosions and the incredible holographic surround of my Sonos Arc Ultra and surround satellite setup. I did, indeed, miss both of those things, but I still found plenty to like when using either for my TV watching — and something quite surprising.
All of the headphones and earbuds I used during my experiment already sound great, which does help. They all have class-leading, in some way, Dolby Atmos playback, so we’re off to a good start.
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That meant that watching movies was a great experience, whether through the Apple buds or my Sonos Ace. The latter are slightly better for the format, given that Sonos developed them especially for both music and movies, but I wasn’t disappointed by either.
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One of the most surprising things was how immersive everything felt. While the sound wasn’t anywhere near as expansive or huge as my surround setup, the more restricted soundstage made me feel more integral to the movie’s sound.
Everything was happening around me, and I felt slightly closer to the action. Rather than a better experience (or even a worse one), what I got was a different experience. One that seems to realise it’s never going to compete with a full setup in dynamics, space, or even fidelity, and so focuses on the things it can be good at.
The dialogue was clear, and at times unnerving. I was watching a horror movie, and a scene where a horrifying creature talks behind you felt like it was whispering in my ear. Jarring, uncomfortable – and wonderful.
Not perfect
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The restrictions are irritating. The fact that you have to own at least hundreds of dollars worth of equipment before you can even begin, be that an Apple TV and some AirPods or a pair of Sonos Ace and a Sonos soundbar, feels like you’re being bled dry financially.
Both a fairly seamless to get working, thankfully, but I do wish that AirPods had a way of working without the need to watch everything through your Apple TV. You can use HomePods like this, so why can’t my AirPods? That feels like a missed opportunity.
The lack of bassy rumble and other sound bits is also a trade off. If you’ve got the opportunity to use your full setup without waking anyone up or disturbing the neighbours, that’s still going to be the way to go.
A worthy nighttime alternative
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My experiment has been, in my eyes at least, successful. If you’ve got the tech to do it, and you want to watch movies and TV when other people are asleep, then it’s a great alternative to your big, noisy soundbar. I even really enjoyed that there were other sonic reasons to enjoy my headphones rather than the soundbar, to the point I might switch over even when I don’t need to.
It’s also a great proof of concept. I’d like to see more headphone and TV manufacturers bring headphone Dolby Atmos connections to the table, so you don’t have to rely on these expensive options. Still, that’s one for the future. As it stands, these are great ways to keep the noise down while enjoying some cinema.
I’m off to go watch Gladiator, without keeping my family up. Adios!
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