Sonos Arc Ultra vs Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7

Tom's Guide's one con is that a full setup quickly becomes very expensive: the Sub 4 adds $799 and a pair of Era 300 rears adds $900. CNET and PCMag both list it as expensive, and PCMag also calls it large. Amazon's review summary says some owners feel it doesn't justify the price.

Wirecutter could get it working with an iPad but not with a Samsung Galaxy S10 Android phone, and never got the Sonos Sub 4 to connect, so it isn't a pick. Amazon's summary says some owners report connection issues.

CNET found movie sound less expansive than the original Arc's. Tom's Guide found that the Advanced Trueplay room tuning cut the bass, so it had to be added back with EQ, and the EQ has only two bands. The only TV connection is HDMI eARC: there's no optical port.

Tom's Guide calls music performance 'okay': vocals felt pinched, bass was strangely lackluster on music, and percussion sounded tinny.

Tom's Guide found some subtle high-frequency sounds lost under a bass-heavy soundtrack. Its guide says the bass was tuned a bit low out of the box and recommends raising bass and surround height in the app.

Tom's Guide says the Bar 7 comes with or without the subwoofer. It tested the bundle; the sub alone costs $329 if you add it later. The bar is fairly compact and can look small under larger TVs.