When we tested the Sonos Arc, we left the EQ settings to their defaults, which is what we do with every soundbar we test. With the default settings, the full setup is scoring much worse than the bar alone. One of the main reasons for this is that our scoring system compares the frequency response to our Harman-derived target curve. We felt that this wasn’t very representative of how the bar sounds in person, so we decided to try and determine the best settings to bring the bar closer to our curve.

We found that by adjusting the bass setting, we were able to bring the curve much closer to our target, and the bar would score much better. We took the stereo frequency response measurements with bass set to +7, +8, and +9, you can see them here. The +9 setting is the best overall, and subjectively, the full setup on the Arc is one of the best-sounding Soundbars we’ve tested, even without these adjustments.

One of our main goals with testing the full setup was to answer the question of which soundbar is better, the Arc with Sub + One SL Speakers, or the Samsung HW-Q90R. To try and answer that question, we also made similar adjustments to the Q90R, to see if we could improve its frequency response. Similar to the Arc, we found that by slightly adjusting the bass setting, the overall frequency response improved slightly, as shown here with the -1, -2, and -3 settings. The -3 setting is slightly better overall than the Arc, with a slightly lower LFE, and lower overall std. error.

Overall, we found that the sound is very similar between the two, but depending on your exact usage, one might be better than the other. The Sonos has a wider soundstage, and the real surrounds can be more immersive. On the other hand, the Q90R is purpose-built for a TV/Home Theater system, with HDMI inputs, eARC support, and DTS support.

Since we didn’t make these adjustments with any of our other reviews, for consistency, the results posted here are based on the default EQ settings. The issue with the way we process this data hasn’t caused any real issues with our other reviews. We plan on fixing this issue with a future test bench update.

If you have either of these soundbars, how do you find them? What settings have worked best for you? We’d love to hear what you think, please let us know in the comments below.