Roku Streambar Pro vs. Sonos Arc: Which soundbar is best for you?
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This article is part of our series Battle of the Brands, in which we compare category-leading products to their counterparts to determine which are actually worth your money.
You typically buy a soundbar because you want a single piece of home theater audio that (as Pat Benatar once sang) hits you with its best shot. That’s why I sought out the Roku Streambar Pro and the Sonos Arc, the best soundbars that their respective manufacturers make. While there is a wide gulf in their pricing, I’ve been dying to see how well each improves my developing home theater setup and learn which is better for my particular use case.
Much like many of you may be, I’m new to the world of soundbars. While I’ve invested in a very good LG C2 OLED TV, have all of the top streaming devices and dropped $400 on an excellent 4K Blu-ray player, I just didn’t think I needed the extra boost of sound.
But 2024 is the year of trying new things for me, and once I got a taste of how much a soundbar can improve my favorite TV shows, movies, video games and music, I’ve accepted that I need this extra sonic boom in my life. So, I decided to put each of these soundbars through a series of tests with all of those forms of media. Here’s what I learned about which you should buy, including how the Roku Streambar Pro surprised me.
Roku Streambar Pro vs. Sonos Arc at a glance
Roku Streambar Pro
The Roku Streambar Pro is a solid all-in-one soundbar, packing both a great boost to your TV's volume and a whole 4K streaming device in one convenient package.
Sonos Arc
The Sonos Arc may require a separate device for watching shows and movies, but it’s the far better sounding soundbar, packing more speakers, as well as tweeters and woofers.
How I tested these soundbars
For testing how these soundbars differ, I plugged them into my LG C2 OLED TV’s HDMI eARC port and went through a checklist of content. First, I listened to a playlist of tracks with different styles of music via Apple Music, then I watched the same scenes from movies and shows available on streaming as well from my personal optical media collection on my Panasonic DP-UB820-K 4K Blu-ray player. Since the Sonos Arc doesn’t run Netflix and other apps like it, I used my Apple TV 4K to watch shows and movies online. Lastly, I played a bit of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on my PlayStation 5, to see how one of the biggest games of the year benefits from boosted audio.
If you’re confused or concerned about how it all works, don’t worry. It may sound complicated to use a soundbar as a speaker when it’s not directly connected to the other devices you’re using to stream or game, but it (mostly) works. By plugging the Sonos Arc or Roku Streambar Pro into my TV’s HDMI ARC port, I enabled devices connected to my TV’s other HDMI ports to send sound through the TV to the soundbar, and that worked nearly the entire time I was testing these sound bars. If you do happen to lose audio (as I did on rare occasions), my simplest piece of advice is to merely turn your TV off and on, as that once did the trick. If that doesn’t work, turn off the TV again, disconnect and reconnect the HDMI cords and turn the TV back on. Lastly, try all of that, but unplug and then reattach the power cords too.
Quick specs comparison
The Roku Streambar Pro is much easier to fit into your living space
OK folks, find some measuring tape to check your space before you proceed. The Sonos Arc measures 45 inches wide, making it 40% longer than the 32.2-inch-wide Roku Streambar Pro. It’s also more than twice as heavy, making its chassis a much more cumbersome piece of metal. And don’t think merely fitting the Arc into your home is enough; you should leave room on the sides because there are side-facing speakers. The Streambar Pro only has front-firing speakers, though its cloth-covered speaker grille extends to the sides.
Of course, the Arc’s size makes sense when you note how it packs over twice as many speakers, plus tweeters (treble speakers for high-end sound) and woofers (bass speakers for low-end sound).
TL;DR: Some people might find the Arc to be too much physically, while the Streambar Pro has an easier time fitting into your existing space.
The Roku Streambar Pro also gives you a built-in 4K streaming device
The biggest difference between these two devices comes in what they can do. Roku Streambar Pro, the company’s best soundbar, is also a 4K Roku streaming device. That means those without a smart TV of their own and who don’t want to buy a standalone streaming device, can knock out two birds with one soundbar. And that means you can watch everything from Apple TV+ to Peacock and beyond, all on the same sound bar that’s upgraded your audio.
Contrastingly, the Sonos Arc is just focused on producing audio (which it does quite well), so unless you only want to use it as a wireless speaker, you’re going to need other wired devices that you plug into your TV’s other HDMI ports. The Streambar Pro offers the same connectivity, so consoles, streaming boxes and 4K Blu-ray players can all use it without being plugged into the soundbar directly.
That said, the Streambar Pro is missing one feature that would make it a better streaming box, as it doesn’t provide Dolby Vision. Yes, the premium HDR standard that offers improved contrast and color, and is used by everyone from Netflix to Disney+, is not here. Curiously, that standard is supported by the Roku Streaming Stick 4K and Roku Ultra — two of the best streaming devices.
But when the Roku Streambar Pro costs a fraction as much as the Sonos Arc, and also negates the need for a separate streaming device, it’s hard to argue with it. Just do the math: you can upgrade four TVs with Streambar Pros and still have $200 left over for your streaming budget, or buy one Sonos Arc. For insight on how a more similarly-priced soundbar matchup works, check out our Roku Streambar Pro vs Sonos Beam face-off.
TL;DR: The Streambar Pro’s included streaming capabilities are a huge boon for those looking for a properly integrated package, while Sonos hopes you have a smart TV or another media device.
The Roku Streambar Pro offers good sound quality for its price
As I listened to my soundcheck playlist, I thought about how the Roku Streambar Pro is a seriously strong value pick at $180 — delivering a sonic upgrade for a price I don’t blanch at. Sure, everything sounded fuller and stronger on the Arc, which packs many more speakers, but you might not realize you were missing out if you only had the Streambar Pro.
For example, Daft Punk’s live version of “Touch It/Technologic” featured a neat kick of bass, and separation for the sounds of the audience and the distorted vocals. I heard stronger sound quality from the Sonos Arc, including much more bass — likely a result of its eight woofers (the Streambar Pro doesn’t have any).
Then, on Screaming Females’ riff-heavy “Swallow The World” the Streambar Pro produced strong guitars and an accurate version of singer Marissa Paternoster’s mournful vocals came through nicely. The Arc also did well with this track, with the guitar licks hitting high notes and sounding fully distanced from the song’s hi-hat drums.
I heard Frank Ocean’s “Thinkin Bout You” differently than ever before through both soundbars, as even the Streambar Pro allowed its deep bass to hit harder than expected, all while Frank’s sweet and soulful vocals came through clear and high. The Arc really allowed the string instruments at the start of the track to soar much higher, possibly due to its distinct tweeters.
Listening to Charly Bliss’ “Nineteen” on the Streambar Pro, I appreciated how singer Eva Hendricks’ vocals sounded clear and strong, and how the track’s sax solo had some soul to it. But switching over to the Sonos Arc, I noticed a generally sweeter sound, with notably more bass and sax, and the soundbar also brought out some of the twinkling synthy sounds in the back of the track.
Similarly, both soundbars did a good but not hugely differential job handling the reptilian Materia Defender boss fight in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. I heard the orchestral soundtrack soar with clanging sword slashes that stood out, but the Arc mostly separated itself on bass and it also allowed some whooshing noises to sound a little more pronounced.
TL;DR: These are both great soundbars for your tunes, but Roku’s value proposition is pretty damn strong. And those who have the money for the Arc will definitely enjoy its sweet sounds.
The Roku Streambar Pro has a remote, the Sonos Arc offers other tricks
While I can control the Sonos Arc’s volume with my TV’s existing remote and my Apple TV remote, I do appreciate how the Roku Streambar Pro comes with one of Roku’s better remotes. Not only does it have programmable buttons, but this remote has a headphone jack for private listening when it’s too late for your soundbar to be booming.
But what about when you can’t find your remote? The Sonos Arc touch controls on its top make it easy to change the volume, pause or mute what you’re listening to and activate a voice assistant. Yes, Sonos supports Alexa, Google Assistant and even offers its own Voice Control option (voiced by Giancarlo Esposito), which can link to the streaming music service of your choice. This way, I can just say “Hey Sonos, play ‘Not Like Us’ by Kendrick Lamar,” when I want to hear that recent club-friendly diss track.
The Roku Streambar Pro has no such touch controls, though I’m sure its owners and Roku itself would tell you that nobody wants to walk over to their TV to touch their soundbar. For voice controls, you’ll need to click that button on its remote.
TL;DR: The Roku Streambar Pro delivers the Roku experience you might already prefer, while the Sonos Arc truly doesn’t need a remote.
The Sonos Arc gives you more immersive sound
Watching HBO’s “The Last of Us” with the Sonos Arc, I noticed strong directional audio as gunshots from the distance seemingly popped further away and hit closer. Similarly, when the cameras were cutting back and forth from Melanie Lynskey’s Kathleen, it sounded like she was speaking from further away when the camera wasn’t on her. Reviewing these same scenes with the Roku Streambar Pro, I didn’t catch any of that directional audio, but still noticed some upgrades from my TV’s internal speakers, such as the strong sound of an exploding house and the menacing bellows of the bloater beast.
There are two possible reasons for this difference in sound, with the first being the fact that the Sonos Arc emits sound not just in front of itself, but to its sides upwards as well (so don’t leave things on its left, right or top). And with those angled speakers, the Arc makes it sound like something’s happening further away and above.
On top of that, the Sonos Arc has the smarts as well. Just like the Streambar Pro it packs the Dolby Audio standard for clear and strong sound that the Streambar Pro offers, and then it adds Dolby Atmos (which Roku doesn’t support) on top. Folks love Atmos so much because it aims for dimensional audio, and it can use Arc’s upward-facing output to add that verticality.
Then, I hit play on my Blu-ray copy of “Mad Max: Fury Road,” (which supports Atmos) and noticed the bass-heavy drumming from Immortan Joe’s convoy sounded stronger on the Sonos Arc, another benefit of the woofers. But I again noticed dimensionality, as rumbling engines sounded lower in the room, while the whooshes of flaming guitars seemed above them — again emphasizing the Atmos difference. I didn’t notice this with the Streambar Pro, though it did provide a stronger amount of sound than my TV normally offers, with strong horns and sturdy-sounding explosions as cars exploded.
Even Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on the PS5 can take advantage of Dolby Atmos’ immersion, as I noticed the directionality of NPCs talking to each other in the town of Kalm early on in the game only when playing with the Arc. It wasn’t a huge difference maker, but proof that Atmos isn’t just about movies and TV.
Not all shows and movies offer this dimensional sound, and Hulu doesn’t offer it at all. That meant rain-drenched chaos on the high-waters in the first episode of “Shōgun” sounded pretty similar across both soundbars, though the Sonos Arc’s wideness and side-firing speakers allowed it to project the sound of the storm’s torrents to my left and right, as if they were crashing into the living room.
For those wanting to swim in their sound, both the Streambar Pro and Arc also support adding on Roku and Sonos’ wireless surround sound speakers and subwoofers.
The Sonos Arc includes extra features you might need
One of my biggest concerns going into this process focused around audio-video sync issues, since eARC transmission of audio isn’t as direct as for sound than just the HDMI-based device-to-TV transmission. Fortunately, neither device had that issue, and the Sonos Arc even offers a trick to help those stuck. In its app, under Settings > System > your device > Home Theater > TV Dialogue Sync, there’s a slider you can adjust to fix this issue. Roku doesn’t offer such a trick, though it has a tech support page based on fixing this issue in other ways.
The Sonos Arc also provides an Ethernet port for hard-wired connections, while the Roku Streambar Pro is Wi-Fi only. The latter may be enough for many, but in households like mine that are congested with too many wireless signals from a multitude of connected devices, that direct line to my router is greatly appreciated.
Lastly, the Sonos Arc (much like the Sonos Beam, its baby brother) offers Trueplay audio tuning so it can produce sound that “fits” your space better. It requires a little time and a little waving of your phone. Oh, and you also need to be using an iPhone or iPad — sorry Android community.
TL;DR: What the Sonos Arc lacks in streaming apps, it more than makes up for in connectivity and fine-tuning.
Bottom line
While it’s no surprise that I think the Sonos Arc is a better overall soundbar than the Roku Streambar Pro — I spent more of my free time with Arc — this competition is far tighter than some might expect. Yes, the Arc spoils my ears with its sweet sounds, fuller bass and dimensional Dolby Atmos atmospheric audio, but many would consider the Streambar Pro a better purchase. A complete steal, even.
Not only does the Roku Streambar Pro pack in a whole 4K streaming device, but its far-lower price and compact design make it compelling before you even hit “Play.” And after hours of comparison testing, I have to give Roku credit for making a compelling value option. It may not have all of the sound and tricks of the Arc, but it doesn’t need to at $180. It just needs to make your shows, music, games and movies sound better — which it does.
So, for those looking to upgrade a whole house of TVs, or simply add more sound to one screen without thinking twice about breaking the bank, I say go with the Streambar Pro. But if you like the finer things in life, you’ll absolutely love the Sonos Arc, which is my current measuring stick for soundbars.
Note: The prices above reflect the retailers' listed price at the time of publication.
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