In our reference article, Sound Bar vs Surround Sound, we compared these two home theater options on a general basis, but how do the individual features of different sound bar brands and models compare to the Enclave Audio CineHome wireless home theater systems. Let's take a look at how the Sonos ARC Soundbar and Surround Set compares to the Enclave Audio CineHome Pro wireless home theater system.

The Sonos ARC and ARC Surround Set

The Sonos ARC is a soundbar designed to provide surround sound for TV viewing as well as for stereo listening of streaming music sources (Amazon Music, Apple Music, Google Play Music, SiriusXM, Spotify, Tidal, and more). 

The ARC provides stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, and Dolby Atmos decoding for TV and movies, which is supported by an internal speaker array that includes three tweeters and eight mid-range woofers. Two of the mid-range/woofers point upward to provide support for Dolby Atmos height effects when needed. 

For listening to TV and movie content, the Sonos ARC connects to your TV via HDMI. Audio signals are transferred from the TV (the TV is also used to transfer sound from devices connected to it such as a DVD/Blu-ray disc player or plug-in media streamer) to the Sonos ARC via the HDMI-ARC feature. The sound is then decoded or processed and played back on the soundbar. 

The Sonos ARC soundbar is priced at $799, but you have the option of adding additional wireless surround speakers and wireless subwoofer for more suitable surround sound listening. Sonos recommends a pair of its One SL speakers ($358.00) and the Sonos Sub-Gen3 ($699.00). 

The total price for the Sonos ARC “Surround Set” is $1,856.00.

The Sonos surrounds and subwoofer must be plugged into AC power separately as each has a built-in amplifier. The Sonos ARC soundbar sends audio signals to the surround speakers and subwoofer wirelessly via the Sonos Wi-Fi network. 

The Sonos ARC also has built-in microphones to support Alexa and Google Assistant voice control. 

Sonos provides access to the S2 Control App for setup and integration with other Sonos wireless speakers, audio products, and music streaming services. This enables the Sonos ARC to be a part of a whole-home wireless audio system.

The Enclave Audio CineHome Pro

The Enclave Audio CineHome Pro is a THX-Certified wireless 5.1 channel home theater system.

This system is packaged with five speakers (left, center, right, left, surround, right surround), along with a subwoofer. The left, center, and right channel speakers each incorporate two full-range drivers and one tweeter. The subwoofer incorporates a 10-inch front-firing driver. 

Amplifiers are built into each speaker and subwoofer, rather than the CineHub.

Each speaker receives audio from the CineHub wirelessly but they do need to be plugged into an AC outlet to supply power to each speaker's built-in amplifier. However, that’s less clutter than long speaker wires and cables running from five speakers and subwoofer. 

The CineHub identifies each speaker and decodes the surround sound signals coming from the TV (including sources connected and passed-through the TV) and sends them to each speaker in the system wirelessly using Wi-Fi-based WiSA technology. 

The CineHub connects to a TV using the HDMI ARC/eARC connection. The TV then transfers audio signals to the Enclave CineHome Pro CineHub. The CineHub decodes Dolby Digital or DTS surround signals and sends them wirelessly to the correct speakers. For stereo-only sources, signals are sent to the left/right front channel speakers. 

Since the main focus of the CineHome Pro is discreet 5.1 channel home theater surround sound, features such as built-in music streaming and voice control are not included as they can be provided by the TV or other devices connected to the TV. This avoids feature duplication between other devices, the TV, and the CineHome Pro. 

In most cases, the CineHub can be controlled by the TV remote. In addition, Enclave Audio provides a smartphone control app (iOS and Android) which also aids in system setup. 

Note: The CineHome Pro is also compatible with the Roku TV Ready™ feature, providing additional audio control using a Roku TV™ remote. 

The THX Certified Enclave Audio CineHome Pro is priced at $1598.00.

Sonos ARC and Enclave CineHome Pro Feature Comparison