Sonus faber Arena 10

The Arena 10 handles the channels that surround and sit above the listener — the ones immersive formats depend on and that most installations treat as an afterthought. It is a three-way design: four 6.5-inch woofers, a 6.25-inch midrange and a 19 mm tweeter, which is a considerably more serious driver complement than the coaxial pairs usually asked to do this work.

That matters for Dolby Atmos in particular. Height channels carry real content in a well-mixed film, and a ceiling loudspeaker that cannot keep up with the front three collapses the illusion at exactly the moment the format is trying to create it. The Arena 10 is voiced to match the rest of the collection, so a sound moving from screen to ceiling does not change character on the way.

At 24 inches square and 55 pounds each these are large in-ceiling loudspeakers, mounted by bracket or frame system, and handcrafted in Vicenza like everything else Sonus faber makes.