I genuinely pity people coming into the home theater space in 2026. While the technology is better than ever, there's such a baffling number of terms and standards — and products associated with them — that it can be hard to know where to begin. Perhaps it's no wonder that some people might just wander into a store and walk out with the largest TV they can afford.
When it comes to speaker connections, there are several predominant connection types available: ARC, eARC, optical, 3.5mm, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. I'm going to explain why in the majority of situations, you should stick with ARC or eARC. There are cases to be made for some of the other formats, however, which may have their place depending on your TV and your budget.
What are ARC and eARC, and why are they usually the best?
Built for your TV
ARC stands for Audio Return Channel. It's a standard tethered to HDMI, the same cable type you use to direct video to your TV. It was first introduced alongside the HDMI 1.4 spec in 2009. eARC, meanwhile, is an upgrade that arrived with HDMI 2.1 in 2017. If you're lucky enough to have a TV with HDMI 2.2, you're still using eARC.
The first advantage of ARC and eARC is simplicity. Because audio can be delivered alongside video, there's no need for a dedicated audio cable of any kind. In fact when a compatible speaker is hooked up, it can receive audio from any…