Sonos Arc vs Sonos Beam: Which is the right sound bar for you?

 

(Pocket-lint) - Earlier in 2020, Sonos introduced a new soundbar to its selection - the Sonos Arc - replacing the 7-year-old Playbar

With HDMI eARC, Alexa and Google Assistant support, it is a full-fledged Dolby Atmos sound system, plus many other bells and whistles.

Meanwhile, the Sonos Beam is a smaller, more portable and cheaper soundbar, particularly with the discounts on Black Friday, so what's the best Sonos soundbar for your setup?

To assist you in determining, we compare the Arc and the Beam.

Design and connections

• Sonos Arc: 1141.7 x 87 x 115.7mm, 6.25kg, HDMI eARC (optical adapter included)
• Sonos Beam: 651 x 68.5 x 100mm, 2.8kg, HDMI ARC (optical adapter included)
• Both require broadband and power supply

To see that there's an obvious difference in the design aesthetic, you just need to look at the two sound bars. Both may be placed on a TV stand or wall-mounted, but the Beam is more likely to be located on the latter. It's tiny enough when you're seated in front of a TV to be fairly anonymous.

The Arc is much longer and shaped like a soundbar.

The Beam is very well built for use with, for example, a smaller television - 32 to 50 inches. It significantly improves the sound experience as compared to the built-in speakers of a smaller set, and when put in front, it happily sits out of the way.

On the other hand, the Arc appears more like a conventional sound bar and is likely to accommodate much larger televisions.

In terms of networking, both devices have Wi-Fi and Ethernet 2.4GHz ports to connect to your home network and the internet, but when it comes to connecting to a TV, the Arc ups the ante.

That's because it comes with an HDMI port that supports HDMI eARC, instead of the older HDMI ARC standard provided by the Beam port.

This is primarily because Dolby Atmos and higher quality audio streams need more bandwidth to receive the Sonos Arc. A HDMI ARC link can do so, but Dolby Atmos itself must be supported by the TV.

Sound

• Sonos Arc: 8 woofers, 3 tweeters - with Dolby Atmos
• Sonos Beam: 4 woofers, 1 tweeter
• Both have Class-D digital amplifiers to match speaker drivers

The Beam is naturally not as capable as its younger, larger sibling when it comes to audio presentation.

For a clean, transparent front-facing audio experience, it sports four mid-range drivers and one tweeter. This gives a greater soundscape than most televisions are capable of.

In contrast, the Sonos Arc has eight drivers and three tweeters, with left and right angled speaker modules, plus two specifically for use with Dolby Atmos soundtracks angled upwards.

This essentially suggests that the Arc presents a larger, taller soundscape that will undoubtedly be more immersive.

However, both speakers can be added, with the Sonos Sub a great choice for extra bass and a few Sonos One or Sonos One SL speakers, nice options to have a home cinema system with genuine rear channels.

Features

• Sonos Arc: HDMI CEC and auto sync, Alexa and Google Assistant on-board, Apple AirPlay 2
• Sonos Beam: HDMI CEC with optional sync, Alexa and Google Assistant on-board, Apple AirPlay 2

First and foremost, both the Arc and Beam are Sonos speakers, so although they are great at expanding and improving TV viewing, they also function well for playing music, either alone or as part of a multi-room device from Sonos.

Both have support from Alexa and Google Assistant, so you can be voice-controlled and work as a search voice assistant and even monitor the rest of your smart home gadgets.

Both also have HDMI CEC capabilities, enabling you with only one remote to control your TV, soundbar and any other connected devices (you can also opt for IR control, if you so desire).

Basically, the only big feature difference (apart from eARC and Dolby Atmos support) is that the Sonos Arc has an automatic option for audio synchronisation, whereas you have to allow it on the Beam.

Price

Naturally, it is more costly given that the Arc has more speaker units inside, is wider and has more audio capabilities. And in your buying decision, that could be a big factor.

For instance, compared to £ 799 / $799 for the Sonos Arc, the Sonos Beam is typically £ 399 / $ 399. That's half the cost. If you have a smaller TV/living room, you can never need the Arc's additional oomph and can thus save a packet for yourself.

However, if you want to splash out more on your home entertainment, the Arc is actually very fair for a smart Dolby Atmos-capable soundbar, with Alexa and Google Assistant on board, and the entry suite of Sonos streaming skills.

Conclusion

What you really want your soundbar to do is the hardest choice to make. The Beam might be more than enough for you if you simply need something to enhance the audio output of your TV watching, while still offering all the cool music streaming features of a Sonos device.

But, if you are looking for a neat home cinema device that in the future will have plenty of space for new features, the Arc is a very convincing offering - one without compromises. At a heftier price point, however.