Sonos VS Sonos - which is REALLY better, cheap or expensive? | The Gadget Show 

This Is so damm british that now i fell like a true Sir gentleman

Even without a sub, the Beam with surround speakers did really well. Now with Atmos in Gen 2, and the eARC equipped TV prices well within reach, the combo is even better. Time to pull the trigger happy shopping!

Beam and One SL pair owner here. I recently moved and found my experience much better in my new place. In the old place, the living room was more an open concept with the kitchen and breakfast area. The new place has a more true rectangular shape with four walls (3 3/4, to be precise). I feel like the surroundsound setup in general is really meant for a four walled, rectangular-shaped room as opposed to some open concept. The open concept sounds just kind of wash out into the distance even when you calibrate it using the app. I do feel like I need the sub now to improve it. What are your thoughts on hearing the dialogue? I feel like the dialogue sometimes is too low but then when the sounds of explosions and rumbles come in, they’re extremely loud. I’ve had to adjust the sound levels on the surround speakers in the app in order to arrive at what I feel is the best sound. Overall, I am fairly pleased with the system. I think we all have to be a bit realistic here. It’s not like we’re running diamond series speakers from a Dreadnaught-D.

You should point out that the sound tuning app is iOS only. If you use an Android you're out of luck and will not be able to use this ability (or you you'll have to borrow a friend's iOS phone). Irritating, but it makes sense. Android phones are made by a variety of manufacturers so their speakers and microphones vary, which makes the sound results harder to predict for speaker tuning.

I did Sonos Beam, Gen 3 Sub, and two One SLs on the office 55C1 LG OLED and Arc, two Gen 3 subs, and two Fives as rear surrounds the main TV room LG OLED 77C1. Both systems seem to compliment the listening space perfectly.

I’ve had both the beam bad now the arc. If you can afford the upgrade it’s very worth it whether it’s the full surround setup or just on its own.

In my main living space I have a Bowers & Wilkins 7.1 setup which is awesome. I bought the Sonos Beam and paired it with a couple of old Sonos 1s for the kitchen not expecting too much but the quality for the price blows me away. Also the Beam is so much more than just a sound bar. With Google assistant and Spotify connect I now use it more than my main AV system. Well done Sonos.

4:53 that opened door played quiet a big part on why the Arc didn't sound as good. Remember, it works by bouncing sounds off surfaces then to you. So an opened door like that would just swallow up the sound that you're supposed to be hearing bouncing off of it

I got the arc, sub and two symfonisk lamp speakers

If your gonna do a comparison, you should either do both soundbars without rear surrond or both soundbars with rear surround speakers. It's seems totally pointless & unfair comparing the two soundbars when your test is loaded by adding surrounds to only one setup when both systems are compatible with the Ikea surrounds upgrade.

Grandma used to say, "if you don't know what's good, ask what's expensive". Holds true 9/10 times.

You can connect other speakers to the arc as well, and if you don't want to do that a good way for the sound to bounce off the sides it would be a good idea to close the door

The first question to be asked should be “Does the tv output eArc or only Arc? Because without eArc or an HD Fury Arcana there won’t be any Atmos signals passed through to the Sonos.

If you hooked up the ARC with rear speakers it would blow the Beam away. The Sub would solve any bass issues.

it depends on how much the Sub Mini will cost but I think pairing it with a Beam is probably better than an Arc all by itself

You can link the Symfonisk speakers to the Arc for the full surround sound experience. If you’re getting the Arc then it’s probably worth doing. The. There is the sub, which is very expensive but apparently worth it for the full experience, especially with the Beam.

The Arc is a beast and would look daft with the size of tv we have on the wall. The beam is perfect especially linked to the £750 Sonos base unit.

Her arms are stacked. Very strong.

You should not be moving the phone around the entire room, around curtains and such like to calibrate. Just like Audyssey, you should just focus on the seating areas. Making the system compensate the speakers for positions no-one will sit in, will just confuse the eq'ing and be detrimental to the audio.

I’m loving my beam and a pair of SLs.

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It really is a comparison between pretty good and really good. You definitely get a better effect with speakers that are actually surrounding the room. If you’re $800 (in the US or £800 UK) deep into the ARC, you may as well invest another couple hundred to add the ONEs or S1s and make it an actual surround system even if you have to add them later on. The SUB too. Also, I’ve installed hundreds of these for my Clients over the years- from the PLAYBAR to the BEAM and ARC- and the only time I’ve ever had lip sync issues was with cable boxes. Never from the TV itself. The solution was always to change the sound format from “surround” to “stereo” or even down to PCM in the cable box settings. Better to have good stereo sound and simulated surround than to have mediocre surround quality from a cable box with horrible sync.

Maybe close the doors next time you work with virtual surround sound which works with walls around you :))

Please, the link of the two speakers connected to the beam..

I bought the beam, then the arc, then the surrounds SL ones and lastly the sub woofer. The beam is a good speaker for its size. The arc is good but comes alive with the sub woofer which takes the load off the arc. We watch a lot of television so trh surrounds were the best addition in my view followed by the sub. Redo this test with a sub to see the difference.

The arc is heaps better. If your budget only stretches to this initially. Get the arc and upgrade to some rears later on….. then a sub…… then another sub 🤣👍

I bought speakers today. 1 Beam and 4 One S. they should be delivered within a week. Really looking forward

I have both the beam and arc, the arc wins hands down!

It would be interesting to know the set up of the TV ….because as we are aware there are only a few TVs the pass Dolby Atmos through to the sound bar. Most TVs down-convert to regular Dolby . So the question arises …..were you even listening to Dolby Atmos. This is easy to see in the Sonos app under settings you can actually watch the stream and the Sonos app will tell you what version of stereo it is using. Without us knowing what television you’re using and the actual settings on the television It’s impossible to take this test at face value. A quick follow up telling us how the settings were set up would clear this up

LOVE SONOS...I have the BEAM on the TV up stairs,,,,and on the tv downstairs I have the ARC / 2 sonos sub woofers / and 2 SL ONE speakers ...sounds amazing....cheers from Canada

Really good review, I myself have a beam + symphonic that I will probably try to supplement with a sub in the near future. Does anyone know where the TV bench is from?

Very good just got two of those speakers and I fitted them they work amazing you can alter the bass and treble and it is fantastic

Glad I got the Arc and Sub before the price increase!

If you get a soundbar with lip sync functionality then it resolves those issues that the arc has

It may be mentioned elsewhere below, but the presenters did not state whether the Beam was Gen1 or Gen2? I suspect Gen1. They should have tested the Gen 2. This model would have given a better effect since it supports Dolby Atmos. Also. Why didn't they test them both with Music Audio?

I notice no SUB in there. Rookie error.

How can you hear something from behind when the sound is projected from the front ?

You guys forgot to mention a very important thing... were the speakers plugged into a eArc input?

This video should have also explained that the speaker calibration only works with apple phones so folks like me with a high end Samsung galaxy S20 can't even use that function and that's a huge difference to sound from what I have seen a the reason I haven't bought one. Also even though my TV is a good one and from last year it doesn't have eArc which again is needed for the Atmos experience....plus like someone else said in the comments the Sonos app gets a terrible review to the extent it makes the speakers unusable at times.

First of all you guys should do the comparison between the Sonos Playbar and the Sonos Arc both blow the beam out the water.

It may be that the arc is slightly better but you must realise that, in order te get that great immersive sound, you also need (to buy a new) TV with Arc-E. so the the total price will at least double again.

I have a play 5 in my garage man cave. In living room I have a sub, sound bar and two play 3s. Also have two play ones in kitchen. I also have the sonos move and the roam and move thoese randomly. My question is for my living room set up for movies, sports and regular TV and also music is it better to pair up two play ones or two play 3s with sub and sound bar? Or should I place the two play ones in living room two with rest of speakers?? One more question, when watching movies can I pair up the sonos move and roam with existing living room set up or no??

Bump up eq on beam to bass +8 and treble +3 and it makes a world of difference for bass and clarity

Why not also test the basic soundbar + sojos sub? I have the old paybar and adding the sub really makes for a different experience whenever you want to “feel” the sounds and music and not just listen to it

For the money, I’d prefer a beam with a couple surrounds. The surrounds also add a considerable amount of bass. The Arc and the Playbar have better stereo separation because of their size, but in a full surround system (with the sub added) I wonder if there’s even a noticeable difference? Atmos seems like marketing hype to me (today’s version of THX).

I “upgraded” from the Beam to the Arc and wasn’t impressed. It’s louder and has a wider sound stage, but lower bass and almost zero perception of any height. I think the Dolby Atmos speakers are too small to handle that task on their own. It’s more of a marketing gimmick. Don’t get me wrong though, the Arc is the single best soundbar on the market right now. The Beam is a much better value, however, and no one will be disappointed with it.

You guys did a really good job with this video. Really fun and informative

The lip sync is bad on all LG TVs. Known issue with the tv delaying or just processing sound to any externally sourced sound bar.

I just bought a Sonos Arc, hoping that it would sound as good as everyone says, because it sounded like garbage in the store. Thankfully it did sound a lot better in my living room than it did in the store. And the bass isn't too bad without the subwoofer. I can live with it until I get that sub. But was is all that with the setup process? The beeps and the demo? There is none of that in the app as far as I can tell. Is it my TV that's too old? It has an ARC connection at least.

If you can tolerate a separate sub one can get a much more immersive bass than from either of these with a 2.1 HDMI ARC soundbar..and for £80 btw! No real 3D Atmos positional sound but very deep rumbling but punchy bass that really involves you..with sport as well as movies. Unfortunately seems the Gadget show has become basically a program length sponsored advert for the highest bidder.

Like Dolby Atmos but Arc is bit too expensive so gonna go with Polka S4

ARC and the one connect box from Samsung are not working properly together. I have the ARC and the Beam before. The ARC is a nice upgrade if you have a big living room. My living room has 50sqm and it performs nice with the sub and the One as rears. But the Beam is doing a very good job as well but it is made for much smaller rooms. I can strongly recommend both soundbars. They are really good and worth to test.

It's a fair comparison. £799 for the Arc. £399 for the Beam £178 for the Symfonisk's £577 in total or £467 if you buy the Beam refurbished. Add those surrounds to the Arc and it's double the price of the Beam setup. That said - I need more in depth comparisons!

It’s not really a fair test as you had rear speakers when testing the Sonos beam but you never used rear speakers when testing out Sonos arc (you can add rear speakers to Sonos arc). This isn’t giving you a true sound or fair test if you don’t add it to the Sonos arc

What's better in an open floor plan room? Sonos Arc or Beam? I just got a new Sony Bravia 77" but honestly I don't currently watch much TV; I don't want to break the bank just for the occasional movie or music station. Thanks.

Is Atmos even worth it as a feature if you don't have much Atmos content? What would be a simple 5.1 setup that actually sounds good and doesn't have all that other techie stuff like Alexa, Google, casting features, or having to use an app to get things all synced up? I'm thinking the Sony HT-S40R.

do you really need an iphone for the dolby atmos effrect??. never owned a apple iphone and not keen on doing so either.

I just bought a beam and love it . I can't wait for the football season to start this fall. My question is. Would you recommend a sub first or surround speakers as a next step for upgrading my sound system. I thought about saving up for a sub, but I don't know what would benefit with a small living room the is 15 x15ft

This is not a beam v arc test though!! You have added surround speakers to the beam! You can add surrounds to the arc also! The surrounds speakers that you have added to the beam will confuse some people of the real comparison!! And as others have mentioned, not one point about needing E-arc for the Dolby atmos effect on the arc......I will not be subscribing to this nonsense!

We have the beam, 2x Sonos Ones as rears and the Sonos Sub and its very impressive. I am sure the Arc would be better slightly but not enough to justify the upgrade price for me

Why didnt you shut those doors? And its not a fair test because you are not comparing the Arc against the Beam, you are adding in 2 Sonos Ikea speakers!

Where were the test sources streamed from?

Can anyone tell me where that tv stand is from?

All I ask is that I can hear what the actors are saying rather than just the loud music drowning out the dialogue!!!

Strange comparison, must be identical without the ikea speakers. Also with Sub and without sub

this is not an equal review. arc has rear speakers also.

Another manufacturer lg I bought a dolby atmos model, had it all set up correct. The sound was terrible and I was so underwhelmed by it. It also keeped kicking in too blu tooth and getting sounds from next door lol. Took it back to currys and got a refund. Sticking with my old Sony dav-is10

Why not add the rear speakers one SL as an example .. useless comparison really

Does not the Sonos Beam Gen2 have Dolby Atmos ???

I got 2x Fives, Gen 3 sub, 2x Gen2 Ones, so Beam was the best pick just to connect tv and get a some sort of center sound. Great set for the price 👌.

I don't know why, but I feel like I'm watching an episode of Frasier =)

Do the Symfonisk speakers work with the Sonos Arc?

What's up with the granny jeans?

I felt like a total fool with my phone moving around the room to tune the Sonos.

Nothing beats physical surround speakers! Atmos is nothing but just gimmicks

This is like comparing apples and oranges. She has two extra speakers. If you add two Sonos SL one you will blow it away. And if you add the sub woofer, go take a hike.

Sorry but there's no substitute for a separate surround system ... these are just little toys compared to what a reasonably budgeted system would sound like ... if you have the wonga then a full atmos system will blow your mind.

I have just added a subwoofer to my television, not sure a thin soundbars can out match that

Those virtual surround sound speakers never work, it’s just a gimmick unfortunately

Nice review but remember this is not compatible with older Sonos equipment. Sonos want you to throw S1 equipment away which is guaranteed to annoy their older customers. Will they want you to throw your Roam away in five or so years?

I miss watching this show. Thanka gang. Its a shame these sound bars are such a high entry price in to cinema with sonos. I think I would swing towards the beam more due to the fact I like separate speakers. But nice to see the review.

The lady is pretty and I love her boots!

Q950t is better than both it's on a different level when it comes to Dolby Atmos too

Why are you reviewing this like the beam comes with surrounds and the arc can’t have them ?

I'm willing to bet it wasnt even true Atmos you were getting. If the TV has e-arc there shouldn't be any possible lip sync issues. I'd be more willing to bet the TV only had arc.

This is by far the worst review I’ve seen of Sonos products

I have the arc and IKEA setup.

These sound bars are of very good quality, the high to mids are so crisp, the bass is not the best but you can get the subwoofer separately which can knock out a window. I have a Sonos beam and very happy with it but Sonos's new app is the worst app ever, its heavily bloated and tries to do everything and simply is a pain if your have authentication issues; the old app was much better. A another blunder by Sonos is that there is no off button for these speakers, you have to physical unplug it, so it just sits there online all the time. Other than that these are high quality sound bars for the price.

Why just compare beam with two rear speakers to an arc with no rear speakers? That just doesn’t make sense to me!

They are sound bars. They will never give you the sound of a full speaker setup. And for those that say that sound bars are are good for people that don’t have the room, that’s what small satellite speakers are for. Sound bars suck.

Sonos and budget don’t go together 😂

Just a lil thing: put the surround speakers in a 90° angle to your line of sight, they don't belong behind you but besides you :)

You need an iPhone for setup as it isn't on the android. Terrible review missing key points. Did you adjust the atmos height for example? The hd fury arcana resolves lip sync issues as well.

5 amps? 11 amps? I think they want to say speakers.

Do not ever buy sonos unless you want to spend a lot of time re connecting them, the sound is good, but definitely not worth the headaches of the time you have to spend, it almost seems like it’s every time you got company, for the price not worth it, I’ve did everything got a boost, new router, we have hi speed the highest you can get, fibre optics cable. I have play 1s, play 5, and sound bar.

AUTO CALIBRATION LOLZ

she is beautyfull. Love from Holland. I dont care the sound Lol.

They should of added some rear speakers to the ARC also to make it a bit fairer.. I have the Sonos ARC and to be honest its a very overrated soundbar. Sonos have gone to much with the looks of the thing rather than the sound quality. Sound on the ARC can sound very tinny and thats even adding a sub and ones to the setup. Also Atmos is very poor its just not got the umph to give you good overhead effects etc., they sort of highlighted in this video that its poor at this.

The ARC for me is probably the worst product sonos ever put out. I regret buying one and if I knew that is was going ti sound so much worse than my playbar I would have purchased another sub or a couple of 5s instead.

Not a true test as majority of homes have their tv in the corner.