Sonos Arc vs Beam - Twice the price, twice as good?

The Sonos beam and arc are both current sound bars. While the arc is Atmos capable and stages a huge sound field, the Sonos beam is half the price. Today, we measure the frequency response of both the beam and the arc in a quick test in an attempt to answer the question.

The Sonos arc has a much larger soundstage. It also supports Atmos but to get the most out of it, you will need a relatively modern tv with Atmos support and a eARC port.

Whether you will find the arc is worth the extra 100% price premium depends on a few factors. Like the size of your room and whether you setup supports Atmos. If your room is on the smaller side, and your tv doesn’t have eARC and Atmos support, I’d say go for the beam.

It’s a very capable soundbar in its own right and you’ll have spare cash to buy another Two Sonos one sl for the surround! Or if you can score a discount on the Sonos sub gen 2, I’ll show you later in the video how potent that combination is.

[flaviantropy]

This is content consumers want to see in reviews on youtube. Thanks!

[alandaugustine]

Peter... Superior organization, presentation, and content. It's about time to get TV upgrade, and I have been trying to make an informed decision about which soundbar to choose... (?)... so, I have been scouring the available sites/channels and your material is golden. Thanks.

[alastaircampbell]

Straight shooting and you don't have to sit through 20 minutes of waffle. Great reviewing and a new subscriber here! Thanks Peter

[geek]

Gracias Peter por tu excelente análisis! Me acabo de comprar la Sonos Beam 2 y hoy me llega el Sub Gen 3. Saludos!!

[stephanlinhart]

Great channel, Peter! Very help- and insightful! Thanks for your work and efforts

[Kris]

Thank you so much! This is exactly the clarity I needed.

[pekchops]

Great review Peter! Best Sonos channel on You Tube. Thank you for what you do!

[Downhill_Phil]

Awesome work! I've the Beam with Sub gen 2 and two One SLs as surround system and I am really pleasured.

[Disturbedkitten]

Another outstanding Sonos video that was exactly what I was looking for! Subscribed, keep the great content coming mate 👍

[TiaanJonker]

You just made my day! Really enjoy your videos Peter. Keep it up and Thank You very much!

[DRZGP]

Excellent review. One of the best analysis if these soundbars.

[GIB_H]

Sonos needs to be paying this guy. Great content.

[howardbecdove]

Wow! Thank you Peter.
I don’t have your (or in fact any) tech. Knowledge. I have the Beam and two Sonos ones. My tv has the ARC connection, but not advanced enough to support the Sonos Arc. I’ve therefore been considering if I’m throwing my money away by buying the Sub.
Now I’ll save and buy one as my budget allows.
Cheers
Howard

[davidl]

Thanks Peter superb analysis again! The Beam is a top seller for Sonos so having a deep dive analysis like this would really resonate with them. Having your thoughts and the audio comparisons at the end was really helpful.

[bbingtube]

Killing the game my friend 🔥🔥
Answering the questions the others can't/don't. Thanks, 👍

[jjjj-kubu]

Great informative Video ! I am gonna go down to the showroom to test out Beam + SUB G3 .

[petelarrier]

That makes a lot of good sense. Thanks for the perspective.

[clvnchn]

Nailed it peter. I guess the arc would be better still in a bigger room given the wider stage. Putting arc and beam side to side though the separation of channels are v clearly distinct though. Beams sounds so much compact!

[germainzq]

Love your reviews and how you do such a technical comparison. Need more local reviewers like you! 1 thing thats irking me is somehow when listening to music with my play 5 stereo pair, it sounds so much better than if the play 5 was set to surround with the beam and now arc. Somehow when set in surround, the music sounds different but I can't pin point why. Maybe when you get you Fives, you can do a review on whether there is a difference, or it is just placebo from having the soundbar in the mix.. To me, the rears when part of the surround just sounds much less energetic. It's less obvious on the play 1 but on play 5 its noticeable.

[tuareg]

Hi, Peter Pee, is possible two Sonos Arc by atmos 360º effects?
Thanks for you videos