Sonos - Beam (Gen 1)

I had a really cheap sound system before I got a Beam Gen 1 and I didn’t really get blown away either. I did start enjoying it a lot more once I added surround speakers and other Sonos speakers for each room for multi room audio. I eventually upgraded to the Arc and that was a decent jump in quality.

I have a c4 and Sonos beam; love the set up

I started with a beam…then a sub…then era 100 surrounds. I was happy. Then I found a killer deal to buy a 2nd hand arc with sub. Now I have an arc, surrounds and 2 subs. It’s a slippery slope my friend.

Compared to TV speakers? Absolutely.

Honestly. You’ll love it. Get the beam, enjoy it for a few months. Then get the surrounds. You can get used and refurb ones quite cheap now as I don’t think they make them anymore? Could be wrong.

I have both and the Arc is a marginal improvement over the beam.

I have an Arc Ultra and can't tell the difference as compared to my Beam when it comes to Atmos. I've never noticed any height sounds whatsoever. I'd say you're fine with the Ray.

Enjoy friend, I also started with the Beam 3 years ago and recently went for the ultra + sub 4 and have enjoyed a lot of movies since then.

For another $150 I went with open box Beams I instead. Always wondered how sound compared in person.

RTings has some decent soundbar reviews: https://www.rtings.com/soundbar. You might try /r/Soundbars for people that follow soundbars more. Personally, I'm not a big fan outside of things like a small bedroom setup. They're certainly better than TV speakers, but most of them are still a major step down from a traditional stereo or home theater setup. And I don't just mean performance. The part that really bugs me is just like other all-in-one pieces of audio gear (such as those older home theaters in-a-box), you can't mix and match components. That means that if you want to upgrade, deal with a broken component, etc., you either have to hope there are parts specific for your system, or chuck the whole thing into E-waste. This isn't a limitation with standard stereo equipment and it's very easy to build a system that will last you decades, maybe with some changes here and there (such as upgrading a receiver has HDMI standards evolve). I've got gear that's older than I am (35) that still sounds fantastic and will blow just about any soundbar away. Again, I'm fine with this where space is tough, mainly bedrooms (I got my girlfriend a Sonos Beam + Sub for her room), but if you've got the space and budget, I'd strongly consider a more traditional setup with a receiver and passive speakers. Long-term, you won't regret it. If you do get a soundbar, be sure to get one that supports HDMI eARC (or at least ARC). Not having that will be a struggle in the future as more and more TVs lose their other audio outputs. Not only that, but the whole point of a soundbar is a simple upgrade from TV speakers. HDMI eARC/ARC allows the TV to control your audio system (power, volume etc.), which really ads to the simplicity. It just feels like an incomplete product without this these days.

No problem! I wouldn't limit yourself to a single brand, especially since audio isn't really what LG is known for. I know they had a lot of issues with the new version of their app, but I got my girlfriend a Sonos soundbar for her bedroom years ago (Beam + Sub) and it's been very good for what it is. I've heard decent options from Sony, Yamaha, and Samsung as well, but I don't follow soundbars in enough detail to have a great idea of the best options. Here's a good review site that you might find helpful: Soundbar Reviews - RTINGS.com https://share.google/HEiFa2UCVMlAvAgLB. Sorry to not have a better answer for you.

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but the other commenters are right. Sound bars are pretty bottom-tier. Their designed to be a cheap and easy upgrade from TV speakers because flat screens have abysmal sound quality (back in the day, you could actually get pretty decent sound from CRTs since there was room for it). I'm not anti-soundbar. I think they have a place (very tight budget or small secondary setups like bedrooms where loudspeakers often aren't at all practical). I got my girlfriend a Sonos Beam + Sub for her bedroom years ago and it has filled that role very nicely. In a living room...they're really a last resort to me (besides TV speakers of course). Let me explain why: Of course, the biggest and most obvious reason is performance. It doesn't take much of a stereo or home theater system to blow most sound bars out of the water. Sure, if you compare a total garbage system to a very high-end soundbar setup, then yes, the sound bar might be better, but that's an extreme example. As far as why the performance is better, it's a combination of components and acoustics. You can't really do much when it comes to acoustics with a soundbar. Just get it at the right height, adjust the subwoofer level, and position any satellite speakers as best as you can. Most sound bars are fairly narrow, so that will limit the width of your stereo image. It's always worth pointing out that speaker placement/setup and acoustics play a huge part in how a system performs. It's actually very easy to make very high-end systems costing many thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars sound like garbage with a poor setup or room acoustics (for example, giant speakers in a tiny room will usually end in bad results). So now for the other big reason, and I actually think this one is more relevant to more people: longevity. Good quality audio equipment tends to last a very long time (often decades). Not only that, with traditional gear, you can mix and match components as you'd like or need to. For starting your system out, that means you don't have to go straight into your final goal. You can start small and affordable and upgrade as your finances allow. The components are typically built better and will last longer (plus if something does break, it might be worth the cost of repair instead of replacing it, outside of low-end gear). If you do end up wanting or needing to replace a single component, you can do just that without having to replace your entire system as you do with all-in-one systems like soundbars. Above all, a traditional home audio setup is a great long-term investment. A soundbar is just for getting by. I'd strongly suggest you get yourself some passive speakers, and a home theater receiver. If your budget allows, throw an active subwoofer in there as well. As time goes on, as I said, you can upgrade or add components as you'd like, such as getting better or more speakers, adding a center channel, etc. I'll take a good 2.1 or even a 2.0 channel setup over a soundbar almost every time. To answer your specific questions if you do decide you'd still rather get a sound bar: * If the sound bar is wide enough, a 3.1 isn't a bad idea over 2.1, but still not necessary. If it's any more channels, I'd only care if the rear channels are actual rears, not virtual from the bar itself. Similar to what I said above, less total but higher quality channels will usually be better than more total but lower quality channels. * A subwoofer is pretty much essential for decent bass out of a soundbar. Traditional loudspeakers can often get away without one (even if this isn't ideal), but soundbars are typically too small for this. This is especially true for larger rooms, and you said you're trying to fill up a mid-sized living room. * I don't know what "too much" is to you. Audio equipment has a MASSIVE price range (I can show you speakers, amps, turntables, etc. that cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars each; granted, these are boutique and extreme examples, but you get the point). You'll want to provide an actual budget/number (even if it's not a hard limit, a ballpark number is totally fine). Words like "cheap" and "expensive" can have very different meanings to different people with such a wide price range to deal with. * I don't have a ton of first-hand soundbar brand testing experience. My girlfriend's Sonos has proven to be good. Sonos had a rough patch where their app was pretty much ruined, but in her case, it rarely gets used, so it wasn't a big deal. Those issues have largely been addressed at this point. So I can overall recommend Sonos. Beyond that, Samsung has generally been pretty well-regarded. Here is RTings ratings for your reference: https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/reviews/best/soundbar. No matter what route you go down, be sure to get something that supports HDMI eARC, as that is the current standard for connecting audio setups. That means that the device needs to support at least HDMI 2.1. This is actually one of the few areas of audio equipment that can age-out somewhat quickly, which can be really annoying. You can have a high-performance receiver that still sounds amazing but is a struggle to use because it lacks the connectivity you need. Some high-end amplifiers from brands like Marantz and NAD actually put the HDMI I/O on upgradeable daughter boards (assuming they offer upgrades of course) to help future-proof those higher-end options, but high-end amps aren't worth considering unless you have good enough speakers to justify the cost. So definitely don't get caught in this situation with a soundbar as you can't upgrade it, and try to avoid it with a receiver, though at least you can upgrade it without anything else if needed.

SONOS My living room set up: 65" C4, Sonos Arc, Sub 3, two Era 100's as surrounds, Hue lights. My partner's bedroom set up: 55" C5, Sonos Beam, mini Sub Hue lights. It depends how big your room is. For a smaller room the Beam 2 and mini Sub, maybe some Era 100's for rear surrounds will be more than plenty. I actually prefer playing in the bedroom sometimes cause I get to sit closer to the TV and soundbar so everything is clear as day, but the big sub in the living room also gives a cinema like experience, been considering getting a second Sub for the living room for a true cinema bass experience.