Sonos - Beam (Gen 1)

I’ve got a beam 1 with surrounds and a sub. Built it slowly over the course of a few Black Fridays/January sales. Sounds great.

Folks, don’t overthink this. For music, 2 of ANY Sonos speakers (apart from the roam), properly configured as a stereo pair, will sound much better than any of the soundbars. For TV’s and movies, especially atmos and DD 5.1 content, a soundbar setup will be more enjoyable. Which soundbar is up for debate, but as an owner of the OG beam and OG arc, the wider sound stage of the arc will be my pick everyday of the week.

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.

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

I've got the sc9s and have discovered i can't get rear speakers as they don't make them which is annoying as i wanted surround sound. It sounds great for movies with the Sub and Dolby atmosphere, for other stuff though my gen 1 Beam sounds as good. If I could have my time again id go Sonos so I could get rears mind you that was way over my budget as well as adding a sonos Sub and I got a great deal on LG bar bundled with tv. Wow Orchestra is ok. I guess 'it depends' is the answer.

Miles better with my Beam and my LG bar with sub..watching shows without it seems hollow. If just watching tv with the news or something tv sound would be ok but anything else need better sound

My Sonos Beam is great, super clear and I don't feel like i need bass for most things

I have the first gen beam with rear surround speakers and it’s a huge upgrade compared to tv speakers or even other cheaper soundbars I’ve heard. The gen 2 is supposed to be even better so I would say it’d definitely be worth it.

with that budget why not look at 2nd hand, you could get a sonos gen 1 and that would be 10 times bettet?

My bedroom has 2 fives and a gen 1 beam. Reasonable for the television (I have a “real” home theater in the living room) .. and great for music.

It is large … with 15 foot ceilings. The Trueplay is great for tuning it.

Last month I've came from a original Beam 1 to the original arc. Sub gen 3 and one's for surround sound. Now sound is so subjective, but after playing with equaliser and voice settings: 1.5.1 is much better than before, larger sound stage with effects filling the room. This is from Netflix, Prime, Disney Plus and TV programs in Dolby 2.0 2.Atmos is great and compared to the Beam 2 that I listened too in demo, sounds better and not stimulated. 3.Never had issues with dialogue with speech enhancement on. Maybe because I sit closer to the TV or something, but I don't regret getting the Arc. I'm planning to get the Era 300s setup soon. The Beam 2 is an excellent speaker that punches above it's weight. However, it does fall down on Atmos, which is one of the main reasons I went with the arc. I also didn't want to go with the Ultra as I didn't want to pay that money for a soundbar!

I don’t have stereo 100 to compare to, but I use a beam 1 for my pc sound in my office. It sounds really good up close. Definitely better than it did from afar when I used to have it in my living room with surrounds. Wouldn’t it just be easier to Bluetooth your music instead of swapping your set up? Don’t get me wrong, the sound swap feature is amazing and really convenient for tv sounds. But wouldn’t you be using your phone or laptop to play the music anyway?

I bought it for that price @ costco in January after a post on here. I did want ARC2, but for less than half the price went with the ARC. It is measurably better than my gen 1 Beam which has been moved to bedroom. It may even be better than my traditional 9.1 home theater in basement with \~5K in speakers/sub and Amp.

I bought a Sonos Beam around Black Friday 2018. It's pretty awesome for the price. I believe it is still an option. It connects directly with either optical cable or HDMI. The Sonos ecosystem is a bit of a disaster right now, so I'd suggest sticking with just a soundbar and avoid going any further down the Sonos rabbit hole by adding more speakers to a home network.

Sonos beam gen 1 is cheap as chips and sounds better than cheap 2 box solutions out there. For a bedroom will suit 95% of people. If you have the space, racing a pair play 1 or symfonisk to go with it

There is very little between them if you are looking to turn bass right down anyway. Although I will say, if your living room is large, you may find you don't need to turn the bass down, I would likely go for the cheapest option based on your description. That said, why the arc ultra rather just the arc? Or even just a beam if you are looking for voice clarity

Got beam gen 1 in bedroom, absolutely rock solid choice, gen 2 is never worth twice the money

The beam was Sonos budget soundbar 10 years ago too. They slightly improved it and kept raising the price. I have 3 beam gen 1s that I paid 300 or less for new. Two were from Costco when they marked them down to $250. At that price alone they sound pretty damn good. I wouldn’t buy a new one at full price. Sonos soundbars are priced too high these days if you have no plans to use them together with other Sonos speakers for whole home audio. Dollar for dollar you can get equivalent sound for less from many other brands, especially since most companies include a sub with soundbar.

got the Arc, a pair of Play 1,3 and 5 gen2, Sub gen 3, Beam gen 1, flawless. Airplay to them, stream from google hw, Broadcast TV and movies, love it all, would get more any time, just don't need any as these just work and sound great. And if the app sjould go funny again, there is homeassistant ;) and also 10 fingers to chose from to push buttons :D

I’d suggest getting both. Prices seem to be very good for both. For example, in my country I’ve paid c. $420 for a slightly used Beam 2 s year ago. Every TV would benefit from a Beam (I’ve been using Beam 1Gs since 2018) so you’ll always find a TV to pair your B2 with (yours secondary TV, of your mama/dad’s-doesn’t matter). Your primary TV will definitely benefit from your Arc which you’ll easily upgrade to Ultra if and when needed.

I have the first arc and first beam. Beam sounds like trash compared to arc, no matter the setup/surround & sb/source

Yet here I am debating an arc ultra and 300s. When the answer is probably just get another beam…

I second this, Arc, 2 Ones, Sub Gen 3 in living room. Beam (gen 1) in bedroom sounds a lot better. It’s also smaller and a perfect rectangle. But from day 1 I’ve been underwhelmed with my Arc and am constantly trying to figure out if it’s messed up or something. I usually use my AppleTV but for some reason I used the native Netflix app on my LG C4 and the sound is way better. It’s also louder… so am I just someone who likes more compressed audio!? They should be identical outputs. I’ve mostly given up trying to figure it out.

Wait, my og beam is ranked 5th? It's pretty decent, but what? I also have the samsung 990c, and it blows it out of the water by a mile.

Ray didn't have the sweet bass I was looking for! Beam Gen 1 is the minimum soundbar from Sonos that sounds great to my ears, and again, I realize tastes vary, but Ray didn't have the punch even when paired with a Sub Gen3 for my needs.

I’ve been using a Sonos beam (the first one) for about 5 years now and it’s a big step up from just using the tv speakers. Much fuller sound and can get loud if I want it to. I’m under no illusion that a ‘proper’ sound system would be a lot better and I’m thinking of upgrading to a Dolby atmos system but the little beam is very good for its size!

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

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.

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.

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.

Sonos has been a nightmare for me. For years I loved them and then it all stopped working. I’m about to buy a home pod or two. Keeping my beam soundbar for the tv.

It works because it’s hardwired into the TV. But it will not connect to my Sonos system anymore. And to clarify, they often connect, but they disconnect within a day or two

Best quality in clarity is devialet but not sure if there is a sub woofer to buy. Samsung is ok but one sub or woofer goes bad you have to buy the whole thing again (based on experience with one) sonos is pretty good and you can always replace the speakers for rears and subs or soundbar plus can add more to the home for a full absence sound in the home and possibly outside backyard anf host bbq or family parties. So something you can build and add to an ecosystem definitely sonos and is really good quality. (I have a sonos arc, sub 3, ones, and sub mini with beam) best quality in sound for a soundbar is devialet. Other brands are ok but Samsung is a closed system bose is kinda complicated and wants to be like sonos

Not true. I have an Arc and Beam and I agree that the Beam clearly has advantages outside of the power. Especially with music which not sure why the Arc doesn’t handle it as well.

Imo, the s800d is not good as it favours form over function... u should rather get a q800d/f. The homepods dont really make sense since u getting this system for the TV to watch movies right?, it should sound better for music tho. Out of those 3 options, the Sonos Beam is most likely the best(if u go this route u should definitely get a sub)... although I would suggest u rather get a 3.1.2 soundbar or better, the price of a sonos beam plus a sub... maybe u can get a q800d/f(that will be better than all these options)

I’ve had a similar journey to you- moving from a combo Sonos / standing speaker system to an entirely Sonos based system for space reasons. The only difference is that I’ve always had the Beam / Surround / Sub Mini combo which I built over time and never upgraded further (the arc is too big for my TV lol). Anyway, for music - everything from steaming to vinyl to CDs- the sub mini / beam / surround ones- is, dollar for dollar (and even when you don’t take cost into account) the best non standing system you are going to find. It’s great. But this is a problem for Sonos, because if this system works well for the vast majority of music customers, how will Sonos satisfy its investors and demonstrate continued and rapid growth? Thus the fiasco of the last few years, with things that either don’t work (the app, the headphones) or things that work but somehow always seem disappointing when you take the hype and the price into account. I’m mentally preparing for Sonos to someday make my wonderful little system technically obsolete for exactly this reason … but for now I am just enjoying it.

As I said in my comment below, the key differences between your two experiences are (1) music and (2) atmos. Like myself, the OP has an emphasis on music and doesn’t use Atmos much (I don’t use it at all, I’m incapable). Fundamentally, I’ve come to the conclusion that soundbars are best for TV and films, full stop. If you want Sonos for music, even the best soundbars won’t cut it - that’s why you need to supplement them with other speakers, and once you do that, the Beam is as good as anything, and for music, maybe even better.

I have the Ray, Beam, and Arc. While there is a noticeable difference between the Ray and the others, the Ray is in a smaller room and it works just fine (and is much better than the built in tv speakers).

Dedicated front/center speakers are always going to be better than a soundbar. BUT I just sold my Klipsch 5.1.2 system and purchased 2 era 300s to go with a not yet purchased Arc Ultra. In the mean time I’m using an existing Beam that we had in another room and the 300s as surrounds. I’m amazed at how good it is for our use cases (TV, Movies, Music, but we have a young child so never super loud) to the point that I’m delaying purchasing the Arc Ultra and sub until they come down in price a little. I am also someone who has struggled with app issues but this was a breeze to set up and I love all the control I have. I can set the 300s to play music at full instead of as surrounds _automatically_ which is something my old system couldn’t do. And they’re all wireless. I’m genuinely surprised.

I haven’t set up Trueplay yet so it might lock out the feature. When setting the 300s as surrounds there is an option for ”Music Playback” which allows changing between ambient and full for music. I’m not sure of the limitations but I don’t need to toggle anything when changing from TV to music (tested playing through the app and Spotify) whereas I did with my Onkyo AVR. https://preview.redd.it/v9g4v6qk52be1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=87c6159aa100fde67d51cefda823d3ec0f0effaa

In no world is the Beam better. When I swapped my beam to the Samsung 990f… just soundbar and nothing else attached yet… I literally giggled at how much better the sound was.

I honestly have never been a fan of my beam. It's decent for music but for tv/movies the voices are tough to hear and the whole thing just really, really needs a sub attached to it. A beam + a sonos sub is still more than the whole 990F and would still be miles away from it in overall performance. I still have my beam is my general LR tv (990F for movie area) but I'm seriously considering selling it and moving that to the 990F too.

Sonos Beam would fit, but if you have it recessed at all the side firing speakers are going to bounce off the insides and sound might feel like it's coming from where it shouldn't be. It's about 28" wide so it would only have 2 inches on each side to fire the sound sideway - not sure how good it would sound. But it would be better than the TV speakers alone. and I think it's currently on sale.

It’s a very good sound bar. But honestly, the Beam is also, and much cheaper. The Beam has more bass, and a ‘fuller’ sound . I have both.

Go to best buy you can compare the ultra and beam. It’s day and night.

Not stock tv speakers depending on the sound bar. But I do get that I'm in the home theater subreddit. My sonos beam was great for just upgrading from stock sound. (Not angry just a pov)

I was a little disappointed in my ARC compared to my BEAM in the other room. Paired a Sub Mini with the Arc and any bit of disappointment went away instantly.

Honestly, I wouldn't. The beam is great, I mean so is the arc, but id add a mini sub and call it a day and maybe a couple surrounds. I got my play 1s used for cheap.

Returning my beam. Not happy you cannot shut it off without unplugging or disconnecting from WiFi so the soundbar is always on. Sounds great but I don’t want it on all the damn time.

yep, vocals and TV dialog are better on the Beam 1 and 2 than they are on the Arc

Get the Fives, buy a cheap Sonos sound bar, second hand, Ray or Beam and add the Fives as front L/R with SonoSequencr ( just realised Vorosaur has said this)

I’ve got the Arc and a Beam I only have the beam because I couldn’t justify spending that much on another one…….if I saw it for this price I would have two Arcs

I only got this to work after iOS 18.1 came out and Sonos updated their apps to finally work. Previously, it would get stuck in the “tuning” phase where it wouldn’t connect to the Beam to start the calibration. I have a small rectangular room and didn’t really notice a difference, though.

It kinda depends on what you want to do. $500 budget, If you want to keep it minimal, just improve the sound of the tv, I would get a Sonos beam for $425 at Amazon right now. Huge upgrade! For a soundbar/sub combo for around $500. Samsung, according to Consumer Reports, seems to rate the highest. Specifically the Samsung Q600C. I also suggest checking deals at open-box at Best Buy if you want new. And check Costco for deals as their return policy is wonderful! And remember, Prime Day is coming next month. So you might wait for that as well. I hope this helps.

true. The ultra is better, the entire set not just the ultra alone, Beam not so much.

I love my Beam. My Beam is not better than my q990B. Nevermind what a C/D/F would sound like. Q990 is the best value for money sound system for people who value simplicity, surround/atmos, and voice clarity. There are better AVR setups and there are better soundbars (plus whatever we call the Sony quad systems). But for the money, nothing better.

You could place a sub anywhere in the room. I personally love my Sonos Beam. People love the arc ultra, but even the much cheaper Beam does great without a sub. $200 is tough to get anything good, but I bet that TCL will improve your sound situation.

We bought the Sonos Beam, Left & Right One SL speakers and the Sub Mini because we heard that Sonos is know for having good voice clarity. My husband and I are not young anymore and find that it is often hard to understand what is being said on TV. (Our hearing is OK, according to the audiologist!) The clarity is better than a regular other branded soundbar. However, we are wondering if we bought an additional set of Sonos speakers and placed them across the room, near our chairs, would it improve the clarity? Or is there another brand that would be better?

We moved the 2 small speakers, as you suggested, and that made an immediate improvement. I turned center speaker up to 9 and we are hearing everything crystal clear. I'm shocked at what a difference this made. For now, we are sticking with the Beam. However, that Arc Ultra is simmering in the back of my mind.......lol......

Sonos Beam has the biggest sound for a bar that small, best option especially if you're interested in expanding to more speakers.

So the way you get “5.1” without what’s called discrete speakers, the ones in the back and 3 upfront, is something called “psycho acoustics”. Which is a process of directing sound to bounce of walls to simulate sound coming from that direction. It’s been around for a while however there is a lot and I mean a lot of snake oil peddling in the $100-$300 price range especially without discrete speakers. I’m probably a month into my research of soundbars. It’s a lot to sift through. Samsung makes the best overall soundbar in the Q990 but unless you’re getting the EPP discount they are north of $1000. The budget version in their line would be the QS730D at $300-$450 on Amazon. Does a pretty good job with 3 speakers simulating surround with 2 height speakers to provide Atmos effects. Sonos Beam and Bose 600 are the midrange no subwoofer options around $500. Great clarity and do a good job of simulating surround. Height effects aren’t that great on either model. Budgeting lower than these is Vizio M512-H6 and JBL Bar 5.1/500. Both I think are good units that won’t leave you feeling you’ve been duped.

Unless you plan to use a 3rd party app you have to use a soundbar. The beam is a good starting point to pair with the old play 1s you have. Then eventually add a sub or sub mini and you’re in pretty good shape. You can also look for an arc (not the new arc ultra, I mean you can look at that too but $$$). There are good deals to be had on the arc since the ultra came out. They sell refurbished ones on the Sonos site on sale right now.

Some might call me crazy, but the built in speakers made me get rid of my Sonos Beam. The main reason was the sound quality, i did a lot of test of the different sound profiles and eq-settings on the tv and found ones that perfectly fit the room, have a lot of punch and keep the dialogue clean. After doing a lot of back and forth with the Sonos beam I found that the sound from the tv was extremely close and the Atmos height effect was better from the tv than the soundbar. Me and my girl also wanted the cleanest setup possible, so everything is hidden and all of the cables are neatly organized, the Apple TV, Xbox and Nintendo Switch are all hidden from the sight. And without a soundbar the whole setup looks way better. If anyone is curious about the sound settings: TV: Sound profile: Movie Equalizer: Bass +1 Apple TV: Reduce Loud sounds: ON Enhance dialogue: ON (Not more)

Yeah, i would not post about it if i did not mean it😂 I just sold my Sonos soundbar because of this TV. But you have to adjust the sound settings to fit your room, in my room the sound was slightly harsh so i bumped the bass to slightly reduce the high frequencies.

It'll look small but it will probably be plenty loud for your movies or music. Sub and rears will make it even better and totally solid. My MIL has a beam on a 65. It looks a lil funny but there is zero problem with it providing enough juice.

The Arc takes a steaming shit on the beam and you somehow got it for only $100 more. No need for the beam unless you have a full second setup you’re going for

I bought the sonos beam and I wasn't impressed. Voices still were too low for me but bass was good for a soundbar. Bought a Samsung QS750F instead. Pleased with the purchase so far.

Funnily enough I'm getting a new OLED TV and Sonos sound bar next week..At the minute I have just an LG C2 55" and the Sonos Beam with a pair of ones and just the Sub Mini...I'm upgrading to the Arc and getting the C5 83"...and upgrading my PS5 to the Pro as well...I can't wait 😂

I wonder if you might get better impact from a Beam plus Sub Mini. The impact of the rears is more subtle and they can be easily added later. Probably cost similar to Beam plus 2x Era 100.

Honestly, I’d just get a Beam and a Sub (either version, mini cheaper) and then add the surrounds later. You’ll get more depth to the sound with the Beam + Sub than you would with Beam + Eras and no sub. Maybe try the eras later - you may be able to return them - but I’d still say your ability to place them a bit further away from your ears is a bit limiting.

If you ever want any Atmos height channels, go Arc. Beam sounds good but there are no upward finding firing speakers. In general, I’d match to surrounds like this: - Arc / Ultra + sub + 300s - Beam + sub mini + One SLs or 100s 300s with beam will overpower it. 100s with arc and you’re missing the full Atmos experience.

I bought a Ray and thought it sounded great, made voices much easier to hear, and was plenty loud for my small room and made movies sound great. But, I ended up returning it and getting the Beam because of lack of being able to control it with my remote, it would work 50% of the times, and then would become unsynched and the volume level shown on my TV wouldn't match the actual volume - to the point where the Ray would be loud, but the TV volume interface would show that the volume was at zero and woudln't let me lower it anymore. So I kept having to get up and fiddle with the volume buttons on top of the Ray. Now that I have the Beam, I do hear the sound difference and Beam is far superior. But also was double the cost! I think the Ray would be perfect for someone who doesn't care about the small inconvenience of the remote not synching with the TV.

Agreed. If you really want the Sonos ecosystem get the Amp with some nice bookshelf speakers (Sonos Sub or any wired subwoofer can be added later if you prefer) and Sonos 100s as surrounds for TV viewing. The Arc will sound small and tinny in comparison. I’ve owned the Beam, Playbase, and Arc. In my opinion, the Arc performed the worst of the three when it came to music. For TV however, I preferred the Arc. I got a good deal on the Amp so I tried it out with the Q Acoustic 3020s I already owned and was shocked by the improvement… better separation, bigger soundstage both horizontally and vertically. Only downgrade vs the Arc, and its a pretty minor difference, would be TV dialogue was a little clearer on the Arc. But if you are primarily using the system for music, I think you will be disappointed with a soundbar.

Sonos Beam

The bigger sub does not thump if you don’t want it to, but has a deeper bass sound then the mini sub when it comes to a Sonos system, I would be going for the Beam if I had a smaller place with a set of 100s but if you want a more immersive sound I would go with the Ark Ultra with a set of 300s. It all up to what you prefer as everyone is different when it comes to sound in a system. Hope this helps

do not use home pods as a home theater replacement. get an actual sound bar . sonos beam would be a nice start , over time you could build it out as well by adding rears , and a subwoofer when you’re ready.

Sonos beam is garbage. No bluetooth and the app sucks. Had so many issues I ended up taking it back to Costco. Sound isn’t bad but it’s not worth the hassle of Sonos.

Sennheiser Ambeo Mini or the Bose Smart Soundbar both will be a million times better than the Beam. I had the Beam & the Bose Smart Soundbar (was the Smart 600 at the time) & the Sonos sounded like literal junk compared to the Bose. Brighter, more detail, more balanced, better surround performance, just better in literally every aspect than the Beam. I can't speak on the Sennheiser Ambeo Mini but I did have a demo of the Ambeo Plus & it's truly in a league of its own, Bose is close behind tho. I'd pick the Bose over the Ambeo mini due to lack of center channel with the Ambeo. Imo the Bose Smart Soundbar is one of the absolute best budget bars out there.

I got the JBL 9.1 and it’s awesome. I had the Sonos beam with two Sonos ones as rears. The JBL I have am has wireless surrounds too that with the sub is perfect for movies and music

Depends on the tv. Hisense has some pretty good out of the box speakers on their TVs. I run a Sonos beam and arc set ups. What I notice most is the cinematic rumble. If you like good sound for tv and movies once you upgrade to a soundbar you won’t want to go back.

Really enjoying my Sonos beam, sub 4, and twin 100’s for rears. Sounds great for music and movies, but yeah…. Much more than $1k

I haven't heard the Bose, so can't comment. But sonos Arc Ultra or Beam are both better. Samsung just has cheap speakers in their bars and rears, others with better fidelity speakers generally have better sound.

The arc has a terrible sound signature, especially for music. If you are looking for a bar that is good for music and movies, I would go to the beam if you want slightly cheaper or the arc ultra if you can afford it. Do yourself a favour and skip the arc altogether.

I have two of each. Arc is better, but I’ve never really regretted the Beams. I own one sub and will probably buy another one day.

If you already have the 100s and a sub mini, I would look for a standard arc or even a beam. I don't think the arc adds a ton when listening to music... It sounds good, but isn't a game changer for music alone. I don't have an ultra and don't really care about "spatial" audio when some other people might. I own both a beam and an arc and if your room isn't huge, you may find a beam to be suitable, and certainly a standard arc if you can find one for a couple hundred less than the new arc ultra. The other thing to know is that if you set your 100s up as surrounds speakers, you'll need to check "full" on playback for music so they play at full volume and not surround when playing music. Otherwise you'll have to keep them setup as a stereo pair separately from the sound bar setup. The app doesn't make it "one touch" to flip back and forth

I had the beam and moved to the arc. I am much happier with the arc. Full sound, more coverage. The beam will suffice for a smaller room, my masterbedroom is pretty big, and the arc does a wonderful job.

If the Sonos arc is too pricey then the Beam is good also

Sonos beam and their small sub will do you. You can use it to your bedroom when you move.

soundbar too. get side surrounds. i’d suggest something a sonos beam or ray and maybe some era100’s sonos or similar which have the ability to fine tune the speakers to calibrate them with your speaker positions. you can always upgrade. the beta, is much more versatile. the era100 can’t do atmos but in this space you wouldn’t get much benefit of upfiring atmos i think.

I have the same setup it’s excellent. I don’t think you can add more speakers (shouldn’t your current One SLs already be behind/next to you). Even if you did the dialogue typically comes from the center channel (sound bar) so it won’t make a difference. Edit: there should be a setting to boost the dialogue clarity. You can also turn the surrounds and the sub down if you find they’re too loud when turning up the volume to hear dialogue better.

In our living room we have a Sonos beam and have a theater room with a dedicated system. I have no need to watch the news in 7.2 surround sound. I also don’t want to look at speakers the time. The Sonos is actually not bad, I want to get the sub but I don’t really need it. A lot of people are not fortunate enough to have a dedicated space for a home theater, a sound bar works perfectly fine.

I gotta agree with the sonos beam, and if you ever decide you want a sub or surround speakers, they pair right up no problem, I personally have a beam and sub mini. They sound fantastic and can get loud if you want them too.

Just get a Beam. The Arc is massive overkill for a bedroom / alarm clock.

You could look at sennheiser ambeo mini but the sonos beam is probably better. The sony ht-a5000/ht-a7000 are going to be way better than ht-s2000 and depending on your usage; you may prefer them over the sonos beam.

Soundbar 100%. I live in a townhome and have a Sonos beam. It’s so much nicer than the tv speakers while not being too much for my neighbors. There’s no sub and I even turn the bass setting down all the way just to be safe. Nothing worse than hearing a neighbors bass coming through the walls. No point in going through all the trouble of setting Up an actual system when you can’t really use it like you’d want to.

Yup. I didn’t want a sub because I live in a townhome. I got a Sonos beam. There’s no sub and I also edited the setting to turn bass down. The soundbar is 100x better than the tv alone. I used to keep the remote in my hand while watching tv to try to balance the volume because it was always either too loud or too quiet. Don’t have to do that anymore. Since the speakers face forward everything sounds better and with the center channel the voice clarity is great. I rarely have to adjust anything anymore and like I said, everything sounds 100x better.

Imagine downgrading from the arc to beam and saying it sounds better. What you’re describing isn’t an arc problem. The arc alone isn’t meant to handle lows just like any soundbar/speaker. It should be used with a sub at the minimum. You just need the top of the line Sonos setup which is the arc, sub gen 3 and era 300s. That setup is night and day better than a beam2 sub mini and 100s. How you dial in the settings also makes a huge difference. Listening to music set on ambient 🤦‍♂️. Talk about not setting up your system properly then complaining about the speakers. Head scratching stuff. If you’re trying to say your arc, sub mini and era 100s barely sounded better than your TV speakers then your settings weren’t right or your ears are clogged. But seeing as how you set your music on ambient I can already imagine what the rest of the settings were like. The definition of ambient straight from Sonos is subtle low volume with a limited frequency range. Why would you want that for music if you’re really trying to experience the speakers? If you want your sound to come more from the center of your soundbar you can still keep the music playback to full but adjust your surround volume. You can put it in the negative while still enjoying a full frequency range. But if you have the era 300s that’s the opposite of what you should be doing. They are the better more powerful speakers compared to the arc so for music playback you want them at like plus 3 and you 100% want music playback to full. Now I see why there’s so many complaints here about Sonos.

The Beam definitely doesn’t have more bass than the Arc Ultra.

I have my Sonos Beam in my family room and a Sonos One SL in my living room kitchen. My favorite feature of the Sonos TV bars is that I can cast the sound to my other speakers. So when I’m cooking I can still listen to the movie/tv from the other room. Seriously amazing tech

That's more helpful. But I have a ray and a beam. In the correct environment I think they are both awesome...

I’m happy with my Sonos Beam. It’s a significant difference even if you’re not spending much.

I have an Arc, sub and two ones for the TV and it's very good. In my main living area I have a Beam for the TV and it's very good. I have a one outside and it's very very hit and miss with music, skipping and all the other faults reported with the app at one time or another. Swapped it out with the other ones I have which have been flawless and the fault swaps to the new speaker and the one that was faulty is perfect on the TV. I also have a couple of roams for music which skip etc. I did try the Arc setup with music and it was OK. My Arc is wired with Ethernet. I reckon you'll be all right with the Arc Ultra.

I got both and let me tell you for some reason i like the beam more because it has more bass than the arc buuuuuuuutttt i need both Arc for a big room eventually ill pair it with a sub and the beam 2 for a small room.

Samsung Q600 or Q800 Or sonos beam

It's funny. For me it was different. I went from TV speaker to beam Gen 2 and was impressed. Then my Dad got a cheaper but not bad "Dolby Atmos" Soundbar. I realized that the true secret sauce is Trueplay. That is what's makes the Sonos Bar better Imho. Overall, if you want to have better surround while not spending to much money, get a pair of Ikea Bookshelves and use them as surrounds. Your Beam will then have more headroom as it doesn't need to simulate the rears anymore

Yep, that spot is just screaming for a Sonos bar.