Sonos makes two of the best soundbars available to enhance your movie and TV show watching experience. The $899 Sonos Arc has been a favorite since it was released in 2020, and is our high-end soundbar pick thanks to superb audio that can hold its own with full home theater systems. But with the recently updated $449 Sonos Beam (Gen 2), which sounds great for the price and has lots of smart features, the choice of which Sonos soundbar to get is harder than ever.
Both of these speakers sound great, support Dolby Atmos — the latest surround sound tech — and feature a choice of voice assistants. Which is right for you? We’ll help you make the decision.
Big sound, big price
The plus-sized Sonos Arc is best for people who want more powerful sound to go with their big TV, and have the cash to make it happen.
Smaller and less expensive, but still mighty
Choose the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) if you want upgraded sound to go with your viewing experience, but don’t have space — or budget — for the Sonos Arc.
Jacob Krol/CNN
Sonos Beam
The most obvious difference between the Arc and the Beam is the size: the Arc takes up a good amount of home theater real estate, while the Beam is fairly compact.
At 45 x 4.5 x 3.4 inches, the Arc is longer and taller than many soundbars on the market. So unless you choose to mount it on your wall, you’ll need a long enough media cabinet to place the speaker below your TV.
The Beam is a more manageable 25.6 x 3.9 x 2.7 inches, and easier to add to your set-up. . It’s so small that it may look out of place under a large TV, and is generally a good match for TVs under 50-inches.
Jacob Krol/CNN</…….
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/30/cnn-underscored/sonos-arc-vs-sonos-beam/index.html