Sonos Arc vs Sonos Beam: Which One Should You Buy?

Sonos announced a high-quality soundbar this year: the Sonos Arc. The manufacturer also has a compact soundbar in its range, the Sonos Beam. Which one is the best to buy? Then read this comparison.

Sonos Arc and Sonos Beam

The Sonos Arc is a high-quality soundbar with 11 powerful audio drivers, two of which face upwards for a more room-filling sound that mimics a cinema effect. Arc is more than a sound bar. According to Sonos, it provides everything you can stream with excellent sound that is tailored to what’s playing, from movies and series, to music, podcasts and radio when the TV is off.

• Buy Sonos Arc – coolblue, bol.com, Media market – 899 euros

The Sonos Beam is a compact smart speaker and TV soundbar in one and provides you with sound when you stream music, watch series and movies, play podcasts and audiobooks, or play video games. Like the Arc, the device is also part of the Sonos home sound system, which supports more than sixty streaming services.

• Buy Sonos Beam – coolblue, bol.com, Media market – 449 euros

Sonos Arc

Comparison Sonos Arc and Sonos Beam

Similarity

Both the Sonos Beam and the Sonos Arc work with WiFi. So you can stream music directly from your smartphone to the soundbar via your WiFi network. This can be done via AirPlay, Chromecast, wall switches, your TV remote, SonosNet, the Sonos app or third-party apps such as Spotify Connect, Audible, Pandora and Tidal. You can also operate the soundbars via the touch buttons or remote control. Bluetooth support is missing on both.

Do you have more Sonos speakers at home? Then you connect it to the Beam of Arc to create a surround setup. For example, I linked two Sonos One speakers in the kitchen to the Arc in the living room to listen to the same music in both rooms. You can also wirelessly connect the soundbars to the Sonos Sub for extra bass.

Sonos Beam

The Sonos Beam and the Sonos Arc are both smart. They work with smart assistants like the Google Assistant and Alexa. So you can easily start music or a TV program with these soundbars via a voice command, check the weather forecast and operate smart home devices.

Both soundbars have support for Apple Airplay 2 and have the same connections. You can connect both to your TV via the included HDMI cable. You can also connect via the optical audio output of your TV. The pair can also be mounted on the wall, but you will have to order the wall brackets separately for this. For the Arc you count 79 euros down for this and the one for the Beam costs 69 euros.

Difference

The Sonos Arc was announced in May 2020 and the Beam has been around since 2018. The Sonos Arc serves as a replacement for the Sonos Playbar and Playbase. The Beam is a cheaper alternative to the Arc. That is also one of the big differences, the price. The Arc costs 899 euros and you get the Beam for 449 euros.

In addition to the price, both also differ in size, weight and design. The Arc is a lot bigger than the compact alternative in the form of the Beam. The Beam measures 65.1 cm and the Arc is 114.2 cm long. With its 2.8 kg, the Beam is also a lot lighter than the 6.25 kg Arc.

The appearance of both soundbars also does not match. In the picture below you see the Sonos Arc in the middle as an elongated rounded tube. The Beam underneath is much shorter and therefore more compact.

The biggest difference between the two is the sound quality. That is of course because Sonos has equipped them with different speakers. As I mentioned earlier, the Sonos Arc is a high-quality soundbar with 11 powerful audio drivers that should bring cinema sound to your living room. Whether that is stereo, Dolby Audio 5.1 or Dolby Atmos. If you want to play Dolby Atmos sound with the Arc, a TV that supports Dolby Atmos is a must.

The Arc can thus output surround sound to five sound channels: three facing forward and two facing the side. The reflection from the wall makes it seem as if the sound from these two channels is coming from behind. Connecting two Sonos One SL surround speakers to the Arc as rear speakers provides better surround sound.

The Sonos Beam works with three channels, so it only has a left, right and center channel. Dolby Atmos support is missing as a result, but you can still create more spacious sound with a Beam in your living room than that of most speakers in current TVs. The Sonos Beam also has 1 tweeter and 4 woofers as opposed to the 3 tweeters and 8 woofers of the Arc.

The Sonos Beam is suitable for TVs smaller than 49 inches, according to Sonos. The Arc is optimal for TVs larger than 49 inches.

Touch control on the Sonos Beam

Conclusion: Buy Sonos Beam or Sonos Arc?

The Sonos Beam and the Sonos Arc have a number of similarities. They both have support for smart assistants, and thanks to WiFi, both can be seamlessly incorporated into a Sonos speaker system to create a surround setup, for example. The differences, on the other hand, are larger, which makes it easier to make a choice between the two. You can see the Arc as a premium soundbar that can imitate a better surround sound with more amplifiers, woofers and tweeters. You pay 899 euros for this.

The Beam, on the other hand, offers less powerful sound and therefore fits perfectly in smaller spaces and comes into its own with a smaller TV. The price is also a lot smaller, namely 449 euros. The Sonos Beam is therefore very suitable for people with a small to medium-sized living room who are looking for a smart, compact and mature all-in-one soundbar with good sound quality for an acceptable price.

Who is the Sonos Arc for?

– For those who want to create surround sound, possibly in combination with extra Sonos speakers

– For those who want to bring cinema sound to their living room

– For those looking for a soundbar with Google Assistant

Who is the Sonos Beam for?

– For those looking for a compact soundbar that fits perfectly in a smaller living room

– For those seeking an affordable all-in-one soundbar

– For those looking for a soundbar with Google Assistant

Sonos Arc