Sonos - Beam (Gen 2)

When I tried Arc Ultra with Spotify Very High, the sound felt richer. Two Era100s hit wider than Beam Gen2, but I prefer Arc for deep, detailed tracks.

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

You might be able to find a Sonos Beam Gen2 and a pair of Sonos One in that budget. That's a great starter system, and something you can build on in the future by adding a Sub and replacing the other speakers with the higher end models. Or start with a Sonos Arc and add the rest later.

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.

I think as standalone unit ultra is capable of delivering convenient surround experience if room allows it. Beam on other hand while impressive for its size and price require sub to be super effective and soundstage in comparison are not so good. Ultra sounds like a good choice to pick, because hey, it’s Christmas’s and Black Friday soon, so here we go with subs and proper surround :3 And second hand market is a good place to grab some 100 or even 300. Answering you question - I’d go with ultra. And they has 60 days return policy, so get one - try - keep or return

I was in your situation just 2 days ago.. After comparing the Bose smart soundbar with the Sonos Beam Gen2 in-store , I went with the Bose sound bar. I thought it sounded a little bit cleaner than the Sonos, plus the upfiring speakers was a factor for me too. It sounds amazing when playing Dolby Atmos content! Ofcourse, that's just my opinion when comparing it to the sound from my tv speakers. Im happy with my purchase and have no plans of returning it. I'd suggest going to a Bestbuy and trying out both.

I have a 75” QM7K paired with Sonos Beam 2, Sub Mini and 2 Era 300s for rear surrounds. Def recommend Sonos.

Go for a Sonos Beam gen2, sounds perfect for what you’re looking for

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.

I have an Arc paired with Gen 2 Sub and a Beam Gen 2 paired with a sub mini in different rooms. The Arc is definitely a much more robust soundbar and does everything better. I just ordered the refurbished Arc for $399 USD on the Sonos site today. I’ll be replacing the Beam and moving it to the bedroom where we don’t need as large of a soundbar. The Beam did well in our upstairs living room with the help of the sub mini but the opportunity to upgrade to an Arc for that price was worth it IMO.

Sonos beam 2 A sub mini - pair of 100s. Sounds amazing!!

It could be the Sonos Beam 2, I still have it and I also have the Arc Ultra, for a small apartment or bedroom it is more than enough.

Tienes la Arc o la Arc Ultra? Porque también noté algo más de bajos en la Beam 2 comparando a la Arc de primera generación, mejor relación costo beneficio. Pero menos separación de sonido por su reducido tamaño y cantidad de drivers

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 beam gen 2 and a Sonos sub gen 3 and would give a 9/10. I didn’t have to run cables around my living room like my old 5.1 system in the old house, can easily turn the sub on and off from the app without getting up and can switch to night sound when my baby and partner are in bed. Can easily add surround rears without cables as well down the line. Loses one mark as the Arc supposedly sounds better but only ever demo in a store so not sure how it really compares but need to leave room to upgrade to that.

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

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

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 think the beam 2 is a great sound bar. You can add a sub mini down the road if you want more bass.

I just made the upgrade from the Beam Gen2 to the Arc Ultra. May it depends on your room, your setup and your TV. For me I can say that the upgrade is noteable. The sound is much brighter, better high tones and the bass is stronger. I also moved to a bigger appartment and now I have a larger living room with 25 m^2. but I also have two One SL as surrounds and a Sub Mini for the deeper sounds. Long story short, I definetly would say that you can hear the difference. Brighter sound and the Atmos Effects are clearer. For me it was worth the upgrade. But the Beam Gen2 is still a very good soundbar. If you have the money and its worth to you, go for it. But if you stay with the beam you also won‘t be disappointed.

for a small apartment living room I have no complaints. I dont even reach half of the volume

My beam wasn’t turned on for all of about 10 minutes just due to a firmware update or something on my TV. I gotta tell you in that 10 minutes. I realized how good that sound bar makes my TV sound.

I just bought the beam 2 for my outdoor tv that’s Mounted next to our hot tub , I’m going to mount it with brackets so that it’s attached to the TV so that when I pull the TV out and swivel it towards whatever angle, the speakers are pointing in the same direction as the TV, the beam does not have upward firing speakers and that’s what I wanted because they would be wasted outdoors as they would not bounce off of anything, I also got the sub mini because there is a space inside of our hot tub for a sub to go, I have our built-in surround sound for the living room connected to a Sonos amp and I have an arc , sub & 2 era100s in the master, the plan is to be able to connect them all to music and walk throughout the house and have constant music playing

Sonos beam gen 2, 8.5/10

Try it out in your room yourself and you'll see. I had a beam gen 2 w/ sub mini and symfonisk bookshelves. Now I have an arc ultra w/ dual subs and symfonisk picture frames. Yes, my "volume is not set as high." No, it is not a loss. It sounds.... SO much better lol

If you got the money Sonos beam2. If not Samsung S60D

I've recently bought the sony bar 8 with sub & rears and regret it massively(for my bedroom) I wish I bought the sonos beam gen2 along with another era100. Despite the shitshow of an app the sound quality is great

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.

I would say it depends on your room, your TV and especially your needs. The Arc Ultra is a good soundbar and won‘t disappoint you. If you plan to add a Sub and Rears you can also buy that stuff later, because the system is modular. Maybe listen to one. And maybe compare the Beam 2. I just upgraded from Beam 2 to Arc Ultra. I‘m happy with it. And its good if you want to upgrade to some multi room features in future.

I have a Beam (Gen 2) and a pair of SYMFONISK speakers from Ikea ($360 but discontinued). So far, worked out pretty well. Was easy to connect on the Sonos app.

Sonos beam stinks. Id honestly get an old playbar off of marketplace if you want Sonos or ARC ULTRA. The playbar is still there best soundbar for music and movies IMO. Ive graduated to a full tilt boogy home theater but use the beam in a bedroom. My least fav sonos speaker.

Sonos Arc, Sub 3, 2 Era 100's surrounds for the living room Beam 2 and mini Sub for the bedroom. Even the Beam 2 by itself will really upgrade your listening experience and will be within your budget.

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.

I have a Sony Bravia Tv, I bought a Sonos Beam 2 as my first soundbar and find it to be great quality. They go on sale during most holidays I spent months and months debating and going through this sub - but very happy to stay with the Sonos ecosystem now