The Beam does a great job at simulating Dolby Atmos virtualization: height-based audio for Atmos-encoded movies and shows. Most importantly, the Beam’s dialogue audio is rendered clear and center-stage, which checks the box for one of the most important movie- and show-watching criteria. The mids and highs are well-balanced and bold, and there’s plenty of low-end detail, too (although some will still want to invest in a subwoofer like the Sonos Sub Mini). As far as overall soundstaging goes, the Beam is near-perfect for most conventional listening spaces, including living rooms, entertainment dens, and even some larger bedrooms. The Sonos Beam is equipped with a single tweeter, four woofers (two front-firing, two curved and side-facing), and three passive radiators. When it comes to room-filling sound, both the Sono Beam and Sonos Arc set the bar nice and high when it comes to chart-topping performance. While you can borrow someone else’s iPhone to use Trueplay (the settings will be saved to your network), it’s a bit of a pain to have to call in an extra device to do so. The real letdown though is missing out on the iOS-only Trueplay feature, which uses your iPhone or iPad’s microphones to calibrate your Sonos soundbar to your listening environment. For starters, that NFC capability isn’t going to work, requiring just a few more simple steps to add either soundbar to your Sonos network. Yes, you’ll be able to download the Sonos app and set up your soundbar using Android gear, but the process becomes a whole lot less seamless. All you have to do is plug both soundbars in for power, download and launch the Sonos app on your mobile device, and, thanks to NFC, just tap your iOS device against the top of the soundbar to add it to your Sonos system.ĭo note that we only called out iOS devices. Sonos has an excellent track record when it comes to super-simple installation, and with the addition of near-field communication (NFC) for both the Beam and Arc, getting up and running couldn’t be easier. In terms of design, this is a great example of “different strokes for different folks.” The Beam will likely satisfy the vast majority of casual to elevated movie-watchers and gamers, while the Arc will satiate the heavy-hitting home theater diehards. Speaking of that HDMI ARC/eARC port: seeing as both the Beam and Arc ditch HDMI switching (you won’t find any dedicated HDMI-in ports on either soundbar), if you’re dead-set on using eARC for Dolby Atmos, your TV must be Atmos-compatible, and any AV components (such as streaming devices or Blu-ray players) that you plan on experiencing Atmos with will all need to be connected to your TV’s HDMI inputs. And in terms of connections, you’ll be working with the exact same setup as the Beam: a power connection, an Ethernet port, and an HDMI ARC/eARC port. Similar to the Beam, the Arc is equipped with an all-plastic grille that covers the entire front of the system and wraps around to the back. While the Arc can sit on top of a TV stand, be aware that the slightly taller chassis may interfere with the bottom of your TV screen. The Sonos Arc, available in black and white, features a much wider and spherically-inclined build than the Beam, measuring 45 inches wide, 3.4 inches tall, and 5.5 inches from front to back. In terms of actual connections, the Beam keeps things simple, featuring just a DC power input, an Ethernet port, and an HDMI ARC/eARC port. The second-gen Beam also carries over the same pill-shaped chassis from the previous iteration but ditches the fabric grille in favor of a perforated plastic shielding that covers the front driver array and wraps around to both sides of the back (with the middle of the backside relegated to the Beam’s inputs). The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is available in black and white finishes, and measures 25.6 inches wide, 2.7 inches tall, and 3.9 inches from front to back. Just wait until you hear lossless Dolby Atmos Music Android users are about to lose a handy Sonos feature
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