Sonos Beam vs Arc - What is the best Sonos soundbar?

At this point in 2022, we think that most people have heard about the music streaming company Sonos and their impressive selection of audio products. A popular question we get is:

"The Sonos Beam vs Arc...which is the best Sonos soundbar?"

See our video above that lays out the details of the Sonos Arc and the Sonos Beam; the 2 soundbars in the Sonos line-up. NOTE: Both these soundbars will sound much better by adding either the Sonos Sub subwoofer unit OR the new Sonos Sub Mini (ETA in October of 2022). 

Sonos details start at about 3:05 in the video.

These products are great for someone that wants clearer vocals (ever have Grandpa yell "Can't hear the voices on the TV!") for all of their video content including cable TV, Netflix, DVDs, etc. AND wants to use the soundbar as a dedicated music system.

P.S. See some of our other Sonos articles in the link below:

Sonos Streaming players and audio products

Looking for Sonos San Diego? Call Aire Theater Designs and let our Sonos experts enhance your life with music!

Please consider purchasing Sonos through the Crutchfield links below if you aren't in the Southern California area. We make a small commission via this medium and this helps support our video channel AND will let us take our guys out to lunch. THANKS!

✅ Sonos SUB MINI subwoofer in BLACK: https://www.pjatr.com/t/1-9448-301982-9448?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crutchfield.com%2FI-rppjc1F6H%2Fp_616SUBM1BK%2FSonos-Sub-Mini-Black.html

✅ Sonos SUB MINI subwoofer in WHITE: https://www.pntra.com/t/1-9448-301982-9448?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crutchfield.com%2FI-rppjc1F6G%2Fp_616SUBM1WH%2FSonos-Sub-Mini-White.html

✅ Sonos ERA 300 Atmos speaker in BLACK (price each): https://www.pntrac.com/t/1-9448-301982-9448?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crutchfield.com%2FI-rppjc1G8L%2Fp_616ERA300B%2FSonos-Era-300-Black.html

✅ Sonos ERA 300 Atmos speaker in WHITE (price each): https://www.pntrac.com/t/1-9448-301982-9448?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crutchfield.com%2FI-rppjc1G8M%2Fp_616ERA300W%2FSonos-Era-300-White.html

✅ Sonos AMP 125 watts X 2: https://www.gopjn.com/t/1-9448-301982-9448?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crutchfield.com%2FI-rppjc15UE%2Fp_616AMP%2FSonos-Amp.html

✅ Sonos ARC soundbar in BLACK: https://www.pntra.com/t/1-9448-301982-9448?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crutchfield.com%2FI-rppjc1A1R%2Fp_616ARCBK%2FSonos-Arc-Black.html

✅ Sonos ARC soundbar in WHITE: https://www.pjtra.com/t/1-9448-301982-9448?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crutchfield.com%2FI-rppjc1A1Q%2Fp_616ARCWH%2FSonos-Arc-White.html

✅ Sonos BEAM soundbar in BLACK: https://www.pntrac.com/t/1-9448-301982-9448?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crutchfield.com%2FI-rppjc1D94%2Fp_616BEAM2BK%2FSonos-Beam-Gen-2-Black.html

✅ Sonos BEAM soundbar in WHITE: https://www.pntrac.com/t/1-9448-301982-9448?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crutchfield.com%2FI-rppjc1D93%2Fp_616BEAM2WH%2FSonos-Beam-Gen-2-White.html

✅ Sonos PORT streaming pre-amp: https://www.pntrac.com/t/1-9448-301982-9448?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crutchfield.com%2FI-rppjc18DH%2Fp_616PORT1BK%2FSonos-Port.html

✅ Sonos MOVE portable speaker in BLACK: https://www.pntrs.com/t/1-9448-301982-9448?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crutchfield.com%2FI-rppjc18DI%2Fp_616MOVEBK%2FSonos-Move-Black.html

✅ Sonos MOVE portable speaker in WHITE: https://www.pntrs.com/t/1-9448-301982-9448?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crutchfield.com%2FI-rppjc1A8S%2Fp_616MOVEWH%2FSonos-Move-Lunar-White.html

✅ Sonos ROAM portable speaker in BLACK: https://www.pntrac.com/t/1-9448-301982-9448?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crutchfield.com%2FI-rppjc1BWN%2Fp_616ROAMBK%2FSonos-Roam-Black.html

✅ Sonos FIVE best streaming speaker in BLACK: https://www.gopjn.com/t/1-9448-301982-9448?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crutchfield.com%2FI-rppjc1A1S%2Fp_616SONOS5B%2FSonos-Five-Black.html

✅ Sonos FIVE best streaming speaker in WHITE: https://www.gopjn.com/t/1-9448-301982-9448?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crutchfield.com%2FI-rppjc1A1V%2Fp_616SONOS5W%2FSonos-Five-White.html

Leon Speaker dealer in San Diego

Leon soundbar installation in Santaluz custom home

Designer-friendly speakers from our friends at Leon - Leon Horizon soundbar

Some would argue that this is high fashion and elegant design...     

Yamaha 2022 AVENTAGE receiver acts as the heart of your whole-house entertainment and surround sound system

It's probably been a while since you've bought a new audio/video receiver or maybe I'm being assumptive and this is your first foray into surround sound. No worries...we'd be happy to help. Your audio/video receiver is the heart of your surround sound and whole-house entertainment system. Making the right choice here assures sonic excellence and also provides you the flexibility to hook up future components. However, dealing with the big-box stores or attempting to figure out what to buy on the Internet can be painful (aside from this article, of course). Here's a quick guide to picking the right audio/video receiver. This goes over some of the new 2022 Yamaha AVR models.

What is it: Your Yamaha AVR (short for audio/video receiver) acts as the hub of your audio/video system. All of your components like cable boxes, video games, Blu-ray players, streaming devices, etc. hook into the receiver and it provides the sound for your speakers. Pick your receiver based on:

Eero vs Google WiFi

Eero vs Google WiFi - Whar's the best mesh WiFi?

When it comes to good WiFi...you ain't got time to mess around! The Google Mesh WiFi product has gotten very popular lately buuuuuuuuuuuuut...we don't recommend it. As this just came up 30 seconds ago at one of our clients' homes, here's another reason to pass on Google WiFi and to go with Eero mesh systems...the pioneer in the WiFi mesh category.

Should you cut the cord from cable? Maybe not!

Everyone - "How to cut the cord from cable?"

This is one of the most popular questions we've gotten over the last few years. In some of our past articles, we've gone over the pros-and-cons of getting rid of cable and satellite TV and using streaming services for your TV viewing. See below:

How to cut the cord from cable - Part 1

How to cut the cord from cable - Part 2

Why you don't want to cut the cord from cable

In this quick blurb, we are going to focus on why you DON'T want to cut the cord from cable.

Example: Like football? You didn't if you had DirecTV's Sunday Ticket last week. No football for you! They had a glitch with their streaming service so you weren't able to watch most of the first series of games. You know what did give you football? Non-streaming cable boxes and satellite boxes.

Example: Amazon just brought on Thursday night NFL streaming games. YAY! I and many other thousands of people sure didn't like the continual audio drop-outs and audio delays trying the watch the Chargers vs. the Chiefs. You know what had FAR fewer drop-outs? Non-streaming cable boxes and satellite boxes.

Some past examples we list in the links above are:

Example: Want to watch channel 108 and you are on channel 9? You can't just punch in 1-0-8 with streaming TV. You need to go to the guide (which most of the time isn't a guide button so it can be confusing) and then navigate up/down/left/right/select to get to the desired channel.

Example: Want something that is reliable? Streaming devices such as Rokus, AppleTVs, Fire devices, etc. are much less reliable than cable boxes or satellite boxes. You will have more issues with audio drop-outs, menus not working, devices locking up due to heat, etc. with streaming devices vs. cable boxes or satellite boxes. NOTE: STICK-STYLE STREAMING DEVICES ARE THE WORST FOR RELIABILITY AS THEY CAN'T DISSIPATE HEAT AS WELL AS FULL-SIZE UNITS.

NOTE 2: We understand that there will be the guy that says "You are wrong Aire Theater Designs. I cut the cord three months ago and it works perfectly." To that guy, we say "We are glad it has worked for you in your one instance. In our experience with hundreds of set-ups (and maybe more), in GENERAL you will have less reliability using streaming TV instead of cable or satellite boxes."

Ex: Do you look like this?             

If so, you may understand what to do if you have picture and no sound, spinning menus with no video, no center channel volume, pixelized images, etc. However, for most of our clients, the confusion that cord cutting can cause may not be worth the money you save every month. Let's talk about money.

$$$: When you opt to use Youtube TV, Fubo TV, Sling, etc. to get TV programming, you are paying $49-$89/month for the privilege. You have dropped the cable TV portion of your bill but you have now assumed this new expense. In many cases, the dollar savings aren't all they are cracked up to be.

Summary: We don't want to be Mr. Complain so in conclusion, we think streaming can be right for certain people as long as you are technical, know how to reset your devices when needed and understand that on average, you will have more issues streaming TV than using a cable box or satellite box.

Got questions about streaming TV or how to cut the cord and are in the San Diego or Southern California area? Give us a call and let us know how we can help!

How to fix your cable box and more...see below

Labor Day...YAY!!!! Sticky, hot weather with winds...BOOOOO!!! Did you know that upcoming weather like this causes havoc with your technology? These weather events often create problems with your cable box, Internet access and all things technology. Below are some tips to try if you have these types of issues while this weather is in town.