Sonos Beam vs. Sonos Playbar - Which Sonos soundbar is best?

The Sonos BEAM is here! This piece is Sonos' new low-priced soundbar offering that is competing with similar offerings from Polk Audio, Samsung, Yamaha and others. We have written HERE previously about why Sonos is great. However, we'd like to go over the compare the Sonos BEAM vs the Sonos PLAYBAR which is their premium soundbar solution. In a nutshell:

Pros of Sonos Beam:

The Sonos BEAM sells for $399.00 vs. $699.00 for the Sonos PLAYBAR. Benefit $$$!

The Sonos BEAM has Alexa built-into the soundbar. This allows you to operate many functions with just your voice!

Pros of the Sonos Playbar:

Better Sound: The Playbar uses 9 built-in speakers vs. 5 built-in speakers for the Beam. This allows the Playbar to provide fuller sound and audio that fills up a room.

Cleaner mounting: The Sonos Playbar can be mounted vertically or horizontally. This makes for a much cleaner look when it is mounted under a TV as it doesn't protrude as far from the wall. The Sonos Beam will stick out substantially past the wall-mounted TV in most cases. If you want an aesthetic and subtle look, the Playbar is our recommendation.

Hook-up Method: The Sonos Playbar uses what is called an optical cable to provide the audio channels. The Sonos Beam uses an HDMI cable and relies on a technology called ARC (audio return channel). Guys like us hate ARC as it isn't as reliable as we'd like. This lack of reliability can cause things to turn off that shouldn't, can cause components to go to the wrong input, etc. For better reliability and ease-of-use, we recommend the Playbar.

Summary:

We are BIG fans of the Playbar over the Beam. However, they both have their place. Choose the Playbar if you have a large room, want BETTER sound or a clean look when wall-mounted. Choose the Beam if you are on a budget or if you want to get better sound in secondary areas such as Guest Bedrooms, Kids' Rooms, etc.

Need help deciding? We've helped hundreds of clients with Sonos in their San Diego homes. Let us help you as well!

Sonos on sale in San Diego - Sonos Beam soundbar pictured

Sonos RARELY goes on sale. Friends and prospective clients...rare times are here. Here are some of our Sonos sales that are ongoing:

Sonos ONE 2 room set: Reg. $398.00. NOW $379.00!

Sonos PLAY5 2 room set: Reg. $998. NOW $949.00!

Sonos ONE 3 room set: Reg. $597.00. NOW $549.00!

Sonos 5.1 surround system with PLAYBAR, SUB and ONE X 2 units: Reg. $1796.00. NOW: $1678.00!

Sonos 5.1 surround system with BASE, SUB and ONE X 2 units: Reg. $1796.00. NOW: $1678.00!

Sonos PLAY5 AND Pro-ject Essential III turntable: Reg. $858.00. NOW: $799.00!

Not sure what Sonos or pro-ject turntables are all abouot? See our earlier posts about these fantastic music streamers and wonderful turntables.

https://www.airetheaterdesigns.com/blog/item/228-san-diego-pro-ject-turntable-dealer

https://www.airetheaterdesigns.com/blog/item/95-sonos-san-diego

These sales is for a limited time so when Sonos says "No More", this Sonos Speaker Sets deal is officially over. Interested? Give us a call and let San Diego's Sonos dealer of choice show you why Sonos is a need for every music lover. 

Minimize being this guy...choose Aire Theater Designs for your home theater install!

Reason #7 why we offer the best home theater installation in San Diego: Remote monitoring and troubleshooting.

This home theater stuff has changed a LOT over the last 20 years. It used to be that when we were setting up a home stereo system, we would get your tape deck, turntable and receiver in place and the maintenance consisted of dusting your components every couple years. Now, it is a totally different world with firmware updates, software updates, voice control, power-cycling, Wi-Fi compatibility and 50 other things that can make your audio/video system get out-of-whack. Here's what we do to keep your smart home and stereo components working and to keep you smiling.

Remote visibility: We install Wi-Fi systems from Eero, Luxul and others that allow us to "see" what is going on from afar. This lets us troubleshoot remotely when you are having issues and allows us to fix most issues right over the phone. See link below about a recent fix we performed for one of our clients.

Costa Rica Remote WiFi Fix

Power resets and our friend BOB: Power-Cycling.

Q: How do you become an IT professional? A: Learn how to pick up the phone and say "Did you unplug it from the power?" Almost every one of our troubleshooting calls are fixed by some form of unplug-it-and-plug-it-back-in-again. However, how do you know what to unplug with all of those cables? Our remote IP-controllable power pieces and our BOBs make this EASY. See link below.

EASY audio/video troubleshooting

This surround sound and smart home stuff should be fun. If it has been frustrating for you in the past, give us a call and find out the many reasons that we provide the best home theater installations in San Diego. Better audio, video and smart homes start here.

The best Home Theater in San Diego experts are here! Aire Theater Designs proudly serves all of San Diego County, CA including Del Cerro, Allied Gardens, Talmadge, Kensington, Hillcrest, Mission Valley, Fashion Valley, La Mesa, El Cajon, Blossom Valley, Lake Murray, North Park, Balboa Park, Clairemont, Kearny Mesa, Mission Bay, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, Point Loma and Downtown San Diego. We also gladly serve those in North San Diego County which includes Carlsbad, San Marcos, Vista, CA, Elfin Forest, Oceanside, Escondido, Encinitas, Cardiff by the Sea, Torrey Pines, Carmel Mountain, Coronado, Solana Beach, Alta Del Mar, Del Mar, Olivenhain, Rancho Santa Fe, 4S Ranch, Santaluz, La Jolla, Poway, and Rancho Bernardo. Blossom Valley, Alpine, La Mesa and El Cajon...we're here too. 

Want to install a Sonos wall mounted speaker...read on!

Sonos speakers are great but in the past, there hasn't been a way to cleanly wall mount them. The problem is that legally, we can't run the power cables in the wall (against California code) so you would see them laying exposed on the wall. However, one of our installation partners just came up with a solution. Midlite now has a LEGAL in-wall power solution that allows us to hide the power cable and that doubles as a wall mount! This makes for a much cleaner look, especially when using Sonos speakers as rear speakers in a surround sound configuration.

http://www.midlite.com/products.aspx?catId=767

Looking for Sonos speakers? We happen to be Sonos experts and carry the full line including the PLAYBAR, Sonos ONE, Sonos SUB, Sonos PLAY5 and others. Don't know what all the ruckus is about? See below for a little information of what Sonos is all about.

https://www.airetheaterdesigns.com/blog/item/95-sonos-san-diego

Interested? Give us a call and let us show you how to enhance your life with Sonos streaming speakers and amazing music.