Sonos 4.1 vs 5.1 (Feedback)

I have the same setup with Sub and I do feel the stereo separation of Beam is pretty weak since it’s short and not wide enough as Playbar and Arc. I guess the best is to upgrade to Arc but it’s too expensive to upgrade. 

I’d think there would be a few PLAYBARs on the used market, from folks who are deciding to upgrade. It’s certainly a lot wider than the Beam. 

I have the sub too.

I guess any soundbar won’t have much impact on the front channel separation since they all are in one unit. 

In a 4.1 setup with the new Amp, I think it will be definitely a lot better than the beam setup but wanted to hear the feedback of those who have experienced it. As per the reviews, the phantom ghost center works very well but they do not mention about the front channel separation. Some mention about the sync issues in 4.1.

Is it worth upgrading to Arc or buy the Amp/passive speakers for the 4.1 setup? More or less both will end up costing the same. Let’s not worry about Atmos setup here. I am not too concerned about Atmos because of the limited content and the e-Arc TV requirement. 

The ‘bar’s use some processing tricks to fool with our perception. I’ve been in studio environments where the soloist was on a joystick. I could move the apparent location of the soloist with the joystick, having her sit beside me at the console if I wanted.

Some of this answer depends on your room and the imaging quality of the 3rd party speakers. None of the ‘bar’ speakers will work well when enclosed in a cabinet because the side firing speakers will be compromised by the nearby cabinet side surfaces. If the 3rd party speakers are very close to the TV and they image well, the center channel is redundant. Even if the speakers are close to the TV, they will be farther apart than the ‘bar’ L/R speakers. The ‘bar’ speakers use some tricks to simulate wider spacing by bouncing some energy off of side walls. If the side walls are diffuse or absorbent, this side energy will be lost. 

I’ve seen AMP surround systems, using high end floor speakers in relatively large rooms work well and I’ve seen formal (separate speakers) 5.1 systems that were not so good because the center channel speaker was a poor match for the L/R. 

Early reviews on Arc have been favorable. Keep in mind that Arc has not yet been released and these early reviews were done by people with industry connections. I’m not saying that these are necessarily bad or ‘rigged’ listening trials, only that they have not been done by the general public. Arc is scheduled to ship on June 10. The early reviews are probably more articulate than the general public reviews will be.

Great Mr. Buzz  . Now I understand why the front channel separation is not good in a bar. I was thinking only the Atmos relies on bouncing off the walls (ceiling). If the left & right channels also relies on the same concept then there is no way that it is going to match the dedicated front speakers. I don’t think even the Arc will work well in this case unless you are surrounded by “acoustic” walls.

Amp with the passive speakers is a costly affair when compared to the bars setup. It also defies the “wireless” technology that Sonos is known for . But if you get a 4.1 setup, I will say that it will provide a superior home theater experience far better than the bar (playbar, beam, Arc) setup.