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Tried both arc and beam gen 2, am I missing something? Having trouble deciding

So I went to Best Buy to test the Beam gen 2 (with sub mini) and Sonos Arc (with sub gen 3). 

I test both with/without the sub. 

The Arc I could see why people say it’s better for movies. 

When I played the demo - Arc had the volume distributed a lot wider. Movie effects like water splashing felt wider

However, the beam felt a lot punchier (probably because the sound is more direct). 

The Beam felt more in your face. For the same volume it felt like it was louder. The sound felt a lot clearer for the same volume compared to the arc. 

I have a 650 sq ft apartment with 12 feet between front and back wall, and a long hallway (30 feet) on my left side and a wall basically directly to my right. 

Would the arc be better for if I eventually upgrade my TV? I much preferred the more direct sound of the beam, but also enjoyed the wider soundstage of the arc. But I feel like to me a punchier sound is more important? So would adding 2 era 100s make the arc feel punchier/more direct?

 

Forgot to mention that I have a discount code for Sonos which would cut 40% off both of the SBs prices.

Given the choice, I will always recommend the Arc, which has both a wider sound field, and upward firing speakers for Atmos effects. The Beam 2, a great speaker in its own right, is just a tad less wide, and while it interpolates the Atmos signal and can send appropriate information to Era 300s, it has no upward firing speakers of its own. 

Did you have a demo room at Best Buy where you could directly compare the Arc and Beam in close to a real setup?

You said “For the same volume it felt like it was louder.” Did you mean for the same number shown on the volume control? That isn’t a useful comparison.

 

I have an Arc and several Beams and I do not hear the differences you are describing. What I do hear is that the Arc has a much better stereo image for both TV and streamed audio than the Beam.

The Arc fills my larger rooms much better than my Beams. in a 10x10 room the Beam is plenty but adding a Sub is impressive, in a 15x15 room the Beam is adequate for general TV but a bit weak for movies, haven’t tried a Sub there.

I’d go with the Arc as I can’t hear the differences you do. I’d add the Sub as my first option, a mini-Sub maybe but it may come up short in your space. Add either the 100s or if you want Atmos the 300s as you can.

 

Update: listened to Arc again today. Way better than Beam!

Question: does sub mini pair well with arc? I tested it at best buy and the sub mini felt punchier with music and I preferred that, and in movies I could tell sub gen 3 was better. But sub mini was also really good! Would sub mini pair well with it? I live in an apartment and budget isn’t an issue so don’t mind splurging more I just can’t tell

Nvm, since I live in an apartment I decided to get the sub mini!

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