If you are on a limited budget, the Beam (Gen 2) + two One SLs as surrounds is a great option. But if you want the best Sonos home theater setup, I would start with the Arc and add the Sub and One SLs to the Arc in the future. Although the Arc will probably be slightly wider than your TV if that matters to you.

What specific model Panasonic TV do you own? How far are you seated from the TV? How tall are your ceilings? Are they flat and without any obstructions?

Hi, thanks for the reply. I’m pretty new to the whole home theatre set up so forgive my ignorance. My tv (Panasonic TX49DX600B) is situated on my wall over a Tv unit/sideboard (which I plan to sit my Sonos beam or arc upon). My sofa is approx 3 meters from my Tv, virtually square on. Ceiling height is approx 2.5 meters, and flat with no obstructions. 

That TV supports ARC, so you will get Atmos from streaming sources, but not DD TrueHD from disks.  You are also in the pocket for a good Atmos effect coming off your ceiling with the Arc.  I sit 11 feet (3.3 M) away with 9 foot (3 M) ceilings and the effect is pronounced.

I would say the Arc is the better choice for that room, however, I wouldn’t base the decision based on just that room, but what you plan on expanding to with the rest of the home?  Do you have a second room  with a TV that you eventually plan on expanding too?  If so perhaps, go with a Beam first and see how you think it handles your sitting room.  If it works for you, then you can later expand with a 2nd beam.  If you want more, then your next purchase is an Arc, moving your Beam to the second room.

And if your plan is to eventually go to whole home, then I actually would get a pair of Sonos Ones (or One SLs) for a second room, rather than use them as surround speakers.  You really only use the surround sound speakers with specific content, so I think you’ll get more use of them as a second room.  You’ll also get a feel for grouping rooms together to play in sync, or separately.  You can play around with setting them up as surrounds if you want to just get a feel for it.

Subs absolutely add a lot, and I would definitely recommend it, but I would look at that in the next batch of speakers you want to get.  As well, there are rumors that Sonos may be releasing a smaller, probably cheaper, version of the Sub, which may make more sense for you.

The TV supports HDMI ARC, but it is a model released in 2016. There is a good chance the TV will NOT be able pass through Dolby Atmos audio. Hopefully it will at least pass through Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.

@Barko26 Is Dolby Atmos audio important to you? Are you planning on getting a new TV anytime soon? Do you use any external media devices like a cable box, Blu-ray player, Xbox, or Apple TV?

Good catch.  I missed that.

Panasonic have been  extremely slow in allowing DD5.1 pass through from external  HDMI sources.  I would be very surprised if a 2016 Panasonic would do this.

I was always planning on upgrading the TV at some point yea. Maybe now sooner than later haha! I do use PS5 and Apple TV. Would there be any point in investing in a sound system now, or best to wait until I upgrade the tv? (Ie would I benefit at all from buying a beam or arc with my current tv?), thanks again. 

Because your TV is older, you won’t be able to take full advantage of the Arc or Beam’s audio capabilities. But a Sonos soundbar will sound much better than your TV’s speakers even if you are just getting stereo audio.

I would contact Panasonic and ask them if your TV model supports 5.1 passthrough from devices connected to the HDMI ports. If they say yes, I would go ahead and get the Arc. If they say no, I would wait and get a new TV before you get the Arc. When you are ready to purchase a new TV, be sure to get a TV with HDMI eARC.

Not to make things more complicated, but another option is to get the HDFury Arcana eARC adapter that will allow your PS5 and Apple TV to bypass your TV’s limitations and send audio directly to the Arc. I use the Arcana with my old Panasonic plasma, Apple TV, Roku, and Blu-ray player and it works great.

https://hdfury.com/product/4k-arcana-18gbps/

So according to Panasonic, “If you have an amplifier/Home Cinema system connected via HDMi, you will be able to get 5.1, in some cases you need to have both an HDMI and an optical cable conencted, but if the sound system supports HDAVI Control 5 an HDMI will be enough”

So the recommendation would be the Arc, with the view of potentially upstanding my tv at a later date to really get the full potential? 

Yes, I recommend the Arc. Hopefully you will be able to get Dolby Digital 5.1 from the PS5 and Apple TV with your current TV. Then when you upgrade your TV, you will be able to get the higher quality audio formats like Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos, and LPCM.