Sonos Beam vs Bose Soundbar 500

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Votes 22 22
Rating 5 5

Beam vs Soundbar 500 comparison chart

Overall
Sonos Beam
6
Bose Soundbar 500
7.4
8
8
Multichannel surround
4
4

Sonos Beam vs Bose Soundbar 500 review

Sonos Beam
vs
Bose Soundbar 500

To get acquainted with the specs of the devices, we suggest you familiarize with the comparison of Sonos Beam and Bose Soundbar 500. It shows us that the Soundbar 500 is a better choice as a home soundbar than the Beam. According to the results of our comparison, Beam received 6 points out of 10 possible, and Soundbar 500 was rated 7.4 points.

Advantages Sonos Beam over Bose Soundbar 500

  • We do not know advantages

Advantages Bose Soundbar 500 over Sonos Beam

  • Available the Amazon Music service
  • Stream music with Spotify
  • Supports object-oriented sound with Dolby Atmos technology
  • Supports external media connection via USB
  • HDMI ARC supports

Audio features

Each of the compared models received 6 points for the audio features.

Beam
6
Soundbar 500
6

It worth understanding the difference between the two types of amplification: a passive soundbar does not have its own amplifier and receives amplification from the signal source, while an active soundbar has a built-in amplifier. The same active type of amplification is used in the Beam and the Soundbar 500.

There are stereo soundbars and multichannel ones. It is with the help of multichannel devices that you can get volumetric sound. The number of channels in the considered devices is the same - 3.0.

Beam Soundbar 500
Built-in channels3.03.0
Amplification typeactiveactive
Output power, WN/AN/A
Separate speaker (in package)00
Separate speaker connectionswirelesswireless

Subwoofers

Soundbars can have a built-in or external subwoofer. The first type is inseparable from the soundbar body, but for the second, you can choose a good location for deep bass. Both are not equipped with an external subwoofer. Competitors support wireless connection to a separate external subwoofer.

Beam Soundbar 500
Built-in subwoofer
Separate subwoofer (in package)
Separate subwoofer connectionswirelesswireless

Multichannel surround

Unlike stereo, when reproducing multichannel sound, each specific direction of sound corresponds to its dedicated channel with a separate independent loudspeaker, which creates a three-dimensional sound stage. The multichannel sound reproduction capabilities of the soundbars were rated 4 out of 10.

Beam
4
Soundbar 500
4

The peculiarity of Dolby Atmos is that this format is object-oriented, that is, each object of the audio signal is sounded separately and linked to its spatial location. Dolby Atmos surround sound support is implemented only in Bose Soundbar 500.

DTS:X is an algorithm for processing sound scenes by the processor, linking directly to objects, rather than channels, and calculating the optimal distribution of sound output in a room. This ability to reproduce surround sound with DTS:X technology is not implemented in any of the soundbars in this comparison.

Beam Soundbar 500
Dolby Atmos
Dolby (other)Dolby DigitalDolby Digital
DTS:X
DTS (other)has nothas not

Streaming services

The possibility to listen online to millions of songs from one device has become a reality thanks to streaming services. For the ability to work with streaming services, the Beam received 6 points, and the Soundbar 500 - 10 on a 10-point scale.

Beam
6
Soundbar 500
10

AirPlay is available on each of the two models. The popular Spotify service is available on the Soundbar 500.

Beam Soundbar 500
Apple Music (AirPlay)AirPlay 2AirPlay 2
Amazon Music
Spotify
Other streaming servicesPandora, Tuneln, ChromecastPandora,Tuneln, Deezer, iHeart, SiriusXM

Connectivity

The existence of a sufficient number of current connectors significantly expands the functionality of the device. For example, only through HDMI is it possible to implement the transfer of object-oriented formats, and the presence of a Bluetooth connection will allow remote control, etc. The devices received different ratings for connectivity: Sonos Beam was rated 6 out of 10, and Bose Soundbar 500 was rated 8 out of 10.

Beam
6
Soundbar 500
8

The presence of Wi-Fi in the soundbar allows you to get rid of wires when connected to a sound source and get minimal audio latency when playing content from streaming services. Wireless connection via Wi-Fi is possible on both devices.

Bluetooth connection is now one of the main communication protocols for speaker systems, which provides excellent quality and minimal audio latency. The availability of Bluetooth protocol, we can see in both models. The competitors in this comparison has 1/0 HDMI inputs/outputs.

HDMI ARC is a very usefull technology that creates a two-way communication channel between a TV and another device. This is convenient since there is no need to use optical and other cables in the system. HDMI ARC is a feature unique to Bose Soundbar 500.

Beam Soundbar 500
WI-FI
Bluetooth
Ethernet (RJ45)11
NFC
HDMI input/output1/01/0
HDMI ARC
HDMI eARC
HDMI CEC
Optical digital input/output1/01/0
USB1 (USB 2.0)
Coaxial digital input/output0/00/0
Analog audio input/output (RCA)0/00/0
Headphone output00
Subwoofer output00

Features

Voice control is designed to make operating the device more convenient. This allows you to control basic soundbar functions from anywhere in the room. The voice control feature is implemented in each of the compared soundbars.

Proprietary applications allow you to control your soundbars remotely. This is possible both via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The ability to control the soundbar using the application is implemented in each of the competitors. Both soundbars have a built-in microphone.

Some soundbars can be part of a multi-room system and it is an affordable solution for sounding the whole house. However, it is impossible to create a multiroom system based on each of these soundbars.

Beam Soundbar 500
Voice controlAmazon Alexa, Google AssistantAmazon Alexa, Google Assistant
App control
Microphone
Remote control
Multi-room

Dimensions

Beam Soundbar 500
Size (Wx H x D), cm/in65 x 6.8x 10/25.6 x 2.7 x 3.980 x 4.3 x 10.1/31.5 x 1.7 x 4
Weight, kg/pounds2.8/6.23.1/7
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