Thanks!
I looked at wirecutter’s budget pick, which are JBL, and that one was on sale too.
No discounts and they aren’t particularly inexpensive, but I really like my Sonos setup. I have the beam gen1 (the gen2 adds Atmos), the new sub mini, and two play:1s for surround. The little sub made an enormous difference, and it isn’t boomy/rattly so I don’t feel like my neighbors are scheming to murder me.
That would be pretty close to my recommendation for anyone in a small or medium sized room. Beam gen2 for the soundbar, sub mini, and two Ikea Symfonisk bookshelf speakers (they’re also Sonos, partnering with Ikea) for the surrounds. Total should come in around $1100.
If you’re in a giant living room, get the Arc and the full-sized sub.
Sonos devices are like Apple. They’re expensive for what you get, but really just pleasant to use. You could get better sound with a component system for (much) less money, but it won’t look as unobtrusive and will be a pain in the ass to configure.
I’ll second this. I invested in an Arc+Sub+2 One surrounds and it’s just so damn easy to manage. You can put everything anywhere because it’s all wireless (other than power of course), and to my ears it sounds great.
Yep, livin’ the dream. And you don’t need to tune the subwoofer crossover, it just works correctly. Pleasant.
Only word of warning on Sonos (other than cost), is to try to ensure you get the same generation of device. I’ve been getting my parents various Sonos devices over the years and now they’re stuck with two different apps to control the soundbar and their other speakers. It’s not a huge issue in practice because it’s just a TV and they’re not the sort to try to play music on it, but if you want things integrated be sure they all will actually integrate. If you buy a set of new devices now it will be fine.
I have the Arc + surrounds and I doubt I’ll ever go back to using an AV receiver. It really is a beautiful setup, especially if your TV supports eArc.
Yeah, that’s the kicker for modern setups. I have an LG TV, an Apple TV, and the whole Sonos system and all I need to control everything is the Apple TV remote. No more Harmony!
Heh, yeah I have that same setup, and when I realized I could do everything with the little Apple remote and could finally disconnect the Harmony hub (and never deal with that awful Harmony setup app again), that was a glorious day!
Another vote for Sonos. We have an Arc, 2 Ones for surround and the big sub. Amazing sound. Never getting a receiver again. It’s also way better than my Samsung atmos wireless setup I have in another room (which infuriates me constantly by turning off to save power when paused. No way to disable.)
I definitely wouldn’t say it’s better, but it’s definitely less of a pain in the butt to set up, and less obtrusive in my living room. As I get older I realize I just don’t want giant heaps of tech in there. Sonos is pleasant to use. It isn’t annoying. And it sounds pretty good.
I’ll have to keep an eye on the sonos arc. I think Costco had them a little while ago, or maybe it was sam’s.
I’m looking to replace my old vizio soundbar. My main priority is clear dialogue. Thinking about either the Bose 600 or the Sonos Beam gen 2. Thoughts on these, or other suggestions?
I was just at my parents’ house and they have the OG Sonos soundbar. And I have to say, I was shocked at how bad the vocals were… I think he had some kind of sound expansion or bass boost enabled that muffled things. Guessing it was settings, as I have a number of Sonos speakers and their quality is excellent.
The only soundbars I own are an LG for my downstairs TV, and a cheapish Pioneer in the bedroom. The LG’s really nice, and I have wireless surrounds for the rear.
I have a Sonos setup (with an Arc, Sub, and 2 SL’s) that I absolutely love. Really sounds great AND has a night-mode for dialog boost. It also happens to sound amazing for Atmos music from Apple Music.
I’ve got Sonos Beams, one gen 1 and one gen 2. They’re great for dialogue. And yeah, I do leave the Speech Enhancement mode on all the time. It’s actually a separate toggle from Nighy Mode option that reduces loud sounds at lower volumes and boosts middle frequencies too. Used together voices really are much clearer, even without cranking the volume.
Highly recommended. And the gen 2, which I just got for Father’s Day for my office / gaming room, is a significant upgrade on the gen 1. Especially the bass.
Wireless surrounds… like truly wireless, not connected to the subwoofer wireless?
I have a need for a new setup and the thing that’s got me tripped up is I really need those satellites in the rear to be wireless. I assume they still need to be plugged into the wall for power if they’re wireless to the sub?
They don’t have batteries so they do need to be plugged-in to power. The audio all comes in wirelessly. I do this myself, beam gen1 for L/C/R, Play:1s for LR/RR, and the Sonos Sub Mini.
I really like how Sonos does ambient audio. You’ll hear some audio coming out of the surrounds even on 2.0 content, particularly with music.
I might upgrade to the Arc, Sonos has me tightly in their grip now. It’s expensive kit but sounds great and is non-annoying to use.
Anyway, depending on your room size I would recommend a Beam gen2 or Arc for the front and two IKEA Symphonisk bookshelf speakers for the rears. They’re Sonos too, just rebranded, and you don’t need amazing speakers there. They do sound pretty good on their own, though. Then figure out how deep the rabbit hole goes for you and maybe add a Sub Mini or Sub gen3 later on, again depending on room size.
You could alternatively do IKEA Symphonisk lamps for the rears, depending on location, whether lamps make sense there. I find them kinda fugly and they’re the same price as the Era 100s, but you do get a light too.
Or if you’re really looking to spend more money, you could use Era 100s for the rears (look good, $250) or Era 300s (look weird but I like it, $450, and do atmos too).
That’s what I have in my living room. An Arc, two Sonos Ones and a sub. They all need to plug into the wall, but otherwise they aren’t connected to each other with any wires. It sounds great and is super easy to set up.
Yeah, the beam gen1 sounds fine to me (particularly with the sub mini) but I’ve got the hunger.