Indian audio market has numerous brands offering budget-friendly soundbars and home theatres delivering impactful audio output topped with essential features. However, in the premium soundbar and home theatre category, there are only two primary contenders— Bose and Sonos. Both American audio manufacturers have recently launched their soundbars equipped with Dolby Atmos, falling under the same price bracket. We brought the Sonos Beam 2 Soundbar and Bose 600 Soundbar to do a fair comparison. Stride along to know the winner in the audio war: Sonos Beam 2 Soundbar vs Bose 600 Soundbar, and which one is worth purchasing in 2023.
Note: To end the debate about Sonos Beam 2 Soundbar vs Bose 600 Soundbar, we have purchased both soundbars and tested them for a couple of months in different rooms. Based on our overall experience with the two audio beasts, we have framed this review.
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Highlights:
Sonos Beam 2 Soundbar
- Touch controls
- Far-field microphones for controlling voice assistants
- Emits audio in layered form
- Delivers proper bass
Sonos Home Theater
VM-One Rating
9.3/10
PROS
- It gives a home theatre-like experience with bass in the form of layers.
- It gives you the proper bass response.
CONS
- It doesn’t have a dedicated remote control.
- It has Bluetooth support, but you cannot connect it directly to the phone.
Sonos Beam 2 Soundbar | Buy Now | Buy Now |
Sonos SubMini Subwoofer | Buy Now | Buy Now |
Sonos One Gen 2 Speakers | Buy Now | Buy Now |
Bose 600 Soundbar
- Upward firing speakers
- HDMI (eARC) slot
- Omnidirectional bass
- Surround sound experience
Bose Home Theater
VM-One Rating
9.6/10
PROS
- It delivers a cinematic experience irrespective of the placement.
- Bass’s performance is exceptional. The omnidirectional bass emits audio layers, enhancing your experience.
- The upward-firing speakers of the Bose 600 soundbar give you a surround experience without a subwoofer and surround channels.
- The surround channels in the whole setup are an underrated element creating the magic.
CONS
- The surround channels are compact, but you must connect them to a heavy adapter before placing them.
Bose 600 Soundbar | Buy Now | Buy Now |
Bose 500 Subwoofer | Buy Now | Buy Now |
Bose Surround Speakers | Buy Now | Buy Now |
In The Box:
In the audio rivalry: Sonos Beam vs Bose soundbar, we found the following stuff that came along with the soundbar during unboxing.
Sonos Beam 2 Soundbar
- Sonos Beam 2 wireless soundbar
- Setup manual
- Warranty card
- HDMI cable
- Power cable
- HDMI to optical adapter dongle
Bose 600 Soundbar
- Bose smart soundbar 600
- Remote control
- HDMI cable
- Power cord
- Optical cable
Design & Looks:
Both soundbars carry a premium look with top-notch build quality. To further enhance the premiumness, both brands have creatively used the amalgamation of metal and plastic in the build. The metal used in the soundbars is durable, while the plastic gives it a matte finish with a soft touch.
The touch controls and microphone holes can be spotted on the top of the Sonos Beam 2 wireless soundbar. Contrarily, on the Bose 600 soundbar, you get an upward-firing speaker grill on the top of the soundbar.
Connectivity Options:
Connectivity modes play a vital role in linking with other devices and leveraging the audio capabilities.
The Sonos Beam 2 wireless soundbar has an array of connectivity options, including an HDMI port, optical port, LAN port and dual-band Wi-Fi. Bluetooth seems missing, right? No, it isn’t. During the Sonos Beam 2 soundbar review, we found that it has Bluetooth support but for connecting it with other Sonos devices.
Adversely, the Bose 600 soundbar comes with all the necessary connectivity options— HDMI (eARC), optical port, service port, Bluetooth 4.2 and dual-band Wi-Fi.
Remote Control:
The Sonos Beam 2 wireless soundbar doesn’t have a dedicated remote control for controlling the device. Instead, it is handled by a featureful application available for Android and iOS devices, but a few features are iOS-exclusive. On the top of the soundbar rests far-field microphones that can be used to command Alexa or Google Assistant.
Oppositely, the Bose home speaker 600 has a sleek and minimalist design remote control with all essential keys, making it one of the best parts of the whole audio system.
We didn’t end the audio rivalry just by doing the Sonos Beam 2 Soundbar vs Bose 600 Soundbar. Instead, we took it to the next level by bringing home the subwoofers and surround channels. To be specific, we brought Sonos’s Subwoofer Sonos Sub Mini and surround channels Sonos One Gen 2 wireless speakers. Furthermore, we purchased Bose’s subwoofer, Bose Bass Module 500 and Bose surround speakers. Moving forward, we will be reviewing the complete home theatre setup.
Audio Quality:
The Bose 600 soundbar and Sonos Beam 2 wireless soundbar should be connected to the TV with an HDMI port, particularly HDMI ARC or HDMI eARC, if you have it.
Check out the audio files attached below.
Both soundbars deliver incredible output, giving you a cinema hall-like experience at home.
Bose 600 Soundbar vs Sonos Beam 2 Soundbar
Challeya 2.1 ( Bose)
NCS ( Bose)
Challeya 2.1 (Sonos)
NCS (Sonos)
Bass Performance:
After plugging in the subwoofers, the bass response from both the Bose 600 soundbar and the Sonos Beam 2 wireless soundbar was outstanding. However, there is a major difference that is unspottable in the audio tests. The Bose’s subwoofer, Bose Bass Module 500, gives you an omnidirectional bass. What is an omnidirectional bass? Omnidircetional bass is a property of audio devices that gives the same bass response in the whole area irrespective of its placement—however, the Sonos sub mini wireless subwoofer misses this essential feature.
Remember, in the audio rivalry: Sonos Beam 2 soundbar vs Bose 600 soundbar, both brands fall in the premium audio segment; hence, they will not emit the audible bass. They will not spoil their audio signature in the upper bass by tightening or loosing bass. Instead, you will get proper bass. The bass performance of the Bose wireless subwoofer is magical because it delivers the output in the form of layers, elevating the overall sound experience.
Also, the bass response from the Sonos sub mini wireless subwoofer is exceptional. You won’t hear the tight or loose bass; instead, you will feel the proper bass. Is it as good as the Bose 500 subwoofer? Not really! It lacks the omnidirectional bass. Moreover, the right placement of the subwoofer is essential to get the desired output.
Surround Sound(Only in 5.1 Soundbar):
Audio files cannot reveal the surround sound quality; you need to experience it by staying with the two audio beasts. The Bose 600 soundbar and Sonos Beam 2 wireless soundbar are both equipped with Dolby Atmos. However, the Sonos One Gen 2 wireless speakers emit perfect surround sound, but it is not a proper surround channel. It has a speaker and a tweeter with two class D amplifiers playing different frequencies, creating the magic or surround, but it is still not up to the mark.
Contrarily, Bose surround speakers are dedicated surround channels. With the mono driver surround channel, the Bose speakers only play the surround frequencies. As stated before, the Bose delivers the audio output in the form of layers, therefore giving you the perfect surround sound experience.
Lastly, In the audio war: Sonos Beam vs Bose soundbar, both are Dolby Atmos compatible, but Bose gave an unmatchable experience compared to Sonos.
>Sonos:
>Bose:
Additional features:
Both audio devices support Dolby Digital Plus along with all audio formats. In Sonos, you get the Apple Airplay 2, Alexa and Google Assistant support. The cherry on the top is the technology to measure the room’s acoustics, declared by the American manufacturer.
Adversely, in Bose, you get built-in Chromecast, Apple Airplay, Alexa and Google Assistant support. However, Bose also features the room’s acoustics measuring technology for enhanced audio, but they haven’t declared it. How are we so sure about this? First, the subwoofer emits an omnidirectional base. Second, connecting surround channels with the Bose 600 soundbar with the Bose Music App takes the acoustic measurements to deliver the right sound.
Warranty and Guarantee:
The Bose 600 soundbar and Sonos Beam 2 wireless soundbar have the same warranty package, i.e. one year from the date of purchase.
Following the same, the subwoofer and surround channels of both audio brands also have the same 1-year warranty package.
Prices:
Prices of soundbars of both brands are comparable. However, subwoofer and surround channel costs are way apart. Have a look at the prices:
Sonos
Bose
Soundbar
₹ 56,000
₹ 54,000
Subwoofer
₹ 40,000
₹ 55,000
Surround Channels
₹ 38,000
₹ 48,000
Key Specs:
SPECS | SONOS | BOSE |
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Warranty And Guarantee |
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Verdict:
Undoubtedly, Sonos gave a neck-to-neck competition to Bose in the audio rivalry: Sonos Beam 2 Soundbar vs Bose 600 Soundbar. However, in our opinion, Bose clearly knocks out Sonos in this audio game. Based on your choice and preferences, you can go for any of the two brands, as they both deliver magical audio signatures. We also recommend topping the soundbars with subwoofer and surround channels of the same brand to jazz up your audio experience. Do you think we missed something, or do you have any questions? Drop your comments, and we will reply to them ASAP.
Watch Sonos Beam 2 Soundbar vs Bose 600 Soundbar Review on Youtube:
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Backed by an engineering background, Abhishek is a techno-geek with an intense passion for research-based writing. With more than five years of industry experience, he finds the transition to content writing challenging and exciting. On holiday, you can spot him cooking his comfort food and vibing on Sidhu Moosewala’s songs.
Disclaimer: Please note that the prices mentioned in the article were recorded on the publishing date. Prices may change with time.