Soundbars are an efficient means of boosting your TV’s built-in sound, because the built-in audio system even on the most effective TVs can’t match the standard of their image.
The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is without doubt one of the greatest soundbars in the marketplace, delivering punchy, immersive efficiency throughout films and music at a mid-range value.
The mid-range soundbar market is extraordinarily aggressive, with varied manufacturers providing alternate options to the Sonos Beam. One such model is Sony.
I not too long ago obtained to check the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6, a 3.1.2 channel soundbar, side-by-side with the Sonos Beam. The Theater 6 comes with a subwoofer in-box, one thing that is not the case for the Sonos Beam (although it does have efficient bass for an all-in-one soundbar).
How would these two equally priced soundbars fare in opposition to each other? I hooked them as much as the Panasonic MZ1500, a superb OLED TV, and used some reference 4K Blu-rays to check that out.
A fast be aware first: the Sony Theater 6 is a greater worth within the UK. The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is priced at $449 / £449 / AU$799, and the Sony Bravia Theater 6 is priced at $649 / £499 / (roughly AU$1,000 transformed from US value), which means you’re getting a better value match within the UK.
The case for Sonos
Picture 1 of 2
The Beam may very well be seen as having one huge impediment to beat out-of-the-box: no included subwoofer. For that purpose, you’d assume it could have considerably weaker bass in comparison with the Bravia Theater 6, however that didn’t precisely develop into the case.
Watching a chase scene from The Batman, the Beam delivered punchy, weighty bass for a compact soundbar, completely capturing the rumble of the Batmobile’s roaring engine. The identical was true watching Prime Gun: Maverick, because the ignition of the Darkstar jet’s engine within the Mach 10 scene was impactful.
Speech readability was one other space the place the Beam carried out nicely regardless of its measurement. Watching varied musical performances from A Full Unknown (the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet), vocals had been delivered exactly with out sacrificing different parts within the combine. In Depraved, Elphaba’s hovering, highly effective vocals within the ‘Defying Gravity’ scene had been delivered precisely by way of the Beam. I additionally discovered myself preferring the Beam over the Bar 6 when it got here to the music sequences in A Full Unknown.
The Beam’s sound linked to the motion on display screen as nicely, precisely inserting results corresponding to screeching tyres and careering automobiles in The Batman, and the jets in Prime Gun: Maverick.
The case for Sony
Picture 1 of 2
The Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6 exterior subwoofer offers it one huge benefit over the Sonos Beam. Though the Beam is nice for its measurement, it can’t compete with Bar 6 with regards to bass.
Sony’s mammoth sub means the Bar 6’s bass is room-filling and delivers loads of heft. Watching the identical scene from The Batman, the rumble of the Batmobile’s engine was extra highly effective and fascinating than what the Beam may muster – I even needed to flip the bass degree down. Bass was additionally tightly managed and nuanced. For sheer sound energy, the Bar 6 was the winner on this contest.
With two top audio system positioned on the soundbar, the Bar 6 does a greater job of delivering top results than the Beam. The sound of rain all through The Batman was extra prevalent, even throughout the Batmobile chase with its propulsive rating and loud explosions. And within the Mach 10 scene from Prime Gun: Maverick, the place the Darkstar jet flies over Admiral Cain, the trajectory of the jet was extra precisely mapped by the Bar 6 than by the Beam.
The Bar 6 soundbar is considerably wider than the Beam (37 inches / 950mm to the Beam’s 25 inches / 651mm), which provides it a wider soundstage. In the course of the defying gravity scene in Depraved, the winds and path of sound felt extra immersive on the Bar 6 as Elphaba took flight on her broom, though the Beam additionally did a reputable job right here. And activating the Sound Area mode on the Bar 6 made the sound much more immersive.
In the course of the musical performances in A Full Unknown, the Bar 6 delivered a fuller, extra spacious sound than the Beam. For example, as Dylan and Joan Baez performed on the Newport Folks Competition, the applauding crowd sounded clearer on the Bar 6, and the vocals and guitars had a extra sprawling, expansive high quality.
Beam vs Bar 6: the decision
Picture 1 of 1
Each the Beam and the Bar 6 are nice examples of how successfully mid-range soundbars can enhance a TV’s sound, and each have their distinctive strengths. The Beam shines with music-related content material and has a formidable soundstage and bass contemplating its measurement.
However the Bar 6 with its included subwoofer has the extra highly effective bass, a wider soundstage because of its wider measurement, and upfiring audio system that ship extra correct top results than the Beam.
Which soundbar is finally higher will rely in your circumstances. If in case you have a smaller area, the Beam will probably be greater than sufficient. However in case you have a medium-sized room and are on the lookout for extra highly effective, spacious sound, the Bar 6 is the way in which to go. In case you’re within the US, it will likely be powerful to disregard the $200 value hole between the 2. The Beam arguably delivers higher bang to your buck in that case, however within the UK, it’s a a lot nearer contest.
Since I’m within the UK, I’d select the Bar 6 over the Beam, however the latter is a improbable instance of what an all-in-one soundbar can do. Ultimately, you’re spoilt for selection with these two nice soundbars.
