Soundbar advice please - Sonos vs Bose

[PR350]

Hi all,

Having finally left my trusty 42" Panny plasma behind for a 55" LG OLED I'm realising that although I think the picture is superb, the sound isn't, so I've decided on a (decent) soundbar, or at least one that seems decent!

Trouble is which one! I can man-maths the budget to an extent, but don't want to go wild as this is the first foray into these new fangled wotsits and have narrowed it to three choices. Room is a decent sized, but not capacious and not square. TV sits on a fairly large Atacama stand with 2 shelves - black smoked glass. Prices are Amazon, forgive me!

First, Sonos Arc - £748 - this would probably be on a standalone basis.
Second, Sonos Beam Gen 2, with a Sonos Sub Mini - total of £798
Third, Bose Smart 600, with a Bose Bass Module 500 - total of £798

I find it slightly amusing that both Sonos and Bose combos with Bass/Sub are priced identically

Anyone have any experience to share, recommendations or alternatives?

I would try and find somewhere to listen to both, but don't have anywhere particularly local, so thought the PH massive was a good alternative

[PR350]

Thanks for the replies

Was out on Saturday in the M2 with my mate and we stopped at a big Curry's on the off chance.

They had a Sonos Beam gen2 and Bose 600 at opposite ends of the aisle.

Initially thought the Bose was way better before realising it was hooked up to the bass 500. When switched off and going back and forward between the 2 - the store loved me haha - it was close, but the Sonos just sounded better overall. Basically, we both agreed the Bose needed the bass to sound fuller, but the Sonos sounded really good even without a separate bass/sub. Can only believe the Sonos and sub-mini will therefore sound great.

Pulled the trigger on both the Beam gen2 and sub-mini from Amazon - arrives Tuesday.

Wonder how long it'll take me to get the surrounds too

[PR350]

Just as a quick follow up

for those that suggested others, I guess I may be a bit weird in that with an LG OLED55C26LD TV I wouldn't for a second consider matching it with a soundbar from another manufacturer such as Samsung etc. and although I considered an LG soundbar the reviews seemed to point that they weren't quite there in the same way Sonos or Bose were.

The Sonos Beam gen2 and Sub mini arrived yesterday and after relatively easy set up - albeit I don't think I've truly got into this yet - the sound quality from a few test pieces was significantly and noticeably better. Well it should be, shouldn't it The vocals in particularly were crisper and, when called upon, the big sounds and kick in of the sub brought nothing but smiles

Very happy overall with the choice, although as always there's a back of mind nag about the Bose - bed, lay in it etc.

Only thing I wonder is whether the Sonos supplied cable for the eArc HDMI to Beam should be upgraded - would there be a noticeable uplift if I did, and if so what would be good? Again, a quick scan on Amazon led to numerous weird sounding cables I'd never heard of! Any expertise would be welcome with thanks for listening to the daft questions