Hi everybody Carl here from Abt and in this video we're gonna be taking a look at two of the most popular sound bars
We carry here at the store the Sonos beam and the Bose sound bar 500 and as much as these two are similar they are
different as well
and in this video
We'll cover the big stuff and stick around because at the end we'll have a sound test of each
Now you can tell right away. These are different sizes
The Bose is wider than the beam by six inches shorter by about an inch and it's about the same depth
I wouldn't consider either one of them big but depending on the space you have it might make a difference
Materials are gonna be similar too. They each have color matched grilles boses metal and the Sonos is cloth
They have plastic cabinets now
The black is a matte finish and looks really nice on both plus the matte finish
Doesn't show fingerprints as easily as a glossy speaker does and if it gets a little dusty you don't really notice that either
Now as far as the grilles go the Bose wraps around the sides of bit and stops where the Sonos goes all the way around
The speaker and while we're on the back of the speaker's you can see all the physical inputs each has HDMI Ethernet
And power connections, but on the Bose you also get an optical in for an audio source and Bluetooth
There's also physical inputs for a subwoofer and they're adapt IQ microphone for setup. However with the Sonos you still have those options
They're just Wireless
The adapt IQ microphone is nice because you don't have to worry about an operating system for it to work with the Sonos you can
Dial it in with
Down the sound with true play, but you have to use an iOS device
Which you may not have so be ready to borrow your younger brother's iPhone
Both calibration methods do a great job in getting the speaker to sound its best based on the room
it's in another similarity are the built in microphones for use with a smart home system as
Of the filming of this video though. Both are only capable of working with Amazon's Alexa, but both get pretty frequent updates
So hopefully we'll see Google home and airplay to show up at some point
The microphones work really well for both - they do a serviceable job of picking up your voice
Even through the sound as the speaker's playing and if you want to turn the mics off on either one they each have a button
On the top for that function, but that's the only spot where you can do and either one offers it in the app
and it's not on the remote that comes with the Bo's either and
That's another difference between the two the Bo's can be controlled using the app or the provided remote Sonos doesn't provide their own physical remote
fortunately
Though both speakers volumes can be controlled with most TV or cable box remotes when setup properly also the Bo's remote doesn't offer as much
Functionality as the app does while the Sonos app is in my opinion the best one out there now
Bo's does a nice job with their app it's laid out. Well, but for me the Sonos app is set up in a way
That's easier to understand if you're not familiar with either one. It's a great user interface
Everyone's gonna have their own opinion on that though
So make sure you let us know which one you think is the best in the comments now
Let's talk about sound for a minute
And I think these both sound
Terrific the bows from our testing here at the store seems to have a bit more bass without the optional subwoofer added
The mids and highs were strong and voices came through clearly even at lower volumes on each one and because sound is pretty subjective
Not everyone's gonna have the same opinion
I think between the two the Bose was a little fuller but it's also a more expensive speaker and that brings us to the last
difference the price
The Bose even when it's on sale is still going to be anywhere from a hundred to a hundred fifty dollars more expensive
now
Is it worth spending the extra for a physical remote bluetooth and optical input and in my opinion slightly better sound I'd say yes
But with a caveat it's worth it
If you already have other Bose products in your home that work on the bose music app if you don't already
I'd say the ease of use of the Sonos app
It's great sound and smaller footprint make it really appealing and if you already have other Sonos products in your home
It's a no brainer. So what do you think the beam or the sound bar?
500 make sure you let us know in the comments. And before you go here's that sound test
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