Sonos Beam vs JBL Bar 2.1 review

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The present review is aimed to compare two soundbars - Sonos Beam vs JBL Bar 2.1 that are meant to satisfy the needs of cinema and music lovers. Based on our rating, both soundbars have the same overall rating of 6. The competitors' control buttons are different: volume down, volume up, microphone, play/pause and power, volume down, volume up, source, respectively.

Audio features

Both soundbars have active amplification type. A significant difference between the units in the number of channels, the Sonos Beam has 3.0 versus 2.1 for the JBL Bar 2.1. Competitors do not have a built-in subwoofer. Rivals have wireless connection to separate subwoofer. The Sonos Beam got our rating of 6 out of 10, and the JBL Bar 2.1 7 for its audio features and specs. Spotify support not implemented in both soundbars.

Connectivity

These models have the ability to connect to the Internet via WI-FI. Rivals from our review have Bluetooth support. The Sonos Beam has 1/0 HDMI inputs/outputs versus 1/1 of the JBL Bar 2.1. Only the Bar 2.1 supports HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC). For connectivity, the Beam received a rating of 6/10 versus 8/10, respectively.

Features

Both models support voice control using Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant. App control is available for the Beam. A built-in microphone is present in each model. Soundbars do not have Multi-room support.

Multichannel surround

None of soundbars equipped with Dolby Atmos multichannel audio decoder. The soundbars do not support the surround sound technology DTS:X. For multichannel surround, each of the opponents received 4 points out of 10.

Advantages Sonos Beam over JBL Bar 2.1

Advantages JBL Bar 2.1 over Sonos Beam