It makes sense comparing Sonos Beam vs Nakamichi Shockwafe Pro 7.1 because they both are able to give some premium features. Based on our rating, Beam has a total rating of 6 out of 10 versus 7.8 for Shockwafe Pro 7.1. The competitors' control buttons are different: volume down, volume up, microphone, play/pause and power, source, demo, volume down, volume up, respectively.
Both soundbars have active amplification type. A significant difference between the units in the number of channels, the Sonos Beam has 3.0 versus 7.1.4 for the Nakamichi Shockwafe Pro 7.1. 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 Nakamichi Shockwafe Pro 7.1 8 for its audio features and specs. Spotify support is available on the Shockwafe Pro 7.1.
Only the Sonos Beam can connect to the Internet via WI-FI. Rivals from our review have Bluetooth support. The Sonos Beam has 1/0 HDMI inputs/outputs versus 3/1 of the Nakamichi Shockwafe Pro 7.1. Only the Shockwafe Pro 7.1 supports HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC). For connectivity, the Beam received a rating of 6/10 versus 8/10, respectively. App control is available for the Beam. A built-in microphone is present only on the Beam. Soundbars do not have Multi-room support.
Only the Shockwafe Pro 7.1 has a Dolby Atmos multichannel audio format support. A surround technology DTS:X is supported only by the Shockwafe Pro 7.1. For multichannel surround Sonos Beam got a rating of 4, and Nakamichi Shockwafe Pro 7.1 10 out of 10.