I had a chance to test and compare two models: Bose Smart Soundbar 300 vs Sonos Arc and this review should help people who are looking for a good soundbar. The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 was rated 7.6, while the Sonos Arc has a rating 7. The soundbars are equipped with a different number of buttons, microphone, action for the Smart Soundbar 300 and volume down, volume up, play/pause, microphone for the Arc.
Each of the models under consideration has active amplification type. The built-in subwoofer is not implemented in any of these models. An external subwoofer connects to the Smart Soundbar 300 via wired and wireless, but Arc has wireless connection type. Audio features and specs of considered models we rated 5 out of 10 in our ranking.
AirPlay 2 supported by both soundbars. Each of the competitors can play content from Spotify.
Both models have a wireless Wi-Fi interface. Soundbars from this comparison have Bluetooth support. 1/0 HDMI inputs/outputs are in each of soundbars. As in the Smart Soundbar 300, so in the Arc there is the HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC). Connecting devices via USB is not possible in both models. We rated the connectivity of the Smart Soundbar 300 at 8 out of 10, while the Arc was rated 7/10.
Both devices have integrated voice control via Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant. Each of the soundbars can be controlled using the application. The soundbars in this review are equipped with a microphone. The Bose Smart Soundbar 300 may become part of a multiroom system.
Dolby Atmos audio decoder is onboard the Arc. Devices from this comparison cannot process surround sound due to lack of DTS:X. The same score of 4/10 was put to the soundbars for multichannel surround support.