Conversely the Sonos Beam eschews immersive audio trickery in favour of a traditional two-channel delivery better suited to music. Like the Sonos Beam, this one is also a compact soundbar and brings the advantage of Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. The overall design is slim, compact and unobtrusive, with touch sensitive controls on the top. If you’re already invested in the Sonos multi-room ecosystem (or an Apple AirPlay one), the Beam is a no-brainer, seamlessly integrating with all the other speakers in your network. Kagoo Score. put them under the same test bench, Having Airplay 2 built-in also allows Apple users to utilise Siri on their iPhone or Apple watch. While there’s not a huge amount of room for creativity in the design of a soundbar – long and thin is almost a given – the YAS-209 is more stylish and fashionable than most. Here you can vote for our next review, Compare frequency and distortion of soundbars to make a clearer and more informed decision, We buy our own products to test. You can also stream music to it using Wi-Fi or Apple AirPlay. Most of us don’t have the luxury of an unlimited budget, so price certainly matters. My concern is I’m missing out on having better sound for music. The Sonos Beam and the Sony HT-X8500 are soundbars with different strengths. The Beam is set up using the Sonos app, and establishing a Wi-Fi connection, creating a multi-room system and setting up Alexa and Google Assistant is a cinch. The Sony HTX8500 is one of the good options under the $300 price tag. Because DTS-HD MA requires eARC, DTS:X does as well. This is a dual-purpose soundbar – it's for tunes as well as TV. Sonos Beam. While the Sony HT-X8500 will give your TV a soni… The Sonos is a 3.0 setup that's better built, has a discrete center channel that performs better than the Sony's phantom center, and it has a better stereo soundstage. The Beam measures just 651x69x100mm (WxHxD), making it suited to smaller screen sizes – we'd suggest 55 inches at the absolutely max, but it's really best for between 32 inches and 50 inches. The result is a big and powerful soundstage, with excellent stereo imaging and a surprising amount of bass thanks to those radiators. Product review: Sony HTX8500 TV soundbar. When a product is discontinued or no longer popular, we sell the purchased products locally in Montreal, Canada. Its rounded edges and fabric cover make it look as though it could belong to the Amazon Echo family, albeit once removed. But just add a great soundbar and you’ll be well on your way to audio nirvana. Sonos Beam. If on the other hand you’re more interested in getting the most out of TV shows and movies, the Sony HT-X8500 is a great choice. I don't know if this is a weird comparison but somehow I've narrowed down to this two. But, while it delivers big on specs, its core sound quality is a long way behind that of the Sonos Beam, which simply gets to the heart of your movie, TV show or favourite tune far more effectively. If you can live without Dolby Atmos, the Sonos Beam is a viable alternative to the HT-X8500. DTS:X uses a DTS-HD MA carrier signal, so to support DTS:X the soundbar must also support DTS-HD MA. Despite the flaws in its sonic presentation, the Sony HT-X8500 is an undeniable sonic improvement over most flatscreen TVs, particularly in terms of delivering cinematic weight and spaciousness. Inside the cabinet are four full-range woofers and a tweeter, each of which has its own Class D digital amplifier, plus three passive radiators. It offers more in terms of HDMI connectivity, and delivers a pleasingly immersive experience with object-based audio soundtracks such as Dolby Atmos. Apart from earning points on the company’s reputation of quality and longevity of devices, it is also packed with several nice features including voice … I’m new to Sonos. Performance 8.6/10. 2021-01-06T17:03:33Z, When it comes to sport and movie viewing it's time to go large and go home, with the best Ultra HD 4K and 1080p projectors, The best 4K TVs under £500 for bedrooms, games rooms and tighter budgets – big screens at small prices, Bringing you the best Sky TV deals on Sky Q, 2021's top-of-the-range TV box, Leaked names reveal new potential 4K and 8K TVs, The company is teasing the next generation of Direct-View displays, Expect 4K and 8K TVs using 2021's hottest new TV tech, By Matthew Bolton • Compared to the benchmark soundbar at this price, the Sonos Beam, the Yamaha is a fair bit wider (93cm to 65cm) but roughly the same heigh… Let’s be honest, as great as the image quality from the best OLED TVs is, the sound that comes from something just a couple of millimetres thick usually sucks.Â. Sonos Beam vs Sony HT-X8500: Price & features The two soundbars differ slightly in pricing, with the Sony HT-X8500 costs a thoroughly reasonable £299/$299, with the Sonos Beam … 83. T3 is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Its main competitors are the Yamaha YAS-209, the Sonos Beam, the Vizio SB36512-F6, and the Sony HT-X8500. 2021-01-06T17:45:29Z, Using LEDs 1/40th the size of previous models means more brightness, better contrast and sleeker designs, By Matthew Bolton • Modern and compact in design, the Sonos Beam is designed in a manner that would fit into any setting elegantly without taking up too much space. Sony TV with 'breakthrough' new tech coming tomorrow, New TCL TVs with 'Next Gen Mini-LED' tech will be unveiled on Jan 11. To it using Wi-Fi or Apple AirPlay imaging and a surprising amount of bass thanks to radiators. Dts-Hd MA requires eARC, DTS: X weird comparison but somehow i 've narrowed down this. 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