Upgrading your living room to deliver a full home theater experience is a significant investment. If custom setups with carefully selected components sound like too much work, you can save a lot of effort (and money) going for a pre-packaged surround sound set. Take a look at how the Bose 5.1 Home Theater Set and the Sonos 5.1 Surround Set, two of the best home theater systems available today, compare against each other.
The Sonos 5.1 Surround home theater set includes the Sonos Beam soundbar, Sub (Gen 3) subwoofer, and two One SL wireless speakers. It also features voice control and can be connected to your leading smart voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
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Bose vs Sonos Home Theater System Comparison Chart
| Model | ||
 | | |
| Price | Check Price at Amazon | Check Price at Amazon |
| Soundbar | Bose Soundbar 700 | |
| Subwoofer | Bose Bass Module 700 | Sonos Sub |
| Rear Speakers | Bose Surround Speakers (2) | Sonos One SL (2) |
| Wi-Fi | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes |
| Apple Airplay 2 | Yes | Yes |
| Remote Control | Included | None |
| Voice Control | Yes | Yes |
| Microphone | 8-mic array | 5 far-field mic array |
| Audio Codecs | Dolby Digital, DTS | Dolby Digital |
| HDMI-ARC | Yes | Yes |
| Audio Input | Optical | Optical |
Design
Both Bose and Sonos home theater systems have premium, minimalist designs.
Designed to blend into modern widescreen 4K TVs, both of these home theater speaker systems do their best to look sleek and sophisticated without standing out. As the most visible of all the components, the Bose Soundbar 700 and
As to the rest of the package, the Sonos Sub is particularly eye-catching due to its hollow middle, which as you’ll see below isn’t just for style. Meanwhile, the Bose Bass Module and Surround Speakers sport the same aesthetic as the Bose 700, creating a cohesive look. Overall, the
Aside from power cables, all devices can be wirelessly connected to each other so it’s much easier to keep your setup neat. Both soundbars feature HDMI-ARC and optical sound ports, maximizing compatibility with the majority of HD TVs, as well as mic arrays for voice input.
Setup and Controls
The
Getting the
In comparison, there are a few extra steps you need to do with the
There are only a minimal number of buttons on either soundbar, and they’re all touch-sensitive. You’ll find a lot more control options and settings in their respective mobile apps. In general, the Sonos app is a bit more user-friendly and easier to master than the Bose Music app, and there are fewer difficulties in pairing devices and finding what you’re looking for with the Sonos set.
Sound Quality
Both Bose and Sonos home theater sets deliver powerful, immersive audio.
Once you’ve got everything set up and working, it’s recommended that you have a seat before finally playing a movie or TV show in full surround sound. Both Bose and Sonos package will put a pretty nice dent in your bank account, but once you experience the depth and clarity they bring to your home entertainment setup, you’ll realize they’re worth every penny.
There’s really no clear winner in this department as their overall performance is too close to call. You get rich, crystal clear sound from both sets, along with bone-numbing lows from their subs. Those bass modules really make a difference in listening versus feeling what you’re watching. Both the Sonos Sub and Bose Bass Module 700 use innovative engineering to drastically reduce distortion so all you get is pure bass.
The Bose 5.1 home theater set includes the Bose Soundbar 700, Bass 700, and two surround sound speakers. Compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, the Soundbar 700 can be controlled completely hands-free.
A couple points are worth mentioning before we proceed. The
Smart Features
Both Bose and Sonos soundbars have built-in voice assistants.
You can select between Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant on both surround systems as their included soundbars have them built in. There are eight custom microphones on the Bose Soundbar 700 while there are only five far-field mics on the
Finally, you can further expand either Bose or Sonos system to encompass your entire home. Adding compatible speakers is easy since they can be auto-discovered via Wi-Fi, allowing you to control all of the speakers in the house via voice control or app if you wish.
Verdict
You won’t go wrong with either Bose or Sonos home theater system.
The Bose 5.1 home theater set includes the Bose Soundbar 700, Bass 700, and two surround sound speakers. Compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, the Soundbar 700 can be controlled completely hands-free.
The Sonos 5.1 Surround home theater set includes the Sonos Beam soundbar, Sub (Gen 3) subwoofer, and two One SL wireless speakers. It also features voice control and can be connected to your leading smart voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
There’s no easy way to say this, but there’s really no clear winner in this comparison. Both Bose 5.1 Home Theater Set and Sonos 5.1 Surround Set are excellent pre-packaged surround sound systems, offering immersive, high-definition audio with all the perks of modern voice control features.
If you already have either the Bose Soundbar 700 or
As a last resort, since both home theater sets are so evenly matched in performance and features, you can simply decide based on the price tag: get the system that currently offers the most savings.
FAQs
If you enjoy an immersive listening experience to match your high-definition videos, yes, the Bose home theater systems are worth it. Bose delivers topnotch audio quality and long-lasting build that makes it worth the price tag.
While you’ll find Bose headphones available on Apple, Bose is not owned by the Cupertino-based tech giant.
Only the Sonos Arc soundbar can deliver Dolby Atmos audio. The
Even though they are not the cheapest speakers out there, Sonos speakers offer excellent value for money. The audio quality they deliver and robust build more than justify their price tags.