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Key Points:
- While Sonos might seem like the trendier brand, Bose has been around for decades longer. (Sonos was founded in 2002, while Bose was founded in 1964.)
- The Bose 901 — the company’s most popular and long-running product — was introduced in 1968 and discontinued in 2016.
- Bose technically falls under the ownership of MIT. Founder Amar Bose left the majority of the company’s non-voting shares to the Massachusetts university in 2011.
- Sonos has partnered with over 100 music streaming services in its 20-year history.
- Bose is notorious for gatekeeping its sound specs, arguing that numbers cannot do justice to sound quality.
Sonos and Bose dominate the soundbar market. There’s no question. Any serious buyer will always pit them against one another. When comparing a Sonos vs Bose soundbar, which brand is best? That’s the focus of this article. To answer this question, we’ll do a full comparison of Sonos and Bose soundbars, and look at their specs, key facts and their respective histories. Ultimately, there’s no doubt we’ll have a clear-cut winner between the two.
Sonos vs Bose Soundbar: Side by Side Comparison
| Sonos Soundbar | Bose Soundbar | |
|---|---|---|
| Product Name | Sonos Arc | Bose Smart Soundbar 900 |
| Released | June 10th, 2020 | September 23rd, 2021 |
| Price | $899 | $899 |
| Size | 3.4″ H x 45″ W x 4.5″ D | 2.29″ H x 41.14″ W x 4.21″ D |
| Key Features | 11 internal speakers, Trueplay fine-tuning, touch controls | 9 internal speakers, Voice4Video smart assistant technology, ADAPTiQ audio room calibration |
| Sound Quality | Dolby Atmos enabled | Dolby Atmos enabled |
Sonos vs Bose Soundbar: Price Comparisons
Looking broadly at the two brands, Sonos has three different soundbars while Bose offers five. Sonos includes the Ray, the Beam, and the Arc. They range in price from as little as $250 to as much as $900. Bose’s include the 300, the 700, the 900, the Solo 5, and the Bose TV Speaker. They range in price from $200 to $900. As you can see, they’re pretty evenly matched in this regard. Bose might have two additional offerings, but Sonos and Bose’s price ranges aren’t far off.
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Sonos vs Bose Soundbar: What are Their Similarities
Looking at the two most expensive models from each respective brand — the Sonos Arc and the Bose 900 — it’s even clearer just how evenly matched these two soundbars are. Both support Dolby Atmos. They both support Spotify streaming and Apple AirPlay. Setup is quite simple for the two, as well. These similarities make it tough to say which truly comes out ahead.
Above all else, both Sonos and Bose deserve to be recognized for making some of the best speakers money can buy. Whether it be something as simple as a portable Bluetooth speaker or something as intricate as a full-fledged surround sound system, both Sonos and Bose very well deserve the attention and sales they receive.
History of Sonos
Sonos was founded by John MacFarlane, Tom Cullen, Trung Mai, and Craig Shelburne in 2002. The four wanted to revolutionize the way consumers listened to music at home. They aimed to go beyond a simple surround sound setup to bring sound to every room in the house. That’s not all, either: They wanted to do it wirelessly, and they wanted to incorporate computers and the internet, too.
While it sounds ordinary today, this was a revolutionary idea for 2002. This kind of technology simply did not exist at the time. The four at Sonos were determined to change that. Working with very slow internet and very primitive technology , they met with developers and manufacturers to make their dream a reality. By the end of 2003, they had a prototype, and a year later. a product ready for demo. Reception from industry insiders and consumers alike was nothing short of enthusiastic.
The first generation of Sonos speakers shipped in January of 2005. With this development, the Sonos vs Bose soundbar battle was officially on the horizon.. Sales were less than impressive, and it took a few product lineups for word to really begin to spread. With the release of the PLAY:5, their first smart speaker, Sonos had finally found the footing they expected to have from the start. The rest, as they say, is history.
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History of Bose
Bose’s history goes back further back than 2002. Throughout the mid-20th century, Bose founder, Dr. Amar Bose spent his time working and experimenting at MIT. While there, he garnered a collection of patents pertaining to sound. Others sold these patents to other established companies, but Dr. Bose simply stuck with his own. With this, in 1964, Bose was effectively born.
Dr. Bose spent much of the company’s earliest years working at the university by day and experimenting with proprietary speaker technology by night. By 1966, he had a prototype of a 22-speaker system called the 2201. Unfortunately for him, it was a total failure. It only lasted on the market for a few years before disappearing from shelves. It was back to the drawing board, and thank goodness for that. This initial hiccup led to the creation of the iconic 901 in 1968.
The Bose 901 solidified the speaker brand’s status as a future mainstay of the industry. Production would continue for the next several decades until it was discontinued in 2016. While the Bose 901 might no longer be on sale, Bose is still very much a titan of audio technology. They’re undoubtedly Sonos’s greatest competition. This competition is reflected in the close similarities and minute differences between the two.
Sonos
- Features Dolby Atmos
- Enhanced Trueplay tuning technology
- Class 10 for Full HD video recording and playback (Full HD (1920x1080) video support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| More open about the specs of it’s speakers | Fewer Sonos Soundbar options for customers |
| A relatively new company | Quite expensive starting at $249 |
| Arc has two more speakers compared to Bose Smart Soundbar 900 |
Bose
- Multi-directional sound makes you feel as if you are surrounded by speakers.
- Includes Dolby Atmos as well as Bose' TrueSpace
- Voice assistants built in (Google and Alexa)
- Microphones on the Soundbar let you control other devices through the soundbar's voice control as well.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| 5 different soundbars, giving consumers some options | Keeps particular aspects of its speakers’ specs a secret |
| Low-priced soundbars, starting at $199, | Not as technologically advanced as Sonos |
| Well-built and neutral-sounding |
Sonos vs Bose: Which Soundbar Is Best?
When looking at Sonos and Bose on the whole, there are several distinguishing factors to set the two apart. One is newer, one is older. One focuses on wireless connectivity throughout the home, and the other on the best quality possible. One has more options, one has less. Specs are known for one, specs are kept secret for another. However, when looking specifically at Sonos vs Bose soundbars, it’s much harder to identify key differences like these.
Clearly, the Sonos Arc and the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 are exceptional, near-identical soundbars and are sold for the same price. To truly see what distinguishes the two, you have to look inside. At the end of the day, Sonos has more internal speakers, can integrate into an entire home’s sound system, and far more advanced sound technology to create clearer, crisper, louder audio. Of these two soundbar manufacturers, you simply have to hand it to Sonos.
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