The reason the Stage is so expensive is because it's very difficult to achieve extremely pretty design (take a look at it in smoked oak color) and extremely well sound at the same time.
Summary
Looking at it from performance, capability and sound quality standpoints, both soundbars are top notch and comparable.
In short, the staggering price tag of the Beosound Stage would absolutely NOT worth it over the Sonos Arc... Unless you're aware that you're paying for its looks, and not for its technology.
So...
Unless the appearance of your soundbar is vital to you, or a few thousand bucks mean close to nothing to you... then I'd recommend getting the Arc over the Stage my eyes closed.
Design
Design is the biggest only practical factor for the price difference between the two. So it makes sense to start off in here.
The frame of the Stage extends to the seamless integration of the control buttons while the contrast between the aluminum and the fabric pops beautifully due to the deliberate gap between the two.
The overall appearance is of a stately, premium product that makes its presence felt inside a home. This is not a product that blends in. It is striking and beautifully so.
The Arc, in contrast, feels somewhat generic in its appearance (at the risk of sounding harsh). While the matte finish is forgiving, the only available colors are black and white.
The materials do not give you anything close to the organic feel of the Beosound and make it look like exactly what it is: a speaker. And nothing more.
On the plus side, it is more of a ‘wallflower’ than its contender. It does a great job of blending into pretty much any room. So if you can’t be bothered planning your interiors around your home theater system, this might be closer to what you need.
Sound
Let me tell you something right off the bat.
The sound quality performance you'll end up getting from a speaker will always depend on your room acoustics - particularly room dimensions and speaker positions.
The impact of the combination of these two is actually so strong that in most cases, it doesn't even make sense to utter a single word on sound quality without speaking of them.
This is also why it's not unusual to see completely different reviews of the same speaker.
In one case the speaker might be placed in a sweet spot inside the room and hence the user might be satisfied. In other cases the same speaker might be ill placed and hence user might even have returned it.
The point most people miss here is that it mostly isn't even about the engineering behind the speaker itself. It's about where you place the speaker inside which room.
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So, in order to solve this problem, I've partnered with an Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD and created Soundton - a simple, 2D, browser accessible online speaker placement calculator.
With Soundton, now there's a way to figure the sound quality of most speakers before you buy them.
Read more about its working principles at soundton.com.
The end colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) acoustics.
ASAP Science also made a video on the loudest and quietest rooms in the world. A mind blowing example of the importance of acoustics (play time adjusted video below).
Other parameters such as the age/materials of the building, the furniture & carpets in place, etc can and will, of course, have an effect on room acoustics, too. But it's much less compared to other parameters mentioned above.
Also, while you're at it, blast my Hidden Electronic Gems list to test the speakers:
Anyways...
Both speakers do offer quality sound. It’s a close call. So, in addition to the points mentioned in the Summary above, here are a few additional factors to skim through:
Both are neck-to-neck in sound delivery, the side-firing speakers on the Sonos Arc (see image) are a little more versatile. It is helpful to note that the Sonos is also well equipped to connect to additional speakers and a subwoofer.
Channel Configuration
- The Beosound Stage offers you a 3.0 configuration.
- The Sonos Arc, on the other hand, gives you 5.0.2-Channel, Virtual Surround sound.
- The Beosound Stage comes with 4 x 1.5" / 3.8 cm full-range drivers, 3 x 0.75" / 1.91 cm HF Tweeters, and 4 x 4" / 10.2 cm LF drivers.
- On the other hand, the Sonos Arc comes with 4 x Front-Firing Elliptical Cone, 2 x Side-Firing Elliptical Cone, and 2 x Up-Firing Elliptical Cone full-range drivers. In addition to 1 x Front-Firing Tweeter, 2 x Side-Firing Tweeter as HF drivers.
- Beosound Stage: You get Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD.
- Sonos Arc: This gives you Dolby Atmos.
Drivers
Audio Decoding
If that’s too much technical jargon for you, what it really translates to is that while both are neck-to-neck in sound delivery, the side-firing speakers on the Sonos Arc are a little more versatile.
Additionally, it is helpful to note that the Sonos is also well equipped to connect to additional speakers and a subwoofer.
Also check out the Sonos Arc User Guide.
Connectivity
Beosound Stage
The Beosound Stage comes with 1 x HDMI 2.0 Audio/Video inputs and 1 x HDMI 2.0 Audio/Video output.
It offers LAN, Airplay 2, Chromecast, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.
Sonos Arc
The Sonos Arc comes with 1 x HDMI - ARC/eARC inputs, Ethernet LAN, AirPlay 2, Proprietary, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.
Small Caveat: Neither comes with any USB ports.
Verdict
In conclusion, this is how Beosound Stage and the Sonos Arc stack up against each other:
- Design: Beosound Stage wins.
- Sound: Tie. The Beosound Stage offers premium quality and the Sonos Arc more versatility.
- Connectivity: Tie.
- Price: The Sonos Arc wins.
Overall... Only you can decide - but the Sonos Arc should be the winner for, say, 95% of the average users.