Which audio brand reigns supreme in 2025? A comprehensive test spanning over a decade between Sonos and Bose reveals the victory of one.
In the realm of premium sound systems, two brands stand out: Sonos and Bose. Each offers a unique blend of design, audio quality, connectivity, and pricing, catering to different user preferences and budgets.
Design
Sonos devices, such as the Arc Ultra, boast a premium, sleek design with a focus on scalability and multi-room integration. Their speakers are aesthetically pleasing, delivering great sound performance and a multitude of clever features. The Sonos Ray, for instance, offers a compact form for smaller spaces.
On the other hand, Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar blends luxury and durability, featuring tempered glass tops and wraparound metal grills. It has a slightly bulkier but elegant all-in-one design, optimized for medium to large TVs. The smaller Bose Smart Soundbar is compact and sleek, ideal for small rooms.
Audio Quality
The Sonos Arc Ultra, with its superior Dolby Atmos support and new Sound Motion technology, delivers a stronger bass without the need for an external subwoofer. Sonos soundbars offer balanced, immersive sound suited for movies and music.
Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar, meanwhile, emphasizes robust bass and clear dialogue enhanced by AI-powered dialogue modes and TrueSpace for 3D sound. It offers an excellent Dolby Atmos experience, but bass and soundstage may be somewhat limited on smaller or compact models.
Connectivity
Sonos uses a wireless approach with Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2, and seamless multi-room support via its app. Control via mobile app is central for settings and music playback. However, the app has had some bugs in 2025.
Bose supports HDMI eARC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, AirPlay 2, Chromecast, and integrates voice assistants like Google Assistant and Alexa. The Bose app offers level and EQ controls, enhancing user customization along with voice command options.
Pricing
Sonos soundbars, like the Arc Ultra, are at the premium end (similar or slightly higher priced than Bose's flagship). The Sonos Ray offers a more affordable entry point for smaller or budget-conscious buyers.
Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar retails around $599, positioned as a premium investment for home theaters but offers models below $500 for more budget-friendly options.
In summary, Sonos excels with advanced bass technology and multi-room wireless connectivity, often at a higher price point. Bose offers highly intelligible audio with AI enhancements and broad smart assistant integration in elegant, compact designs with competitive pricing for premium soundbars.
Additional Context
The Sonos Arc Ultra’s bass performance is a standout feature, superior to Bose’s flagship model according to user tests. However, Bose’s Smart Ultra is praised for its AI dialogue enhancements and spatial sound technology, which deliver highly clear speech and immersive soundfield on both Atmos and non-Atmos content.
Bose soundbars often have rich smart features built-in, supporting voice assistants and multiple wireless streaming protocols. Sonos also provides strong wireless and multi-room capabilities but relies heavily on its app ecosystem, which experienced some issues in 2025.
Design preferences may come down to space and style: Bose offers compact form factors for small rooms, while Sonos designs often emphasize premium materials suited for modern living rooms.
As of the article's publication, neither Sonos nor Bose has announced new products in 2025. Sonos offers surround speakers, but they are more expensive than Bose's options. Sonos' most expensive speaker is the Era 300, priced at £449, while Bose's most expensive soundbar is the Smart Ultra Soundbar, priced at £899.95. The Sonos Move 2 competes with the Bose SoundLink Max for a larger and more rugged Bluetooth speaker, and the Sonos Beam Gen 2 and the Bose Smart Soundbar are both excellent soundbars, with the Bose supporting Dolby Atmos and the Sonos designed to handle Dolby Atmos audio using virtualization techniques.
- Sonos devices, such as the Arc Ultra, not only provide superior sound performance and a multitude of features but also boast a premium, sleek design, focusing on scalability and multi-room integration, making them aesthetically pleasing for modern living rooms.
- Bose's Smart Ultra Soundbar blends luxury and durability, featuring tempered glass tops and wraparound metal grills, and has a slightly bulkier but elegant all-in-one design for medium to large TVs, offering an excellent Dolby Atmos experience while maintaining competitive pricing for premium soundbars.
- In terms of connectivity, Bose supports a variety of wireless streaming protocols, including HDMI eARC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, AirPlay 2, Chromecast, and integrates voice assistants like Google Assistant and Alexa, providing a myriad of smart features and user customization options along with voice command functionality.
