Marshall Heston 60 vs Sonos Beam (Gen 2)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| MarshallHeston 60 | SonosBeam (Gen 2) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | 2025 | October 2021 |
| Sound | ||
| Type | Soundbar | Soundbar |
| Channels | 5.1 | – |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
| Drivers | Five 1.25-inch full-range drivers and two 3-inch woofers; virtual height effects, with no up-firing drivers (Expert Reviews) | One centre tweeter, four elliptical midwoofers and three passive radiators |
| Amplifiers | Seven Class D amplifiers, listed as 2 × 25 W and 5 × 5 W; separately stated total output 56 W peak. These are different maker ratings, not additive system power. | Five class-D digital amplifiers |
| Frequency response | 45 Hz–20 kHz; maximum SPL 89 dB | – |
| Audio formats | Dolby Atmos and DTS:X | Stereo PCM, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos (Dolby Digital Plus); with HDMI eARC also Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos (TrueHD), multichannel PCM and Dolby multichannel PCM; DTS Digital Surround |
| Room tuning | Automatic calibration; Music, Movie, Night and Voice modes | Trueplay (iOS device required); bass, treble and loudness adjustable; Speech Enhancement; Night Sound |
| Connections | ||
| Wi-Fi | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth | Yes | No |
| AirPlay | Yes | Yes |
| HDMI eARC | Yes | Yes |
| Voice assistants | None | Alexa and Google Assistant |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6 | 802.11b/g/n, 2.4 GHz |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.3 with SBC, AAC and LC3; Auracast supported | – |
| Ports | HDMI eARC, 3.5 mm analogue input, mono RCA subwoofer output and USB-C; no HDMI passthrough | HDMI eARC (optical adapter included); 10/100 Ethernet; IR receiver |
| Streaming | AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect and airable radio | Apple AirPlay 2; Sonos Radio |
| Multi-room | Optional Heston Sub 200 sold separately | Groups with other Sonos products over Wi-Fi; add a Sonos Sub and rear speakers; TV Audio Swap to Sonos Ace headphones |
| App | Marshall app | Sonos app (iOS and Android); works with the TV remote |
| Design | ||
| Weight | 2.76 kg (better) | 2.88 kg |
| Controls | Physical buttons and programmable preset; magnetic logo and reversible control panel for wall mounting. No dedicated remote supplied. | Capacitive touch controls (play, pause, skip, replay, volume, microphone off) |
| Microphones | Two calibration microphones; no built-in voice assistant | Far-field microphone array with beamforming and multichannel echo cancellation |
| Mounting | Wall-mount grommets included | 0.5 in (12.7 mm) threaded mount / 10-32 threaded socket; wall mount sold separately |
| Size | 730 × 68 × 124 mm (width × height × depth) | 68 × 651 × 100 mm (H × W × D) |
| Colours | Black or Cream | Black, White |
| In the box | Soundbar, two wall-mount grommets, logo and control panel, mains lead, HDMI cable and guides | Beam (Gen 2), power cable (2 m), HDMI cable (1.5 m), optical audio adapter, documentation |
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