Yamaha SR C20A 2.1 or Sonus Beam 3.0 for better voice clarity

[Snooker]

Would the Sonus Beam give a better voice dialogue sound when speaking quietly as it has one dedicated voice speaker, or would there not really be any difference when compared to the Yamaha SR C20A where two undedicated speakers are used for both the voice and mid-range (Both units also have a dialog enhancement mode) ?

 

[bigboss]

The centre speaker will be better for voice generally.

 

[Snooker]

I was going to get the Sonus Beam Gen 2 to try but have since cancelled my order as I am happy with the Yamaha SR C20A, and put the speech issue down to my current boxset source recording as it works fine on other recordings, thanks

 

[Snooker]

I could not cancel in time so the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) arrived and I tested it out using just the HDMI ARC as that is all my TV does and not the brand new features for Dolby Atmos with HDMI eARC, so here are my findings

Speech is about the same with both bars even though the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) has a dedicated speaker for voice being 3.0, but the bass was better than my Yamaha SR C20A even though it has a dedicated bass speaker 2.1 unlike the beam

If I did not already have a sound bar I would have kept the Sonos Beam, but as I live in a purpose block of flats do not need the extra bass and am happy with the bass my Yamaha SR C20A gives as it is still very good with no trace of boom unlike the Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

So the only real difference is in bass output and most people would not need an external sub with either unit especially the Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

I don't know how it sounds with HDMI eARC etc, I just used mine like the original Sonos Beam