It doesn't matter what TV you have, when you attach a sound bar to it you realize that the sound you were hearing was not as good as you thought. I have been using it for several weeks Sonos Beam, a compact but powerful sound bar and with a lot of possibilities, in this article I tell you about my experience with it. I hope I can help you if you are hesitating to buy it or not.
First of all I want to explain why I chose a Sonos Beam and not another. This product has 3 essential things for me:
- It is a bar that does not take up too much space, has a compact design and is very beautiful in its simplicity.
- It is a smart speaker, it already incorporates Alexa and in the near future it will also be able to interact with the Google assistant. Unfortunately we can't use Siri to the full, at the moment...
- Sonos is synonymous with sound quality, so I was almost sure that this bar was not going to disappoint me in that regard.
If these 3 points are also important to you, it is very possible that the Sonos Beam be a product for you to consider.
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Sonos Beam design
The Beam's design is minimalist but very effective. You can buy it in black or white and when you put it in front of your TV it stands out just enough to be seen, but it's not designed to stand out above all else, rather to blend in with what you already have, the idea is not to disturb, yes not serve a good sound.
Regarding the size, what do you want me to tell you, it seems that the people at Sonos have made this sound bar thinking that it would fit perfectly in front of my old Panasonic plasma...
At the top of the Beam we see the touch controls. There's not a single button to press here, but everything works great and the soundbar recognizes touches instantly.
With the top touch controls you can pause or resume a playback, raise and lower the volume and skip or go back songs, you will also find the microphone control for the virtual assistant.
Although the truth is that the controls of the bar will be one of the things that you use the least, since you will soon get used to using Alexa voice commands or giving orders to Siri from your iPhone to control the reproductions by AirPlay. And if you don't like the assistants, you can always use the dedicated Sonos application to control the bar, the point is not having to get up from the sofa, don't you think?
Finally, at the back of the Sonos Beam We found all the available connections for the sound bar to work, but I'll talk about this a little later.
Initial setup of the Sonos Beam
Sonos does not include extensive manuals with its products, although the truth is that they are not usually necessary, all you have to do is download the application and follow the instructions on the screen.
But although in principle installing the Sonos Beam is not a challenge for almost anyone, there are several things that we must take into account.
First of all, the connections that we have available to connect the sound bar to our TV.
There are two connection options:
- Via HDMI ARC. If your TV is recent, it will surely have this connection.
- By optical output with the included adapter.
If your TV is too old and does not have any of these connections, do not worry, You can connect it through an adapter that does include optical outputIt is not complicated at all, although it entails a small extra expense, but it is nothing special, you can get this one for less than €20.
On the other hand, being compatible with AirPlay You can connect the Beam to an Apple TV, although be careful, you will lose benefits in terms of cable connections (HDMI or optical).
During the installation process there may be a point where you get stuck, it is the moment in which you have to connect the remote control of your TV. This possibility only appears if you have a connection HDMI ARC and it's not that it's a big complication, but here the Sonos app leaves you alone. In my case, I connected the Beam to an LG TV and I had to use the connection of the TV brand, Tiplink, the truth is that it took me a while to find how to do it, but in reality a simple search on Google was enough, or a look at the instruction manual of the TV to get out of trouble.
A great advantage of connecting the Beam via HDMI ARC is that, in addition to being able to connect your TV remote to control the volume of the bar, you can manage certain functions of the TV by voice with Alexa. It will depend on the TV that you have the power to do more or less with the voice assistant, although in theory you should be able to turn it on and off and control the volume without problems.
In all, from unboxing the Sonos Beam, the entire setup process took just over 20 minutes.
Sonos Beam sound quality
Technically, the Sonos Beam comes more than prepared, at Sonos they have known how to make the most of the internal space, this is what is inside the sound bar:
- Four Woofers that offer very good mids and deep bass and more than decent.
- A tweeter that, when video is playing, you will appreciate especially in the dialogues, making them sound clear even in scenes with a lot of action and noise.
- Three passive radiators that accentuate the bass
- Five digital class D amplifiers
But all these features are useless if when you connect the bar they don't work perfectly, so I have put the bar to the test in different situations to offer you my opinion on the sound of the Sonos Beam.
As I mentioned a little above, there are different connection options, but in this sound opinion I am only going to take into account those that are produced by cable (HDMI ARC or optical). The AirPlay connection makes you lose Home Cinema sound functions, not that it sounds bad, but in movies there is a decrease in that spectacular effect that this bar can give you if you connect it by cable to your TV.
Regarding supported sound formats, you should bear in mind that the Beam only supports PCM Stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1, so if you like to enjoy other types of formats, such as Dolby Atmos, DTS, etc., you will not be able to do so with this bar
Sound quality of the Sonos Beam in series and movies
It is curious to see how such a small sound bar is capable of filling a room with sound completely.
In scenes with little action we can hear clearly all sound effects; Birds, traffic, wind… things that normally go unnoticed are perfectly appreciated with the soundbar connected.
Dialogues are very clear and that is something to be appreciated. I have had other sound systems connected to watch my movies and series and almost all of them sin in this regard, the sound effects are always very successful, but if there is dialogue in scenes with a lot of background noise, the effects tend to eat up words.
The internal Tweeter is the one that is in charge of making sure that we do not miss any dialogue and that is perhaps why the treble may sometimes feel too high and squeaky, something that can be quite annoying for people with a good ear for sound quality. In any case, the Sonos application gives us the option to control the power of bass and treble, so you can set them to your liking at any time.
When the action scenes we see all the potential of this bar; Spectacular bass, stereo sound that becomes almost enveloping... The truth is that it is spectacular. I have thought about what would happen if I connected the Sonos Subwoofer, that must be wonderful, although I will have to save a little more.
Sound quality of the Sonos Beam in video games
Video games are designed to be spectacular and good sound takes them one level further.
The games are like the movies, it will depend on how they are made and the quality and effort that the developers have put into the sound game, but of course the immersion in them, with the Sonos Beam connected, is a marvel.
I've been playing Call Of Duty and you really feel the combat. In quieter games, such as the Fable series, it's a joy to wander through towns listening to all the sound effects, voices and otherwise.
In Video Games the sound effects are even more pronounced than in movies and this bar makes it possible for you to hear them all at their best.
Sound quality in music from the Sonos Beam
The music quality is also very high. I've been listening to music of different styles and the Sonos Beam delivers perfectly.
The medium tones and trebles stand out above all.
The bass is up to par, although they are less present than in the Sonos One, it is noticeable that the brand's speakers are designed for music as the main use and the Sonos Beam to act as a sound bar connected to a TV.
In summary, it doesn't matter what you listen to on the Sonos Beam, with anything it will give you the feeling of listening to a Premium product, The sound quality of this bar reaches very high levels.
Sonos Beam + two Sonos One, that's how they sound...
Ya I had two Sonos One at home, so I decided to try the option of connecting them to the Beam to act as satellites and thus be able to test Dolby 5.1.
Although at first I didn't like losing the usual location of my two Sonos Ones, after connecting them I decided to leave them and the sound quality in this way increases incredibly.
Before continuing I give you some advice if you want to use a configuration similar to this one; in the Sonos app settings go to Room Settings, select select the speaker group, and then choose Advanced Sound, in that location select surround sound settings
By default, when configuring the system Beam+2 Sonos One, music playback and TV volume level for surround sound are set to only offer ambient sound. My recommendation is that you select the option Eventing and then play with the sliders of both levels until you find the exact point where you like to listen to music or your series and movies.
In series, movies and games compatible with Dolby 5.1, the experience mounting this three-speaker unit is simply spectacular.
Bass, which is already good with the bar, is kicked up a notch thanks to the Sonos One. The highs and mids sound amazing on the Sonos Beam, so everything works in unison, seamlessly, for deliver immersive and spectacular sound.
If you are one of those who play seriously, this system will allow you to perfectly distinguish where your enemies are coming from; in front, behind to one side or the other... the advantage of using 5.1 systems to play is exactly that and this one sounds incredible.
As for music, the system is also going to enchant you. We are talking about 3 high-quality speakers connected and working to offer a really good sound experience. What you may miss in the sound quality of the Sonos One you have in the Sonos Beam and vice versa. The quality and power you get in music with this combination is simply brutal.
Of course, all these virtues have a price specifically € 807 if you buy the Pack they sell at Sonos of 2 Play: 1 (Sound the same as the One, but without Alexa) and a Sonos Beam. If you can afford it, do not hesitate, you will be satisfied.
Alexa and assistant functions
The Sonos Beam is compatible with Alexa, to listen to your commands use 5 integrated long-range microphones so that, in theory, it listens to you in any situation, even when you have music played at high volume.
In my case, I have integrated Alexa into many aspects of my daily life, so I use it quite often. For me it is important that the speaker to whom I speak responds the first time and that he understands the order I am giving him well. When you have to repeat an order many times or the device misunderstands what you say, you get frustrated and using the assistant achieves the exact opposite of what it should, it gives you more work and irritates you...
The Sonos Beam hears you perfectly if there's no music or movie playing on it. If the music or movie is at a moderate volume level, the response is also very good, but things start to fail if you push it a bit, that's when, sometimes, not always, you can get desperate giving orders to the bar, after repeating the order several times without response or with an inappropriate response, you make the decision to do whatever it takes manually...
But this small failure occurs only in very specific situations, to give you an idea, a few days ago, while I was taking a shower with the bathroom door closed, I wanted to test if any of the speakers I have in my house (one in each room , less in the bathroom, and even one in my hallway) answered. I honestly thought that none of them would, from the bathroom I said "Alexa, play music" and to my surprise the one who listened to me the best and the one who played the music it was the sonos beam Quite a feat if we take into account that this is the speaker furthest from the bathroom and that I gave the order in a loud but natural tone, no shouting...
This way of behaving is not unique to the Sonos Beam, most of the smart speakers that I know of (and there are a few) err in this regard, in adverse conditions with a lot of ambient noise they tend to fail. In this sense, the best speakers I've tried are the Apple HomePod and the new Echo Show, both respond in very high percentages and in really difficult conditions.
Otherwise the Sonos Beam can do almost anything with Alexa; turn lights or smart plugs on and off, give you the latest news, add tasks to the calendar and much more.
Being also compatible with AirPlay you can integrate it into the app Casa and ask Siri to play music or any content in that location. It's not the same as having Siri integrated into the speaker, but hey, it doesn't matter a stone.
Sonos has also promised Beam and Sonos One compatibility with Google AssistantAlthough for now we are still waiting.
Conclusions; Pros and cons
The Sonos Beam has a multitude of virtues, but also something against that, if it is important to you, you should know.
In the Pros section I would highlight the following:
- Compact size to fit anywhere.
- Truly incredible sound power for its size.
- High sound quality in any situation. It is an all-terrain sound bar that sounds spectacular with movies or series, but also with video games and music. Whatever you listen to, you won't be disappointed.
- Dialogue volume control or night mode, especially for not disturbing at night, which you can control from the application.
- If you add satellite speakers (Sonos One or Sonos Play:1) the sound quality skyrockets, the Sonos sound system can grow with you and your needs.
- Multiple ways to connect: HDMI ARC, optical output or AirPlay
- Compatible with PCM Stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1
- Compatible with Alexa natively and with some Siri functions when using AirPlay and adding the device to the application Casa. It will also be compatible with Google Assistant in the future.
Regarding the cons, these are the most important in my opinion:
- Not compatible with more types of sound. If you use Dolby Atmos or any other system that is not PCM Stereo or Dolby Digital 5.1 this bar is not for you.
- In the range of sounds, the treble may be too high at first, Sonos's commitment to making dialogues sound good always means that they can be something hissing and annoying at times. In any case, it is a lesser evil, since you only have to lower the treble or raise the bass from the settings of the Sonos application.
- Long-range microphones for the virtual assistant can sometimes fail, especially when there is a lot of ambient noise or the volume of music or TV is too high. The failure level is average for the rest of the speakers, although there are devices, such as the HomePod and the Echo Show, that far exceed the response of this sound bar.
In conclusion, my experience with the Sonos Beam is very positiveI think I have not made a mistake in the choice. The sound quality is excellent in any aspect of the use that I make of it. I at least don't miss Dolby Atmos or any other sound system.
Of all the smart speakers I have in my house, this is the one I use the most by far, since it is in the living room, which is the room in the house where I am the most. In general it works very well and, although there are specific occasions in which I get a little desperate with this aspect, most of the time it works without problems.
La Sonos Beam is one of the most complete sound bars on the marketI don't think anyone will be disappointed with their purchase.