Sonos Beam

A great soundbar with smart functionality

$399 Manufacturer Sonos, sonos.com Features AirPlay 2 compatible, Alexa voice control, HDMI-ARC, optical audio

The downside of TVs now being so thin is that the sound they put out is not all that impressive. To get the most out of TV audio, something extra is required. And yet multi-speaker surround systems are not ideal for those who don’t live in a grand mansion or converted warehouse. That’s where soundbars come in – and the Sonos Beam is a really accomplished soundbar.

Beam is much lighter and smaller than Sonos’ existing soundbar – the Playbar, and a few hundred dollars cheaper. It’s a short bar that comes in black or white/off-white. It benefits from HDMI-ARC, allowing you to connect to your compatible TV using one cable, and also adds voice support for Amazon’s Alexa AI assistant and Apple AirPlay 2 audio streaming (with Siri control when using Apple Music).

Beam follows very precisely in the footsteps of the Sonos One: it’s affordable and compact, with a processor powerful enough to act as a platform that can be updated and honed over time. As such, as well as AirPlay 2 and Alexa, it could support Google Home, and others, later on.

First and foremost, though, Beam is a home cinema soundbar and music speaker, and for sport and general live TV duties it’s very solid, adding useful volume and presence to the big game or the latest reality show that’s airing on the box.

However, put on a movie from a service or player with a proper Dolby soundtrack, and the Beam delivers a big, adrenaline-pumping boost to the audio. Of course, given its compact dimensions, the bass doesn’t descend low enough to rattle the room, but it has real power, with a surprisingly wide soundstage, too.

Alexa is irritatingly inconsistent, but if you have a compatible Fire TV device, she/it is useful for searching through the vast quantity of content on there – although not surprisingly, it’s more satisfying to use with Amazon Prime Video than main rival Netflix.

Really, Alexa and AirPlay 2, multi-room and surround sound capability (you could add a pair of Sonos Ones as rear surrounds, and a Sonos Sub for a bigger bottom end) are just bonus features; this is worth $400 as a soundbar alone. Oh yeah, and it’s also a very good music speaker. Not cheap and disposable, yet feeling like quite the bargain, Sonos has got this Beam spot on.

the bottom line. For the size and price, this is a stunning soundbar that’s expandable for surround sound.