Santa Barbara-based Sonos recently unveiled an incredible sound system, Sonos Beam for TV. Other than creating an immersive sound listening experience, the Beam is undeniable ‘a big revelation in small package’ from Sonos.
Surrounded in 65 cm long x 10 cm deep x 6.85 cm high box, Sonos Beam is 60 percent compact than Sonos Playbar. In addition, the Sonos engineer team has blended world-class audio quality with voice assistant compatibility. The home audio brand also proclaims the Beam as ‘the world’s most versatile smart speaker for both TV and Music’.
“In a smart speaker category increasingly filled with tech clutter, poor audio quality, and ulterior motives, Beam is the best example yet of what makes Sonos different,” mentioned Sonos CEO, Patrick Spence.
Verifying on Spence’s claims, let us take on Beam review to check out what all things Beam is designed to offer.
Sonos proclaims the Beam as ‘the world’s most versatile smart speaker for both TV and Music’.
BEAM REVIEW: FEATURES
Compact Size
First and foremost, this latest addition to the Sonos whole-home sound system is a unique acoustic gadget in itself. Sonos Beam is a smart and compact soundbar designed to enhance the TV viewing experience. Encompassed in minimal dimensions, it can sit perfectly on any side cupboards or under wall-mounted televisions. And so, the Beam does not cause any distraction between a viewer and TV or swell up a lot of space in a living room. One can feel the Smart speaker’s presence only when it delivers high-quality surround sound.
The compact speaker comprises of four in-built elliptical woofers, three passive radiators, a single tweeter, and five Class-D digital amplifiers, one for each driver.
Surrounded in 65 cm long x 10 cm deep x 6.85 cm high box, Sonos Beam is 60 percent compact than Sonos Playbar.
At the top of the compact soundbar, there are basic touch controls. They are volume up/down, previous/next track, play/pause and microphone mute.
At the back of the Beam, there are three ports, namely a power connection, Ethernet, and HDMI-ARC input.
Keeping the aesthetic appeal intact, the Beam can integrate with any existing Sonos gadgets of the house. The owner can connect Beam to the TV’s HDMI-ARC port via the HDMI cable. There is also one Optical Audio Adapter to connect Beam to the TV’s optical audio port.
Voice Assistant
Interestingly, Sonos Beam comes with in-built Amazon Alexa support. Tell Alexa to “Switch on the TV” or “Lower the volume,” and it is enabled to hear your voice crystal clear even in the middle loud external noise. So, how to use Alexa on Sonos Beam?
Sonos team has configured a five linear far-field microphone array in the Smart speaker. This component helps for advanced noise suppression and multi-channel echo cancellation for both music and home theater viewing.
The Sonos engineers have kept options wide open for owners to control the Beam as they desire.
To enjoy all benefits of Alexa-enabled streaming services, add an Amazon video streaming device like Fire TV. Now command for a particular movie or teleshow, inquire about a movie director or control playback because everything is voice-enabled.
With a commitment for continuous software updates, Sonos will soon provide support for Google Assistant and Siri too. Thus, the owners will not be bounded to single voice command service.
Acoustic Experience
Moving on, Sonos Beam has not fractionally compromised to deliver the high-quality sound experience, the USP of Sonos speakers. It has nailed in every audio quality segment – whether it is vocal clarity, bass tones, or spaciousness of the sound – that too in such a small framework. In fact, Sonos tested the Beam with over 50 sound developers to offer the best sound.
Primarily, the Beam features Trueplay room-tuning technology. It allows self-tuning the volume of the device depending upon the external noise.
Moreover, Sonos has broadened the entertainment content that can be streamed. It will make AirPlay 2 available on the Beam from next month via a free software update. With this update, Apple users can directly stream music and podcasts from their iOS devices on the Sonos Beam speakers. This feature will be extended to Sonos One, Playbase, and the second generation Play: 5.
Sonos has broadened the entertainment content that can be streamed.
Connectivity
The Sonos engineers have kept options wide open for owners to control the Beam as they desire. It can work with voice command, the Sonos app, and third-party apps like Spotify, Pandora, Audible and Tidal. The Sonos Smart speaker is also enabled to operate with the existing TV remotes, smart home gadgets like wall switches and Sonos-certified partners’ remotes.
BEAM REVIEW: PRICE & AVAILABILITY
“Our open approach, obsession with design, maniacal focus on quality and commitment to building a system that’s easy to use and gets better over time are at the heart of everything we do. We believe we’ve created the best, most versatile, smart speaker in the world,” Spence added.
Sonos compact soundbar will drop on July 17, 2018, globally. For now, the leading home-sound system brand has started taking pre-orders of the Beam worth $399. It is available in White and Black hues with a matte finish.
TECHNOWIZE VERDICT
True to its origin, Sonos is a pioneer in delivering the premium music listening experience. Sonos Beam is a compact, easy-to-install, and easy-to-operate Smart speaker. It turns out to be an affordable gadget with high-quality audio configuration. And the size makes it suitable even for small quarters. Besides, Sonos Beam is made to stream almost any content virtually. Have it!