Sonos is one of the top brands for multi-room wireless home sound system that streams music from compatible device to all Sonos brand speakers across the home Wi-Fi network. This allows streaming all over the house unlike Bluetooth speakers that are limited to close range. A few weeks back, I reviewed one of the speakers, the Sonos Beam. As I did not take any product photos prior to return, I had to rely on stock photos from Sonos.
Photo credits: Sonos
The Sonos Beam is a new speaker in the shape of the soundbar with rounded corners. Compared to the earlier Sonos soundbar models, Playbar and Playbase, the Sonos Beam is more compact and has fewer speaker drivers, which works better in smaller to mid-sized homes.
With the Sonos app, setting up the speaker is guided all the way, from the account creation to the pairing to the home Wi-fi network, down to the firmware update. It even guides you to set up with the TV, but I cannot test it with mine because my TV does not come with either HDMI ARC standard or optical connector. Do take note that yours come with either of them. An adapter that converts HDMI to optical audio is included in the package.
Photo credit: Sonos
Existing Sonos owners should be very familiar with the ecosystem. For new Sonos users, the Sonos sound system are connected to one another over Wi-fi, not Bluetooth. This means that you can control any Sonos speaker in the house within the same Wi-fi network. It is also possible to purchase add-on Sonos subwoofer and speakers for rear and they will be connected to one another, again wirelessly. A compatible wall mount is also available for purchase.
Apart from streaming audio from your smartphone, the Sonos Beam support over 66 streaming services like Spotify, Deezer, Tidal, Audiobooks.com. Once connected, the content can be browsed and played directly on the Sonos Beam. Sonos Beam also support AirPlay and Amazon Alexa voice controls.
Photo credit: Sonos
Driven by 4 full-range woofers and a single tweeter, the Sonos Beam delivers pompous sound for its size. The bass does not exaggerate since there is no subwoofer speaker, nor does the treble deliver exceeding transparency. But what it offers is an all-rounded sound that is comfortable to listen to, one that fills the room effortlessly.
Conclusion
Beautifully simple, the Sonos Beam is designed for the smart home owners who want a single device for the TV, online streaming service and voice commands. It’s a soundbar that does everything a smart home owner needs. For a more immersive audio experience, expand with additional Sonos speakers to link them up wirelessly and achieve a better surround sound. That is the beauty of investing in Sonos system.
Sonos is distributed in Singapore by TC Acoustic. Sonos Beam retails at S$699 and is available at all good electronic shops or at TC Acoustic website.
Technical Specifications
- Speakers: 4x full-range woofers, 1x tweeter, 3x passive radiators
- Drivers: 5x Class-D digital amplifiers
- Microphones: 5x far-field microphone array
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, HDMI ARC, Optical Audio, AirPlay (iOS 11.4 and higher)
- Dimensions: 651 x 100 x 68.5 mm
- Weight: 2.8 kg
Sonos On Demand (Now till 18 Dec 2018)
Together with Lazada, Sonos is offering a 15-day free trial of the Sonos Beam. From now till 18 December, consumers can try the Sonos Beam (with refundable deposit of S$99) through Lazada via this link, with the option of completing or cancelling the purchase fifteen days from the date of delivery at an exclusive price of S$649. In short, you get to try the soundbar for free, and if you choose to purchase it, you get a S$50 discount. Awesome!
