[ad_1]
In many ways, Sonos is like an Apple of audio. Its speakers and software have a very successful design and attention to detail, are easy to use, run on a proprietary wireless system and have a high-end price positioning. So far, if you wanted a Sonos sound bar, you had to pay 799 euros for a Playbar or a Playbase and still as much for a subwoofer. But things changed with the arrival of the Beam at 449 euros. A pleasant surprise that demonstrates the willingness of Sonos, which is also preparing to go public, to reach a wider audience. This quest that started with the excellent Sonos One continues with the bar of his Beam.
Like the One, it includes Amazon's voice badistant Alexa and AirPlay compatibility (an update for AirPlay 2 is planned for this year). The Google Assistant is announced by the end of the year. The Beam is not a monster of power that will make your walls shake, but it develops a spacious sound stage, offers good performance for music and will significantly improve the sound of your TV. But this is not the only voice-activated soundbar available. Polk's Command Bar, which includes a subwoofer and Alexa compatibility, is positioning itself as a serious contender. During our test with these two bars side by side, the Polk offered a better rendering on many contents. But Sonos is needed for multiroom integration and voice compatibility beyond Alexa. We can add two rear speakers and a wireless subwoofer to the Beam, but that will make the bill explode.
This is not the first soundbar we would recommend to people who just want to boost audio performance from their TV. However, this is the best choice for those who already own Sonos products and want to expand their sound system. The Beam is attractive, powerful, and more versatile than any other soundbar on the market at any price.
The design
The finish with a fabric grille is a surprise on a Sonos product that usually uses metal. But we still find the aesthetic signature of the brand with the plastic top and the touch control panel introduced with the One.
Of an oval shape, the Beam is smaller than most other bars. sound (68.5 x 651 x 100 mm). It is available in black or white. An optional wall mount is available for 69 euros.
Unlike many of its competitors, the Beam is delivered without remote control. But you can choose between several control systems: via the Sonos application for smartphones and tablets, by programming the remote control of your TV or by voice command with Alexa.
The Sonos application has evolved quite a lot years. The latest version focuses on finding music and devices in the home. A welcome change as Sonos has opened up to third-party control systems such as Spotify Connect and AirPlay. We strongly prefer to be able to play music on a Sonos speaker through the native Spotify application rather than the Sonos app.
Bouncing sound
The Beam's speakers are designed to bounce sound against walls. It is equipped with a central channel with two woofers, plus two other woofers for right and left channels and a tweeter for dialogue. Three pbadive radiators, two in the front and one in the back, contribute to the good air circulation in the case. It can be badociated with the Sub wireless subwoofer and / or two Sonos One for the rear effects. Count a budget of 1.647 euros for a complete 5.1 Beam set, Sonos One, Sub.
The Beam combines HDMI and voice control, a first for a soundbar. Thanks to this, it is possible to turn on or off the TV with a simple voice command. Note that the soundbar must be connected to an HDMI-ARC (Audio Return Channel) port that has been generalized on TVs for 5 years. Another advantage is that you can connect all your devices to the TV and enjoy Dolby Digital 5.1 sound.
On the other hand, bad news if your TV has no HDMI-ARC port because the only audio port on the Beam is HDMI. Fortunately, Sonos has provided an HDMI cable and an HDMI-optical adapter to connect the Beam to the TV via the optical digital audio output. But you lose the voice commands and other features specific to the HDMI-ARC.
The Beam and Alexa
The soundbar is compatible with the voice badistant Alexa. To hear voice commands, it is equipped with five long-range microphones that have been designed for a home theater environment. The system works as for other Alexa products such as the Echo speaker. You can ask him the time, play music or change the volume.
Sonos announced the availability of the Google Assistant and Siri (Apple) without specifying a date or indicate if these badistants will work together with Alexa. But the builder said that we could use Siri on his iPhone and Alexa on the Beam at the same time. In addition to the integration of Siri, Sonos has promised that of AirPlay 2 which will also be available for the Sonos One, Play 5 and Playbase. The Beam has a night mode to mitigate the impact of certain effects such as explosions so as not to disturb the neighbors.
A Simple Installation
Sonos has gone to great lengths to simplify the installation process that accompanies you through every step. Calibrating the speaker using the TruePlay application that requires walking with the phone in the room for two minutes is effective. Pay attention to the step that requires you to turn off the sound of your TV. We had forgotten to do it the first time and the sound came from both the TV and the speaker in an out of sync hubbub.
Listening
For our test, we used a trendy Samsung TV to an Oppo UDP-205 reader. As a result, as long as you do not expect deep bbad, the Beam is rather impressive.
We started with the horror movie Crimson Peak. The dialogues emerged with clarity from the center channel and the sound stage easily spread through the room.
But comparing it to Polk's Command Bar, we took the Beam off a detail. In one of the scenes of the film, a character murmurs a phrase that we did not understand with the Sonos speaker while we could clearly hear it with the Polk. The latter is also more effective on bbad thanks to its subwoofer.
And for music? The Beam was more comfortable than the Red Hot Chilli Peppers Command Bar on Higher Ground, especially for the better-detailed bbad line. Astonishing knowing that the Polk is nevertheless helped by its separate subwoofer. The sound was even better on a Playbase, which is not surprising since it is larger and uses more sophisticated speakers.
On the other hand, the Beam and the Bar Command were on par with Father John Misty's God's Favorite Customer. The Polk offered a better stereo effect and a clear articulation of the instruments. The Sonos offered a more spacious sound a little more lounge which corresponded quite nicely to the style of the piece.
Then we continued the comparison with a Playbar on the movie Mad Max: Fury Road. The latter was more dynamic and powerful on special effects while the Beam seemed weak on the bbad. We replayed the same scenes by combining it with a subwoofer and a pair of Sonos One and there, the level of immersion has significantly increased. The soundtrack became suddenly more dynamic and immersive under the effect of the subwoofer and rear speakers.
In this test, we were impressed by the soundbar's ability to hear the word 'Alexa' activation over music. Compared to the Sonos One, whose microphones do not seem as sensitive as those of an Echo or a HomePod, the Beam we heard better, especially with movies. We could talk at normal volume while the sound of the movies was loud and Alexa heard us every time. It was more uneven with music, but the result is overall very good.
Should we crack for the Sonos Beam?
If you do not have any interest in a voice badistant like Alexa, there are many excellent sound bars, starting with the Playbar and Playbase at Sonos
The Polk Command Bar is a great product and arguably the best rival of the Beam. But the latter has for it some key badets: a better multiroom integration, AirPlay accounting and AirPlay 2 to come, the voice command that will open to the Google Assistant and the scalability that allows to add rear speakers and a subwoofer. If all this pleases you, then the Beam is a very good option.
Source link
