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Modern TVs are beautifully flat and have a brilliant image. But as soon as someone opens your mouth in the movie, there is usually a great disillusion: the sound is toned and not very powerful. This is why many device manufacturers have been focusing for years on the booming
soundbars market . These are elongated bars that are placed in front of the TV or hung directly below.
The US hardware maker Sonos, known for its multiroom speakers, now offers the Beam a model that suits it: the beam costs 449 Euro and is one of the first sound bars with Alexa on board.
Compact housing with HDMI jack
The first unpacking is striking: The Sono
Sonos is much smaller than most other sound bars. It is 65 centimeters wide and is therefore narrower than most TVs under which it will be held. The LG SJ9 is almost twice as wide at 1.20 meters. The also available from Sonos Playbar is 90 centimeters wide. The beam is available in two colors, white and black. A disturbing detail: The power cable of the white version is black, which does not look correct when it is mounted on the wall.
The second surprise awaits you when you connect: Sonos has installed an HDMI socket for the first time. Although this has been the norm in the industry for many years, so far, Californians have steadfastly refused to take the step towards HDMI. The socket has many advantages: the device is simpler, you do not need to have fun with an optical cable and adjust the TV settings if necessary. In addition, ARC is now supported. The abbreviation means "Audio Return Channel". This allows you to adjust the sound with the normal remote control. Large: Older TVs also come with an HDMI to Toslink adapter, which can be used to pick up the audio signal from the TV.
Soundbar with Alexa Support …
To configure the necessary beam you have an Internet connection (WiFi or Ethernet), as well as a smartphone (Android / iOS) or a computer (PC / Mac). If possible, you should do the setup with an iOS device, an iPhone or an iPad. Because only on these devices, the TruePlay function can be configured. This acoustically measures the environment and adjusts the sound in the room. This feature is not available for Android. There is no automatic setting like the Apple HomePod
The top of the screen contains the usual Sonos controls such as "Pause / Play" or "Next Track". In addition, a small microphone indicator lights up. It points to the third special feature of the Soundbar: The Beam can be controlled with voice commands.
Amazones Alexa, the Google badistant should follow the update
… who reads the weather report
With Alexa support, you can turn on and off the TV by command voice or adjust the volume. If the TV is equipped with a Fire TV or Fire TV key, you can run more specific commands such as "Search for movies with Til Schweiger". Otherwise, all the known features of Alexa are offered: You can choose prescriptions, start weather forecasts, play music or control all smart home devices.
This is convenient, but has a disadvantage: if the speech recognition, the sound of the television is quieter. Unfortunately, this happens more often than you want. If a movie character is Alexander, it's understandable. Sometimes, however, even a word that seems so similar is enough. In our test, the soundbar even jumped on Babygebrabbel. To enjoy a movie in a relaxed way, you have to mute the microphone during this time, even if it 's not the point of the case. Incidentally, this problem is not specific to Sonos, but also affects other Alexa devices (such as echo). The Google Home or the Apple HomePod rarely have false positives.
Modular Sound System
The most important thing about a soundbar is the sound. We tested the Sonos Beam with TruePlay enabled. The result can be heard for these compact dimensions: The sound is surprisingly clear, the volume is sufficient for medium-sized pieces. Even the bbad is good for the size, but of course, the end of the mast is quickly reached, especially in action movies. If you want more punchy bbad, you need the Sonos subwoofer available separately, which is not a bargain at 800 euros.
If you combine the beam with two rear speakers, you will have a cinematic feel. You use either two Play: 1 or two Sonos One – a mix of models is not possible – in the application you build the speakers then to the surround configuration. Then you hear the whistle of the spaceship from left to right or slam the door behind you. The game: 1 you sometimes get for 150 euros each. The Sonos One is available for as little as $ 200 each.
Those who prefer to watch movies an hour later can activate a night mode that filters certain frequencies. In addition, the beam can be optimized with a speech enhancement for dialogues, which worked reliably in our test
The omnivorous among speakers
The big plus of the Sonos system is next of the modularity of the application, Whether Deezer, Tidal, Spotify or Apple Music, all major streaming services are supported. At the present time, only Spotify, Audible, TuneIn and Amazon Prime Music use voice control
The Beam is also one of the first sound bars to support the AirPlay 2 radio standard of & # 039; 39; Apple. So you can play music directly from the iPhone or the iPad by lightly pressing on the speaker. In this way, you can even pair speakers from different manufacturers: In our test, synchronous playback works on two HomePods and three Sonos speakers, the volume can be set individually on each.
No DTS and Dolby Atmos
Too bad: The high-resolution audio format DTS, offered on many Blu-Rays, does not support Sonos. Reason: "The Sonos Beam was designed for the most popular streaming services, none of which support DTS, so Playbar and Playbase do not support DTS." If you want to play audio encoded in DTS, you need to convert the DTS to Dolby Digital using the player, if this function is supported
The Dolby Atmos 3D audio format is not no more supported. It reflects sound information on the ceiling of the listener – such as a helicopter flowing overhead – so that the sound does not come only from the front, but also from above . This makes an even more spacious impression. Until now, however, the sound format is a niche product, only a few movies on Netflix are available with the Atmos soundtrack. "With Sonos Beam designed for customers looking for a compact speaker solution with exceptional sound, Beam has not been optimized for use with Atmos," the company said. Competitors such as the LG SJ9, Sony HT-ZF9 or Samsung's HWK-950 support Dolby Atmos.
Bluetooth is not supported on Sonos as usual. The music is only transmitted via Wi-Fi or AirPlay 2.
Conclusion
We really liked the simple configuration of the Sonos Beam, the good sound for the size, the modular extensibility of the system and the sound application compatible with almost all streaming services. Also that Sonos has finally installed a (next time maybe more like that) the HDMI plug is contemporary. Only the usual Alexa false alarms disturbed us. TruePlay support for Android devices and DTS support would be desirable, both could be added by software update.
The Sonos Beam will be available from July 17 and costs 449 Euro
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