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My experience with Sonos Beam was a journey of discovery.
It may sound melodramatic because it is, but we have to keep it interesting.
And the heart of the truth is true: with Beam, I explored each feature slowly and found something interesting at every turn. So, take my hand while I guide you on the path I've borrowed with this soundbar-smart-smart speaker.
The sound
The first time I tried the Beam, I connected it to the office on a Friday for a small accompaniment in the afternoon.
I was not very impressed, but the sound was clear and my colleagues had a good time watching me idle, ventilating the room with my phone to calibrate the sound using Sonos TruePlay Speaker Tuning software.
According to the Sonos website, this "uses your Sonos app and the microphone of your iPhone or iPad to measure how sound is reflected on walls, furniture and other surfaces of a room. It then performs precise acoustic adjustments of your speaker, sometimes large, sometimes small, to ensure you always hear the sound as pure as possible. "
Wikipedia describes a pure sound as one that "has the property – unique among real-valued waveforms – that its waveform is not altered by time-invariant linear systems"; who is good?
Anyway, you look awful to make it work, so I'm going to trust the engineers for this project.
But it was only when I brought home to Beam that the sound suddenly became harmonized – I attributed this interference to noise in the office building – but the price and reputation of Sonos did not seem completely match. to promise.
The next day, my journey advanced when I tweaked the setting and discovered a range of sounds that was completely missing – the bass.
Once I pushed the high end up, suddenly, everything sounded much better.
Now, I'm not a big bass junkie, so with this change of setting, everything is pretty good – anyone who likes their planet a bit more shaken will probably have to invest in the Sonos Subwoofer, which is almost twice as expensive as the Beam.
L & # 39; app
The user interface of the Sonos app does not reflect the same intuitive character as the device itself.
I found the device configuration and synchronization with applications like Spotify a bit awkward and clunky.
By saying that, the number of things he can do is pretty impressive, and more companies are joining Sonos to integrate into his platform, I have no doubt that this will continue to grow.
It was definitely usable and, thanks to the software-defined platforms, will undoubtedly be improved over time as the development team refines its work.
It indicates that my roommate has also downloaded the app and that the Beam has quickly become our audio player of choice.
What was revolutionary for me was that after a week, it was based on my system Sony Sound System of the 90s,
Progress
– They have updated the firmware to allow the Beam to also work with Apple AirPlay.
This new discovery moment all along my journey has avoided me navigating the Sonos app to listen to music on Spotify – a relief – and to be able to read my beloved podcasts on my player's choice (Overcast for the more inclined).
It would have been great to have two or three other Sonos speakers installed throughout the house so I could try different ways to play different things in separate rooms, but I did not do it.
All I can say is that it seems at least that it would be a great option for a family looking for a consistent wireless solution for a total home sound.
TV
The next leg of my trip took place after about a week of using the Beam as a music player.
The Sonos Beam is marketed as a sound bar for TV but only connects with HDMI ARC or optical, which was not the case of the TV in the living room.
Finally, I switched to a TV with an optical input and I made it work – and it really pleased me.
Even though the sound was still excellent, the fact that I could control the volume with the TV remote was very nice. This meant not having to worry about finding the right balance between the TV's volume and the speaker's volume and having to adjust it all the time.
However, not to spoil the dialogue, there were times when the dialogue was lost a little under the soundtrack or foley – I think the solution would be to lower the low end of the Beam but, as I play music Just as much as me watching TV, this is not my ideal.
Alexa
The last step of my stay in Sonos was setting up Amazon's response to Alexa, Alexa.
I had heard a lot about how much of Alexa's natural language processing (NLP – ability to deduce comprehension without using specific words) is much better than Siri's and can say that all of this is absolutely true .
I am a heavy user of Siri on my iPhone and I am generally quite satisfied with the way he interprets what I am saying, even if there are many moments of frustration.
With Alexa, my roommate and I spent at least an hour demanding and ordering more and more stupid things and we were incredibly talented to move from our voices to esoteric orders.
Alexa seemed to be able to do some things, but could not do it in New Zealand. Unfortunately, the course is tied.
Its integration with Spotify (which is very absent from Siri) has allowed me to shout to Alexa from the kitchen to mix a reading list or an artist and that it would be an obligation.
At the end of the day…
The price of the bundle is relatively reasonable for a sound bar at a retail price of NZD 699 (AU $ 599), especially considering the sound quality, range of features and modular wireless connectivity with other products His bone.
Before having the chance to use and play with Beam, I could not imagine taking someone seriously if he suggested spending that kind of money on a soundbar – but that's is actually surprisingly well integrated into my universe.
I would gladly recommend it to anyone looking for a smart speaker, but want to spend a bit more for versatility, improving their media viewing experience, excellent sound quality and potential to endow the house with a coherent system.
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