Sonos Beam (Gen 1) review
Our Verdict
The characteristic-packed Sonos Beam delivers very expert sound for a pocket-sized soundbar, and comes with Alexa phonation controls.
For
- Easy gear up
- Alexa within
- Wide soundstage
Against
- Bass lacks detail
- No Bluetooth audio
Tom's Guide Verdict
The feature-packed Sonos Axle delivers very good sound for a small soundbar, and comes with Alexa vocalisation controls.
Pros
- +
Easy fix
- +
Alexa within
- +
Wide soundstage
Cons
- -
Bass lacks detail
- -
No Bluetooth sound
The Sonos Axle changed course for Sonos soundbars. These accept e'er been very well fabricated, easy to prepare up and use, and capable of great sound quality — and luckily the Axle wasn't different in these regards. Where it did tread unfamiliar ground is the improver of more loftier-tech features.
Primary among these was support for Alexa and Google Assistant, so you could choose how to use the integrated smart controls. And while you could never call the Sonos Beam cheap, it was easily amid the all-time soundbars in terms in terms of functionality.
Information technology's been replaced by the $449 Sonos Beam (Gen 2) with an upgraded CPU and new polycarbonate grille, simply if you're interested in knowing more near the start-generation version, read our Sonos Axle review below.
Sonos Beam (Gen 1) review: Blueprint
Shaped like a flattened, elongated pill, the 25.six x 3.9 10 2.7-inch Beam is smaller than most soundbars. But don't allow its relatively atomic size fool you — there'south enough going on within the unit. It has four woofers and one tweeter, which helps information technology produce room-filling audio.
The Beam follows the Sonos minimalist aesthetic: A touch-sensitive top lets you adjust the volume, play and break songs, skip tracks and more. A single LED light shows the soundbar'southward status. You can as well mute the microphone.
Yous can connect to your TV via HDMI — a first for a Sonos soundbar — or digital optical audio. The Beam uses Wi-Fi to connect to the net for streaming audio and to connect with other Sonos speakers on your network for multiroom audio. You tin can also used a wired Ethernet cable for network access.
As with other Sonos soundbars, the Axle doesn't come with a remote. You lot can control it with your existing TV remote, or, if your Telly supports HDMI ARC-CEC, you tin can use Amazon'south Alexa and voice commands to control it.
For example, you tin can tell information technology to turn on the brandish or adjust the volume. I encountered some bug with my LG OLED Television receiver and the Beam when using voice controls; the command for turn on TV didn't work. The Beam as well works with Siri thanks to Apple tree's AirPlay 2 technology.
Sonos Axle (Gen 1) review: Alexa and Google Assistant
Alexa was responsive from across a large room to typical requests: it told me the weather, set a timer and turned on a Wemo Switch. If you lot have a Fire TV continued as well, y'all can launch a show on Netflix or Hulu; however, in that location was some lag after commands earlier the Burn down Telly actually did annihilation. For example, when I asked information technology to pause a evidence, it took several seconds before the testify stopped playing.
MORE: The Best Products That Piece of work With Amazon Alexa
Alexa also comes in very handy for decision-making music playing through the Sonos app. You can play, intermission and skip tracks. But it couldn't find playlists I have on Spotify or Apple Music.
The Beam also supports Google Assistant, every bit of a costless May 2019 update. All of Google Assistant'south basic voice controls piece of work on the Beam, such every bit checking the weather, queuing upwards shows and music and controlling smart home devices. However, you do have to manually switch between Google Banana and Alexa, and then you lot can't freely talk to either virtual banana at a time.
Sonos Beam (Gen 1) review: Performance
The Beam produces a wider sound than yous'd guess from looking at it, and information technology delivers counterbalanced treble, midrange and bass. But if yous're used to the sound quality of a Sonos Playbar or Playbase, you're unlikely to exist wowed by the audio. While information technology has enough bass, it won't rattle the flooring without adding a subwoofer. If you need more low end, you tin can get the Beam bundled with a subwoofer for $999.
Luke Muzzle'due south deep voice sounded resonant and clear on the Beam, and the wide soundstage made the battles throughout The Last Jedi encompassing — though I missed the low-cease oomph during the action sequences. The JBL SB450, which includes a wireless subwoofer, felt much more engaging thank you to the deep rumble it produced.
The Axle produces a wider sound than you'd guess from looking at it.
Sonos prides itself on music playback, and overall the Beam meets the loftier expectations. Florence Welch's vocals on Florence + The Machine's "June" were full and warm. On Guns Northward' Roses's "Shadow of Your Love," the Beam nicely counterbalanced the distorted guitars and crashing cymbals; the cymbals on the same song through the SB450 sounded harsh and too brilliant. However, the SB450 produced much stronger bass, as did the Sonos Playbar.
Every bit a small soundbar, the Beam doesn't become extremely loud, but it's loud enough to fill a medium-size room.
Sonos Beam (Gen ane) review: Setup
Sonos makes setting up the Axle relatively painless, even with all the features that are available. Y'all utilize the Sonos app to get started; if you don't have a Sonos account you'll need to create one. If yous connect the Beam to your TV'due south HDMI ARC port, it tin notice your model and settings. Yous also demand to sign in to your Amazon business relationship during ready upwardly to enable Alexa.
Few soundbars can match Sonos when it comes to matching sound to the environment. The Beam includes Sonos' TruePlay, which automatically adjusts the speaker's audio to work best in the room in which you've placed it. TruePlay uses your phone's microphone to mensurate sound throughout the room. You tin also manually suit bass and treble; while watching video, you can also engage Speech Enhancement, which boosts the center channel, or Night Way, which lowers the bass level.
Sonos Axle (Gen 1) review: Verdict
The Sonos Axle has a lot going for information technology. At the superlative of the list, there'southward Alexa, which brings smart-speaker functions into your living room. With AirPlay ii and Google Assistant support, this speaker won't become obsolete anytime soon. It delivers wide and balanced audio overall, and you tin can besides accommodate the sound to your environment in ways that few soundbars allow. The soundbar's small size can also be a bonus, though in return for the compact form, you surrender the booming bass that other Sonos speakers create.
If you're into the Sonos ecosystem and want a real centerpiece for your home theater, you're better off with a $699 Playbase or Playbar. But if big bass isn't important, or you have a smaller room, the Axle will make your ears happy.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/sonos-beam-soundbar,review-5575.html
Posted by: brownforall.blogspot.com
0 Response to "Sonos Beam (Gen 1) review"
Post a Comment