Sonos has launched its most affordable soundbar to date and has entered a tough segment where it delivers great performance compared to the competition. For its compact size, it delivers good treble and mid-tone performance at both low and high volume. These are Beam’s main strengths.

Good mid-tones; Design & build quality; Decent 3D effect despite its size; Apple Airplay 2

Distorts at high volume; Weak bass; No Dolby Atmos; Only 1 HDMI port

Sonos’ vision of entertainment has always been more open house than invite-only, and with Amazon Alexa, Apple AirPlay 2, and the Google Assistant on the horizon, the new Sonos Beam epitomizes that ethos more than ever.

Sounds great in a small to mid-sized room; Assistant-agnostic approach is admirable; Affordable; Does a good job of handling multiple services

Very expensive in a 5.1 surround configuration; Takes up an HDMI port; Not every assistant works in the same way

I’m usually not a fan of soundbars because of their limited audio quality, but Sonos has been putting out some decent ones like the Sonos Beam that was first out in Singapore back in July.

A Sonos soundbar is too expensive for many but the new Beam makes it affordable, plus brings new features. Here's our full Sonos Beam review.

The Sonos Beam is a compact soundbar with expandability that makes it a perfect companion for Apple users. AirPlay 2, Apple Music, and a big bag of tricks make this great sounding speaker a must-have.

The mutli-room speaker company’s third soundbar charms HFC with its smart tech and strong audio performanceYou certainly can’t accuse Sonos of resting on its laurels.

The feature-packed Sonos Beam delivers very good sound for a small soundbar, and comes with Alexa voice controls.

Easy set up; Alexa inside; Wide soundstage

Bass lacks detail; No Bluetooth audio

Although some cheaper options sound better, Sonos Beam is a feature-packed, voice-operated sound bar with unmatched flexibility.

The Sonos Beam is the least-expensive sound bar available with a choice of two voice assistants, Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant; Its expansive sound can fill a small room; HDMI connectivity includes the ability to power up and control TV input switching via voice command.

The lack of a subwoofer means the Beam lacks deep bass compared to sub-equipped competitors, even some that cost less; You lose connectivity options on TVs that lack ARC; You can't switch between Google and Alexa on the fly and there's some lag with Google Assistant voice commands.

“The Beam is a home theater sound bar for the smart home era -- at a price that won’t break the bank.”

Great sound; Elegant; simple design; Reasonably priced; TV voice control with Alexa on-board; AirPlay 2; Google Assistant coming

Still no HDMI pass-through; No Dolby Atmos support

The new Sonos soundbar is compact but delivers expansive performance. From what we've heard, this small soundbar is a winner. Just a shame there's no Dolby Atmos support.

Compact size is ideal; Sounds great for both music and TV/movies; Multiple voice-assistants supported

No Dolby Atmos support; Not great at lower volumes; Expensive when adding additional speakers