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

If you don’t care to have Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri functioning in any way, then pay more for the Playbase or Playbar, or consider something comparable from another vendor.

Smaller form factor; Great sound; Alexa plus Google Assistant and AirPlay 2 coming

More bass would’ve been nice; No Dolby Atmos support; Still pricey

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

The Sonos Beam packs multi-room, multi-service audio streaming and Amazon's Alexa voice assistant into a deceptively small soundbar.

Powerful sound for its size; Built-in Amazon Alexa voice assistant; Easily expanded with additional Sonos speakers.

No Bluetooth; Optional subwoofer is expensive.

Sonos Beam: The Sonos Beam is the smartest soundbar around and a great multiroom TV speaker

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 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.

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

If you’ve been tempted to get into Sonos, but weren’t sure where to start, the Beam is for you. Not only is it a relatively affordable, solid speaker in its own right, it is a capable soundbar and Alexa assistant rolled into one.

Excellent overall sound; HDMI port for TV control; AirPlay 2 support; Reasonably priced

Sound is less impactful in bigger rooms; No support for other smart assistants (yet); No auxiliary input