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.

1. Great sound Very clear and balanced sound 2. Easy to set up and use Very smart and easy

Incredibly versatile; Impressive sound for its size; Direct support for Amazon Alexa and (coming soon) Google Assistant;

Small size means it can't fill larger rooms with sound; No support for DTS or any form of immersive audio (e.g. Dolby Atmos, DTS:X); No support for high-resolution audio codecs;

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

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.

It combines a smart speaker with TV control, plus the terrific multiroom sound that Sonos is revered for.

With great sound and amazing features, Beam is Sonos’ smartest and best value speaker yet

Looks good and sounds great; Alexa and AirPlay 2 integration; HDMI ARC support; Cheaper than Playbar and Playbase

Not as punchy as Playbar; Only one ethernet port; Not all Alexa skills work

Fantastic sound and fantastically easy to use

Subwoofer not included

Despite being £300 cheaper than Sonos’s other TV audio solutions, the Beam is expensive for just a soundbar. The thing is, it isn’t just a soundbar. It’s one of the most compact and aesthetically pleasing soundbars that still has full-range sound without needing a sub.

compact and attractive; great; room-filling sound whether TV or music; easy set up; Alexa; easy to add to with more speakers

relatively expensive; no room-shaking bass; takes up a port on your TV; no HDMI pass-through; no support for Dolby Atmos

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