People who own Sonos speakers love their Sonos speakers. I'm one of them. In the three to four years that I've been living in the Sonos ecosystem, however, one big complaint was that I couldn't use Sonos for my TV unless I barfed up $700 for the Sonos Playbase or Playbar .

Fantastic sound and fantastically easy to use

Subwoofer not included

A smart soundbar from Sonos

Fantastic sound and fantastically easy to use

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

Sonos’ home cinema gear has always been a little expensive, but with Beam, it’s created a great value soundbar. It sounds ace, comes with loads of features, and is compact enough to fit into the average living room AV setup without taking over. If you want the best sounding system then Playbar or Playbase are still the products to go for, but they’re a lot more money, they don’t have Alexa, and they don’t control your TV in the same slick way as Beam does. As it stands, Sonos Beam is easy to recommend for anyone who loves watching TV, and a high-value intro to the brilliant world of Sonos home audio. READ MORE: Which Sonos should you buy?

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;