I just had a birthday recently and my girlfriend bought me the Bose sound bar (I forget which model but they were around $250 or so) as a gift. I read so many bad reviews about the Bose that I wanted to see what my other options would be.

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

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 want lots of rumble for a little more money, and don't mind losing the voice assistant, the JBL Bar 3.1 includes a subwoofer and can put out even bigger sound thanks to its bigger size.

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

No Bluetooth; Optional subwoofer is expensive

In many ways Sonos is the Apple of audio. Its speakers and software are easy to use with thoughtful design and attention to detail, it has its own well-developed wireless ecosystem that "just works" and its products are priced at a premium.

The Sonos Beam offers the promise of multiple voice assistants, with Amazon Alexa now and Google Assistant in the future; 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; You lose some connectivity options on TVs that lack ARC; Google Assistant hasn't been added yet

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

Exactly what it says it'll do

Great upgrade for TV sound; Alexa works well; Simple to set up and use

Google Assistant support turning into a shadowy promise; made in whispers; Average music sound quality; Upgrading to full home theater system is very expensive

is the latest soundbar from the company that is synonymous with wireless multiroom audio.

Excellent audio quality; Sounds bigger than it is; Flawless Alexa integration; Superb remote app; HDMI ARC; Attractive and compact design

Bass is slightly lacking; Limited AV options; A bit pricey