Sound quality: Sonos' Beam delivers sound quality that falls in the Very Good range - although it has some noticeable sonic quirks it reproduces music and dialog very well. The bass has good impact and is fairly detailed, but doesn't go deep. Although the midrange is fairly even, it lacks a bit of fullness and is a bit metallic. The treble is fairly extended, but it is bit sizzly and the upper treble is subdued. This model is open sounding and does a decent job recovering the actual room ambience of recordings (the sense of the acoustic space in which the music was recorded), but misses finer detail and complexity. The voice enhancement feature makes the midrange a bit more prominent, nasal, and grainy. There was no significant difference in sound quality between the HDMI, optical, and WiFi inputs. The system can provide satisfying volume in a medium sized room.
TV setup and ease of use: Excellent overall. Setup: Initial setup for TV use requires connection to a network, but after setup the soundbar can be used with a TV without being connected to a network. Connecting via WiFi or LAN cable is straight forward but the LAN cable is not provided. The soundbar must be registered with the manufacturer for full network functionality; registration requires the user's email and a password. HDMI CEC setup is quick and straight forward, step by step instructions are imbedded in the setup app. Programming the Beam to respond to a TV remote was very easy; the TV remote controls the soundbar's volume and mute functions. Enabling the built-in Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant digital assistant/voice control function is optional; if done it requires setting up or linking to a separate Amazon or Google account. Although the Beam only has an HDMI ARC output it comes with both and HDMI cable and an optical to HDMI cable adapter that allows it connect to a TV via either an HDMI ARC or optical connection. Ease of Use: This model has several features that allow it to work seamlessly with your TV - it can be programmed to respond to most TV remote control volume and mute commands, or if it is used with an HDMI CEC compatible TV and connected to the TV's HDMI ARC port, its volume and mute functions can be controlled by either the TV's remote or by voice commands if the Beam's Alexa or Google Assistant digital voice assistant function has been activated. The Beam does not have a physical remote control; it is designed to work via WiFi with app remotes that are downloaded onto Apple and Android mobile devices. We found the general use section of these app remotes (used to control the soundbar for TV use like a physical remote) to be easy to use and glitch-free. The Beam does not have an on/off control - It has volume and mute/play/pause controls and an on/off control for the Alexa/Google Assistant microphone, but lacks source selection controls. All controls are on the top front and are easy to see and access. The play/pause and microphone on/off controls were well labeled, but volume was not, and depending on the source the play/pause button acts as an unlabeled mute button. The console display consists of is a simple light that's used during setup, and that shows that the soundbar is powered and if it has been muted and another light to indicate if the Alexa/Google Assistant microphone is on or off; there are no source, volume level, DSP effects, or surround/stereo status indicators; this model is intended to be operated using the display screens of the mobile device apps.
Features setup and ease of use: Excellent overall. Setup: The initial setup for TV use also takes care of the setup of non-TV features that don't involve optional accessories. Ease of Use: If the Beam's built-in Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant digital voice assistant function has also been activated voice commands can be used to control its volume and mute functions and to steam audio from Internet content services. The Beam does not have a physical remote control; it is designed to work via WiFi with app remotes that are downloaded onto Apple and Android mobile devices. We found both the general sections (used to control the soundbar like a typical physical remote) and the streaming content player sections (used to play audio streamed from Internet content services that have been added to the Sonos account, the mobile devices, or from computers on your home network) of these app remotes to be easy to navigate, well marked, well organized, and glitch-free. Audio from Internet content providers Spotify and Pandora can also be steamed directly from their own apps. The Beam does not have an on/off control - it is always in auto on/auto standby mode. It has volume and mute/play/pause controls and an on/off control for the Alexa/Google Assistant microphone, but lacks source selection controls. All controls are on the top front and are easy to see and access. The play/pause and microphone on/off controls were well labeled, but volume was not, and depending on the source the play/pause button acts as an unlabeled mute button. The console display consists of is a simple light that's used during setup, and that shows that the soundbar is powered and if it has been muted and another light to indicate if the Alexa/Google Assistant microphone is on or off. There are no source, volume level, DSP effects, or surround/stereo status indicators; this model is intended to be operated using the display screens of the mobile device apps.
