The new Sonos soundbar arrives, with compact dimensions and many important features: finally the HDMI socket to the TV, the Trueplay calibration and the Alexa vocal controls. Compatibility with soundtracks, however, is always at a standstill at Dolby Digital 5.1, an attractive price set at 449 euros.
Sonos extends the range of speakers for TV audio with the new Beam, a compact soundbar that can be easily inserted into the room. Among the most important and expected novelties of the new speaker is finally an HDMI ARC input, so you can connect it more easily to the TV. However, the limitation imposed on the best soundtracks remains, firm at Dolby Digital 5.1. We also have automatic Trueplay calibration for Apple devices, AirPlay 2 and compatibility with Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. All the multiroom potentialities typical of each Sonos loudspeaker remain unchanged.
From a technical point of view, the configuration of the speakers is very original, in fact, the Beam features four wide elliptical bands, three passive radiators for bass and a single tweeter focused on dialogues. Five digital amplifiers are used, as Sonos tradition does not indicate the power.
The direct controls are all on the top panel while the inputs – properly recessed – include the HDMI socket (its cable is included), network socket, optical digital input (via a special adapter on HDMI).
From the application, you can then adjust ups and downs. The finish has rounded edges and is available in black and white; the dimensions of Beam are 65 x 10 x 7 cm (W x H x D), so very compact and suitable for environments of medium to small size.
The beam can also form a complete home theatre system by adding the subwoofer and a pair of surround back speakers like the One.
The list price of the Beam has been fixed at 449 euros and the other Playbar, Playbase and Subwoofer speakers remain on the list. Availability in Italy is expected on 17 July with pre-orders already open.