I have been a fan of Sonos speakers all these years, and have even collected a few sets of Sonos Play speakers myself year after year. So imagine my glee when TC Acoustic approached me for a review of the Sonos Beam and Sonos Subwoofer. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity.
Sonos Beam Out of the Box
Out of the package, the Sonos beam is roughly 65cm wide and weighs around 2.8kg; much lighter and smaller than its siblings, the Playbar and the Playbase. At the top of the Sonos Beam, you will find a few buttons, one to activate the mic, one to play/pause, and another to toggle the volume manually; that’s all. At the back of the speaker lies the power socket, the sync button, ethernet port, and a HDMI ARC port.
The HDMI ARC Audio Return Channel is a seamless cable that builds a connection between your speaker and the television (this can be found in the newer model). Since mine is a legacy model, the Beam is also equipped with an optical audio adapter to plug into my television’s optical output port.
Sonos Subwoofer Out of the Box
Truth be told, I almost broke my back carrying this 16kg Sonos Subwoofer out of the box, and had a lot of expectations for this mammoth instrument. This glossy black subwoofer sits beside my TV console with only the power cord plugged into the power socket. This is because the subwoofer is linked to the system via the Sonos mobile application (app).
Home Theatre Performance – How does it sound?
There is also an ethernet port if you prefer to connect the subwoofer to your LAN or router, although I feel that it is unnecessary to connect your device via LAN in your apartment. Till date, I have not experienced any hiccups while using the system around my home. However, you may consider this option if you stay in a multi-storey bungalow, and have LAN ports planted in several corners of your house.
In my case, I have decided to plant both my existing Sonos Plays beside my sofa (one on each side), and placed the Sonos Beam in front of the television, with the Sonos subwoofer sitting by its side. My Dolby Digital 5.1 home theatre setup is finally complete – time for a test run!
Armed with a medley of my favourite movies, such as John Wick, Pacific Rim, and IP Man, I dimmed the lights and commenced the show while sipping some whiskey on my sofa. The movie experience was heavenly. I could hear bullets ricocheting from left to right, movie characters shouting beside my ears, and could even almost feel IP Man’s Wing Chun punches as if I was the one being hit.
At one point, I turned up the Sonos Subwoofer Sub Level to the maximum, and could hear my window grilles rattling! It sounded like the whole house was about to be torn apart when the Jaeger (Pacific Rim) stomped thru the town. I definitely had no doubts about the Sonos Subwoofer’s capability after this.
On a side note, Sonos’s Speech Enhancement is another useful feature that helps to amplify the characters’ speech clarity, and is especially helpful when listening to the news and other text-based narratives.
Additional Features
The Sonos Beam also comes with a microphone input for Google Assistant. It is useful to activate voice control for activities such as checking the time, reading the news, playing music, and pausing/playing a movie.
The Sonos app is also a gateway for a vast number of music services such as Spotify, YouTube Music Premium, TuneIn Radio, and many more. Yet another feature is the “alarm”, which allows me to set the alarm by playing songs from the available music services. Don’t you think it’s nice to wake up to chirpy songs around the house like a morning reveille? I’ve also taken to setting some smooth bossa nova songs at 11.30pm daily to help put me in a relaxing mood, all ready for sleep.
Overall Summary
Aside from producing speakers, Sonos is also a technology company and have been consistently updating their softwares – almost as frequently as Apple and Android systems. As such, I am confident that this product will only improve in terms of software support.
As an existing owner of Sonos speakers for the past five years, I highly recommend pairing the Sonos Beam and the Subwoofer as a set. The beams produce impressive mids and highs for its small size, and the subwoofer fills in the deep lows. Both the Sonos Beam and Subwoofer work hand in hand to provide a full range of sound, and has already become an essential entertainment system for my family and me.
Sonos Try-Out Programme
From now till 4 March, customers can try out Sonos risk-free. Just purchase any item from trysonos at 5% off, and return it within 45 days if you do not wish to keep it. Additionally, enjoy the option of a free Sonos expert set-up service when you purchase at least 2 Sonos items!
Where are the best places to experience these sound system?
- TC Acoustic at Adelphi, 1 Coleman Street The Adelphi #01-17 S179803
- Harvey @ Millenia Walk, Challenger @ Bugis B1
Where can you buy?
- Purchase from trysonos.sg
- Offline stores include stores such as Challenger, Harvey Norman, Courts and Gain City
