Video: Samsung opens pre-orders for 'The Wall' MicroLED TV
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The surprise success of the Alexa-powered Echo[2] and its latest variant, the Fire TV Cube, has spurred renewed interest in consumer home theater audio. Premium brands are looking low. Value brands are looking high. And the home theater is becoming a proving ground for new wireless standards.
Read also: Amazon Fire TV Cube review[3]
The Audio Networker
I recently wrote about the Sonos Beam[4], the less expensive but nonetheless voice agent-savvy soundbar from the multi-room audio pioneers. The Beam is a more inviting shape than Sonos's first soundbar and is intended to be a good fit for smaller rooms with smaller TVs. Nonetheless, it is fully compatible with the rest of the Sonos system, enabling you to use it with Sonos's subwoofer or two Play:5 speakers, for example, as wireless rear speakers.
(Image: Claudine Gossett)
Without such add-ons, the Beam offers only stereo output as opposed to higher-end soundbars that produce 5.1 or 7.1 audio. While it won't shake your floorboards as you watch giant fallen robots crash to Earth, it still offers a richer and deeper audio experience than televisions can generally muster.
Of course, the Beam has the most appeal to people who are already bought into the Sonos multi-room audio system[5]. However, at $399 and with Sonos[6] gaining traction as a quality audio brand as much as a networked audio brand, it could serve as a market entry for Sonos newcomers. This is especially the case given its versatile support for a wide range of streaming audio services. Indeed, entering credentials for each of these may be the most cumbersome part of setting up