SOUNDBARS & SOUNDBASES

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▪ Sonos Beam

£389

It’s a second year in a row for the magnificent Sonos Beam – and not only as a Best Buy; it romps away with our coveted Product of the Year gong once again as well. Having made a name for itself with its wireless and multi-room speakers, Sonos soon pressed on into soundbar territory with its critically acclaimed Playbar.

Four years later, in 2018, the Beam was introduced, and once again upped the ante for Sonos rivals. The Beam is smaller and cheaper than the Playbar, with a few additions to its spec sheet. Those include an HDMI connection and voice-control assistants Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple’s Siri.

Touch controls on the top allow you to change the volume, play/pause and mute the microphone, while an LED indicates status and voice feedback. Around the back you’ll find the HDMI connection, ethernet port and a pairing button.

Available in black or white finishes, the Beam looks stylish but understated. Inside are four full-range drivers, one tweeter and three passive radiators, plus five class-D amplifiers. The drivers