Sonos - Beam (Gen 1)

I’m running a Gen 1 Beam in my main bedroom with 2 x Play:1s as rears, and it’s a great soundbar for that size space. The Beam tends to struggle a bit in larger spaces though, so depending on how big your room is, thats something to keep in mind.

For Atmos, you need either the Beam or the Arc. Sub and rears are not required, but definitely add to the envelope.

I've been building my setup slowly in fb market. I picked up the gen 1 sound bar for 50$, and I just picked up 2 era 100s for 115$ a piece. I have several other speakers around the house that I've picked up locally for 75-100 a piece. Just waiting on a sub to show up within a reasonable distance. If you don't need the latest and greatest, this is pretty effective, and still sounds awesome.

I've got the sc9s and have discovered i can't get rear speakers as they don't make them which is annoying as i wanted surround sound. It sounds great for movies with the Sub and Dolby atmosphere, for other stuff though my gen 1 Beam sounds as good. If I could have my time again id go Sonos so I could get rears mind you that was way over my budget as well as adding a sonos Sub and I got a great deal on LG bar bundled with tv. Wow Orchestra is ok. I guess 'it depends' is the answer.

Miles better with my Beam and my LG bar with sub..watching shows without it seems hollow. If just watching tv with the news or something tv sound would be ok but anything else need better sound

My Sonos Beam is great, super clear and I don't feel like i need bass for most things

I have the first gen beam with rear surround speakers and it’s a huge upgrade compared to tv speakers or even other cheaper soundbars I’ve heard. The gen 2 is supposed to be even better so I would say it’d definitely be worth it.

with that budget why not look at 2nd hand, you could get a sonos gen 1 and that would be 10 times bettet?

I’m still rocking my beam gen1 with 2 one surround and a gen3 sub. The sub rocks my house and I only use it to plus 3. I had to dial it down to not have my neighbors complain

My bedroom has 2 fives and a gen 1 beam. Reasonable for the television (I have a “real” home theater in the living room) .. and great for music.

It is large … with 15 foot ceilings. The Trueplay is great for tuning it.

I have similar stands. Mine are also in a large room. I have them vertical.. and on opposite sides of the room. I use a beam as a center channel for the television

I have a Beam and 2 5's in the bedroom. It is fine for basic viewing. In my living room , I have a 7.2.6 in-wall and in-ceiling set of speakers (except the subs.) My receiver is a high end Denon (about $5,000) .. 82 inch high end television, Dune media player, mini-PC, Roku, Karaoke (for my better half), high end Ultra Blu-Ray player, custom media center cabinet with cooling fans. This is close to a $30,000 investment, but it is pretty amazing. If you go to the r/hometheater group, you are not going to get a lot of love. IMHO, it IS insanity if you spend cash on stuff like this, and your family is eating rice and beans. If you have reached a point in life where you can afford to indulge in your hobbies, it is far better to invest in this stuff and not in drugs and hired beaucoup d'amour.

Depends on your budget, the sky is the limit in terms of price! I have a first generation Beam that sounds very good. The second generation Beam is much more expensive though. Maybe the Sonos Ray would be good enough? https://www.sonos.com/fr-ca/shop/ray

I don’t have stereo 100 to compare to, but I use a beam 1 for my pc sound in my office. It sounds really good up close. Definitely better than it did from afar when I used to have it in my living room with surrounds. Wouldn’t it just be easier to Bluetooth your music instead of swapping your set up? Don’t get me wrong, the sound swap feature is amazing and really convenient for tv sounds. But wouldn’t you be using your phone or laptop to play the music anyway?

My beam Gen 1 with Sub Mini, grouped with my Five and Era 100x2 (stereo pair) sound bananas. I’m waiting for the Beam Gen 3 to drop.