Sonos User Interview | Case 37: Southern apartment more than 30 years old | Beam
This is a fully localized English version adapted from the original Traditional Chinese interview, with terminology and tone standardized for English readers.
Case Background (Anonymous)
Section titled “Case Background (Anonymous)”- Response timestamp: 2026/4/18 9:03:28 pm
- Region and home layout: Southern Taiwan, an old apartment over thirty years old
- Primary use case: Equipment location: About 5 to 6 square meters in the living room. Usage: My wife and adults watch TV dramas, I watch sports game broadcasts, and occasionally listen to old songs from the 80s and 90s.
- Core setup: Beam + Era 100 x 2 + Sub Mini x 1
How They Got In and Why They Chose Sonos
Section titled “How They Got In and Why They Chose Sonos”- Entry point: I originally wanted to find a sound blaster that could match the Sony TV. After joining the Facebook Sound Blaster Community, I was moved by an article shared by Cai Dada about the underlying logic of product selection.
- Cross-brand comparison: Originally, I wanted to buy Sony’s own Bar 8/9 to match the current TVs because my original idea was relatively simple. I thought that my own system would form its own ecosystem and the effect could be improved. After referring to Cai Mengzhe’s article on the underlying logic of product selection, I discovered that I actually belong to apple’s product ecosystem, and SONOS and apple’s ecosystem are highly compatible. After several private inquiries, and a 20% discount on the US official website, I entered the circle of SONOS.
- One line for beginners: Listen with your ears, but believe that you hear the voice in your heart
Room Setup and Tuning
Section titled “Room Setup and Tuning”- Placement and constraints: Because the living room is narrow and the moving distance of the TV is less than 2 meters (65 inches), and considering that cats in the house will climb up and down near the sofa, the Beam is currently located directly below the TV (wall-mounted). A single Era 100 is located on the left of the Beam (about 0.6 meters, with a cabinet next to it as a rebound wall). The other Era 100 is placed on a tripod, about parallel to the wall against the sofa, about 0.8m away from the main sitting point. Sub Mini is on the floor, on the right side of the Beam. In order to strengthen the Era 100, it was placed on the sofa, and the sound on the right side of the TV was insufficient.
- Trueplay feedback: Setting up TruePlay The TruePlay function really enhances the overall surround sound field. It allows the viewing experience to have enough sound sources from all directions to interact with each other at any time. Before using it, the listening experience of SONOS was that it was a good and well-balanced sound system. When I set up TruePlay on a whim, I found that I had entered a completely stereophonic realm.
- Subwoofer decision: Not at all, because the official website discount is attractive enough
Day-to-Day Experience
Section titled “Day-to-Day Experience”- What they like most about Sonos: The appearance has a streamlined design without losing style. The sound field is stable and easy to assemble.
- Who likes Sonos the most at home: Each of the three cats in the family will lie on the Beam and stare at the family members.
- Mistaken for other gear: No, I haven’t had any visitors at home since I bought SONOS.
Pain Points and Wishlist
Section titled “Pain Points and Wishlist”- Most frustrating issue: The app setting function is limited and the network frequency band is to operate stably in the 5G environment. The app still has a long way to go because the TV at home is used for multiple audio and video sources (TV, PS5, NS). It does not seem to be well matched with most audio and video splitters. It requires very complicated settings to enable many audio and video functions.
Test Content and Preferences
Section titled “Test Content and Preferences”- Music used for testing: Hotel California
- Movies used for testing: The Matrix / F1
Additional Notes
Section titled “Additional Notes”- Animal analogy for Sonos: Russian blue cat (because I have one at home)
- Most absurd thing they did: Yes, I can’t bear to let my white SONOS get dirty and drive my cat away.
- Dream setup if budget was unlimited: Put a set of Ultra Ace + Era 300 x 4 + Five x 2 +Sub x 2 in each room
- Top-ranked device: Netizens are now recommending Ultra Ace. I haven’t bought it myself yet, so I can’t comment. But based on my current experience with the Beam, I personally feel that it has a high CP value and is worthy of being used as an entry-level to mid-range soundbar (Amazon JP Purchase)
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