The Pearlgear Sonic Beam Speaker Stand, winner of the 2024 iF Award, stands as a testament to the pairing of purposeful design, function and minimalism. Designed to pair with the Sonos Era 300 speakers and featuring an interchangeable universal speaker mounting plate, the Sonic Beam offers a unique take on traditional speaker stand design. From its durable, minimalist design to smart cable management and fun RGB control, the Sonic Beam Speaker Stand truly elevates the standard for speaker stand systems.
Constructed of high-grade aluminum, the Sonic Beam feels durable out of the box. Each component is hefty, and when assembled, the stand measures 32.3 inches. While positioned well for sitting, there is no way to adjust the stand’s height. This might be a deterrent for some, but in testing, I found the stands to be the perfect height for me while sitting on the couch.
Designed to hold speakers up to 22 pounds, the Sonic Beam speaker stands are sturdy in any setting thanks to the aforementioned universal mounting plate. This is accomplished thanks to the 14.1-inch x 11.8-inch weighted baseplate, which provides ample weight to accommodate most bookshelf speakers. It is one of the sturdiest speaker stand systems I have tested.
“The Pearlgear Sonic Beam Speaker Stand, winner of the 2024 iF Award, stands as a testament to the pairing of purposeful design, function and minimalism.”
Each stand is slotted with a hidden cable management tray on the back that neatly tucks away speaker wire, which feeds out through the bottom of the baseplate. This creates a clean, sleek display for your speakers. It is a smart feature that elevates the Sonic Beam’s overall design.
An RGB light strip adorns the inner portion of each stand, and when powered on, provides a striking contrast to the otherwise all-black stand. It looks stunning thanks to the defusing shroud covering the light strip. The result is a glow effect that offers great accent lighting without dominating the space.
Assembling the stands took about twenty minutes and is a fairly straightforward affair. Each piece is well-machined and slots perfectly into the others. Minimal screws meant quicker assembly, with the only notable design element being the top plate selection, which allows users to choose between the proper mounting plate for the Sonos Era 300 Speakers or the universal plate for everything else.
While I initially selected the universal plate for my Home Entertainment speakers, I eventually swapped over to the Sonos Era 300 mount. The reason for the swap was aesthetics only, as the universal plate works great. However, the speakers used in my home theatre setup are quite small, and the latter plate has a smaller profile. The finished product is exceptionally sturdy, provides great support and looks great.
The one small note of the design that potential buyers should be aware of is the baseplate size. While it is a key element in supporting larger speakers, it is itself quite large and will take up a good amount of real estate on your floor. If placed in a smaller office space, it can feel a bit crowded. Even in my theatre space, I ended up tucking the stand bases under the TV Stand to reduce their footprint.
The Sonic Beam comes with an RF remote for quick control management. This provides access to basic power, colour control, and mode selection and is great for those looking to simply create ambiance in a space. For those looking for a bit more control over their lighting experience, the Sonic Beam can also be managed via a third-party app, LotusLamp X, available on both the Android and iOS stores.
“The Sonic Beam Speaker Stand truly elevates the standard for speaker stand systems.”
Pairing the speakers happens automatically, assuming your devices bluetooth is on. The only odd part of the setup, and this was due to having multiple universal RGB lights in my home, was identifying which device was the Sonic Beam, as the naming convention is a bit odd. After a few moments of turning various RGB devices on and off around the house, though, the Sonic Beam was identified and immediately renamed.
The app is a straightforward affair, offering much of what you would expect from an RGB experience. RGB lighting selection controls are present, allowing for specific RGB HEX values to be imputed. An audio response mode lets you select room noise or music on your device to drive the RGB experience.
Users can choose from a variety of preset motion patterns to create fun lighting experiences. Alternatively, there is a scene selection mode that provides a nice ambiance to a space. Finally, the Sonic Beam’s RGB can be scheduled with a full timer and a day-of-the-week selector. The system works as advertised and can provide some great customization to your lighting experience.
The Perlegear Sonic Beam is the most premium speaker stand system I’ve ever tested. It provides some great quality-of-life updates in the form of a sturdy baseplate, hidden cable trays, and an RGB lighting system, and it raises the bar for what a premium speaker stand should be. The cost of this experience, though, might be a bit rich for some at $199.99. So while they might not be for everyone, the Sonic Beam Speaker Stands truly offer a premium speaker-stand experience.
