Verdict
A step up from the old manikin , the Sonos Beam ( Gen 2 ) adds an extra dimension to sound , literally , with its cagey virtual Dolby Atmos support . loudly , nicely balanced and equal to of bringing a cinematic experience , this soundbar is a great addition to a small or secondary TV . The undivided HDMI eARC input may be specify for some , though , and DTS bread and butter is missing , although due subsequently in the year .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Sonos Beam ( Gen 2 ) is the middle tike of the brand ’s soundbar range .
As the more expensive sibling , theSonos Arc(£899/$899 ) provide a more accomplished audio performance , while the more affordableSonos Ray(£279/$279 ) suffer out on a few features but is still a compentent soundbar to mate with your telecasting .
sandwich between its siblings with a price of £ 499/$499 , the Sonos Beam ( Gen 2 ) is an idealistic choice for those who desire a great soundbar for euphony and movies , but are n’t to fussed about the enhanced Dolby Atmos room - filling skills of the Arc – at least not enough to yield the £ 400/$400 difference .
The Sonos Beam ( Gen 2 ) currently occupies a place in our Best Soundbar list as the good ‘ little soundbar ’ option . Rival soundbars can be quite bulky , which not only risks demand too much attention in your life way , but also blocking a poriton of your TV .
As a consequence , it ’s promiscuous to see why the Sonos Beam ( Gen 2 ) is such a popular soundbar . Keep on interpretation for a full breakdown of its design , features and good quality .
Design
The Sonos Beam ( Gen 2 ) launch in October 2021 , while the original Beam hit stores as far back as 2018 .
Sonos has n’t deviated much from the original Beam ’s design , with a few tweak including a new front grille that take care similar to the one on the Arc . Not massively changing the conception is n’t a huge problem : the Beam had n’t mature much from a looks position , and the design still fits in Sonos ’ other new speakers . Again , this model is uncommitted in disgraceful or clean .
The Sonos Beam ( Gen 2 ) is a few mm wider than the original , so there ’s practically no difference here , either . At this kind of size , the Sonos Beam ( Gen 2 ) is well paired with a smaller telly , say anything up to 49 - inch soap ; go large than this and the Sonos Arc is a more suitable fellow .
With this model , you could practice the prescribed Beam wall mount to put the soundbar on the bulwark , although it is low enough to direct on a television receiver cabinet without block off the aspect of the TV screen .
On top , you get the stock Sonos touch control , which you’re able to use to wreak / suspension , skip path ( in medicine playback ) and adjust the bulk .
Around the back , it ’s a like narrative to other Sonos soundbars , with just a individual HDMI input . Rather than theHDMI ARCinput the older Beam used , this exemplar use HDMI eARC , which has higher bandwidth and stand lossless audio frequency formats such as Dolby Atmos deliver over Dolby TrueHD .
HDMI eARC is backward compatible with HDMI ARC , although if your TV has this kind of output only you ’ll have a more special pick of sound formats ( more of that later ) .
Should you not have eARC or ARC on your television , then there ’s an optical adaptor in the box so that you could use your TV ’s opthalmic S / PDif output instead . This further reduces your choice and rule out Dolby Atmos , so use only if you have to .
Finally , there ’s an Ethernet port for addict the Sonos Beam ( Gen 2 ) up to a wired mesh , although most people will line up it leisurely to tie the soundbar to their wireless electronic connection .
Features
The Beam ( Gen 2 ) is only compatible with Sonos S2 . apparatus is super well-heeled : just grade your telephone set near the talker , tap the joint button , scan the NFC chip and the Beam joins your exist system . From starting time to finis , include a microcode update , my Bean ( Gen 2 ) was installed and ready to go in a few minutes .
Once connected , Sonos then takes you through a conformation phase to get your speaker working . I was connect via HDMI ARC to start up with , which requires the soundbar to find the incoming signaling . This can be hard to do , as HDMI CEC ( the restraint protocol that makes it function ) is a little flaky at times . My guide onfixing HDMI CEC issuescan help : I boot my TV , motorbike the power , and then set up the TV ’s input as the HDMI ARC stimulant , which kickstarted the connexion .
Once connected , the Sonos Beam ( Gen 2 ) can then have its intensity adjusted using your TV ’s remote , with the signal sent down the HDMI cable . If you favor , you’re able to tune your remote control to work via IR with the Beam forthwith .
While the Sonos Arc has up firing Speaker for the overhead channels for Dolby Atmos , the Sonos Beam ( Gen 2 ) does not . Here , you have one tweeter for high - absolute frequency , four mid - woofers to deliver the mid - range and three passive radiators ; which is a similar layout to the original Beam . Atmos is fork up virtually with cunning software adapting the effectual output signal to trick your ears into hear where the sound comes from .
To get the tech to work , you need to lean through the Sonos TruePlay routine in the app . This uses your phone ’s mike to listen to the audio recording hail from the speaker unit , fine - tuning it for both the elbow room and your position . As this is a soundbar , there are two steps to go through .
First , there ’s the movie theater setup , where you sit in the perspective you ’re most potential to be in when see television . Secondly , there ’s the elbow room setup , which tunes the verbaliser for playing general euphony , adjusting the audio for the size and audio reception of your room . It ’s both easy and quick to run through this unconscious process .
When watch out TV , the Sonos Beam ( Gen 2 ) automatically switches to its HDMI input , cutting off other sound recording as well as ungrouping itself from other rooms , although you may alter that doings in the app if you want .
There ’s also the issue if you do n’t have HDMI eARC on your television set . With regular HDMI ARC , there ’s only enough bandwidth for Dolby Digital Plus or two - line PCM strait . Use an Ultra HD Blu - ray player , and you ca n’t get full Dolby TrueHD audio out . Or try and play DTS via PCM and you ’ll only get stereo phone , rather than ring audio .
It ’s an issue that touch the ARC , too , but you may use theHDFury Arcanaas a workaround . This boxful take away an HDMI stimulus , such as a Blu - ray actor , sends the full audio to the Beam and the video to your TV . With the Sonos Arc , I felt quite strongly about father the in high spirits quality audio into the soundbar ; with the Beam , this feel more like a mathematical product for humble rooms and streaming services , in which sheath even HDMI ARC has enough bandwidth for the sound formats in use .
As well as playing from your TV , the Sonos Beam ( Gen 2 ) is a to the full - fledgedmulti - roomaudio player . Via the Sonos app , you could play music from any of the endure services : everything major is supported , fromSpotifyandApple MusictoTidalandDeezer . If you do n’t want to use the app , there’sAirPlay 2support there , too .
Multi - way wise , nothing make out closely to Sonos ’ might and level of control condition . And , most significantly , with any of the supported services , you could use one account statement and play dissimilar rails in different rooms at the same time .
With an Echo , it have sex which room it ’s in and which devices are in there , too , so you may use the crosscut , “ Alexa , release on brightness . ” Echo - to - sound reflection calling also is n’t back up .
Still , these are minor limitations and the Beam arguably intend that you do n’t postulate to have additional smart speaker in the same room . And , voice gives you a ready way to work your TV on or off , or to directly control Sonos and play music .
There is the risk that watching something will accidentally trigger the fresh speaker , which dips the audio volume . If that ’s an issue , you could tap the release on top of the soundbar to stop the mike while take in . It would be nice if this were a software option , incapacitate the mike while your TV is on .
There are a couplet of optional audio modes that you may adjust , too . Night mode cuts out meretricious noises , so you wo n’t shake up the rest of the business firm while check at night . speech communication enhancement boost dialogue so that people are a little easier to see . Both of these feature are easy to toggle on and off via the app . And , conveniently , the app will also show you the heavy format you ’re currently getting , so you could check for any issue : if you ’re not get Dolby Atmos , rebooting your player can aid , for lesson .
Sound quality
The very brusque version is that the Sonos Beam ( Gen 2 ) sounds exceptionally good , peculiarly reckon its relatively small size . There are some limitations , although these can be fixed by adding special Sonos components into the mixing for surround sound and basso .
Let ’s start out with the out - of - the - boxful experience , with the Beam in its standard contour . I watched a variety of substance to get a tone for what this soundbar can offer . Take something cheeky and piquant , such as the hatchway fight chronological sequence inCaptain Marvel , streamed fromDisney+in Dolby Atmos , and there ’s a proper cinematic experience bursting out of this corner .
You get a sensation of stereo width , with the optical maser bam almost enwrap around you . There ’s not quite the dimensionality of the Sonos Arc , which yield a sense of sound above you in a more positional way ; here , it ’s more elusive , as if there ’s sound wrapped around you , even if you ca n’t quite position where it is exactly .
kick upstairs the flow to the Ultra HD version in full Dolby TrueHD and the presentation is good still : with the lossless soundtrack there ’s more pellucidity to the mixture , and the sound recording is cleaner with a level more niceness to it .
Poise and balance are excellent throughout . Given how small this soundbar is , the bass levels are telling . You do n’t get quite that clout of sound and rumbling , as you do with the Arc , but there ’s more excitement and presence that you ’ll get from any standard TV speaker . Certainly , there ’s enough bass here to allow a level of submersion , as the opening scene ofTenetwill attest ( mixed in 5.1 on the Ultra HD magnetic disk ) .
Compared to the Arc , the Beam does n’t quite have the same range at either end , and the audio is a little more compressed overall and a touch needlelike at the high final stage . But , audio is largely well balanced , with no part of the spectrum overwhelming another part .
What you do n’t get with the Beam ( or the Arc by itself ) for that matter , is a unfeigned sense of surround sound . Fire up an episode of Netflix ’s Midnight Mass , and there are some bully scenes for environment sound ; in its default configuration , the Beam ( Gen 2 ) just does n’t deliver the niceness .
The power of the Beam ( Gen 2 ) along with other Sonos soundbars is that you could add to the system of rules using two of the same speakers for the rear channel . I used a yoke ofSonos One SLspeakers for the rearward channels , which fill up in the soundscape , with impressive transitions between the front and rear .
go Midnight Mass again and , without spoilers , the speech sound of the man crying out suddenly come from behind you as it should ; in its default modal value , the Beam makes this yell fathom a little indistinct .
Throw in aSonos Suband bass becomes properly cinematic , with enough force to make your room stimulate . It ’s gravid for activeness films and sci - fi , delivering the effects as they were supposed to be see .
Of of course , all of this impart significantly to the price . If you really require to spend all that extra on surround speakers and a subwoofer , I ’d be charm to take shape for the more expensive Arc to originate with .
It ’s worth talking about sassing - sync , as HDMI ARC is fuck for causing issue . While HDMI eARC is guess to be better , it too can cause problem . Via the app , you may adjust the audio delay , but the accuracy is that your input source and TV all have a part to toy , so you may get different emergence at different metre . My set - up was largely hunky-dory and could be tweaked , but if you ’re ingest problems my guide onhow to set up backtalk - sync issues with Sonoscan help .
It ’s hard for a manufacturer to get timber movie / TV sound and quality music out of the same equipment , but Sonos wield it . On the sound ordered series for music , I ’d say that the Beam ride above the One or One SL , but below theFive ; it ’s really a touch well than the old discontinue Play:3 .
bring Foo Fighter’sEnough Spaceand the opening guitars swirl across the stereo space convincingly ; this soundbar can for certain redeem that stereo experience . It ’s able of handling basso - gruelling tracks without blowing out and sounding distorted , as OK Go’sThis Too Shall Passproves .
frail treatment of the more subtle is there , with Johnny Cash ’s fingers sliding up the strings arrive out in his cover ofHurt . Really , with the Beam , you do n’t necessitate to have a disjoined speaker .
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Should you buy it?
If you want an immersive way of encourage audio from your TV , and a gimmick that will go into your multi - elbow room frame-up , the Beam is hard to flap .
If you require a wide-cut cinematic experience with more positional Dolby Atmos , the Sonos Arc delivers a more rounded and sinewy experience
Final Thoughts
If you think of theSonos Arcas the dead on target home cinema product , built for large television and for delivering Atmos consequence in a more enveloping and engaging way , the Beam is the soundbar for little TVs and rooms .
It has some of the feature of its big pal and can wrap sound around you , even if positionally it ’s not as execute as the Arc . What you do get is clean and delineate sound recording that will outdo your TV , a sense of cinematics and the option to upgrade if you need more immersive sound .
With all of Sonos ’ multi - room artistry throng on top , this is a soundbar that can redeem a keen music experience , fitting in with your exist system , not replacing it . For my life elbow room , I want the Sonos Arc , but for other rooms , the Beam brings the fun at a blue price .
The main effect is whether or not a soundbar with only an HDMI eARC stimulation is flexile enough for you . If you ’d rather have full HDMI input , then theSamsung HW - Q900Tmay be better , otherwise read our templet to thebest soundbarsfor substitute choices .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every soundbar we review soundly over an extended period of time of time . We use industry stock tests to equate features properly . We ’ll always state you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to reexamine a product .
notice out more about how we test in ourethics policy .
FAQs
The main difference is that the Gen 2 supports Dolby Atmos and has an HDMI eARC input .
you may group them , but you ca n’t create a stereo pair from them .
Yes , there ’s an official bulwark bracket that you could bribe .
