In our review of the original Sonos Beam, we were blown away by the richness and depth of the audio, despite the unit’s small size. You have five class-D amplifiers, one center tweeter, four elliptical midwoofers, and three passive radiators working together to deliver a powerful and balanced sound.Īnd that’s no bad thing. Otherwise, the rest of the audio tech inside the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is the same as before. While we’re yet to test this for ourselves, virtual Atmos can be quite convincing – although you’ll probably get a better sense of height from the pricier and larger Sonos Arc. The second-gen Beam contains five arrays as opposed to the three found in the original Beam. ‘True’ Dolby Atmos speakers and soundbars – such as the Sonos Arc – use upfiring tweeters to bounce sound off the ceiling and back down to your ears to give soundtracks a sense of height, but the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) does this virtually.Īccording to Sonos, the sense that the sound is surrounding you from every angle is achieved using “psychoacoustic techniques”, made possible by the new and improved speaker arrays. This cinematic sound technology arranges elements of a film soundtrack (or compatible music files) in a 3D sphere, which makes it feel as though the sound is coming at you from every angle. The biggest difference between the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and the original on the audio front is that the new soundbar supports Dolby Atmos. The new Sonos Beam (Gen 2) (Image credit: Sonos) Audio performance It certainly brings the soundbar into line with the rest of the Sonos ecosystem, since none of the other current-gen Sonos speakers feature fabric grilles.Īround the back of the soundbar you’ll now find an HDMI eARC port, rather than the HDMI ARC on the original Beam (more on that later). We asked Sonos whether the new grille brings any acoustic benefits, but the company told us it’s purely an aesthetic choice. The plastic grille matches that of the Sonos Arc – and, as the company points out, it’s far easier to clean than dust-attracting fabric. The only immediately discernible difference between the two is that Sonos has done away with the fabric grille on the original Beam, swapping it for a polycarbonate (or plastic, if you prefer) front.
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You also have the option of the Sonos S2 app, your TV remote, AirPlay 2, or using the built-in Google Assistant and Alexa voice assistants to control your music playback and other settings. Both devices are also available in black and white color options, they can be wall-mounted, and are controllable via a touch-sensitive panel found along the top of the unit. The design of the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and its predecessor is largely the same, although the company has made a couple of subtle tweaks.īoth soundbars are designed for smaller spaces, and at 2.72 x 25.63 x 3.94 inches (H x W x D), they should fit comfortably under most TVs. Saying that, Sonos hasn’t made any suggestion that the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) will see a price increase any time soon – just be aware that the company’s prices aren’t set in stone. That doesn’t exactly bode well for the new Beam. One of the biggest price increases was to the company’s other soundbar, the Sonos Arc, which is now $100 / £100 / AU$100 more expensive than before. Sonos recently announced a price hike for a number of its products, stating that it evaluates pricing on a "market-by-market" basis. Weirdly, we’re not confident that the price of the second-gen Sonos Beam won’t change in the future.
The first-gen Beam has been officially discontinued, so you should act fast if you have your heart set on it.
We’ve already started to see prices for the original Sonos Beam come down, and you can almost guarantee that it will be discounted heavily over Black Friday 2021 – if stocks last, that is. This makes it more expensive than the original at launch, which cost $399 / £339 / AU$599. The new Sonos Beam (Gen 2) will be available to buy from October 5 for $449 / £449 / $699 (although it is available to preorder now). (Image credit: Sonos) Sonos Beam (Gen 2) vs Sonos Beam: price and availability The new Sonos Beam (Gen 2) comes with Dolby Atmos.
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