For years, like many, I tolerated the flat, uninspiring audio emanating from my modern, slimline television. Dialogue was often lost in the background noise, explosions lacked impact, and music felt lifeless. It was a constant source of frustration, diminishing the overall enjoyment of films and series. This wasn’t just a minor annoyance; it was a fundamental flaw in my entertainment setup that needed a definitive solution, and the thought of acquiring a powerful yet discreet system, such as the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), would have been a revelation back then. Without addressing it, my viewing experience remained incomplete.
Considerations Before Acquiring a Soundbar
Before investing in any home audio upgrade, it’s crucial to consider what you truly need. Modern televisions, while visually stunning, often compromise on sound quality due to their thin profiles. A soundbar steps in to solve this, offering a significant audio improvement without the complexity or clutter of a traditional multi-speaker system. It’s an ideal choice for anyone seeking clearer dialogue, richer soundtracks, and a more immersive experience for movies, TV shows, and even music, all within a compact footprint.
The ideal customer for a product category like the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is someone who wants a substantial upgrade over their TV’s built-in speakers, values a sleek aesthetic, and appreciates smart features like voice control and seamless connectivity. They might be living in an apartment where a full surround sound system isn’t practical, or simply prefer a minimalist setup. Conversely, those who should not buy a basic soundbar are true audiophiles demanding the absolute peak of discrete 7.1 or higher surround sound without any compromises, or individuals with extremely tight budgets expecting a thunderous cinema experience from an entry-level device. These users might be better served by a more expensive, dedicated AV receiver and speaker package, or by considering a more premium soundbar like the Sonos Arc, potentially paired with a separate subwoofer and rear satellites. Key considerations before buying include the size of your room, your budget, preferred connectivity options (HDMI ARC/eARC is vital), desired features like Dolby Atmos and voice assistants, and whether you plan to expand your system in the future.
Unveiling the Product: The Sonos Beam (Gen 2)
The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is a compact yet remarkably powerful smart soundbar designed to elevate your home entertainment. It promises to enrich your experience with vibrant bass, crystal clear dialogue, and a panoramic soundstage, all while delivering a 3D surround sound effect through Dolby Atmos simulation. When you purchase this sleek, black plastic soundbar, you’ll find it accompanied by a power cable, an HDMI cable, and a useful Optical Audio Adapter, ensuring broad compatibility. Compared to market leaders, particularly its bigger sibling the Sonos Arc, the Beam Gen 2 positions itself as the more accessible smart soundbar, offering premium features like Atmos in a smaller form factor. It significantly improves upon its predecessor, the Beam Gen 1, primarily through its support for virtual Dolby Atmos, enhanced dialogue clarity, and a more expansive sound profile.
This specific Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is perfect for individuals seeking a high-quality audio upgrade for their television in medium to smaller rooms. It’s ideal for those who are already part of the Sonos ecosystem or wish to enter it, appreciating multiroom audio capabilities and smart home integration. It’s also a fantastic choice for those with limited space who still desire a cinematic sound experience. Conversely, it might not be the best fit for someone with a very large living room demanding an unrestrained, room-shaking bass or a true, physical overhead surround sound experience without any additional speakers.
Here are some pros and cons:
Pros:
* Exceptional Dialogue Clarity: Dedicated centre channel ensures crystal clear speech, even in complex scenes.
* Impressive Dolby Atmos Simulation: Creates a wide, immersive sound bubble that significantly enhances movies and TV.
* Compact and Stylish Design: Blends seamlessly into any home setup without being obtrusive.
* Seamless Sonos Ecosystem Integration: Easily expands with other Sonos speakers for multiroom audio or true surround sound.
* Smart Features: Built-in Alexa and Google Assistant, plus Apple AirPlay 2 for versatile control and streaming.
Cons:
* True Surround Requires Add-ons: The soundbar alone doesn’t provide true rear surround effects; additional speakers are needed.
* Bass Extension Limitations: While impressive for its size, it lacks deep, room-rattling bass without a separate subwoofer.
* Sonos App Dependency: Heavily relies on the Sonos app for initial setup and advanced controls, which some users find unpolished or occasionally problematic.
* Single HDMI Input: Only has one HDMI eARC port, meaning no HDMI passthrough for other devices.
* Trueplay is iOS-Only: Optimal tuning requires an iPhone, which can be inconvenient for Android users.
Deep Dive into Features & Benefits
Having lived with the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) for an extended period, I’ve had ample opportunity to truly understand its capabilities and how each feature translates into a tangible benefit for daily entertainment. It’s not just a speaker; it’s an experience enhancer, and delving into its core principles reveals why it stands out.
Dolby Atmos and Immersive Sound
One of the headline features of the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is its ability to simulate Dolby Atmos. While it doesn’t contain upward-firing drivers like its larger sibling, the Arc, it cleverly uses psychoacoustic principles to create a remarkably convincing 3D sound bubble. This means that sound isn’t just travelling left and right, but also has a perceived height and depth, enveloping you in the audio experience. When watching something like “Drive to Survive” with its native Dolby Atmos mix, the effect is genuinely astounding. The roar of engines doesn’t just spread across the front of the room; it feels like it elevates, moving diagonally and vertically as cars speed off-screen. Team radio chatter isn’t just frontal; it’s placed higher in the soundstage, creating a more realistic sense of being amidst the action.
The key benefit here is immersion. This isn’t just a gimmick; it’s a well-controlled and expertly positioned sound that adds a fantastic atmosphere to TV dramas and movies. You are placed within a 180-degree bubble that extends far beyond the physical confines of your television, making the experience significantly more engaging. While it doesn’t produce true overhead sound that you might get from a system with dedicated ceiling speakers, or even a soundbar with physical upward-firing drivers, the virtual effect is powerful enough to transform a mundane viewing session into a cinematic event. For its compact size, this is truly impressive acoustic engineering.
Crystal Clear Dialogue
A common complaint with many TV setups is the difficulty in discerning dialogue, especially in action sequences or films with intricate sound designs. The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) directly addresses this with an improved centre channel featuring a dedicated tweeter. This enhancement over the first-generation Beam is, for me, one of its most valuable aspects. Dialogue is always front and centre, perfectly tuned and delivered with a natural, realistic tone. Even when the action ramps up or the volume is pushed, voices remain distinct and locked to the screen, never getting muddled by background effects or music.
This feature is incredibly important because it eliminates the frustration of constantly rewinding to catch missed lines or turning on subtitles. It ensures you remain fully engaged with the narrative, allowing you to follow every nuance of a conversation without straining your ears. For casual TV watching, documentaries, or even news programmes, this clarity is invaluable, making the entire viewing experience more relaxed and enjoyable.
Trueplay Tuning Technology
To truly unlock the acoustic potential of the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), the Trueplay tuning process is indispensable. This smart technology, unfortunately limited to iOS devices, allows the soundbar to acoustically map your room and adjust its output to optimally suit the unique environment. The difference it makes is far from subtle. Before Trueplay, the sound was good; after, it was exceptional. It’s well worth borrowing an iPhone if you don’t own one just for this setup.
The process involves sweeping your phone around the room, which might feel a bit silly, but the results speak for themselves. I found that deviating slightly from the on-screen demo within the app yielded even better results. After the initial seated sweep, during the “walk around the room waving your phone like a fool” section, I spent about 30 seconds focusing on the room’s edges, floor, and ceiling, then returned to my main listening position for the final 30 seconds, concentrating the calibration there. Doing this noticeably improved bass response, eliminated a slight echo from the surround/height drivers, and tidied up the high frequencies which had sounded a bit splashy. The soundstage also widened considerably, leading to genuinely impressive spatial effects.
The benefit of Trueplay is profound: it ensures your Sonos Beam (Gen 2) performs at its absolute best, regardless of your room’s acoustics. It compensates for reflective surfaces, open spaces, and furniture, delivering a balanced and dynamic sound tailored precisely to your viewing area. Without it, you’re only experiencing a fraction of what this soundbar can truly offer.
Seamless Integration and Control
The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is built for modern convenience. Its connectivity is primarily wireless, integrating smoothly into your home network via WiFi. Setup is remarkably simple, requiring just two cables – power and HDMI to your TV’s ARC/eARC port – with step-by-step guidance provided by the Sonos app. This minimalist approach avoids cable clutter and makes installation a breeze.
Control options are equally diverse and user-friendly. You can manage everything through the intuitive Sonos app, use your existing TV remote for volume, leverage Apple AirPlay 2 for direct streaming from Apple devices, or simply use your voice with the built-in Alexa and Google Assistant integration. This versatility means you can interact with the soundbar in the way that suits you best at any given moment, whether it’s adjusting volume, skipping tracks, or asking for the weather.
The benefit of this seamless integration is unparalleled ease of use. It slots effortlessly into existing smart home setups and becomes an integral part of your daily routine. The ability to control it via multiple methods – particularly voice – means less fumbling for remotes and a more streamlined entertainment experience. The initial easy setup removes any intimidation factor often associated with home audio, making it accessible to everyone.
Music Streaming and Multiroom Audio
While designed to enhance TV audio, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is also a fantastic standalone music speaker. It streams music, radio, podcasts, and audiobooks over WiFi, even when your TV is off. For HD stereo tracks, the audio quality is tremendous, delivering an addictive, toe-tapping quality that breathes new life into old playlists. I often find myself rediscovering favourite albums with this setup, impressed by the clarity and musicality.
However, it’s worth noting a slight caveat for Atmos music tracks. In my opinion, as a standalone unit emulating multi-channel audio, the Beam Gen 2 sometimes sounds like it’s trying a bit too hard to reproduce an already busy soundmix, which can result in tracks sounding somewhat disjointed. This is a minor point, and for the vast majority of stereo content, it excels.
The real strength here lies in its integration into the Sonos ecosystem for multiroom listening. This means you can wirelessly connect the Beam Gen 2 with other Sonos speakers throughout your home, allowing you to play the same music in perfect synchronisation across different rooms or stream different audio to each speaker. This versatility extends your entertainment beyond the living room, creating a cohesive sound experience throughout your entire home. It’s an incredibly powerful feature for parties, background music, or simply moving from room to room without interrupting your audio.
Expandability and System Growth
One of the most compelling aspects of the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is its inherent expandability. While it delivers an impressive immersive bubble on its own, its true potential for a full cinematic experience is unlocked when you integrate additional Sonos components. You can easily add a pair of Sonos One, One SL, or Sonos Five speakers as dedicated rears for true surround sound, or incorporate a Sonos Sub or Sub Mini for a truly seismic bass response.
When you add rear speakers, the Beam gracefully “hands off” the surround duties of its side-firing drivers to the new rears. This allows the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) to then concentrate its efforts on producing even more pronounced height effects from its remaining drivers, creating a more defined and impactful Dolby Atmos experience. This modular approach is incredibly clever and results in fantastic, cohesive sound.
The benefit here is flexibility and future-proofing. You don’t have to invest in a full, expensive system all at once. You can start with the Beam Gen 2, enjoy its significant improvements, and then gradually build out your ideal home cinema or multiroom audio system over time, as budget and needs allow. Everything connects seamlessly over WiFi, ensuring a clean, wireless setup that scales with your ambitions. It offers a clear upgrade path to a truly immersive audio environment without having to replace your initial investment.
Voices from Other Users: Social Proof
Having delved into various online forums and product pages, it’s clear that the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is largely met with enthusiastic praise from users. Many commend its astonishing sound quality for such a compact device, particularly highlighting the remarkable clarity of dialogue and the immersive Dolby Atmos effects for movies and TV. Users frequently mention how easy the setup process is via the Sonos app, despite some isolated reports of initial connection issues. While a common observation is that true, rear-channel surround sound and deep, room-shaking bass require additional Sonos speakers, the consensus remains that the Beam Gen 2 provides an exceptional foundation and a significant upgrade over built-in TV audio. The smart features, including voice control and AirPlay 2, also receive high marks for convenience and integration into smart homes.
Concluding Thoughts and Recommendation
The perennial problem of inadequate TV audio, leading to a diminished and frustrating entertainment experience, is one that many of us face. The complications of poor sound, from missed dialogue to a lack of immersion, can severely detract from the enjoyment of modern media. The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) stands out as an exceptional solution to this common issue.
Firstly, its superb audio quality, particularly the crystal-clear dialogue and the impressively simulated Dolby Atmos soundstage, transforms any content into a far more engaging experience. Secondly, its seamless integration into the Sonos ecosystem offers incredible flexibility for multiroom audio and future expansion into a true surround sound setup. Finally, the ease of setup and versatile control options, including voice assistance, make it an incredibly user-friendly device. For anyone looking to significantly enhance their home entertainment without clutter, this is an outstanding choice. To discover more and enhance your home entertainment today, Click here to check the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) out.