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With a decent 5.0 configuration, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) delivers decent Dolby Atmos and surround soundstage that will appeal to people who love movies, TV shows, and music enthusiasts. However, the bass is not very deep.
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Table of Contents
Product Snapshot
Overview
The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is a mid-range 5.0 soundbar that made its debut in 2022, offering Dolby Atmos and smart features for home theaters. It has advanced features similar to the highest-rated speakers today.
This model has built-in Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant and iOS and Android mobile apps, providing smart controls. With an optical in, HDMI ARC, and Ethernet ports, it connects easily to a wide variety of TVs. Super-low audio latency provides flawless dialogue.
Wireless connectivity options include Wi-Fi and Apple AirPlay, although it sadly does not have built-in Bluetooth. Although this unit has a good stereo soundstage and boasts a decent surround and Dolby Atmos performance, it doesn’t perform as well as higher-end models with satellite speakers.
It also lacks a dedicated subwoofer, so the bass is not very deep. With a top 89.4 dB SPL, it doesn’t get very loud. Learn more about the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) below and see how it stacks up against the most popular soundbars in the industry today.
Product editors love the smart features and Dolby Atmos performance of the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), endorsing it for TV shows and casual music and movie playback. Critics from Android Central were delighted by its Dolby Surround soundstage during their testing, saying it gives pretty immersive content.
Experts from PCMag love its neutral sound profile and bass and treble sliders, which makes adjusting the music profile is. However, this system doesn’t have a dedicated subwoofer, so the bass is not deep enough for some music and movie enthusiasts.
On the flip side, it has a very low audio latency, so it will cater to people who love TV dialogue. A room correction feature adjusts the settings automatically. This system also has built-in Alexa and built-in Google Assistant and comes with a mobile app for effortless management.
It has built-in Apple Airplay and Wi-Fi, but lacks support for Bluetooth.
This device performs excellently for TV shows, with accurate mids that create stellar dialogue. It has a well-balanced sound profile with bass and treble adjustments and a room correction feature to enable hassle-free customization. Dolby Atmos and surround soundstage also help enhance sound for high-quality movies.
Great vocal clarity
The bar features a discrete center channel that excels in producing crisp, clear dialogue for shows, news, podcasts, and audiobooks. Additionally, it features a dialogue-enhancing feature that focuses on mids to improve performance even more.
Helpful smart features
The Sonos S2 App lets users control the bar directly from their smartphone. Additionally, it comes with built-in support for Alexa and Google Assistant for great hands-free controls
Reason to Avoid
Subpar surround sound performance
As a standalone bar, it doesn’t produce a great immersive sound. rather, it uses side-firing speakers, which detracts from accuracy and clarity. Additionally, it lacks a graphic equalizer, which makes it harder to find good adjustments for specialized sound profiles, like for gaming or surround sound.
Limited wireless connectivity
Lacks Bluetooth connection and Spotify Connect.
Lacks bass power
The soundbar lacks a dedicated subwoofer and deep bass, making it subpar for action movies with deep rumbling and music like hip-hop and EDM.
Sonos Beam Gen 2 Specs
Depth
3.9"
Dialogue Enhancement Feature
Yes
Equalizer Settings
n/a
HDMI ARC
Yes
Height
2.7"
Number of Audio Channels
3
Subwoofer
na
Surround Sound Supported
na
Voice Assistant
Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant
Wall Mountable
Yes
Weight
6.3 lbs
Width
25.6"
Wireless Connectivity
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
Wireless Subwoofer Connectivity
na
Works With
Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant
All Specs
Test Results
These are the most important criteria to test for Soundbars based on our comprehensive Testing Methodology.
Low End Roll Off (Hz)
57.39
High End Roll Off (Hz)
6,736.4
Max Volume Test (db)
90.1
Latency (ms)
32
THD @ 80dB
0.43
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The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is a mid-range 5.0 soundbar that made its debut in 2022, offering Dolby Atmos and smart features for home theaters….
The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is a mid-range 5.0 soundbar that made its debut in 2022, offering Dolby Atmos and smart features for home theaters. It has advanced features similar to the highest-rated speakers today.
This model has built-in Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant and iOS and Android mobile apps, providing smart controls. With an optical in, HDMI ARC, and Ethernet ports, it connects easily to a wide variety of TVs. Super-low audio latency provides flawless dialogue.
Wireless connectivity options include Wi-Fi and Apple AirPlay, although it sadly does not have built-in Bluetooth. Although this unit has a good stereo soundstage and boasts a decent surround and Dolby Atmos performance, it doesn’t perform as well as higher-end models with satellite speakers.
It also lacks a dedicated subwoofer, so the bass is not very deep. With a top 89.4 dB SPL, it doesn’t get very loud. Learn more about the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) below and see how it stacks up against the most popular soundbars in the industry today.
With a 5.0.2 setup, the Sonos Arc With Sub + One SL Speakers provides better Atmos performance than the Sonos Beam (Gen 2). It also…
With a 5.0.2 setup, the Sonos Arc With Sub + One SL Speakers provides better Atmos performance than the Sonos Beam (Gen 2). It also produces deeper extended low bass than the Sonos Beam (Gen 2). That said, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is more compact. Check out our Sonos Arc With Sub + One SL Speakers review to learn more.
Featuring a 5.0 configuration, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) provides a better Dolby and surround soundstage than the 3.0 Sonos Beam. However, the Sonos Beam…
Featuring a 5.0 configuration, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) provides a better Dolby and surround soundstage than the 3.0 Sonos Beam. However, the Sonos Beam has a slightly higher at 9.4 dB maximum SPL, getting louder than the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), which achieves a maximum SPL of 89.4 dB. Learn more about the 3.0 device in our Sonos Beam review now.
With the 5.0 setup, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) has a better surround soundstage than the Bose Smart Soundbar 300, which has a 3.0 setup….
With the 5.0 setup, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) has a better surround soundstage than the Bose Smart Soundbar 300, which has a 3.0 setup. The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) also supports Dolby Atmos, unlike the Bose Smart Soundbar 300. That said, the Bose Smart Soundbar 300 supports Bluetooth, unlike the Beam.
