Sonos Beam Gen 2 announced with Dolby Atmos support, AirPlay 2, & more

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited April 22

The new Sonos Beam Gen 2 has a bevy of improvements including adding support for Dolby Atmos 3D sound while still keeping popular features such as AirPlay 2.

The new Sonos Beam Gen 2
The new Sonos Beam Gen 2



Sonos first brought Dolby Atmos to its product line with the impressive Arc soundbar. Now, it is being made available on the lower-cost and more compact Beam.

The higher resolution audio is being driven by the newfound HDMI eARC support on the Beam, which only has two ports in total. It also has NFC for even easier setup.

Using the touch controls on the Beam Gen 2
Using the touch controls on the Beam Gen 2



Fitting within the same footprint as its predecessor, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 has much of the same design but Sonos has replaced the fabric wrap with a new perforated plastic that should prove to be more durable.

Sonos says the overall sound on the Beam has improved and the adaptive TruePlay smart EQ is also present to ensure the best possible sound in your living room.

Sonos Beam Gen 2 mounted below a TV
Sonos Beam Gen 2 mounted below a TV



Just like the first generation device and almost all Sonos products, the Beam Gen 2 supports Apple AirPlay 2 making it an excellent choice for predominantly Apple households.

The new Sonos Beam Gen 2 can be preordered directly from Sonos for $449 in black or white with shipping commencing on October 5.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 2
    ionicleionicle Posts: 98member
    Looks nice, probably works well, but not cheap
  • Reply 2 of 2
    wrbluepearlwrbluepearl Posts: 35member
    We have one of the first-generation Beams, and we've been pretty happy with it.  In our case, it's connected via optical to the television (an antique, pre-ARC 32" Panasonic LCD TV) and the audio connection has been stable and reliable.  Using it as an AirPlay 2 destination also works really smoothly; it gets decently loud, doesn't distort, and has respectable bass for something its size. In my applications, Atmos doesn't really add anything; it's not going into a home theatre, and I don't even have rear-channel speakers set up - I just wanted the TV to sound decent, and to be able to play music in the bedroom seamlessly with my other AirPlay 2 speakers.

    So for me, the upgraded grille is more of a selling point than Atmos, as the fabric grille on the 1st gen Beam we have kind of collects dust and isn't easy to clean.
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