Sonos Beam (Gen 2). The compact smart soundbar for TV, music and more. (Black)
| Dimensions: | 6.91 x 65.1 x 10.01 cm; 2 Kilograms |
| Model: | 8717755778116 |
| Manufacture: | Sonos |
| Origin: | United Kingdom |
| Dimensions: | 6.91 x 65.1 x 10.01 cm; 2 Kilograms |
| Model: | 8717755778116 |
| Manufacture: | Sonos |
| Origin: | United Kingdom |
Wow. Wow. Wow.
We bought the beam, added the mini Woofer and then 2 sl ones. Worth every penny gives you a full cinema experience which I never thought I could get at home. Wish I’d done it sooner. Worth every penny
Small and very compact but wait till you hear the sound.Paired this with the sub and 2 surrounds and what a result.It’s not cheap but worth every pound.Works better if hard wired obviously but if not possible you’ll need a good Internet connection otherwise you may need to do the occasional reset.
I’m really impressed with the arrival package, setup and sound quality of the product. Just a pleasure.
Really easy to install through the app. Just connect the HDMI to your TV and the power cable to the socket. Installed in a few minutes all ready to go. Sound is clear. No complaints at all.
I already have a Sonos sound system comprising two Sonos Ones and a Sonos Sub Mini and am delighted by the sound quality. It seemed logical, therefore, to buy a Beam 2 as the sound quality of my TV leaves much to be desired. The Beam is a big improvement, particularly in the clarity of speech. Ideally I would have preferred a little more bass when music is involved. It would have been good to pair it with the Sonos SubMini but, unfortunately, it seems to that the SubMini can only be paired with one system and I prefer to leave it where it is. The Beam is unobtrusive and easy to set up.
Surprising amount of bass for its size and is great for playing music apps though be blue tooth.
I replaced an existing sound bar and my Play 1 speakers in my lounge with the Beam 2 and Mini Sub. The sound is amazing, more than loud enough for my lounge, with deep bass and clear speech.
Replaced my Samsung soundbar , knocks socks off the old one for quality of sound. However, setup and control was initially a nightmare being totally dependant on apps. Written instructions sparse. Too much in the way of registrations and codes in the apps, I could hardly find or read the requested device pin code. Brilliant now its eventually working with my LG TV.
Bought to replace 100 Samsung bar.
What a difference.
Yes not cheap but so worth the money.
Amazing sound and clarity.
Night mode and speech enhance work really well for low volume tv watching.
Combined with the Sub Mini, it’s just an immersive cinema experience.
I must admit I was a bit sceptical about getting the Beam Gen 2 it appeared some of the reviews online were a bit over favourable…
…I was wrong.
Spend time tuning the Sonos Beam Gen 2 correctly (which in fairness will take you 20 minutes tops after initial setup) and you will be rewarded with one of the best Dolby Atmos capable soundbars in its class.
I will try and be as balanced as possible throughout this review, as I imagine there are likely a fair few people who are in the same boat as we were before taking the plunge.
There’s plenty of videos online showing unboxings of the speaker and Sonos have an excellent resource hub which does a great job of explaining their Trueplay technology etc, so I won’t bulk out this review unnecessarilly with details you can find in 10 seconds elsewhere
**Trueplay**
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to do the Trueplay setup to get the most out of the Beam Gen 2. It’s a shame the setup procedure is limited to iPhone, but it’s well worth borrowing one if you don’t already own have it to hand.
Trueplay allows your Beam Gen 2 to optimise itself for your environment and we found a noticeable difference after finding out the correct way to get the best out of the feature.
As a tip, don’t be tempted to follow the on screen demo within the app. Whilst it isn’t wrong, I found a few deviations did the world of good. What I did was did the listening (seated) sweep first, then with the “walk round the room waving your phone like a fool” section, spend 30 seconds around the edges snd floor/ceiling of the room then at the last 30 seconds return to your listening position and concentrate on where you normally sit.
Doing it this way demonstrated a notable difference in the bass response, removed the slightly strange echo from the surround/height drivers and tidied up the high frequencies (which sounded a bit splashy). The width of the soundstage was also improved as well as producing some genuinely impressive spatial effects – more on this further on in the review.
You can do without Trueplay altogether so it’s not a deal breaker, but if you have the opportunity it makes an already great speaker even better in my opinion.
**Sonos App**
The app is okay. Nothing outstanding, however, once setup you’ll be hard pressed to find something easier to use. The overall look is very sparse and I think this is in need of an overhaul design wise, but for now you can get everything done fairly easily and it does what it’s supposed to do.
I read some horror story reviews of the app online but found a lot of them were a bit exaggerated – it’s really not that bad!
**EQ and audio options**
The Beam Gen 2 houses five physical speakers; left, right, one surround/height driver angled at each end and a centre tweeter for dialogue. There are also three “passive radiators” to help boost low end effects.
Within the app there’s a 2 band equaliser which is basically bass and treble. There’s also a Loudness function which, whilst reminiscent of an 80’s hifi system, is actually very effective at low volumes in adding a good amount of low end and sparkle in the treble. Be aware though, that around 30% volume it begins to lose its effectiveness as the speakers onboard processor makes computational adjustments to ensure the speaker drivers don’t over exert themselves.
There’s also an audio compression setting for when a vinyl turntable is connected to the aux input, as well as a “Height effects” setting which allows you to adjust the amount of volume applied to the side firing surround/height drivers.
**Audio quality**
Sound per pound, this is genuinely impressive. Outstanding, even.
I do not say this lightly. I used to own a full 7.1 separates system and therefore I’ve always used this as a benchmark for everything we’ve owned since. For domestic harmony purposes and to save space I gave it all to a good friend and since then have owned various soundbars.
But what this relatively small and unassuming soundbar generates is as close to the sound produced by my old 7.1 system as I’ll ever hear.
There are times when we’re watching and it just throws sound WAY wider than even the confines of the windows, never mind the TV. And it’s not just gimmicks, this is well controlled and expertly positioned sound which adds a fantastic atmosphere to TV dramas and movie’s. Watching Drive to Survive in Dolby Atmos is incredible – with some thunderous low end bass which is not only well controlled but also has the attack to add plenty of impact.
At the beginning of each episode, there’s a top down of the car in the pits and as it drives off camera, the Beam steers the sound not just on one flat side to side axis but also upwards on the vertical and diagonal. You have or hear to believe but it’s always genuinely impressive. The team radio chatter is also mixed into the height channels and whilst the Beam Gen 2 stops short of proper overhead sound, you are placed in a 180 degree bubble which extends WAY beyond just the area below the TV.
Moving to movies and the Beam Gen 2 comes alive with a good 5.1 or Atmos audio mix. Despite its small size, anything you throw at it is handled with th confidence of something much larger and is always well controlled without becoming boomy or harsh. I’ve included a short demo which I would encourage you to watch with some earbuds/headphones to get an idea of what it sounds like.
For casual TV watching, the improved centre channel over and above the first generation Beam is perhaps one of the most impressive parts of the Beam Gen 2. It’s perfectly tuned and gives a really well balanced sound which gives voices a nice realistic tone. Even when pushed hard, it never falters and always locks dialogue in the centre of the mix. Brilliant.
**Music**
As it’s a standalone unit emulating multi channel audio, the Beam Gen 2 becomes a bit unstuck when playing Atmos music tracks in my opinion. The overall sound quality is great and it has excellent timing whatever the musical genre, however, it sounds like it’s trying too hard to produce an already busy soundmix and it just ends up with tracks sounding a bit disjointed.
On the flip side, HD stereo tracks sound tremendous – with an addictive, toe tapping quality that will have you rummaging through your old playlists to listen to your favourites all over again. Excellent.
**And now for some balance**
Okay, nothing is perfect and I wanted to make sure those thinking of buying are aware of the following to add some balance to the review.
Don’t expect any kind of surround sound effect from this. The manufacturer website shows a simulated infographic which suggests this can emulate sound through psychoacoustics to trick your senses. However, in practice this is simply non existent.
The best way to describe the effect is the Beam Gen 2 creates a very effective bubble of sound which extends a good 2 feet or so to the left, right and above, below and in front of the TV. It’s a wonderful feat of acoustic engineering, but surround sound this is not.
For that, you’ll need to add a pair of Sonos One, One SL or Sonos Five (or even IKEA Symfonisk) as and this is where the true potential of this little box of fun is unlocked. When adding rear speakers, this allows the Beam to “hand off” the surround duties of its side firing speakers to the rears, leaving the Beam to then concentrate it’s efforts on producing height effects from its side firing speakers instead. It’s all very clever and sound fantastic.
BUT, by this stage you’ve added almost another 400 to the cost on top of the price of the Beam and therefore, it’s worth considering if an all in one solution may be better if you’re looking after the budget.
Don’t get me wrong, the sound quality is very, very good indeed and like I said earlier, this is the closest I’ve heard anything come to the sound signature my old 7.1 system produced. Just be mindful that to get the full Sonos experience, you’ll need to set aside a hefty budget in order to enjoy it.
I wish the app was more polished but this is a subjective thing rather than a criticism. It does the job but lacks the flair I’ve seen In apps elsewhere for other audio products.
Additionally, the lack of any HDMI inputs may be a let down for some. Not all TVs come with a bundle of HDMI inputs and it would have been handy to at least have ONE HDMI in to free up space on the TV inputs.
Finally, whilst the bass reproduction is very good indeed, be aware this is lower mid bass and there’s a definite roll off on some low frequency effects. What it lacks is low bass, the stuff that rumbles the room type bass. I wasn’t expecting it to – that would unfair – but having seen some reviews elsewhere they give the impression this can shake a house down..it can’t. For that, you’ll need to add the Sonos sub. More money again! You can see where I’m going here…
But for what it is, the bass response is actually very good for its size and I think many will be pleasantly surprised at the results.
**To conclude**
On reflection, this has been an excellent but. A truly standout soundbar in its class with superb audio quality and very effective Atmos bubble for movies and TV shows. It’s also excellent for stereo music tracks at any volume and had a nice, warm sound signature which is immediately appealing.
Don’t expect sound effects flying past your head or bass that shakes the family china, nor should you expect helicopters flying above your head (think more hovering just above the TV).
However, what you can expect is one of the very best soundbars money can buy at under 500. A truly class product which I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.
Bought this to replace my old sound bar. It’s great for tv. But I also listen to music and found it wasn’t great. So I bought the sub mini to add on and the sound quality is fantastic. Easy to setup. And link with tv. Definitely would recommend.
Borrowed a unit from a colleague a while back to test it out. Didn’t like it much. Stereo imaging was extremely narrow and sound was lacking dynamics. Borrowed a 2nd time after a firmware upgrade and boom, it sounded significantly better especially for movies.
After the 2nd try, I decided to buy one for myself. Video content was sounding great for a solo subless bar, dialogue was assuringly clear. Night mode worked for most part but speech enhancement was a hit or miss.
When I started to use for music, I recalled why I dislike it so much. Music while registering all notes, sounded boxy and lifeless, turned off the loudness enchancement, it sounded a touch better but it was a hassle to toggle it on and off across different content. Stereo imaging wasnt great and decided to fall back to my bookshelves for music. The beam is now only used for podcasts or bgm.
One more thing, the volume level resets to 0 randomly across different apps on my 2 year Sony tv. Annoying but still bearable.
very good product but not helping me as require more help with getting more sound quollity
Very happy with the sound quality from this sound bar. Great value for money.
The sound quality is next level for wireless speakers providing amazing bass and clarity, plenty powerful enough for a medium sized room but would recommend maybe adding a sub or some surrounds or upgrading to the arc if you have a bigger room or are looking for the best experience. This sound bar paired with a sub made a massive difference as it allowed the beam to focus on mids and highs while offloading the lows onto the sub.
Sonos although expensive provides high quality and the beam is no exception, it feels premium and solid with no vibrations or unwanted noises during use. My only criticism on quality would be that the Matte finish on the top does collects oily fingerprints but a occasional clean with a cloth sorts it out.
Setting up is a breeze you just plug it in and once you’ve setup your Sonos account on the app it walks you through the process and is super quick. I had a little issue pairing the one SLs but found that plugging the beam in to an Ethernet port solved any connection issues but once setup has proved very reliable.
If you’re considering entering the Sonos home cinema world the beam is a great choice and you won’t be disappointed. Would recommend to anyone looking for that great cinema experience at home without the hassle of running wires across the room and looking a mess.
Replaced dead Bose Solo, twice the price but multiple times better value. Great sound, detailed speech and music, Alexa and Sonos voice control, new experience for films
It took a bit of fiddling to add two Play:1’s in as rear speakers – I thought originally that I needed to have them “pre-configured” as a Stereo Pair – I’ll save someone some confusion – you don’t! Just leave them “separate” and add them as rears in the app 🙂
Other than that, the sound quality is awesome, and I just need to save up for a Sub now!
A Quality soundbar that provides Dolby Atmos sound on a suitable tv and can be controlled by the Sonos app on a phone. The sound can also be controlled by pairing up remote controls.
Noch zu erwhnen ist die Trueplayeinstellung, aktuell nur bers Iphone einzustellen aber hier wird der Klang noch passend auf den Raum zugeschnitten und man hrt auch ein Raum weiter “fast” nichts mehr, die Nachbarn werden sich also freuen….
Paired with 2 Sonos 1’s this works great in our lounge for surround sound. Birds tweeting, bushes rustling, its all there, and the bass sounds really good without a subwoofer.
I have this paired up with a couple of Sonos ones at the rear. I use for both TV and music. I think it sounds very good for it’s size. So much tidier than have an AV amp with 3 speakerscat the front and the associated wiring. Amazon music sounds good through it too with the rearscset to ambient.
This I my 3rd soundbar.
1st Jvc with sub 70 cheap and OK ish better than tv. Got fed up of separate remote and adjusting settings for different channels.
2nd Sony 130 to work with TV remote. No sub. Not bad but the speech disappeared on some films. It seemed like films and drama trying to push speech through a centre speaker that didn’t exist, and the speech would go quiet.
Finally, encouraged by other reviews that said speech was better, got the Sonos Beam2. (From Sonos website)
This soundbar has the sound that a TV should have as standard. Beautifully balanced.
Watching normal BBC or ITV (gardeners world etc) gives normal stereo clear tones. The TV can be turned down quite low and still hear perfectly. HD channels eg BBC HD, broadcasts 5.1 on some of its content and the Sonos kicks in and lifts it to the next level.
Netflix doesn’t currently have 5.1 Dolby through its App but does when delivered through supported TV or Amazon firestick. Disney has 5.1. Paramount doesn’t.
I borrowed a friend’s iPhone to setup trueplay although I think because my room is 22 foot long and the TV is in one corner, I don’t get the full Atmos effect. However in comparison to my other soundbars, this is amazing. There is enough sub base to make action scenes exciting and tumping and still hear the speech! The sound is thrown out into the room to good effect, but not overpowering, my wife and I can still talk without being drowned out by the higher volume.
I like how I’ve paired my sony remote with the bar. I like that the bar acts as a google home (or Alexa) you can tell it to turn the volume down a bit. I like that youtube music can be streamed through the Internet connection in the sonos app.
I don’t like that the bar is sooo good, I’m now looking at Subs and rear speakers! Yes it is expensive, but wish I’d had this in the first place and not wasted 200 on other tech.
Other things that might be helpful, I have it plugged into hdmi Arc not eArc. It still delivers Dolby Atmos as my old TV supports Dolby digital plus.
It is a compact small bar that packs a punch on its own. Possibly comparable to high end TVs. But if like me, you are happy with your 1080p display and not ready to upgrade, then you can’t go wrong with this.
product looks good
sound is clear but spacial effect is really minimum and there is no bass
for the same price I should have bought a bar with a separate bass speake
I decided to go for the Generation 2 after reading several magazine articles. I found it difficult to hear some of the softly spoken dialogue on the television which seems to be in vogue nowadays with my original Beam. The new speaker configuration has now made it much easier to follow what is being said. My beam is linked to two sonos 2 speakers to provide surround sound, this is also much better than before. Amazon’s price is the best I could find anywhere and next day delivery was included. I couldn’t be more pleased, not a moments regret. In addition my wife is really pleased with the results as well.
Surprising sound quality and bass response for its size. Haven’t had chance to test the atmos yet. ‘Enhanced speech mode’ and ‘late night mode’ for when watching TV. Good connectivity, easy setup.
A couple of small bugs (app not finding bar, volume up/down getting stuck on) that will hopefully be fixed in software updates. Nothing that would stop me buying the product.
Interested to add the sub in the near future.
Great sound, however it brought my entire network to a snails pace and eventually to a halt. Initially installed using a WiFi connection but it caused havoc , grinding the network to a halt. My installation engineers said they were aware Sonos products could and do flood your network with broadcasts if connected via WiFi, as the Sonos Beam is designed to be. Of course Sonos deny this even though the fix they recommend is to install Sonos Connect and create a dedicated wireless network specifically for your Sonos system. I had to hard wire my Sonos Beam to a repeater as my router was to far away.
Good product neat design. No Bluetooth . Not a problem because it has Apple AirPlay
Incredible sound especially when linked to play 1’s and the sub. Movie quality sound now.
Bought direct from Sonos – I can thoroughly recommend this soundbar as it really is very very good. Well worth using an iPhone for the Truplay setup too. My only niggle is the poorly designed power cable which is really loose and frequently falls out of the back of the soundbar. Fortunately, if we can’t hear any sound now we immediately check the cable and 99 times out of 100 that’s the problem. Still, somewhat annoying and a bit poor for a 400+ bit of kit.
Difficult to set up but once got everything sorted brilliant.
I have had my LG OLED for 5 months now. Didn’t know what I was missing till I decided to get this SONOS Beam. My Movies and games sound different . Be warned*** . You will end up splashing out on Surround sound (I got Ikea/Sonos Speakers ). Now eyeing the Sonos Sub .
This soundbar is superb, bottom line.
I was looking for a soundbar for my flat living room which is not very big – and wanted something that was compact, of good quality and had the ability to expand the speaker system in the future if I were to move somewhere with a larger living room.
The gen 2 does not disappoint. The sound is amazing and is night and day compared to the stock speakers from my BUSH 49 inch TV.
The app works really well and while I was originally put off by there not being bluetooth functionality, the compatibility with airplay makes it even easier to connect music from your phone to the soundbar, at any given time (as long as you are on the same WIFI).
Only CON I can think of is that there is a slight delay in response time when I adjust the volume, but I am not sure if that is the fault of the soundbar, my WIFI or my average TV.
Overall, I would highly recommend if you are looking for a soundbar that 1) doesn’t take up too much room (i.e. no subwoofer or large design); 2) is not at a ridiculous price point (albeit it is not cheap); 3) has amazing sound; 4) is Dolby Atmos compatible; and 5) gives you the ability to add on other speakers/subwoofers in the future.
Excellent sound quality and build quality is amazing.. not the cheapest soundboard, but you definitely get what you pay fo
Product arrived as described. Easy set up and you should complete the auto tune set up for the room that you place the Sonos Gen 2 in.
A Fabulous speaker especially when adding the One SL surround speakers.
The only issue was getting Alexa to work, one enabled in the songs app and then in the Alexa skills app.
Alexa would respond but no content would play. The answer after much searching is to go to Alexa and disable the Sonos skill then re enable it. The Alexa app then functions perfectly.
Sonos should highlight this in the set up Q&A’s, hence only 4 stars
I was disappointed with the Beam when I first installed it. My expectations were greater than the bar. Stereo separation seemed poor, with everything sounding like it was coming from the centre of the bar. As for Atmos, you can forget that. It can play Atmos but it can’t DO Atmos. Not even close. Regretting my purchase slightly, I was going to return the Beam and buy the Arc instead, when someone said add surrounds.
So I bought 2 Symphonic from IKEA. According to a breakdown I watched, these speakers are half the price of Sonos Rears but are essentially the same item, just in a different body.
I added the Surrounds to the Beam – a simple process – and boom what a difference they have made. The Beam offloads the processor cycles used for the surround effects and uses them for Left, Centre & Right. Separation now sounds great, even Atmos has some life now. I’d absolutely recommended the Beam WITH Surrounds, not without.
There’s no remote control but you can adjust the volume with your tv remote, or via the excellent Sonos App. The App also allows you to add Spotify etc and even a SMB Nas Drive.
Not inexpensive with surrounds added but what a world of difference it has made. Recommended.
The sound on this is incredible. We bought this as often couldn’t hear dialog from our TV speakers. The Beam has solved the problem and taken sound to the next level. I’ve since paired a couple of Play 1 speakers as surrounds and it’s like having a home cinema. Highly recommend!
It was worth every penny, the sound quality is very good
If you are thinking about this, just buy it, you will be amazed.
Easy to Install and easy to setup.
Like the Fact it doesn’t come with remote and utilises the TV’s own remote.
Would recommend anyone buying a big new fancy TV.
Added the surround speakers and definitely compliment system immensely.
We had a Cambridge Audio sound base with built in subwoofer which is around 10 years old, so thought it was time to upgrade.
One of the main issues is that our new living room is not a simple rectangle shaped room, so the sound was “lost” in certain parts of the room. I have to say that Sonos does wonders especially with their room tuning feature.
Enjoying it very much so far, I’m not an audiophile, but I enjoyed Spotify/Eurovision/football and the sound is very good.
For me the biggest plus is that it doesn’t break the bank (Sonos Beam is probably better but it’s just a bit much for me at the moment), but there is a possibility to upgrade the sound system by adding additional speakers or a subwoofer when you feel like it or have the money to do so.
Easy to set up and brilliant sound. No remote ,you use a smart phone. No blue tooth but great connection via WiFi if you wish to play music off of your phone. Speech enhancement is very clear.
Ordered this to replace Sky Soundbox as the speech on a lot of programmes these days seems to be either muffled or drowned out by sound effects, I must say this is a vast improvement even without speech enhancement turned on, great sound quality all round, crisp, clear and room filling, the effects seem to work well in our average sized living room, music is just fine with this bar obviously not up to top of the range equipment, bass is good enough for me but I don’t really go in for heavy bass type music, have seen a few complaints about the Sonos 2 app, I’ve not had any problems with it at all, easy set up and does what it’s supposed to do. Can use your tv remote to control volume, it will work with the Sky Q remote but it has to be the one with the blue microphone button it won’t work with the other type as I think they are not IR.
Having read all the reviews and seen The Beam Gen2 demoed in a store, I knew it was a great TV sound bar. What I didn’t know was what an extraordinary music speaker it is. My living room is not big so I don’t have room for lots of ‘stuff”. I listen to a lot of music, mainly acoustic blues, folk and Americana. The Beam is absolutely PERFECT for my needs. It is detailed, musical and above all brings a wonderful sense of spaciousness to the music I play.
Sure it is expensive for a sound bar but it is not expensive for a TV sound system that is absolutely brilliant AND an even better hi-fi system than my previous separates system.
A wonderful surprise and a really great buy.
The only big problem with the speaker is you can’t set it properly unless you have a Apple iPhone which is a shameful when you should be able to do with the app you have to download
Sonos fan boy. Have a couple of One’s in the house already. Debating on the Beam 2 for six months. Shouldn’t have doubted it. Sound quality is INCREDIBLE. Even regular Spotify sounds better not to mention Dolby Atmos content and general tv sound. Wow. Easy to set up, easy to use, sounds superb. Worth the money. You won’t regret it!
I have just received the Sonos Beam Gen 2 and I am blown away by how good this is paired with 2 Sonos 1’s. This has replaced a Panasonic surround system which I have loved but after 10 years has now packed in. They old system had a centre speaker, 2 front speaks, 2 rear speakers and a sub, but the Sonos set up even without a sub in my opinion is far better! Very pleased with purchasing after milling over the price for a few weeks, but we’ll worth it. Again in my opinion you need the 2 Sonos 1’s to give you that full immersive sound, the sub is not essential. My other half complained about the bass before, she has now stated that the Sonos system is even worse (or better depending on which side of the fence you sit!). Pricey I know, but it puts a smile on my face every time I turn the TV on. Hope this review helps!
Very simple to set up. Definitely improved the sound of my TV making watching more enjoyable. Design and colour complements my TV and cabinet.
Easy setup, uses TV remote, so no additional remote to misplace. Can play music using voice commands with Alexa. Setting for speech, which was important to me as my hearing declines with age. All around great performance at a modest price.
Very simple to install and use and a massive improvement on my TV sound. I think I would need the bass speaker and the full surround sound to be very happy. A good product though well worth it.
Excellent sound enhancing LG tv and easy to use instructions
After weeks of researching everything pointed towards the Sonos Beam Gen 2 for my price range. The Dolby Atmos on this is surreal, intense, deep and interactive. No one can compete with this soundbar in this price range, the only way you’ll get a better soundbar is by spending 800+. My cats reaction when Dolby atmos is on is funny because they have no idea where the sound is coming from, just shows how good Sonos mimics atmos from one soundba
No dislikes. A vast improvement on tinny tv sound. I would recommend it highly. Also very good when listening to music .
This is a fantastic product.
I thought that as the sound bar is compact it could effect the sound.
The sound is excellent and not compromised in any way.
I would defiantly recommend this product for all users
Tuning with the app also ad’s a little touch as well 🙂 and your able to adjust the volume better with iOS over Android for some bizarre reason?
After hearing both the Bose soundbar 300 and this Sonos beam 2 in my local store I went with the Sonos.. The Sonos for me just sounded better with more bass so I bought it. I have no complaints, I am very happy with it. For its size it literally blew me away. I already had an old Sonos play 1 so I bought a second used one online for cheap. Let me tell you it is amazing. I really love my new setup. Anyone thinking of getting one go for it. The sound is crystal clear with nice base. Dialogue mode is pretty sweet also. can’t wait for the rumoured sub mini.. highly recommend
After much research I settled on this Sonos.
The Beam was incredibly easy to set up. Unboxing was straightforward thanks to fuss-free Apple-style packaging. Connected to TV and downloaded the Sonos app from the App Store (iOS). The menu took me through the process of adding the device step by step and within about 5 minutes I had sound.
Put it to the test on some movie trailers. First was Le Mans 66, then Shang-Chi, The Legend of the Ten Rings, then the new Dune film. Reason I did this was to test if the Dolby Atmos function made any difference. I don’t think I can make use of the Dolby Atmos setting yet on this Beam as my current TV, which is an LG 55SM8600PLA, doesn’t have eArc connection which, from my research appears necessary for Dolby Atmos. I may be wrong on that so check it out. I am about to change telly to the LG OLED55B16LA which I know does have eArc so I will hopefully have the Dolby Atmos up and running soon.
But regardless of Dolby, I can tell you that the sound on this sound bar is simply fantastic. The sound is clear and natural. Doesn’t sound muddy or over engineered. Bass is punchy and rich (and I admit to being a bit of a bass-head). So much so that I’m thinking I don’t need to spend the additional 749 on the Sonos subwoofer. Bass is still good at low volume, but obviously better at higher volumes.
Only two negatives I can think of is a lack of physical remote and no Bluetooth connection. Neither were dealbreakers for me. I may add a couple of the Sonos IKEA side speakers that others have recommended. Delighted with this purchase. I’m a Sonos convert now (something else to spend money on!). Hit the helpful button if you found this review helpful.
he basic sound is fine, but you are expected to control it via an app and I found this app less than useful and there was no clear way that I could find to simply change the treble or bass.
Though the fact it had a network connection meant an update was easy
Excellent quality and value. A great sound and so easy to set up. Highly recommended.
I live in an upside down house with the kitchen, dining snd lounge area upstairs. It measures 25 ft wide by 25 ft length by 25 ft high. Without the Sonos Beam 2, the dialogue from the TV was ‘ lost’ at times. With the Sonos Beam 2, the dialogue is so much clearer.
I wasn’t sure that this item would solve my dynamic problem , but it has in regard to TV watching
I have a Sonos speaker for music within the room and with the Beam, music is even better.
Looks wise , the Sonos Beam is minimal and contemporary looking. Perfect .
The sound is superb, it replaced a much larger system and is amazing. The speech enhance feature is spot on. Very Pleased with this purchase.
Has considerably improved the output from my television. Compatibility with iOS and other Apple speakers in the same room was an added bonus.
Lovely soundbar sleek and powerful, I have coupled up with two gen 2 ones, the sound is truly amazing.
I have personally tested and experienced the Beam Gen 2 Dolby Atmos effect. I liked it a lot. Love the Sonos Multi-room function as well. Will recommend everyone to go for Sonos if you are comparing with other audio brands. Now I’m tempted by the Sonos Arc. It has the up firing speakers built in.
This is the first smart soundbar that we’ve had. We love it. Highly recommended.
Im in the process of upgrading my TV and sound system and wanted to use the Dolby Atmos feature. I have only just bought the 2nd Gen “Beam” and the sound, as long as its loud, is very good, Apple play works easily and Alexa is just a word away. I am not getting the best from the sound system, just hoping Santa brings me some rear speakers
Great bit of kit with amazing sound for the money. Probably not as good as the Arc but it’s around half the price. Best value
Very easy to set up and link to my existing Sonos play1 speakers. Easy to link to the tv and Blu-ray too . Good surround sound and easily loud enough for our lounge.
if anyones interested i bought the two speakers from Ikea. not from Sonos as they are very expensive, they do the job, they are made by Sonos for Ikea .
Ok.. I’ve a play-bar which is fabulous but not with a vaulted ceiling.. great when I lived in a box but I moved and the ceiling and the play bar just don’t work.. so I took a gamble on the cheaper forward firing Beam (2) (Sonos play 3 surrounds and Sub at the front) it’s perfect! Room 25 by 35 feet. It’s takes a bit of messing to get right but worth it. But I have the play-bar set up too for music play-bar and Beam (2) great for vaulted ceilings.. (though I don’t have the play-bar running for tv sound) I’ve not tried the Arc as it has up firing speakers but for me (hearing loss too) it’s just right!
UPDATE. Whilst just about all music sounds good through the Beam Gen 2, and TV dialogue sounds clear, I’ve hit a problem. I get intermittent echo through my Play 1s since upgrading from the original Beam. I have to turn off surround sound.