Modern games put as much work into their sound as into their graphics, and most of it is lost the moment it leaves a television’s built-in speakers. Footsteps behind you, rain on a tin roof and a line whispered during a firefight all come out as the same thin mid-range. One box under the screen fixes most of that, and Sonos’s is below its usual price right now, as the Beam (2nd gen) soundbar goes from $499 to $359 on Amazon.
Dolby Atmos From Five Drivers and Two Cables
Inside the Beam Gen 2 is an array of five drivers, tuned according to Sonos for strong bass, clear dialogue and a soundstage that spreads beyond the edges of the bar. Dolby Atmos is supported, which Sonos describes as a 3D surround sound effect. I’d pay attention to that last word. With no speakers behind or above you, a single bar creates the impression of height and width through processing, and how convincing it is depends on the room. Even so, the step up from TV speakers is large, in games as much as in films.
Dialogue is the improvement Sonos puts forward, and the one most people notice first with any soundbar. That matters for late sessions, when the rest of the household is asleep, the volume is low and subtitles are the usual fallback. The bar connects to the television by HDMI eARC and can be controlled with the TV’s own remote, so volume works the way it always has and nothing new lands on the coffee table. Before ordering, it is worth checking that your set has an eARC port, to get the full Atmos signal from a console or a streaming app.
When the TV is off, the Beam works as a Sonos speaker in its own right. Music, radio, podcasts and audiobooks stream over Wi-Fi from the major services through the Sonos app, and Apple AirPlay 2 lets an iPhone or a Mac send audio to it directly. Alexa is built in for voice requests, from starting a playlist to switching off a smart light. For a TV stand where the wireless signal is unreliable, the bar also has an Ethernet port. In a small apartment, that makes it the living room’s music system as well as its home theater, one device where there would otherwise be two.
Installation is about as simple as home theater gets. Two cables are involved, and Sonos’s Trueplay tuning then adjusts the sound to the room. The system can grow afterward, with a Sub Mini for deeper bass and a pair of rear speakers for true surround, plus other Sonos speakers around the house for multiroom listening. I should be honest that those additions add up quickly, and that a complete surround setup costs a good deal more than the bar itself. Starting with the Beam alone and deciding later is the sensible route. Amazon also sells professional setup as an add-on for $99, which does not include wall-mounting.
For the soundbar on its own, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 costs $359 on Amazon against a list price of $499, in black or white, as a limited time deal. Sets that bundle the Beam with other Sonos speakers are listed on the same page, and returns are free.
