Sonos Beam (2021, 2nd Gen) review: Compact soundbar delivers plenty of clout

(Pocket-lint) - Sonos launched its Beam soundbar successful 2018, offering large dependable successful a compact form. Three years on, it's launched an upgrade to this smaller-scale soundbar - arsenic the bigger Sonos Arc launched in-between the 2 - successful the signifier of the Sonos Beam (2nd Gen). 

Despite the second-gen Beam offering the aforesaid dependable architecture arsenic the archetypal - and galore of the aforesaid features excessively - the 2021 exemplary adds enactment for virtual Dolby Atmos object-based sound, there's a caller processor, and a somewhat updated look too. 

• Sonos Beam (2nd Gen) vs Sonos Beam (1st Gen): What's the difference?

So is determination consciousness successful buying a 2021 Sonos Beam alternatively of the excellent-yet-pricier Sonos Arc, oregon should a antithetic marque with much transmission outputs for further enhanced situation show beryllium connected your buying list?

Compact, updated design

• Dimensions: 69 x 651 x 100mm / Weight: 2.8kg
• Finishes: Black oregon white
• Capacitive controls
• Plastic grille

The second-gen Sonos Beam looks astir identical to the original, though the eagle-eyed among you volition spot 1 quality successful the 2 models: the talker grille. The archetypal Beam has a brushed worldly covering - which loves particulate - portion the 2021 exemplary has a integrative talker grille, overmuch similar the Sonos Arc.

That integrative grille delivers a overmuch much seamless look - adjacent though we emotion the archetypal plan excessively - and it is overmuch easier to cleanable too. Aside from the grille, everything other is conscionable arsenic it was. 

The beauteous compact plan allows the Beam to beryllium subtly beneath your TV - unless you person 1 of those peculiarly low-slung models - and the brushed curves astir the edges marque it a large summation to immoderate surviving country oregon bedroom. The somewhat tapered bottommost besides adds to the subtle design, giving the quality of floating erstwhile placed connected a TV unit.

On the apical of the 2021 Beam you'll find the capacitive controls, which dwell of play/pause and measurement buttons, and there's besides a power to crook the microphone connected and off. On the rear you'll find the connections and ports, with HDMI (now supporting HDMI eARC), optical out, Ethernet, and the powerfulness larboard each tucked distant successful an enclave.

The Beam's plan is considered - overmuch similar the remainder of the Sonos portfolio. A talker doesn't person to beryllium a large achromatic box. Instead it tin look large connected show and the Beam achieves this.

Plenty of features 

• Virtual Dolby Atmos
• Apple AirPlay 2 support
• Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa
• Support for implicit 100 euphony services

The Sonos Beam doesn't conscionable look large though - it is besides packed afloat of features. Starting with everything the archetypal Beam offers, the second-gen exemplary isn't conscionable a TV soundbar, but a standalone talker too, moving brilliantly arsenic portion of a Sonos setup. Even if you don't person immoderate different Sonos speakers, though, the Beam volition much than clasp its ain arsenic a euphony talker erstwhile you're not utilizing it for enhancing your TV sound. 

There's Trueplay tuning connected board, allowing you to easy tune your Beam successful accordance with the country it is successful - good worthy the 3 minutes it takes to implicit - and there's besides enactment for implicit 100 euphony services, arsenic good arsenic Sonos Radio. 

The second-generation Beam besides offers a prime of Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa dependable assistants, allowing you to power immoderate astute location devices you mightiness have, arsenic good arsenic inquire questions oregon power different Sonos speakers with your voice.

Other standard Sonos features see the quality to set the equaliser (EQ) settings to suit your preferences, play antithetic oregon the aforesaid euphony crossed assorted Sonos speakers astatine the aforesaid time, arsenic good arsenic acceptable alarms. There's enactment for Apple AirPlay 2 arsenic well, and determination are a mates of other functions with the Sonos soundbars, similar a code enhancement feature, and a nighttime mode feature.

In presumption of caller features compared to the archetypal Beam soundbar, the second-generation exemplary adds enactment for Virtual Dolby Atmos, which is wherefore it has immoderate other processing powerfulness too, and there's besides NFC built-in for speedy setup.

Hardware and performance

• HDMI eARC, optical in
• Five Class-D amplifiers
• Four elliptical midwoofers
• Three passive radiators
• One centre tweeter

It's worthy mentioning that the enactment for Dolby Atmos is virtual. You get precisely the aforesaid dependable architecture arsenic the archetypal Sonos Beam - meaning 5 class-D amplifiers, 4 elliptical midwoofers, 3 passive radiators and 1 centre tweeter. What's antithetic is the second-generation exemplary has 5 talker arrays alternatively of the 3 recovered connected the archetypal Beam.

The 2 further talker arrays are dedicated to situation and tallness information. Time and frequency-based psychoacoustic techniques are applied to separate betwixt receptor and overhead level, allowing the 2021 Beam to connection Dolby Atmos' tallness output. 

As Sonos hasn't added immoderate upfiring speakers to the Beam, it doesn't present the aforesaid Dolby Atmos acquisition you'll get from the larger and much important Sonos Arc. Or, indeed, different soundbar setups with adjacent much transmission configurations.

That said, the virtual Atmos acquisition the Beam does connection is brilliant. We tested it with a fig of films, including Bohemian Rhapsody, wherever successful the last 20 minutes of the movie - the portion wherever Queen's classical Live Aid acceptable astatine Wembley is recreated - the Beam does an fantabulous occupation of delivering some the tallness and immersion the country offers. We besides watched Baby Driver, which has immoderate fantabulous scenes that contiguous what Dolby Atmos is capable to achieve.

Music wise, we tested the second-generation Beam with plentifulness of tracks and it does a fantastic job. It's got an fantabulous soundstage for its size, wide capable to capable the country and coping good not lone with precocious dependable tones, but bass too. In information our lone existent ailment is that the Beam needs to beryllium turned up to acquisition its imaginable - it isn't rather arsenic bully astatine debased volumes.

Add a mates of Sonos One SL surrounds and the Sonos Sub to the Beam and you'll beryllium blown distant by the acquisition this compact soundbar is capable to deliver, particularly erstwhile you're watching thing with Dolby Atmos support.

Writing by Britta O'Boyle. Editing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 30 September 2021.