SONOS BEAM GEN 2

Since its launch in 2018, the Sonos Beam has won awards in its price category every year since – until, that is, this newest Gen 2 iteration knocked it off its pedestal at this year's Awards. Key to the Beam's success has been a simplicity of design and streamlined functionality that, remarkably for its size, has overcome two of the usual limitations of compact speakers: sonic scale and weight. Sonos proved that it can convincingly deliver Dolby Atmos audio in a larger chassis with the Arc, but we were a little apprehensive about whether that technology could justify its inclusion in a compact soundbar – especially when, unlike the Arc, there are no upward-firing speakers to be found on the Beam Gen 2. The new Beam’s quintet of front-facing drivers is now configured into five separate arrays rather than three. When watching Atmos content, two of these arrays are dedicated to reproducing overhead and surround sounds. With enhanced processor power, the Gen 2 uses psychoacoustic HRTF (head-related transfer function) technology to give the impression of height without needing to get vertical. This being a Sonos product, the Beam Gen 2’s ability to integrate into a wireless multiroom system is fundamental to its design. The Sonos S2 app is where you’ll find access to Trueplay room calibration technology, a two-band EQ, as well as confirmation of which audio codec you are currently receiving. You will also need it to connect to other Sonos products to build a surround system. Dolby Atmos is really the headline feature here. Can Sonos achieve overhead sound without any height drivers? Well, genuine overhead sounds are perhaps a stretch too far, but there’s more to Dolby Atmos than helicopters, and the Beam Gen 2 handles the format better than almost any similarly priced soundbar. Atmos allows a film’s production mixers to place sounds and music as discrete objects within a soundfield, and having the ability to decode it means that users can watch movies with a more compelling soundtrack, be it a sedate drama or car-flipping blockbuster Heightened drama When listening to Atmos films with the Beam Gen 2 there is tangible motion, depth and space, which heightens the drama and sense of immersion. The soundstage is expansive and we try pairing the new Beam both with larger 55in and 65in screens, as well as a more modest 43in set – and it enhances the cinematic scale and viewing experience for all three. In the opening of Roma, in Atmos, the sound design often leads the camera beyond the extremities of the image before the camera pans to catch up with it. The Beam Gen 2 projects the changing sonic perspective incredibly well, with accuracy and clarity. Whether it’s a chirping bird, a car or a voice, there’s remarkable consistency across the complete soundfield, and seamless handover between drivers – which we have to say doesn’t always happen when a Dolby Atmos soundbar has upward drivers to contend with. In the scene where the father painstakingly parks his car in the family’s narrow driveway while blasting classical music, the rapid editing from interior to exterior, above the car to below the bumper, is expertly matched by the Beam Gen 2’s rendering of space and dynamics. And despite the lack of upward drivers, remarkably with low shots there’s a real sense of the engine idling away up above. In BohemianRhapsody's Live Aid recreation, the Beam Gen 2 does a great job of representing the Atmos sound design as the camera’s viewpoint roams about the stage and each instrument or monitor comes into sonic focus. The sound of each instrument feels natural and unprocessed, no matter where it sits in the shot. When the camera flies over the audience there’s a real, wide-sweeping sensation of movement and expanse. To test the Beam’s handling of detail and timbre we stream Amy Winehouse’s ‘Tears Dry On Their Own’ with its lush ’60s-style arrangement. In the sparse opening, with only woodblocks, celeste and wind players, the transients are sparkling and well defined while the vocal is open and present. In the low mids, the brass feels rich. There is a greater depth of tone here than from the first gen Beam, which has more of a hands-off approach to any frequencies beyond its reach. The Beam Gen 2 not only lives up to the high bar set by its predecessor but exceeds it. The decision by Sonos to use processing power and forward-facing drivers to recreate Dolby Atmos has paid off, with a more capable and effective handling of the format than many more expensive soundbars with upward-firing drivers. As its 2021 Award attests, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 is the best sounding Dolby Atmos soundbar at this price point and even a couple of notches above, with streaming smarts, expert handling of motion, lots of detail, and a compact design.