Meet Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

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Meet Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

We’re happy to introduce you to Sonos Beam (Gen 2), a new version of our industry-leading compact smart soundbar for TV, music, gaming and more. The new Beam delivers an upgraded, more immersive sound experience with greater depth and clarity, as well as support for Dolby Atmos. 

Enjoy panoramic sound on the latest generation of Beam, now with support for Dolby Atmos

The new Beam is upgrading the home theater experience. Compatible with more than 100 streaming services available in the Sonos app, you can expect exciting improvements across sound, design and packaging, including:

3D Audio with Dolby Atmos: Immersive sound technology that places you in the center of the action, whether it’s experiencing planes as if they were flying overhead, hearing footsteps moving across the room, or feeling the score all around you.

 

Enhanced Sound, Same Size: With more processing power and newly developed phased speaker arrays, Beam steers and localizes sound around the room for a lifelike experience. The speaker is also now compatible with HDMI eARC on your TV, so you can experience your favorite movies and games in even higher definition sound with support for new audio formats.

Sleeker Design: An updated polycarbonate grille that’s precisely perforated allows the speaker to sound great and blend seamlessly into your home, just like Sonos Arc. 

Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

 

Easy, More Secure Set-Up: With just two cables and new NFC capabilities, setup is seamless and will have you listening in minutes. Simply open the Sonos app, follow a few prompts, and tap your phone to Beam.

 

Sustainable Sound: The new Beam features sustainable packaging, including a premium uncoated kraft paper, a gift box made of 97% sustainable paper, and no single use foam.

 

More Ways to Play: Sonos Adds Support for New Services and Audio Formats 

Launching later this year in select markets, Sonos plans to support Amazon Music’s Ultra High Definition audio, which will allow listeners to hear tracks in lossless audio up to 24-bit / 48kHz on their Sonos speakers, as well as Dolby Atmos Music, an immersive audio format that breaks the boundaries of traditional studio recordings and puts you inside the song, revealing every detail of the music. Available at no extra cost to Amazon Music Unlimited customers in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Japan, Ultra HD will be available to listen on all S2 devices, except Play:1, Play:3, Playbase, and Playbar, while Dolby Atmos Music will be available to listen on Arc and Beam (Gen 2).

Sonos also plan to add support for decoding DTS Digital Surround later this year via the S2 platform on Playbar, Playbase, Amp, both generations of Beam, and Arc.

 

Sonos Beam (Gen 2) backside

Beam (Gen 2) is available starting October 5th for $449, €499, £449, NOK4999, SEK5349, DKK3749. You can pre-order today on sonos.com.

Read the full press release on Sonos Beam (Gen 2) here

I have a Gen 1 Beam sitting on the Sonos wall mount. If I upgrade to Gen 2, I’m guessing that the Gen 2 will still fit with the mounting holes in the base of the existing bracket? Have searched but not seen this actually confirmed anywhere.

Hi @eracode,

 

Yes. Beam (Gen 1) and Beam (Gen 2) use the same wall mount fixings, so if you choose to upgrade your new Beam will fit on the existing wall mount :slight_smile:


I have a beam gen 2 coming and have recently upgraded my phone to iPhone 13, will an update be coming out soon for iPhone 13 so I can truplay? 


Sonos has never indicated in advance when TruePlay will come to a specific device. They’re still behind on the previous devices released by Apple, we’ll need to wait and see. 


How does the Beam compare to the Playbar?.

My Playbar is perfect for my situation but when it eventually dies is a Beam a step backwards?.

The Arc is physically too big for where we have our TV in the living room.


Hi @Keithmac 

Read my opinion here regarding the Beam (Gen2) as well as my comparison of it to the Playbar.


Has the Alexa/Google voice volume been fixed in the beam gen 2 as its been over 12 months with the gen 1xand still not fixed 


Currently own the beam Gen1… Does Sonos has any scheme for user to upgrade or so?


Hi @Sam_cy 

Yes - any owners of the Ben (Gen 1) are eligible for a 15% discount (on any Sonos product or bundle) as there is now an upgrade path for that product. Log in at https://www.sonos.com then click on Upgrades, and you’ll see each product you own and can activate the associated discounts there. Each Beam (Gen 1) you own will earn you a separate discount voucher, which is applied to your account and automatically used when you shop.


With the price increases, they should implement DTS, DTS-HD & DTS:X. Add some upfiring rear speakers to their mix and they will be a solid contender then in the home theatre market. 


Hi @Simmz 

We are implementing DTS support on all Sonos Home Theatre products running S2 software soon, though we have no news to share about DTS:X or DTS-HD.

 

Edit: I missed the “no” out of “no news”.


Hi @Corry P 

Thanks for the response, will look forward to the new news, hopefully sooner than later 😁


Hi @Simmz 

Apologies - I accidentally left out the word “no”. I’ve added it above.


I have a 55PUS6704/12 Philips TV that's has an ARC connection , is the beam gen2 going to provide me with Atmos as I know it uses eARC? I've read eARC is backward compatible with ARC.


Hi @Speg 

Below is the answer to your question (and a bit more) :slight_smile:

Do I need a TV that supports HDMI eARC?

No. Beam (Gen 2) can connect to TVs with eARC, ARC, or optical outputs. For greatest compatibility, eARC is recommended.

If you connect to a TV with eARC, the Dolby audio formats supported include Dolby Atmos, TrueHD, MAT, Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby Digital.

If you connect to a TV using ARC, the Dolby audio formats supported are dependent on your TV model and manufacturer. The TV may be capable of sending Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby Digital. An ARC connection cannot support TrueHD or MAT.

If you connect to a TV using the optical adapter, the Dolby audio formats supported are dependent on your TV model and manufacturer. The TV may be capable of sending Dolby Digital. An optical connection cannot support Dolby Atmos, TrueHD, MAT, or Dolby Digital Plus.


Thanks, my TV supports Dolby Atmos so I'm hoping that's good enough


I can’t see Sonos getting into the professional video  and processing HDMI audio as well as HDMU ARC/eARC audio. That wasn’t a hardware change,I didn’t see them getting into DTS either.


I was very happy to read your discussion because it will increase my knowledge.Vat


Wow, nice gouging of UK and European consumers

 

$449 is roughly £324 and €379 at current exchange rates, not £449 and €499 respectively!

 

 

 

 

Just stop.  US prices do not include taxes, whereas UK and Euro prices include VAT and import fees.

Even when adding 20% VAT, it is still 5%-10% cheaper than in the UK or Germany for example.


Does Roam work with Sonos S1?


No.


I purchased a Beam 2 in December and love it. The only issue is that I need a longer HDMI/eARC cable, so that I can hide it inside my existing ‘cord concealer’ which I painted to match the wall.

Is that any special type of HDMI cable, or is it simply an HDMI cable (which is hooked up to eARC and HDMI)?


I purchased a Beam 2 in December and love it. The only issue is that I need a longer HDMI/eARC cable, so that I can hide it inside my existing ‘cord concealer’ which I painted to match the wall.

Is that any special type of HDMI cable, or is it simply an HDMI cable (which is hooked up to eARC and HDMI)?

Pretty much any HDMI cable will do…. Just look for a well built “high speed” one.

 

personally I use Sky TV (uk satellite broadcaster) or Amazon Basic ones. You don’t need expensive gold plated snake oil ones that cost a fortune.


something like this….

 

Amazon Basics Premium-Certified Braided HDMI Cable – Supports Ethernet, 3D, 4K HDR and ARC (4K@60Hz, 18Gbps) - 4.6 m https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B082251QT1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_MMPCAQWV0HKX3128JH46?psc=1

 


I guess I was hoping for a completely redesigned Gen 2 Arc with more than one HDMI port as well as other new features like DTS.

 

*Moderator Note: Removed spam link accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.*


I guess I was hoping for a completely redesigned Gen 2 Arc with more than one HDMI port as well as other new features like DTS.

 

*Moderator Note: Removed spam link accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.*

DTS was added last year to ARC…..

 

https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/dts-on-sonos-arc-is-a-reality-as-of-11-16-21-6862748