If your Connect and C:A are gen 1 they can only run S1 software. You’d therefore have to run seperate S1 and S2 systems alongside one another to install the Beam/gen2.

See https://support.sonos.com/s/article/4845 and https://support.sonos.com/s/article/4824

Note that you’d not need to split your existing system. Just create a new S2 system from scratch for the Beam.

An alternative option would be to look around for a Beam/gen1, which could integrate with your existing S1 system. Some retailers still carry stock.

Also consider used, folks are selling older Beams to get the new one.

Main thing with the Gen 2 beam is Atmos capability I believe?.

For me it would be a Gen1 or a Playbar.

Listening to music on our Playbar 5.1 setup now and it really does sound good still all these years later!.

Thanks for the replies. Somewhat disappointing - Hoped for better solution... However, perhaps not all bad news, seems "separate S1 & S2" Apps *MIGHT* work OK. BUT if Beam gen2 creates "2 system solution" then does suggest looking for other brand alternatives might be worthwhile. Unfortunate, would have liked to stay within integrated Sonos family.

Such as? Bear in mind that many competing vendors regularly abandon existing customers whenever they introduce a new product range.

Sonos continues to support and maintain S1. However the latest Sonos products do require S2. The reasons why have been gone over in excruciating detail on other threads. 

By the way, separate S1 & S2 apps/systems will work. There’s no ‘might’ about it. See the links I posted above.

Will work technically but MIGHT not work practically for my needs. But fair enough, I’ll consider using S1 & S2 as an option. As for alternatives, don’t know - New LG OLED in place 1st, evaluate audio and then consider options.

Thanks for the help...

Many users, especially TV watchers, will not even notice that BEAM is on S2 and will not interoperate with S1. The most significant missing features are the ability to Group S1 Rooms with S2 Rooms or play an S1 Line-In on S2..

There is another option to consider; and since I am still in Maverick mode - it needs four miracles, not just the three he needed!

1. The TV has to have audio line out jacks.
2. You need to find a used S1 Connect Amp.
3. You will not be affected by the small lip sync delay - I have never picked out any in my similar set up even after close attention to this.
4. You will not need separate control over the TV dialogue volume relative to what is being heard from the speaker pair.

Given these miracles, following benefits:

1. Low cost especially if you can also find used passive speakers to flank the TV wired to the Connect Amp that has the TV audio out wired to its line in jacks. And if you land decently bass capable units, you will not even miss a Sub for TV/music play.
2. Better sound quality for music play.
3. Sound quality that is at least as good as Beam for TV sound.
4. Will work as an add on zone to your S1 set up. No need of S2.

75ms Line-In delay is perceptible to many people. It certainly is to me. Why else would Sonos have striven to lower the delay in the HT products to ~30ms?

Based upon your own listening experiences with a Beam? 

Besides, the OP was asking about a soundbar, potentially with a view to adding surrounds at a later date. Indeed if he already has a couple of Play:1s he may wish to experiment sooner rather than later.

OP is also asking for options.

I have given up trying to see why the 75ms delay does not jump out at me, even after close watching for the effect of the lag. Why look a gift horse in the mouth? I thought it may be the TV closing down the gap via a delay of its own, but two TVs would be doing this, so I doubt that is what it is. Both are Panasonic TVs of different vintage though. Obviously it is a YMMV thing hence listed as a miracle.

OP has Connect Amp already, so it should be simple to experiment/test for this delay to see if it affects him, all he needs is a temporary pair of passive speakers - or even just the one will suffice, for this test. 

His bigger obstacle may be lack of audio line out jacks on the TV; I see these missing in recent TVs, though in the case of one of mine, the headphone jack serves just as well. I am not even sure all TVs have that today.

Some time ago I tested out a high end Yamaha sound bar with speakers firing in different directions, with adjustable delay settings for the ones that sent out sound that would reflect to the listeners via walls, to see if I can simplify the sound kit for my TV room, replacing the amp + 2 quality speaker set up. 

I wasn’t impressed, so that formed my general assessment about sound bar SQ.

I agree that the Beam may be an exception to this and be far superior to even the high end in the Yamaha line up of about four years ago.

I am sure that OP will check this out for himself.

If the OP ever comes back: I once again looked carefully for any sync issues in my set up and there were none. Track selected was the legendary Ginger Baker 12 minute drum solo on Toad in the Cream Albert Hall reunion in 2005. From the deep drum rolls from the pedalling via the sub, to the video of the hi hats being struck by flashing drum sticks with no lag to hearing them on the tweeters - sync was as good as it is with my bedroom set up that has the TV audio wired to audio in jacks on a powered speaker pair with no wireless capability or DSP of the kind that needs/causes the lag - where it is probably less than the Sonos 30 ms on beam.

So, a gift horse that survives a close look.

As an aside, this was Baker at age 66 - still able to belt it out.

For reference my set up - TV audio out to Connect line in to Yamaha stereo amp analog in, to a speaker pair, a sub, and a third mono speaker run from a second line out jack on the Yamaha to fill the balcony properly.

The TV is from a time - 2011 - when audio out jacks were still part of their feature set. Lack of those may come in the way of even running a simple test for the OP looking for options.

For the resident gurus/experts - there just may be this reason for what I find. To allow for stable group play when I want the TV audio to be piped to the adjacent central core of the apartment, the Connect is wired along with other Sonos units, via LAN cable back to the router. And to avoid conflict with a Echo next to the Connect for the times I want to use Echo for just music play via another line in pair on the Yamaha, the Connect is in WiFi disabled mode.

About a month ago there was a thread suggesting that Sonos has done something quietly to get the 75 ms lag down to almost zero in a mode something like this, although that was supposedly for stand alone units.

FWIW; my set up has worked as described for about the last 18 months.