If you want a compact soundbar that makes a big, balanced and convincingly hefty sound, you’ll struggle to do better than this. Which makes the Sonos Beam Gen 2 a success of the rather qualified kind. Certainly you’ll never be fooled into thinking sound originates from above you. The Gen 2 undoubtedly presents a taller soundstage than the model it replaces, at no cost to the width or depth it can generate – but, if we’re being kind, then it’s just not very tall. Yes, this soundbar is an expansive and immersive listen, especially when you take its physical dimensions into account. To be absolutely blunt, it just isn’t all that impressive. If there’s a shortcoming – and, let’s face it, there’s almost always a shortcoming where products like this are concerned – it’s in the way the Beam Gen 2 attempts to deliver the ‘height’ element of a Dolby Atmos spatial audio soundtrack. To further sweeten the deal, Sonos is confident that compatibility with Amazon Music’s Dolby Atmos and 24bit/48kHz ‘high-def’ digital audio files will be incorporated “soon”. Stereo separation as everyone understands it is in short supply, of course, but in every other respect the Beam Gen 2 transfers its many virtues (of tonal balance, of frequency integration, of dynamic potency) from movie soundtracks to music. And there’s the sort of dynamic potency here that can literally make you jump – the Beam Gen 2 can switch from ‘whispered exposition’ to ‘colossal explosion’ in an instant.Īnd if you don’t want your TV room to be a big old den of speakers, it’s a very acceptable source of music, too. Tonality is expertly judged, with just the tiniest suggestion of heat in the midrange preventing it being utterly neutral. And despite that single tweeter being surrounded by bigger, beefier drivers, the top of the frequency range has proper substance and bite. It’s able to project dialogue clear of the general maelstrom, and piles on the finest details that make voices distinct and characterful. Yes, you can team it with a subwoofer if you hate your neighbours, but the Beam Gen 2 is capable of solid, deep and well-controlled low frequencies all by itself. S2 is hugely important to the whole Sonos experience. Sonos has included Trueplay, so if you simply meander around your listening room clutching your smartphone the Beam Gen 2 will set itself up to best suit your specific environment. It makes it simple to incorporate your favourite music streaming services, and to fiddle around the edges of the soundbar’s EQ settings. The app makes it simple to add a subwoofer and/or a couple of rear-channel speakers to the Beam Gen 2 set-up, or to involve it in your Sonos multi-room system. Apple AirPlay 2 is available to, if you fancy controlling your soundbar that way, or it can be trained to respond to your TV’s remote control.Īnd then there’s the Sonos S2 control app, the efficacy of which can’t really be overstated. Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are both available, and the Beam Gen 2 is sharp-eared enough to respond to your commands even during the throes of a big Hollywood action set-piece. So there are a few touch-controls on the top surface of the soundbar, as well as a couple of mics for use with voice assistants. Simplicity is a big part of why the company is well on its way to ubiquity, after all. Before peeking behind that particular curtain, though, it’s worth congratulating Sonos on just what a straightforwardly usable device the Beam Gen 2 is.
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