Sonos Beam (Gen 2) Now Supports Dolby Atmos

Sonos Elevates Home Theater Experience with Next-Generation Beam Soundbar

For a considerable period, Sonos has been a prominent provider of home theater solutions. However, the company has increasingly focused on enhancing the living room audio experience in recent years. This began with the introduction of the Sonos Beam, a more compact and budget-friendly alternative to the premium Playbar soundbar.

Introducing the Second-Generation Beam

The latest iteration of the Beam, the second-generation model, is now available for purchase at a price of $449, with shipments commencing on October 5th. This represents a $50 increase over the previous generation, aligning with recent price adjustments announced by Sonos. Despite the price adjustment, the new Beam offers significantly improved capabilities compared to its predecessor.

Design and Core Components

Visually, the new Beam closely resembles the original, with the primary aesthetic change being a new perforated polycarbonate grille replacing the cloth front. Internally, it retains the same speaker configuration: a central tweeter, four woofers, and three passive bass radiators.

The key upgrade lies within the processor, which is 40 percent faster. This enhanced processing power unlocks support for a wider range of audio formats.

Dolby Atmos and Expanded Audio Format Support

Notably, the second-generation Beam now supports Dolby Atmos for both movies, television programs, and music. Scott Fink, a Sonos product manager involved in the Beam’s development, explained that the increased CPU performance allowed for improvements to the speaker arrays.

While the individual speaker components remain unchanged, the software coordinating their interaction has been refined. The new Beam features five speaker arrays, an increase from the three found in the older model, with the additional arrays dedicated to enhancing surround sound and height information.

Comparable Audio Capabilities to the Arc

The Beam now supports the same home theater audio formats as the more expensive Sonos Arc – including Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital Plus, and Multichannel PCM. This is facilitated by the inclusion of HDMI eARC connectivity. Sonos anticipates improved dialog clarity due to the enhanced audio processing capabilities, which should also improve the effectiveness of the existing speech enhancement feature.

Enhanced Music Streaming Options

The hardware also expands support for various music formats. Both the Beam and the Arc will soon be compatible with Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos formats available through Amazon Music. This marks the first time Sonos products will natively support a 3D music format, having previously offered support for select HD music services.

When questioned about potential Dolby Atmos support for Apple Music, Sonos refrained from providing a definitive answer. However, they indicated that there are no inherent technical limitations, suggesting that support could be implemented through collaboration between Sonos and Apple.

Seamless Integration and Smart Features

Like other Sonos devices, the new Beam integrates seamlessly with other Sonos speakers for multi-room audio playback. Existing Sonos speakers can also be utilized as surround sound speakers. Trueplay tuning, available on iOS devices, allows users to optimize the speaker’s sound profile for their specific room.

The Beam incorporates far-field microphones for voice control via Alexa or Google Assistant, though voice control is optional and can be disabled using a dedicated mute button. New to this model is NFC technology, simplifying setup by allowing users to connect the speaker to their WiFi network by simply bringing their Sonos app-enabled phone nearby.

A Worthwhile Upgrade?

According to Sonos, the new Beam is likely to be a compelling upgrade primarily for those seeking to incorporate Dolby Atmos into their home theater setup without a substantial investment. Given the Beam’s position as the leading compact soundbar, as reported by NPD data, these enhancements are expected to solidify its market position, even with the price increase.

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Engadget.