Beam (Gen 2). The compact smart soundbar for TV, music and more. (White)

The media could not be loaded. Couldn’t be happier.Here are my highlights:• Easy setup with my existing pair of Era 100s.• Sound quality is excellent — not just for movies and TV shows, but also optimised for music. This is a big improvement over my previous leading-brand system, which was good for movies but terrible for music.• Digital signal processing (DSP) is probably my favourite feature. If you’re playing music, podcasts, Twitch streams, or any other stereo media, the Sonos system applies a pseudo-surround effect. The DSP is genuinely high quality — it reminds me of the psychoacoustic effects you get with good car stereos, where the system can position the sound (e.g. lifting floor-mounted speakers to ear level).• The result is an incredibly immersive experience. The sound truly envelops you. For example, while listening to my ripped vinyl collection, the system cleverly displaces sound — perhaps by manipulating phase? You’ll hear a sound with a delay effect on it emerge first from the Beam, then a fraction of a second later from the Era 100s as the delays fade out. It’s an amazing effect that stays very faithful to the original intent of the artist — very tastefully done.• When watching Twitch, for example, the streamer’s voice is perfectly centred, while background stereo information is distributed through the surrounds. It’s natural and non-fatiguing, unlike some systems where surround processing can sound confusing or artificial.• I really cannot overstate how well Sonos has executed this. As someone experienced with VST plugins and DSP, I can say they’ve absolutely nailed immersive playback — whether the source is surround-encoded or simple stereo.• Music playback has a reel-to-reel-like quality — subtly enhancing harmonics and softening the sound, making it much less fatiguing. I find I can listen for much longer without becoming restless.A couple of setup notes:• The process was mostly easy, but the instructions could have been clearer about certain things — for example, not turning WiFi off. I initially connected via Ethernet and assumed I could disable WiFi, but the Beam uses its own WiFi to connect to the Era 100s. If you turn off WiFi, you’ll get choppy audio.• During room optimisation, the system asks you to sit in your main listening position and mark speaker positions when prompted. On a couple of calibration attempts, the chime bounced between speakers unexpectedly — possibly a bug or a “skill issue” on my part. It worked fine on the third try.Overall, I really love this system. It works brilliantly for both TV/movies and for music — especially if, like me, you enjoy an enhanced, musical sound.As someone who listens to flat studio monitors all day, it’s refreshing to have a more musical, engaging listening experience at home.Perhaps the biggest surprise is how incredible non-surround sources sound — 5.1 material sounds fantastic, but even plain stereo (2.0) sources are deeply immersive.If I had to sum it up in one word: immersive.Setup for review:Sonos Beam connected by hdmi (arc) worked as should on my Samsung UE43AU9000 TV.Connected to 2 s Era 100.App via Apple tablet and phone.

Bought the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) to replace an LG sound bar and wireless subwoofer that had inexplicably stopped connecting wirelessly. My criteria for a replacement was that it had to be connected physically, have decent bass, be compact, expandable and under £500.After much research I settled on this Sonos.The Beam was incredibly easy to set up. Unboxing was straightforward thanks to fuss-free Apple-style packaging. Connected to TV and downloaded the Sonos app from the App Store (iOS). The menu took me through the process of adding the device step by step and within about 5 minutes I had sound.Put it to the test on some movie trailers. First was Le Mans 66, then Shang-Chi, The Legend of the Ten Rings, then the new Dune film. Reason I did this was to test if the Dolby Atmos function made any difference. I don’t think I can make use of the Dolby Atmos setting yet on this Beam as my current TV, which is an LG 55SM8600PLA, doesn’t have eArc connection which, from my research appears necessary for Dolby Atmos. I may be wrong on that so check it out. I am about to change telly to the LG OLED55B16LA which I know does have eArc so I will hopefully have the Dolby Atmos up and running soon.But regardless of Dolby, I can tell you that the sound on this sound bar is simply fantastic. The sound is clear and natural. Doesn’t sound muddy or over engineered. Bass is punchy and rich (and I admit to being a bit of a bass-head). So much so that I’m thinking I don’t need to spend the additional £749 on the Sonos subwoofer. Bass is still good at low volume, but obviously better at higher volumes.Only two negatives I can think of is a lack of physical remote and no Bluetooth connection. Neither were dealbreakers for me. I may add a couple of the Sonos IKEA side speakers that others have recommended. Delighted with this purchase. I’m a Sonos convert now (something else to spend money on!). Hit the helpful button if you found this review helpful.

I changed my tv for a Sony Bravia two weeks before I took delivery of the Beam 2 soundbar.The tv connected to wifi without a problem. The Beam 2 would not connect. Sonos Support eventually got it connected, but it was a real problem.A week later I bought the Sonos Sub Mini. Would it connect - not a chance!It took Sonos Support almost two hours to sort it out. After trying out various scenarios they decided the problem lay with my router, a BT Smart Hub 2, saying that it was because it's a Dual AC wifi, and the Sonos was having a problem connecting to the 5Ghz band. When we changed over to the 2.4Ghz band it connected without a problem and has been fine over the past month with no drop outs.I am very pleased with the Beam and the Sub Mini. They are very well constructed and sound great. I would recommend the Sonos to anyone but be mindful to connect to the 2.4Ghz band if you have a Smart Hub 2.