Sonos Beam (Gen 2)
The gold standard in compact home theater audio, delivering expansive Dolby Atmos sound and crystal-clear dialogue.
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For flat-panel TVs up to 65 inches, the Beam Gen 2 delivers immersive 3D soundscapes, surgical dialogue enhancement, and low 2.68-inch clearance that slips under screens without blocking infrared remotes.
What We Liked
- Class-leading dialogue clarity powered by dedicated center channel acoustics and Speech Enhancement mode
- Virtualized Dolby Atmos creates convincing spatial height and panoramic width from a compact chassis
- Low 2.68-inch height easily clears the bottom bezel of modern low-stand OLED and QLED TVs
- HDMI eARC supports uncompressed multichannel LPCM, Dolby TrueHD, and Dolby Atmos audio formats
- Seamless expansion with Sonos Sub Mini or wireless rear surround speakers (Era 100)
What Could Be Better
- Dolby Atmos height effects are processed psychoacoustically rather than via physical upward-firing drivers
- Trueplay acoustic room calibration requires an iOS device (iPhone or iPad)
Why It Stands Out in Our Analysis
Modern ultra-thin televisions present an inevitable acoustic compromise: as screen bezels shrink, internal speakers are forced into downward- or backward-firing orientations that project muffled dialogue into the wall. The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) directly addresses this by housing four elliptical midwoofers and a central tweeter powered by five discrete Class-D digital amplifiers within a compact 25.6-inch enclosure.
Crucially, the Beam Gen 2 connects via HDMI eARC, providing the high-bandwidth audio pipeline required for pristine Dolby Atmos decoding. Its upgraded processor utilizes phased acoustic arrays to calculate time-of-flight reflections, generating wide lateral staging and overhead dimension without requiring giant multi-box setups.
For daily TV watching, the Sonos app features dedicated 'Speech Enhancement' and 'Night Sound' toggles. Speech Enhancement elevates the specific frequency bands of human vocal chords while suppressing sudden movie explosions, ensuring whispered conversations remain audible without riding the volume remote.
Homeowners with 43-inch to 65-inch living room TVs who want vastly improved speech clarity, spatial audio immersion, and seamless multi-room music streaming.
Because height channels are created using sophisticated digital signal processing rather than angled physical top drivers, vertical overhead audio cues are slightly less pronounced than on giant premium soundbars. In addition, acoustic room tuning via Trueplay remains exclusive to iOS devices.

