“Dolby Atmos adds a splash of 3D fun to an already excellent soundbar.”

The Sonos Beam Gen 2 is an impressive piece of equipment. It’s got a compact, understated design, offers a range of smart features, and improves on the original Beam in some meaningful ways. If you have the original Beam, it’s probably not worth upgrading unless you really want Dolby Atmos.

The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) >IS< the soundbar you are looking for!

With the addition of Dolby Atmos, the second-generation Beam sounds far more immersive than before..

Atmos works better than you’d expect; Compact, stylish design; Alexa and Google Assistant well implemented; Easy to use;

Only one HDMI port; No HDMI passthrough;

Since its debut in 2018, the $399 Sonos Beam has been one of the best small-sized soundbars you can buy, thanks to its great sound, compact and elegant design, easy integration with Sonos’ whole-home sound platform, and its ability to double as an Alexa or Google Assistant smart speaker. But over the past few years, Dolby Atmos — the 3D surround sound format that makes movies and music much more immersive — has become very popular, helped in no small part due to adoption by streaming giants like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and both Apple TV+ and Apple Music. This means that most new soundbars, including Sonos’ $799 Arc flagship soundbar, are now Atmos-compatible, and the second-gen Beam is no exception. The new Sonos Beam is more expensive at $449. So the questions are whether existing Beam owners should even think about upgrading, and what prospective Beam newcomers can expect from it. First things first: Before you read this hands-on review, check out our review of the orig...

Easy setup; Immersive, room-filling sound; Sleek design; AirPlay 2;

No HDMI inputs; Requires compatible TV for Dolby Atmos;

A brilliant standalone soundbar that sounds wonderful but is sorely lacking in physical connectivity

Atmos improves sound quality; Phenomenal audio; Neat and compact;

Atmos requires eARC; Not much height effect; No DTS:X support;

A brilliant standalone soundbar that sounds wonderful but is sorely lacking in physical connectivity

Atmos improves sound quality; Phenomenal audio; Neat and compact;

Atmos requires eARC; Not much height effect; No DTS:X support;