The new Sonos Beam (Gen 2) updates the original compact smart soundbar for TV, music and gaming applications that the Californian company successfully launched in 2018 already with support for Apple AirPlay 2. Now, the new Beam design delivers an upgraded, more immersive sound experience with greater depth projection, support for Dolby Atmos and attractive bundles of wireless surround speakers and subwoofer (Sub (Gen 3) and a pair of One SL) for a more immersive experience. The design also features an updated polycarbonate grille following the original design of the Sonos Arc.
Sonos confirmed that the new Beam (Gen 2) soundbar will be available globally starting October 5 for $449, and revealed plans to offer both Ultra HD (lossless up to 24-bit/48kHz) and Dolby Atmos Music later in 2021 via Amazon Music, giving listeners the ability to experience the highest quality streaming music and immersive audio.
“We often talk about ‘Hollywood at Home’ being a real catalyst for our business, and Beam has played a huge part in this as one of the top-selling soundbars in its category,” says Patrick Spence, Sonos CEO. “Taking what we've learned over the years about great listening and home theater, we've found a way to bring new features and significantly better sound to Beam, all in the same compact size that has proven extremely popular with customers.”
The new Beam is upgrading the home theater experience with immersive sound technology resulting from more processing power and newly developed phased speaker arrays enabling sound steering and localization. The sound was tuned to also deliver improved music reproduction, and can be adjusted for the room using Trueplay, which detects and adapts the speaker’s sound for reflections off of walls and furniture.
The speaker is also now compatible with HDMI eARC and adds new NFC capabilities, making setup much easier with the Sonos app. It can be controlled with the Sonos app, existing TV remotes, multiple voice assistants, Apple AirPlay 2, music service apps, and more.
The new Sonos Beam also features sustainable packaging, including a premium uncoated kraft paper, a gift box made of 97% sustainable paper, and no single use foam.
Sonos intends to support Dolby Atmos Music streaming on Arc and Beam (Gen 2) soundbars and plans to add support for decoding DTS Digital Surround later in 2021 via the S2 platform on Playbar, Playbase, Amp, and both generations of Beam and Arc.
www.sonos.com
