Sonos Beam (Gen 2) Announced

Sonos today introduced the Beam (Gen 2), a new version of the compact smart soundbar for TV, music, games and more. According to Sonos, the new Beam should offer an improved and more intense sound experience with more depth and clarity, and also includes support for Dolby Atmos. Beam (Gen 2) will be available worldwide on October 5 for $499, and can be pre-ordered now on Sonos.com.

Sonos Beam (Gen 2)
The new Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is the successor to our 5-star award-winning Sonos Beam. This new Beam should deliver an even better home cinema experience, and with compatibility with over 100 streaming services available in the Sonos app, fans can enjoy exciting improvements in sound, design and packaging, including:

• 3D sound with Dolby Atmos: sound technology that surrounds you in the action, whether it’s airplanes that seem to fly overhead, footsteps that seem to move across the room, or film music that you hear and feel all around you.
• Improved sound, same formatt: Thanks to the extra processing power and the newly developed, phased speaker arrangement, Beam directs and localizes sounds in the room for a lifelike experience. The soundbar is now also compatible with HDMI eARC on your TV, so you can enjoy your favorite movies and games in sound with even higher definition and with support for new audio formats.
• Streamlined design: An updated polycarbonate high-precision perforated grille makes the speaker sound great and blend seamlessly into your home, just like Sonos Arc.
• Simple and safer installation: With just two cables and new NFC capabilities, setup is simple and you can start listening in minutes. All you need to do is open the Sonos app, follow some prompts, and hold your phone up to the Beam.
• Sustainable sound: the sustainable packaging of the new Beam consists of premium uncoated kraft paper, a gift box made of 97% sustainable paper and comes without disposable foam.

Tuning
Like all Sonos products, the new Beam is tuned using the Sonos Soundboard to deliver the best sound experience. You can also fine-tune Beam’s sound with Trueplay. This detects the sound from the soundbar and sound reflections from walls and furniture to provide the best listening experience for your room and setup.
Place Beam in front of a standing TV, or simply mount it on the wall with the (existing) Sonos wall bracket for Beam. You control Beam with the Sonos app, your TV remote, one of the voice assistants, Apple AirPlay 2, music apps such as Spotify and more. Listeners can use Beam on its own or expand it wirelessly with a subwoofer and rear speakers for even more immersive entertainment.

Sonos Expands Support for New Services and Audio Formats
Sonos is coming later this year with support for DTS Digital Surround Sound decoding via the S2 platform for Playbar, Playbase, Amp and both generations of Beam and Arc. Sonos also announced plans for Amazon Music’s Ultra HD music service, which will launch in select markets later this year and will allow users to listen to songs in lossless audio format up to 24 bit/48 kHz on their Sonos speakers. . Amazon does not yet officially offer its Music service in the Netherlands and Belgium. Finally, Sonos wants to support Dolby Atmos Music.

Price and availability
Beam (Gen 2) will be available worldwide for $499 starting October 5 on Sonos.com and participating retailers.