Sonos Beam (Gen 2) - The Storyteller
Sonos · $$$
The Beam (Gen 2) is a soundbar that says more with less. Inside a 25.6 inch cabinet sit one center tweeter, four elliptical midwoofers, three passive radiators, and five Class-D amplifiers. Dialogue stays anchored to the middle of the image, which is the whole job of a TV speaker. Dolby Atmos arrives here as a virtualized signal over HDMI eARC; there are no upward drivers, so the height layer is simulated, and it is better to state that plainly than to dress it up. A chip about 40 percent faster than the first Beam runs two extra audio paths that build the surround stage. Speech Enhancement lifts quiet dialogue, Night Sound tames loud effects, and Trueplay tunes the bar to your walls with an iOS device. It syncs with the remote you already own and hides under the screen at 2.68 inches tall and 6.35 pounds.
Why it is god-tier
- Five-driver array: one center tweeter, four elliptical midwoofers, and three passive radiators, each of the five amplifiers tuned to the cabinet for anchored dialogue and balanced bass.
- Virtualized Dolby Atmos over HDMI eARC from a chip roughly 40 percent faster than the first Beam, which creates two new audio paths for the surround image; Speech Enhancement and Night Sound live in the app.
- Compact geometry: 25.63 x 2.68 x 3.94 inches at 6.35 lb, with a threaded mounting socket, sync with the existing TV remote, and an HDMI cable plus optical adapter in the box.