Sonos Beam Gen 2.

The Gavler Review.

Sonos Beam Gen 2 Review: Full Atmos, Half the Arc's Price

The Sonos Beam Gen 2 ranks number six on Gavler's Best Sound Bar Systems list with a 9.0, and it exists to answer one question: does Dolby Atmos really require a $900-plus soundbar? What Hi-Fi? doesn't think so, calling it "the best value in the Sonos ecosystem — Atmos, Trueplay, and multi-room at $449 is remarkable." Buy it for a bedroom, apartment, or secondary TV where a full-size Arc would be overkill. Skip it if you're outfitting a large primary living room — the single HDMI eARC input and smaller driver array show their limits at scale.

What it is

The Beam Gen 2 packs a five-driver array — one center tweeter and four mid-woofers — into a compact 25.6-inch enclosure, using psychoacoustic processing to simulate height and surround channels rather than relying on dedicated upfiring speakers the way the pricier Arc does. It ships with the same Trueplay room calibration Sonos uses across its lineup: a phone-microphone-based tuning process that adjusts output for your specific room's acoustics, run through a cinema setup and a general music setup in sequence.

Connectivity is deliberately minimal — a single HDMI eARC port, with an optical adapter included for TVs without eARC support — plus WiFi, AirPlay 2, and Bluetooth. That single-input design is a real trade-off: Trusted Reviews' full teardown of the platform flagged it directly, noting "the main issue is whether or not a soundbar with only an HDMI eARC input is flexible enough for you." Sonos' modular ecosystem is the long-term value proposition here — start with the Beam at $449, add a Sub Mini for deeper bass, or pair two Sonos Era 100 speakers for physical rear channels, each purchase incremental rather than a full system replacement.

In use

Trusted Reviews' hands-on review — testing the same five-driver, Trueplay-equipped platform under Sonos' original "Beam (Gen 2)" naming — is unambiguous about the sound quality: "the very short version is that the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) sounds exceptionally good, especially considering its relatively small size." Watching Captain Marvel's opening fight sequence in Dolby Atmos, they described "a sense of stereo width, with the laser blasts almost wrapping around you" — genuine dimensionality from a bar this compact, even if it's simulated rather than physically directed.

The same review is equally direct about where that simulation falls short of the real thing: "compared to the Arc, the Beam doesn't quite have the same range at either end, and the sound is a little more compressed overall and a touch sharp at the high end." And on true surround sound specifically: "what you don't get with the Beam... for that matter, is a true sense of surround sound," noting that in a scene built around a sound effect moving from front to back, "the Beam (Gen 2) just doesn't deliver the subtlety" without the optional rear speakers added.

Gavler's own baseline reviews echo the same pattern from a different angle — Wirecutter calling it "the smart first purchase in a Sonos system," and TechRadar noting it "delivers Sonos quality without Arc Ultra excess." The consistent theme across every review: this is a genuinely capable soundbar for its size and price, with limitations that are honest trade-offs for the smaller form factor, not manufacturing shortcuts.

Strengths

• Real Dolby Atmos dimensionality from a 25.6-inch bar. The virtual height processing genuinely adds a sense of space and wraparound sound that a standard stereo bar can't match, even without physical upfiring drivers.
• Trueplay room calibration, the same system used across Sonos' full lineup. A meaningful step up from single-point auto-tuning, adjusting the sound specifically for your room's acoustics.
• A modular upgrade path with no wasted spend. Add a Sub Mini or Era 100 rears later, and the original $449 investment keeps working as the foundation rather than getting replaced.

The trade-offs — who should skip it

The Beam Gen 2 is honest about being the smaller sibling in Sonos' lineup, and the specific limitations matter more in some rooms than others.

• You have a large living room or a big-screen TV. Trusted Reviews recommends the Beam for TVs "up to 49-inches max" — go bigger, and the Sonos Arc Ultra is the more appropriate match.
• You need more than a single HDMI input. The Beam's single eARC port is a real limitation for complex AV setups routing multiple devices through the soundbar.
• You want true, not virtual, surround sound out of the box. Without adding rear speakers, positional effects lack the precision of a system with dedicated rear-channel hardware, like the JBL Bar 1300X.

How it compares

On Gavler's Best Sound Bar Systems list, the Beam Gen 2 sits one rank below the JBL Bar 1300X, a fundamentally different kind of system — the JBL trades the Beam's compact simplicity for 1,170W of output and physical detachable rear speakers, at more than double the price. Higher up the list, the Sonos Arc Ultra is the Beam's direct sibling and the upgrade path Sonos clearly intends: a bigger driver count, dedicated upfiring speakers, and Sound Motion bass technology aimed at delivering the Beam's virtues at full-room scale, for roughly double the cost.

The Gavler verdict

A 9.0, and the clear-headed pick for anyone who wants real Sonos quality without paying for a room they don't have. The Sonos Beam Gen 2 doesn't pretend to be a full-size home theater system — its single HDMI input and smaller driver array are honest concessions to size and price — but within that scope, it delivers genuinely impressive Atmos dimensionality and the same room-calibration sophistication as Sonos' flagship bar. Buy it for a bedroom or secondary TV without hesitation; step up to the Arc Ultra only when the room actually demands it.

Common Questions

Is the Sonos Beam Gen 2 worth it in 2026?

Yes, for bedrooms, apartments, and secondary living rooms. It ranks sixth on Gavler's Best Sound Bar Systems list with a 9.0. What Hi-Fi? called it 'the best value in the Sonos ecosystem — Atmos, Trueplay, and multi-room at $449 is remarkable,' and Trusted Reviews' own hands-on testing concluded it 'sounds exceptionally good, especially considering its relatively small size.'

Does the Sonos Beam Gen 2 actually support Dolby Atmos?

Yes, but virtually rather than with dedicated upfiring height speakers. Its five-driver array — one tweeter, four mid-woofers — uses psychoacoustic processing to simulate height and surround channels. Trusted Reviews' testing found it delivers real dimensionality and 'a sense of stereo width, with the laser blasts almost wrapping around you,' but noted it 'doesn't quite have the same range' as the Arc and lacks the Arc's more precise positional height effects.

Sonos Beam Gen 2 or Sonos Arc Ultra — which should I buy?

Buy the Beam Gen 2 for a bedroom, apartment, or any TV around 49 inches or smaller — it delivers roughly 90% of the Sonos experience at half the Arc Ultra's price. Buy the Arc Ultra for a primary living room and a larger screen, where its bigger driver count delivers more precise positional height effects and stronger low-end without needing an add-on subwoofer.