Sonos has launched the Beam (Gen 2), a new generation of small smart soundbars for TV, music, gaming, and other applications. The new Beam offers an improved, more immersive sound experience with increased depth and clarity, as well as Dolby Atmos compatibility. Sonos also disclosed plans to provide Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos Music via Amazon Music later this year, giving users access to the best quality streaming music and immersive 3D 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,” said Patrick Spence, Sonos CEO.
And added, “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 enhances the home entertainment experience just in time for the fall’s most anticipated movies and series. Fans can expect significant advancements in sound, design, and packaging, as well as compatibility with more than 100 streaming services available in the Sonos app.
3D Audio with Dolby Atmos: Immersive sound technology that puts you right in the middle of the action, whether it’s hearing jets passing overhead, hearing footsteps across the room, or feeling the score all around you
Enhanced Sound, Same Size: Beam guides and localizes sound throughout the room for a lifelike experience, thanks to increased processing power and a newly built phased speaker array. The speaker is now HDMI eARC compatible, allowing you to enjoy your favorite movies and games in even better definition sound with compatibility for new audio formats.
Sleeker Design: The speaker, like the Sonos Arc, has an upgraded polycarbonate grille that is precisely perforated, allowing it to sound fantastic and blend effortlessly into your house.
Easy, More Secure Setup: Setup is simple with only two connections and new NFC features, and you’ll be listening in minutes. Simply launch the Sonos app, follow the on-screen instructions, and tap your phone to Beam.
Sustainable Sound: The new Beam comes in environmentally friendly packaging, with quality uncoated kraft paper, a gift box made of 97 percent recycled paper, and no single-use foam.
The new Beam, like all Sonos products, was calibrated with the help of the Sonos Soundboard, a group of industry heavyweights from music, movies, and more, to create the best and most genuine sound experience possible. Trueplay, which detects and adapts the speaker’s sound for reflections off of walls and furniture, allows you to fine-tune Beam’s sound to give you the optimum listening experience for your environment and configuration.
Place Beam in front of a standing TV or use the current Sonos Wall Mount for Beam to mount it to the wall. The Sonos app, your existing TV remote, several voice assistants, Apple AirPlay 2, music service apps, and more may all be used to operate Beam. Beam can be used on its own or with a subwoofer and a pair of back speakers to provide even more immersive entertainment.
Sonos plans to support Amazon Music’s Ultra High Definition audio, which will allow listeners to hear tracks in lossless audio up to 24-bit / 48kHz on their Sonos speakers, as well as Dolby Atmos Music, an immersive audio format that breaks the boundaries of traditional studio recordings and immerses you in the song, revealing every detail of the music, when it launches later this year in select markets. Ultra HD will be available on all S2 devices, except Play:1, Play:3, Playbase, and Playbar, at no additional cost to Amazon Music Unlimited members, while Dolby Atmos Music will be available on Arc and Beam (Gen 2).
