Sonos Beam (Gen 2) — Advanced Review
The go-to compact soundbar for anyone who wants a big TV-audio upgrade and a path into the Sonos ecosystem.
The verdict
The Beam (Gen 2) consistently lands as the default recommendation for compact soundbars, with leading reviewers praising how much clean dialogue and room-filling sound Sonos extracts from a bar this small, and independent lab measurements backing up its balanced tonality. Its added HDMI eARC and faster processor enable virtualized Dolby Atmos and easy multiroom expansion, which reviewers note bridges the gap between a casual upgrade and a serious home-theater core. Expert testing and the huge owner pool align closely: the bulk of a very large owner-review pool echo that it dramatically improves TV audio and is genuinely simple to set up. The score reflects near-universal agreement that it is the best small soundbar for the money, held back only by the limits of physics at this size.
Rated by category
- Sound Quality. Clear, punchy dialogue and a wide soundstage for its size, but no upfiring drivers mean bass and height are limited.
- Dolby Atmos. Virtualized Atmos via psychoacoustics is convincing for the price, yet falls short of true height channels on the Arc.
- Ecosystem & App. Deep Sonos multiroom, AirPlay 2 and voice assistants; the app rewrite has been the main sore point.
- Value. Compact, do-most-things soundbar that punches above its footprint for small-to-mid rooms.
What reviewers praise
- clear, prominent dialogue
- compact room-filling sound
- easy Sonos multiroom expansion
- simple HDMI eARC setup
Worth knowing
- no true rear or height speakers, so Atmos is virtualized
- thin bass without an added Sonos Sub
Price and value
At around $499 it sits in the premium-compact tier; you pay a Sonos tax, but the sound-per-inch and ecosystem justify it for anyone already invested or wanting easy multiroom.
How it compares
It's the pick for small rooms over the pricier Sonos Arc (which is the better choice for real Atmos in larger spaces), and it out-features the cheaper Bose Smart Soundbar 600, though budget hunters get more raw value from the Vizio Elevate or a Samsung Q-series.
The bottom line
The go-to compact soundbar for anyone who wants a big TV-audio upgrade and a path into the Sonos ecosystem.
How this review works
This isn't one editor's opinion. MyBase's Advanced Review is our own AI-synthesized editorial assessment: it draws on the published verdicts of the industry's most trusted independent expert reviewers and testing publications, alongside large pools of verified-owner reviews, and weighs them together into a single clear verdict. Expert testing is weighed alongside real-world owner consensus, so the rating reflects how a product actually performs — not how it's marketed.
MyBase is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any third-party publication. Advanced Reviews are MyBase's independent editorial synthesis and may not reflect the opinion of any single source.