New Sonos Beam brings improved sound to your TV ...just don't look at the price
SONOS has refreshed its popular Beam soundbar, which now boasts improved audio quality and a refreshed design but it also arrives at a higher price.
The original Sonos Beam, which launched back in 2018, was designed to bring blockbuster sound to flatscreen TVs, while still staying neat and tidy enough to fit in the smallest of rooms. As you can read in our full Beam review, it's an impressive package but it could be about to get even better. That's because the US firm has just given this popular soundbar a serious boost with a refreshed design and more immersive audio, thanks to the inclusion of Dolby Atmos technology.
Sonos says this update will mean the Beam can bring a 3D effect to living rooms so as a plane takeoffs during a movie the audio will follow and make it appear as if the aircraft is whizzing over your head.
To help produce this atmospheric sound, Sonos has improved the processor inside the Beam and added HDMI eARC compatibility for higher definition sound. The main benefit of eARC tech is that it can cope with bigger files more quickly. This allows much higher-quality audio to be sent straight from a TV to the soundbar.
Another bonus of the new Beam is that it is compatible with Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos Music. This should give music fans more immersive ways to enjoy their favourite tracks when listening to songs via Amazon Music.
Now, if you already own a Beam you might be looking at the pictures and wondering what is different about its design.
Although the changes are subtle they should help to keep the Beam looking box-fresh for longer with the speaker ditching the current fabric finish and getting a polycarbonate grill instead.
This not only makes the speaker more robust, but also easier to wipe down and keep clean. Sonos also says the speaker now ships with a colour-matched cable. So, if you buy the White model, the power cord will also be white ...something that wasn't the case with the first generation.
Of course, alongside these new features, you'll also get all of features that were found inside the original model, including Night Sound, which makes things quieter when it gets late and Speech enhancement so you never miss a word of the action.
The Beams also features clever Trueplay tech that adapts the sound for the unique acoustics of the room. There's also built-in Alexa and Google Assistant, so you can add the Sonos Beam to any existing smart home set-up. These chatty AI assistants can order takeaways, control your smart lights, check the weather and set reminders.
Beam also includes support for Apple's AirPlay 2, which lets you stream lossless audio files from an iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch.
So that's the good news out of the way, but there is one thing to note about the new Beam as it is getting a price hike.
Right now you can buy the Gen 1 Beam from John Lewis for £379 but when the new soundbar launches next it will cost £449. If that hasn't put you off then it will arrive in stores from October 5 in Black and White.