Sonos Beam Gen 2

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Soundbar | £449 | whf.cm/SonosBeamGen2

It’s no secret that we are ardent admirers of the Sonos Beam Gen 1. Since its launch in 2018, the 3.0 channel soundbar has won the What Hi-Fi? Award for the best soundbar in its price category every year since. Key to its success has been a simplicity of design and streamlined functionality that, remarkably for its size, has been able to overcome two of the usual limitations of compact speakers: sonic scale and weight.

With the arrival of its larger sibling, the Arc, in 2020, Sonos proved that it can convincingly deliver Dolby Atmos audio in a larger chassis. But we’re a little apprehensive about whether the technology can justify its inclusion in a compact soundbar, especially when, unlike the Arc, there are no upward-firing speakers to be found here.

In fact, the new Beam’s layout is much the same as its predecessor’s but the quintet of front-facing drivers is now configured into five separate arrays rather than three. When