Amazon Prime Big Deal Days sale has brought the superb Sonos Beam Gen 2 down to £327 on Amazon – a solid £122 saving on its usual £449 asking price.
While this isn't quite the remarkable £189 price the soundbar dropped to during a limited-time deal back in May, it's still a worthwhile opportunity for those who missed out on that earlier bargain.
The Beam Gen 2 has earned a What Hi-Fi? Award since its launch and remains our top compact pick in our best Dolby Atmos soundbar round-up.
This second-generation model not only lives up to the high bar set by its predecessor, but exceeds it in every meaningful way – no small claim considering the original Beam more than impressed us when it launched.
The gamble paid off spectacularly, with the soundbar delivering a more capable and effective handling of the immersive format than many pricier alternatives that do feature dedicated height drivers.
Under the polycarbonate grille sit four front-facing elliptical mid-woofers and an improved centre tweeter that produces crisper and clearer dialogue than the original Beam.
The drivers are powered by five Class D amplifiers, while three passive radiators provide low-end frequency reinforcement. The quintet of front-facing drivers are configured into five separate arrays rather than three, with two of these arrays dedicated to reproducing overhead and surround sounds when watching Atmos content.
When watching films with Dolby Atmos, the Beam Gen 2 creates tangible motion, depth and space that heightens the drama and sense of immersion.
The soundstage is also expansive enough to enhance both larger 55-inch and 65-inch screens as well as more modest 43-inch displays.
During our testing with Roma in Atmos, the soundbar projected changing sonic perspectives with remarkable accuracy and clarity, delivering seamless handover between drivers and remarkable consistency across the complete soundfield.
Sonos made the bold decision to incorporate Dolby Atmos into the Beam Gen 2 without using upward-firing speakers, instead relying on enhanced processor power and psychoacoustic HRTF technology to create the impression of height.
The Beam Gen 2's streaming capabilities are equally impressive. As a Sonos product, it integrates seamlessly into a wireless multiroom system via the Sonos S2 app, which also provides access to Trueplay room calibration technology and a two-band EQ.
Wi-fi connectivity means you can stream to the Beam Gen 2 from handheld devices using Apple AirPlay 2, while Spotify Connect is built-in too. Support for Amazon Music Ultra HD gives access to lossless 24-bit/48kHz tracks as well as Dolby Atmos Music.
In terms of audio formats, the Beam Gen 2 supports stereo PCM, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos (both Digital+ and TrueHD versions), multichannel PCM and Dolby Multichannel PCM. Decoding for DTS digital surround has been added too, though this doesn't extend to DTS:X.
Our testing revealed that the Beam Gen 2 not only handles Atmos content brilliantly, but sounds incredible across the board, reaching deeper than its predecessor with more refinement, warmer treble and a wider dynamic range.
Where the Beam Gen 1 might skim over certain complex sounds, the Gen 2 has a greater capacity to take them on, consistently resulting in a richer, more nuanced and varied listening experience.
At £327, the Beam Gen 2 represents strong value considering its Award-winning performance. If you're in the market for a compact Dolby Atmos soundbar with streaming smarts and expert handling of motion, depth and space, this is a compelling opportunity to save over £120 on one of the best budget soundbars available.
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