Sonos has announced the second-generation Beam , a revamp to its smaller soundbar with new features, including Dolby Atmos . It also has a new processor to improve the sound experience, improvement in the positioning and number of speakers and eARC support via HDMI.
The new second-generation Beam also has improvements in its external design, including a new material for the grille that covers the speaker, with which the company tries to give the product a more premium air.
The new material for the grilles, according to the company, also helps improve sound output and, unlike the first-generation product, it is much easier to clean, being polycarbonate, and not fabric, like the Sonos Arc .
New speaker system and Dolby Atmos for the second-generation Sonos Beam
Probably the big improvement on the Sonos Beam second generation are the new speaker arrays, down from three to five. The new ones are dedicated to creating surround sound and a sense of height, necessary for the Dolby Atmos . All are powered by Class D digital amplifiers.
In addition to adding two new sets of speakers, the Sonos Beam second generation has a new much more powerful processor, responsible for the reproduction, coordination of the sound and the application of acoustic and timing techniques to create audio channel separation.
The latter is essential to ensure that a relatively small soundbar, such as the second-generation Beam, creates a sensation of surround sound, which is very necessary to experience content such as movies, series and video games in the best possible way.
Along with the new generation of the Beam, Sonos plans to offer support for Amazon Music Ultra HD , which is music in lossless quality up to 24-bit and 48kHz and, in some cases, mixed in Dolby Atmos , which allows you to listen to songs in surround sound. This feature will be activated through a system update that will arrive throughout 2021.
In fact, only the Sonos Arc and the second-generation Sonos will have support for Dolby Atmos for music , which are the only two products of the company that have support for the technology.
Price and availability
The Sonos Beam second generation will be on sale from October 5, 2021 , it is available in black and white, at a price of $ 449 or $ 699 .
It can be purchased in the following countries and regions: Mexico and the rest of Latin America, Spain, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Poland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Eastern Europe, India, Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong. The sale in Russia, China and Japan will arrive weeks later.
