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Sonos appears to have co-opted Apple’s business strategy: making premium products that are user-friendly for high prices. People will buy them whether they’re discounted or not, apparently, but it’s always better to get a good price. And that’s what you get with the Sonos Beam Gen 2, currently $369 (originally $499), the lowest price it has ever been, according to price tracking tools.
As the name suggests, this isn’t the first generation of the Beam soundbar. That would be the Sonos Beam Gen 1, which came out in 2018. It was the first smart soundbar to support both Google and Alexa voice assistants, as well as AirPlay, according to CNET’s review. The Sonos Beam Gen 2 then came out in 2021, adding Atmos compatibility, eARC connectivity, NFC connectivity, and a better processor from the features that were already in the Gen 1, according to CNET’s review. The Sonos companion app also improved dramatically, making for a much better experience and extra features, like the Sonos TruePlay (only for Apple phones), which calibrates the speaker based on its environment.
The release of the bigger and more powerful Sonos Arc Ultra last year meant the Beam Gen 2 was no longer the flagship premium soundbar and started falling in price, landing at its current low price, which matches last year’s Black Friday deals.
Getting a Sonos speaker means getting into their ecosystem, which allows you to connect their speakers for multi-room listening (play music in sync, despite where the speakers are in the house, through wifi). It’s important to note that the Beam, like all Sonos soundbars, doesn’t have Bluetooth. You’ll need to play your audio through wifi using the Sonos app, AirPlay, or Spotify.
The Beam Gen 2 is a great option for anyone looking for a premium soundbar in a small, compact space, especially if you want to get into the Sonos ecosystem or add one to the mix.
