My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: Sonos Beam Gen 2
Sonos seems to have adopted Apple’s business strategy: make high-quality, user-friendly products at high prices. People will buy them whether they’re on sale or not, 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 ever, according to price tracking tools .
As the name suggests, this isn’t the first generation of the Beam soundbar. That was 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 a CNET review . Then in 2021, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 came out, adding Atmos compatibility, eARC connectivity, NFC connectivity, and an improved processor to the features that were already in Gen 1, according to a CNET review . The Sonos companion app has also improved significantly, providing a much better experience and additional features like Sonos TruePlay (for Apple phones only), which calibrates the speaker based on its surroundings.
The release of the larger, more powerful Sonos Arc Ultra last year meant that the Beam Gen 2 was no longer the premium flagship soundbar and began to drop in price, reaching its current low, which matches last year’s Black Friday sales.
Buying a Sonos speaker means you’re entering their ecosystem, which allows you to connect their speakers for multi-room listening (playing music in sync no matter where the speakers are in your home, via Wi-Fi). It’s important to note that the Beam, like all Sonos soundbars, does not have Bluetooth. You’ll need to play audio over Wi-Fi using the Sonos app, AirPlay, or Spotify.
The Beam Gen 2 is a great option for those looking for a premium soundbar in a small, compact space, especially if you’re looking to join the Sonos ecosystem or add to an existing one.