Testing EVERY Sonos Beam (Gen 2) Home Cinema Setup

I've tested every Sonos beam home Cinema setup so you guys don't have to and here is everything that I found out hey guys Louis here from Smart Home Sound and today I am testing every Sonos beam Gen 2 setup to help you find the sweet spot for your space and help you push your budget to the max now it is worth noting that Sonos is a modular solution so you can of course add more components down the line or swap some out and use them elsewhere in your home if you decide to upgrade there are three Sonos Soundbars in the lineup the Sonos Ray the Sonos beam and the Sonos Arc if you're tempted to go for the more premium Arc then we've already read your mind and also created this video but for the arc which I've left Linked In the description below so make sure you head over and check that one out but today we're looking at this the Sonos beam Gen 2 which is sonos's compact Dolby Atmos Soundbar which sits in the middle of their Soundbar lineup and these are all the different components that you could add to upgrade your setup so we've got the Sonos sub mini the Sonos sub gen 3 what would be a pair of 1sl rears a pair of era 100 rears a pair of era 300 rears and a pair of Sonos 5 rears now I'll share the pro pros and cons for each option give you guys a listen at the end and I'll also share which setup I think is The Sweet Spot and which would be my winner now if you want any more information on any of the products that we mentioned in this video we have dedicated reviews on our Channel which I'll pop down in the description for you guys and if you'd like to support us and make the most of our six-year Sonos warranty then head to smarthomesounds dot Co dot UK now as always if you find our content helpful then please make sure you hit that subscribe button for more content like this we'd love to have you guys all on board right let's kick off with the beam Gen 2 then which starts us off with an RRP of 499 pounds as sonos's best-selling Soundbar this is a great solution for most spaces but generally works best in smaller listening zones such as medium-sized living rooms like I've got behind me or it could be a more open plan space where you have a dedicated TV Zone it just hasn't been designed to fill a larger space now as a Dolby Atmos enabled Soundbar the beam has five class D amplifiers four full range woofers and one Tweeter now the two end speakers are angled out at 45 degrees to give a wider Sound Stage and we do also get height channels from this Soundbar but as it doesn't have any dedicated upwards firing speakers those height channels are virtual achieved using psychoacoustic technology to give you that 3D Dolby Atmos effect if you've seen our in-depth review of The Beam then you'll know the standout feature of this Soundbar for us is the center channel Clarity the vocals are projected forwards to keep you following the action and you notice extra nuances and details that you might miss normally we would actually say the center channel performance is pushing very close to that at the more premium Sonos Arc now the performance of the beam alone might be enough for some spaces particularly a smaller snow room or a bedroom but there are two options that we have for leveling up performance add in a subwoofer and or add in rear surround sound speakers now if you've only got the budget to do one of those then it can be a very tough choice on which route to go down now we do have a dedicated video on this topic so check that out for more information but in a nutshell if you're a bass lover who listens to Bass heavy tracks or you want to really feel the crash and Rumble in an action movie then add a sub first now if you're looking for the best immersion and want audio that comes at you from all angles plus you're worried about disturbing the neighbors with added bass then go for rear surrounds first so let's kick off with your two options for adding a subwoofer to the beam now the bass on the beam is pretty impressive for a soundbar and I do think it's plenty for smaller spaces and for those who aren't looking for the rumble of bass in their home but adding a Sonos subwoofer will add extra bass and more by adding a subwoofer it will take the load of the lower frequencies from the beam which will then free up processing power for it to deal with the mid-range and dialogue more effectively upgrading your setup further the Sonos sub mini is the more affordable option and the more compact serve out of the two and it's also the more recent addition to the Sonos lineup coming in at 429 pounds the sub Mini offers a more modern cylindrical design to blend into your space now like the sub gen 3 this sub mini is non-directional so you can place it anywhere in your room though generally we have found that it works best for us by placing it in the corner on the same wall as your beam but just bear in mind that this may be different for you and for your space from our testing we were surprised at how big of an impact the sub mini has with the beam Gen 2 and we've said before that we honestly think this is a little bit of a killer combination I think that's because they just feel like they were designed for each other and the sub mini really does complement the beam perfectly the base you get from the sub mini isn't deep powerful bass but it's clean and tight it heightens those explosive action sounds and it adds another layer to your performance I think you can also hear the improvements with the beam Gen 2 with more pronounced vocals and it almost adds extra life into the beam too so why would you spend more money for the sub gen 3 which comes with a higher RRP of 799 pounds while I don't think that the extra budget will be needed for a lot of spaces with the beam but for larger more open plan spaces then the upgrade to the sub-gen 3 will be beneficial on paper both state that they offer a frequency response as low as 25 Hertz but the sub Gen 3 is obviously a larger unit and therefore offers a more powerful performance and the sub-gen 3 does give you that level of bass that you can really feel in your chest with explosive sounds it is worth noting that if you'll be listening at lower volumes Sonos have said that the two subwoofer options will deliver similar performance but when you start to crank the volume up the subgen 3 is much more capable and will deliver more powerful bass which will be better for filling a larger space now one pro for the subgen 3 is that you can choose to light flat as it offers a dual orientation design so if you're short on space in your room you could opt to load the sub underneath your sofa another benefit of the subgen 3 is that you can double up and have a dual sub setup with your Soundbar now this is really something that you go for with the arcs I think it would be a little bit overkill for the beam but the option is there if you've got a larger space and you are looking to reduce any nodes in your room but of course that's going to set you back 1500 pounds so it won't be for everyone so we've got a couple of scenes here and we're going to first have the beam on its own and then swap between the two subwoofers so you can have a listen for yourself now use your disclaimer that what you hear over YouTube isn't going to be exactly what we're hearing right here in our studio but it should give you a good flavor of what you can expect here we go again [Music] [Applause] [Music] here we go again huh [Music] here we go again huh [Music] okay hopefully that translated across for you guys there now for me I think the differences between the beam on its own versus with the sub mini and then the sub gen 3 should be fairly obvious having tested this product loads over the last few years I'm always pleasantly surprised by the base performance from the beam alone but when we add a sub this takes everything to a whole new level after adding the sub mini explosions and gunshots had much more oomph and even the vocals had a notable added layer to them but as I said earlier while it's tight clean base it's not Rumble in your chest level you do however get that from the subgen 3. the explosion in James Bond for example has much more impact with that rumbling bass I do think that it's important to reiterate here that for those of you guys with small to medium-sized living rooms I do think that the sub-gen 3 would probably be overkill for your space and if you share a wall with your neighbor or live in a flat then that's another thing to take into consideration but hopefully these sound tests have helped you get a better understanding as to how these different setups sound right there let's move on to the surround options now first things first we haven't got the Ikea symphonisk options with us today for testing but we've previously reviewed both the lamp and the frame on our Channel now the book shells are the cheapest solution for adding rears to the beam but they are going to be a much more subtle upgrade both the lamp and the frame are comparable to the Sonos 1sl so my buying advice will be similar but definitely check out our reviews if you're interested in either of those we do also have a more generic video covering all of the Sonos rears options too for you to check out so our first option would be adding two Sonos 1sl rears to the beam gen 2. now if you're familiar the Sonos one Gen 2 was the entry level wireless speaker for Sonos but it has since been replaced with the era 100 which I'll come on to next now the 1s out is the speechless version of the one Gen 2 removing the microphones which means that we do miss out on voice control with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant but as you have voice control with the beam you wouldn't make use of that functionality on the rears anyway so it's a good money saving solution and the One S come in in at 358 pounds per pair now these are a solid choice for the beam Gen 2 and offer instant upgrades and immersion as they are pretty compact they are also good if you need to warm out them pop them on a bookshelf or on stands behind your sofa the era 100s are the next step up coming in at 498 pounds a pair now these have a 25 larger woofer than the 1sl so I'm instantly expecting a boost there but there is also an added Tweeter in each era 100 which means that we should also experience a wider performance which should add to the overall immersion that we get from the rears there are other upgrades with the era 100s including Bluetooth connectivity and aligning connection but both of these are actually disabled when you use them as rears they are bigger speakers so will be a bit more noticeable in your room but again still versatile in their placement whether they're on stands wall mounted or placed on a unit the Sonos era 300s are a whole new ball game for surround sound rears and come with a price tag of 898 pounds a pair now a single era 300 is a Dolby Atmos speaker designed to project sound to the sides front and upwards for an immersive listening experience so adding a pair of these as rears really does level up your immersion and overall performance now we have six drivers in each era 300 with two sideways firing woofers two sideways firing tweeters one upwards firing Tweeter and one front facing Tweeter but it's worth noting that when used as rears that front firing Tweeter is actually disabled now Sonos believe this gives the best effect from the speakers in this setup and it's possible they could add the option to toggle that on and off depending on your preference and it will be interesting to see how that would change the performance but the whole point of the year of 300s is to give a different experience to your standard rear obviously at 900 pounds a pair these aren't cheap and won't be for every space but I think they are a really good addition to the beam for anyone who would have liked the arc but due to the nature of your space or size of TV it wouldn't be practical the upwards firing capabilities make a big impact on the overall performance and work alongside the virtual height channels from the beam to deliver a 3D performance which places sounds both above you and all around your room bouncing sound off of the walls and ceiling now you don't just get rear immersion from behind you it actually places sounds all around your space to put you right in the middle of the action and that really changes the game of Home Cinema performance for us and lastly our final option would be to add Sonos fives as rears now these are the most premium Sonos speaker available right now which come in at 1098 pounds a pair now they offer a very different experience to the era 300s and a more traditional rear surround sound performance however they are bigger more powerful speakers with a more impressive Bass Performance for me it will come down to the type of experience that you are looking for with your setup the fives are great rears and the best option if you listen to a lot of music in your TV Zone they really fill a space well but I would say for a lot of spaces they would be overkill for the beam now that's not to say that you can't add them but I don't think a lot of people will need them personally for the budget and for those who are looking to use their setup more for movies and music then I think the experience that you'll get from the era 300s as rears will be a more preferable choice [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] here we go again huh [Music] here we go again huh [Music] good [Music] here we go again huh [Music] now from our testing I would say that all of these rear options have a place with the beam Gen 2 but not all will be right for your space now if you have a smaller space then I would stick with the 1sos or the era 100s the 1sls are going to be a good solution for adding immersion at a lower budget but if you can push for the era 100s then I think you'll enjoy the enhanced performance I felt it most when there were bass heavy effects coming from behind you such as gunshots or explosions but I think they also did feel the space better too it's not a huge upgrade but from testing out multiple different movies I would say it's a difference that you can hear now I imagine the era 100s will be the most common addition to the beam going forwards as I said earlier I think the era 300s offer a very different experience but they really do Elevate the performance of the beam giving us added immersion and a more all-encompassing sound which some people are really going to like I think if you have a more compact space and they could be too much but for most medium-sized rooms you'll really feel the benefit of the atmos effects now of course if you don't watch much Atmos content then you might not think think that the budget is worth it for you the fives for me personally wouldn't be my go-to for this Soundbar now that's not to say they don't give a great effect and for those with a larger space and these would work well but for the vast majority of beam owners I think there are better uses of your budget which would better match the performance of the beam [Music] that's how where do we think The Sweet Spot is well for me I think the sub mini complements The Beam brilliantly for most spaces and in terms of rears I think it's got to be the era 100s they're the best blend of value for money and together with the beam and sub mini make a very very well-rounded setup now for context that bundle would come in with an RRP of 1426 pounds so just under that 1500 pound price point if I had the budget my personal winner would be the beam sub mini and era 300s I think the experience you get from those 300s takes Atmos content to the next level and really pushes the beam to the best of its ability now of course bass levers will want to swap the sub mini for the sub-gen 3 but for me this would be my winning combination now what's best for me might not be best for you and for your space but hopefully this video has highlighted your different options and also helps you see where your budget might be better spent now if you've got any of these combinations already then please get in the comments down below and make sure you share your experiences to help the community out if you want some more personalized advice and our Tech guys at all always happy to help you out thank you guys for watching and I'll see you in the next one

Channel: Smart Home Sounds

Views: 25,445

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Id: TWW9oTE3vsA

Length: 17min 8sec (1028 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 04 2023