Housed at the rear in the ‘cable cove’ are sockets for power, ethernet and HDMI eARC as well as a connect/reset push button. On the top surface are the same touch-sensitive buttons, LEDs and far-field mics for voice control of Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant as on the original Beam. Or there’s Sony’s HT-G700 (£399 / $598 / AU$899), which also has a virtual Atmos effect but is much bigger and, like the Eclair, lacks network connectivity. There’s LG’s offering, the bijou but sonically lacklustre Eclair, which has upward drivers but is even more pricey at £700 / $700 / AU$1000. Other compact Dolby Atmos soundbars in this bracket are thin on the ground. If you want to use Beam Gen 2 in a larger surround system it can be expanded through the addition of two One SL rear speakers (£358 / $358 / AU$538) and, if required, a Sub (£699 / $699 / AU$999). Often available at around a 10% discount, the new Beam is the middle product in Sonos' three-strong soundbar line-up, priced significantly lower than the Arc, which currently costs £899 / $899 / AU$1499, and just above the Ray £279 / $279 / AU$399. But that difference is very much in line with the company’s increase in the prices across many of its products stemming from the COVID pandemic. Costing £449 /$449 / AU$699, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 launched at a slightly more expensive price than the original Beam, which was originally £399 / $399 / AU$599.
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