Sonos Beam (Gen 2): problems, parts and running costs
Checked: 2026-10-19
Summary
A compact Dolby Atmos soundbar for TVs around 55 inches and smaller, with five Class-D amplifiers, four elliptical midwoofers, one center tweeter and three passive radiators. The recurring limits are weak deep bass without a Sonos Sub that costs nearly twice the bar, no physical Atmos height effects, and no Bluetooth or remote in the box. There are no consumables; running cost is electricity only, and it is a good buy at the $479 Best Buy street price (October 2026) rather than the $499 MSRP.
Common problems and fixes
- Weak deep bass without a subwoofer — the bar cannot match systems that carry a sub; the Sonos Sub costs $749-800, nearly twice the bar’s own price, so budget for it separately if bass matters. [3][4]
- No physical Atmos height effects — there are no angled or upfiring drivers, so height channels are processed rather than bounced off the ceiling; Sonos positions the larger Arc for real height channels. [3][4]
- Bass distortion at maximum volume — PCMag measured bass drum hits flirting with distortion at maximum volume; keep volume below maximum for bass-heavy material. [4]
- Trueplay tuning requires an iOS device — Android devices are not supported for Trueplay, so room tuning needs an iPhone or iPad. [1][3][4]
- Alexa and Google Assistant are mutually exclusive — the two cannot be used on the same product; pick one before setup. [1][4]
- Wi-Fi setup hiccups — PCMag reported Wi-Fi hiccups during setup and a difficult Google Assistant pairing that needed tech support; Sonos’s own spec lists 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n only, so 5 GHz router users must enable 2.4 GHz or hardwire a Sonos product. [1][4]
Parts and consumables
No consumables. Optional add-ons sold by Sonos: Beam wall mount $49 and Sanus TV mount $79.99 (Sonos US store, October 2026); Sonos Sub $749-800, Sonos One SL surrounds $199 each, IKEA Symfonisk surrounds $198 per pair and Port adapter $449 (review-era 2021 prices). [1][3][4]
Yearly running cost
No subscription, filter or pod costs are reported; the only running cost is electricity, for which the sources give no figure. Not enough data to compute a yearly total.
When it is a good buy
- $479 at Best Buy and $499 at Walmart per Tom’s Guide deal boxes (October 2026); $499 MSRP at the Sonos US store (checked October 2026). [1][2]
- $449 at launch in October 2021, $50 above the Gen 1’s $399. [2][4]
- Alternatives: the Vizio M-Series 5.1 (M51a-H6) at $350 is PCMag’s Editors’ Choice and the better pure home-theater value when you want true 5.1, wireless rears, a sub and Atmos for less; the Sonos Arc is the better choice when you want real height channels; the Beam (Gen 2) is the better fit for 55-inch-and-smaller TVs. [2][3][4]