Sonos Beam (Gen 2)
The compact sibling to the Arc Ultra in Sonos's current lineup, and RTINGS' pick among Sonos options for smaller rooms. Based on published specifications and aggregated reviews, it delivers a genuinely spacious, virtualized Dolby Atmos presentation and easy setup, but it is a five-channel system without any upward-firing drivers or an included subwoofer.
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Our Verdict
RTINGS' pick among Sonos options for smaller rooms: a compact 25.6-inch bar with virtualized Atmos and Trueplay room correction that sounds spacious for its size. It falls behind the MagniFi Mini AX here mainly on bass — there's no included subwoofer and no discrete height drivers, so overhead effects are entirely software-processed.
Score Breakdown
Pros & Cons
Pros
- •Compact 25.6-inch width fits smaller TVs and shelves where larger bars won't
- •Virtualized Dolby Atmos and Trueplay room-correction tuning sound impressively spacious for its size
- •Shares the same simple Sonos app setup and multi-room ecosystem as the Arc Ultra at a fraction of the price
- •Doubles as a capable stand-alone speaker for music streaming
Cons
- •No discrete height channels — Atmos is entirely software-virtualized, so overhead effects are less precise than the Samsung or Arc Ultra
- •No subwoofer included, and bass output is the weakest of the three Atmos-capable bars on this list
- •Wi-Fi only, no Bluetooth — the same connectivity limitation as the rest of the Sonos lineup
Specifications
| Channels | 5.0ch (virtualized Dolby Atmos, no discrete height channels) |
| Dolby Atmos | Virtualized only (software-processed, no upward-firing drivers) |
| Subwoofer | Not included (Sub Mini / Sub sold separately) |
| HDMI eARC | Yes |
| Wireless Streaming | Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2 (no Bluetooth) |
| Voice Assistant | Amazon Alexa and Sonos Voice Control built-in |
| Width | 25.6 inches |
Who Is This For?
Best For
- Small to mid-size rooms and secondary TVs
- Sonos multi-room households on a tighter budget
- Buyers who also want a good-sounding music speaker
Not For
- Large living rooms needing to fill space with bass
- Buyers wanting discrete height channels
- Non-Wi-Fi setups
Where to Buy
Appears In
Customer Reviews
Alternatives to Consider
Samsung HW-Q990F
Samsung
Samsung's flagship Q-series soundbar for 2025-2026, a redesigned successor to the HW-Q990D with an updated wireless subwoofer and refined bass tuning. Based on aggregated reviews, it is the highest-scoring soundbar RTINGS has tested, combining a genuine 11.1.4-channel discrete surround system — soundbar, wireless subwoofer, and two wireless rear speakers, all included — with hardware Dolby Atmos and DTS:X decoding rather than software virtualization.
Sonos Arc Ultra
Sonos
Sonos's second-generation flagship soundbar, replacing the original Arc. Aggregated reviews consistently rate it among the best-sounding single-bar Dolby Atmos systems available, largely thanks to Sonos's new Sound Motion woofer design, which produces bass depth previously only achievable with an external subwoofer, paired with a 9.1.4-channel driver array for genuine height cues.
Polk Audio MagniFi Mini AX
Polk Audio
Polk's ultra-compact Atmos soundbar, designed for small TV stands and apartments where a full-size bar won't fit. Based on published specifications and aggregated reviews including Tom's Guide, it is among the few sub-$500 systems that pairs a genuinely compact footprint with real Dolby Atmos and DTS:X certification and an included wireless subwoofer.
Vizio V-Series 2.1 Soundbar V21x-J8
VIZIO
Vizio's long-running entry-level 2.1 soundbar, still sold and reviewed years after its original 2021 release. Based on published specifications and aggregated reviews including RTINGS and Newsweek, it remains one of the most straightforward ways to meaningfully upgrade a TV's audio for well under $200, with a wireless subwoofer included and DTS Virtual:X surround processing.