MIDRANGE MAGIC SOUNDS

We loved the original Sonos Beam so much that it won our Gadget of the Year gong back in 2018.

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JARGON BUSTER

Dolby Atmos

Dolby Atmos delivers a 3D sound experience, letting you hear arrows whizz overhead or footsteps moving across a room. But you'll need a compatible TV and Atmos-encoded content.

Trueplay

Sonos's clever Trueplay feature lets you use an iOS device's microphone to fine-tune your Sonos speaker for the room it's in. Android users will just have to borrow one.

1 Appy days

Sonos's excellent smartphone app lets you connect your streaming services, discover new music on Sonos Radio, and personalise settings to your liking.

2 Be-switched

Night Sound mode uses smart processing to reduce louder effects and enhance quieter ones, while retaining the overall balance. Your neighbours will thank you.

SONOS BEAM [GEN 2]

But soundbars have moved on since then, with the current craze being virtual surround sound in the form of Dolby Atmos. That's the headline-grabber with the Gen 2, which can now output Atmos with supported content.

This Beam is practically identical to the stylishly minimalistic original. Available in black or white, it retains the same touch-sensitive playback controls, though the original Beam's fabric grille has been swapped for a polycarbonate type. The inputs also remain sparse: the single HDMI port has been upgraded to eARC to ready it for Atmos goodness... but as with the original, there's no HDMI passthrough. This means it'll require one of the precious ports on your TV. It's all part of the Beam's simplicity-first ethos, which is nice and all that but also means older televisions won't be able to take advantage of it.