Does a Sonos Beam (Gen 2) need a subwoofer?

[wax lyrical]

...in a small lounge. LG OLED 55E6 TV. Just trying to work out if it's really worth shelling out £700 on a Sub if the Beam itself is really good. Looking for real-world experiences.

Many thanks!

[Macneil]

I have a Beam gen 1 and it is fine for me, can you still do the try at home deal if you buy from Sonos?

[Murph7355]

In a small room, not IMO.

I would also say, though, if surround sound is key for you, it won't do that very well either.

It's good for nice general sound, but not much more.

[Piginapoke]

Murph7355 said:

In a small room, not IMO.

I would also say, though, if surround sound is key for you, it won't do that very well either.

It's good for nice general sound, but not much more.

Ditto re no sub needed, but paired with x2 Play Ones I think the surround sound is ace

[Macneil]

Piginapoke said:

Murph7355 said:

In a small room, not IMO.

I would also say, though, if surround sound is key for you, it won't do that very well either.

It's good for nice general sound, but not much more.

Ditto re no sub needed, but paired with x2 Play Ones I think the surround sound is ace

Sorry, off-topic...I've got a stereo pair of play ones, but they don't show as available in the app to create surround sound, is there a way to do it without de-pairing them first?
If I do set them up for surround, would they still work as a stereo pair for musoic off spotify?

[Piginapoke]

Macneil said:

Piginapoke said:

Murph7355 said:

In a small room, not IMO.

I would also say, though, if surround sound is key for you, it won't do that very well either.

It's good for nice general sound, but not much more.

Ditto re no sub needed, but paired with x2 Play Ones I think the surround sound is ace

Sorry, off-topic...I've got a stereo pair of play ones, but they don't show as available in the app to create surround sound, is there a way to do it without de-pairing them first?
If I do set them up for surround, would they still work as a stereo pair for musoic off spotify?

You have to de-pair them, and in my case reset the two Play Ones and the Beam then finds them. You can still listen to music, it also plays through the Beam,

[Macneil]

Thanks

[bazza.]

I'd say 100% yes a friend has the same and added the sub and said he would never go back now

[Red 5]

wax lyrical said:

...in a small lounge. LG OLED 55E6 TV. Just trying to work out if it's really worth shelling out £700 on a Sub if the Beam itself is really good. Looking for real-world experiences.

Many thanks!

For basic TV sound augmentation?
No not really.
At daily TV volumes and a little louder, it’s a great product.

For an enjoyable more dynamic experience for films an music, then I’d say it’s a MASSIVE step up.
First of all, the treble, vocals and channel separation are all vastly enhanced, when the sub is added. So much clearer and more intelligible!

It goes without saying there, more bass.
You can turn the system up to realistic room filling levels and still enjoy a full range sound.

[Murph7355]

Piginapoke said:

Ditto re no sub needed, but paired with x2 Play Ones I think the surround sound is ace

Do you use the Play 1s as rears?

And does the Sonos set up then take 5.1 signals (through HDMI presumably?) and sort which channel goes where?

[Piginapoke]

Murph7355 said:

Piginapoke said:

Ditto re no sub needed, but paired with x2 Play Ones I think the surround sound is ace

Do you use the Play 1s as rears?

And does the Sonos set up then take 5.1 signals (through HDMI presumably?) and sort which channel goes where?

I have 2 Beams, one paired with 2 Play Ones and another with 2 Play Threes in a bigger room. Both sound great.

Yes, the Sonos takes the broadcast signal (5.1, 2.0 etc) and sorts it all out.

[wax lyrical]

Thanks for all the replies, guys. Much appreciated. Looks like I'll be buying the Sonos sub too, as I watch a lot of films and think I'll miss the extra 'low end' grunt.

I currently have a Yamaha YSP 2500 soundbar (that comes with its own separate sub) and this sounds great. However now I want even better sound (a wireless sub) and Dolby Atmos support too.

[dvshannow]

Yes get the sub we have a Sonos play bar and it’s perfectly fine on it’s own but sub takes to another level and massive improvement for movie watching

We have a db1 on the main hi fi and pretty impressed with how the Sonos sub performs

[a7x88]

We have a gen 1 beam. It sounded ok on its own but didn’t blow me away. We added the sub and we wouldn’t go back.

[Davetheraver]

You can get much better surround sound for the price of a Sonos sub and five other speakers. Night and day difference.

The Sonia stuff is very expensive for the sound quality it provides .

I suppose it is easy to setup though, but with so many better options in 2021 I don’t get it.

Edited by Davetheraver on Thursday 4th November 08:01

[Red 5]

Davetheraver said:

You can get much better surround sound for the price of a Sonos sub and five other speakers. Night and day difference.

The Sonia stuff is very expensive for the sound quality it provides .

I suppose it is easy to setup though, but with so many better options in 2021 I don’t get it.

Edited by Davetheraver on Thursday 4th November 08:01

Sonos provides a pretty high performance, for a sound bar type solution.
It can spread over the property daily and affordable, harmonising digital media.
It provides an easy manageable way into AV / music system, for people who would simply never buy and AV amp and passive speakers, then wonder how to include all the other rooms in one app.

[Davetheraver]

Red 5 said:

Sonos provides a pretty high performance, for a sound bar type solution.
It can spread over the property daily and affordable, harmonising digital media.
It provides an easy manageable way into AV / music system, for people who would simply never buy and AV amp and passive speakers, then wonder how to include all the other rooms in one app.

All true to a point, but the fact remains it is obscenely expensive for the actual sound quality provided. So if someone’s concern is found quality in a surround sound setup and the have the best part of £2k burning a hole in their pocket there are thousands of ways to spend it that will give a much, much better experience than Sonos. Like you say, decent performance for a sound bar solution (comparative to sound bars at about £400–500) but not for surround sound

[wax lyrical]

I'm the OP and my main issue is that I need the system as _wireless_ as possible. I think only Sonos has very reliable (and still very good sound) wireless setup possibilities?

[JD]

wax lyrical said:

I'm the OP and my main issue is that I need the system as _wireless_ as possible. I think only Sonos has very reliable (and still very good sound) wireless setup possibilities?

Realise I'm late to the convo.

But rumours suggest Sonos are bringing out a smaller (which I hope means more affordable) sub very soon.

I am holding out to add one to my Beam.

[wax lyrical]

Yes, I've heard about that smaller sub and it's a great option if it arrives. I've plumped for the Beam 2 and Sonos subwoofer. For me, the wireless solution was essential, so the options are limited in terms of other 5.1 set-ups (which would tend to all have wired speakers).

To my non-audiophile ears, the Sonos combination sounds excellent, after a few weeks of 'bedding-in. I've had Hi-fi separates before (expensive amp and 5.1 speakers) and am still happy with the Sonos.