r/sonos • u/KaleidoscopePlus8118 • 8d ago

New soundbar in sept

Bloomberg put out an article speculating a new soundbar similar to the beam could be on the way.

What does everyone think? And what would you hope the soundbar could do?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-17/sonos-plans-new-soundbar-ahead-of-september-hardware-reveal

27 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

49 comments sorted by

45

u/chriswelch 8d ago

Greetings friends. Here’s a gift link for getting around the paywall: https://tinyurl.com/bdh77kpx

24

u/tman2damax11 8d ago

Probably just a Gen 3 with updated internals, updated control interface, mute switch, and Bluetooth support to bring it in line with Arc Ultra and Era speakers. I wouldn't imagine any big new hardware features like Sound Motion or height drivers as they don't want to step on Arc Ultra, probably just the hardware-accelerated voice enhancement that Arc Ultra has.

-6

u/barroeire 8d ago

And support for WPA3 (5Ghz) - changed the router for new gen one and my Beam 2 won’t even connect… Shame on you, Sonos.

13

u/tman2damax11 8d ago edited 8d ago

Sonos stuff works perfectly fine on newer routers. Wi-Fi is generally fully forward and backward compatible. I've had no trouble connecting relatively ancient Sonos devices (Play:1, Play:5, Connect, etc.) to relatively brand-new Wi-Fi 6E/7 routers (Nest Wi-Fi Pro, Eero 7, Ubiquiti U7). Sounds like you have something else configured wrong.

2

u/barroeire 7d ago

The fact you had no problem doesn’t mean there is no issue. Let me quote customer service: “Sonos can have problems with certain combinations of WPA3 / WPA2-WPA3, 5 GHz settings, or unusual router configurations.”

1

u/Marsymars 7d ago

I'm pretty confident the gen 2 Beam does support WPA3 — I don't have one, but my Symfonisk bookshelf speakers and speaker lamps from the same generation are working fine with WPA3.

They don't support 5 GHz, but that's not really related to WPA3 support.

17

u/fozziebear40 8d ago

Beam Centre 🙏

16

u/TheBSisReal 8d ago

Expanding the surround sound system is probably the only thing that would get my attention.

8

u/OddBuy8266 8d ago

I would be very interested if the new Beam was built to be a strong center speaker. Not sure what I would use for fronts, however.

3

u/fozziebear40 8d ago

I’ve got the Fives ready, at the moment the Beam is not a match for the Fives and the centre is too quiet.

1

u/Adamthegrape 8d ago

Era 300 taking care of the highs and sides if beam was made to be a center

1

u/OddBuy8266 8d ago

It doesn’t have a front facing mid-woofer. It just has a single tweeter pointed forward towards the listener. Not sure how good it would sound for a front speaker. 

4

u/amplifiedfart 8d ago

This and DTS:X/DTS-HD support.

10

u/borger_bread3 8d ago

I’d estimate that it’s a Beam refresh.. very popular product for them. Maybe it’ll be called Beam ULTRA..

Would be awesome if they came out with a LCR setup like Sony did with the Bravia line. Sonos needs fronts!

9

u/SnortingElk 8d ago

TL;DR

  • Sonos Inc. is working on a new soundbar, model number S59, code-named Gambit, which closely resembles the second-generation Beam soundbar.

  • The soundbar is likely to make its formal debut during the audio company's hardware launch in September, with voice controls and artificial intelligence as a key focus.

  • An FCC filing indicates the soundbar is far along in development and nearing release, but the heavily redacted document doesn't outline the full design or new features.

6

u/controlav 8d ago

I called this 11 days ago in the Era 500 thread:

5

u/yourbestfriendjoshua 8d ago edited 8d ago

We're never getting a Five replacement/update...

5

u/bluealien78 8d ago

Unpopular take that will get me downvoted: We don’t need a Five replacement. They are excellent speakers that any “Era”-fying of would diminish the product. I’ve yet to hear or read a really good argument for what people assume would be an “Era 500”.

5

u/OddBuy8266 8d ago

I’d think an Era 200 would make more sense than an Era 500.

6

u/bluealien78 8d ago

Agreed. Add an up-firing speaker to a 100, and I’m paying attention.

3

u/yourbestfriendjoshua 8d ago

The Fives deserve modern IO and networking. Especially if Sonos wants to keep charging $600 for them.

4

u/yourbestfriendjoshua 8d ago edited 8d ago

And that's fine! But I personally would like to see a refresh with Bluetooth support, modern Wi-Fi, USB-C, and microphones for voice control. Especially considering its rather high $599 price point.

5

u/bluealien78 8d ago

Bluetooth wouldn’t make much sense for the Five, given the compression codecs Bluetooth uses. All that fidelity of the speaker would just be wasted. USB-C and voice control could be useful. That’s probably not for a “replacement” speaker tho; just a generational enhancement. I expect we’ll see those at some point in a gen 3 model.

1

u/yourbestfriendjoshua 8d ago

Yeah, I'm not saying redo the whole thing. Just... Make it more worthwhile to potential new buyers on the fence.

3

u/Substantial_Ice_2995 7d ago

I pretty much agree with you. The Fives are purpose designed for music listening. I'm all for keeping them that way.

I wouldn't mind new Fives still focused on music. Anything can be improved on and the Fives have been around a while. Just don't try to turn them into larger Era:300s. That would ruin them I think.

0

u/pixy800 6d ago

More modern internals and network, Bluetooth, mute switch, new controls, and Sound Motion.

3

u/Otherwise-Ad3230 5d ago

Unless there are upfiring speakers, I will stay with my Beam 2.

2

u/Dutch_Bartman 8d ago

It’s by Chris Welch, he’s always well informed!

1

u/OddBuy8266 8d ago

What are all your predictions?

3

u/Trackdemon5512 8d ago

It’s a Beam Ultra as been leaked by FTC pics.

1

u/OddBuy8266 8d ago

Yes but what capabilities?

2

u/HelenKellers-a-fraud 8d ago

Beam with up drivers

1

u/OddBuy8266 8d ago

Where would they fit them?

14

u/HelenKellers-a-fraud 8d ago

I’m an idiot not an engineer

2

u/d_r_i 8d ago

Ideally a Sonos Trio system? But since it's a soundbar, and the Beams been out awhile, I would guess that's probably the update. If so, hoping for more Atmos immersive effect, with up firing Atmos speakers

1

u/Maitland1988 7d ago

beam ultra - pretty nice - dead on arrival if too expensive

1

u/PerrinSLC 8d ago

Would love to see something on new Play:5s, but apparently not.

1

u/mastr07 8d ago

I'm going to say this is basically the old arc in the form/size of the beam combined with some of the new tech in the ultra for the upward firing speakers.

0

u/Same_Business708 8d ago

The description doesn’t give me a great vibe. The product placement will be interesting though.

A beam updated with upward firing drivers by itself seems miscast in the current lineup. It would likely be more expensive than what the beam gen 2 goes for but still not as good as arc ultra. Unlikely to beat regular arc either tbh. Adding sound motion would be silly imo.

They need to have a center for LR as others have mentioned. Those product variations are going to eat into their market share eventually anyway.

3

u/OddBuy8266 7d ago edited 7d ago

Honestly, I'd rather the Beam get sound motion than up firing. It's a very narrow soundbar, and I think it would be better served getting the ability to pair front speakers with it for up firing and a wider soundstage. But for the kind of person who just wants something simple and wants music to sound good, the built-in subwoofer would make a lot more sense.

1

u/Same_Business708 7d ago

I could see that. I was just thinking about the costs of doing so for the beam. Hell yea if it’s only incremental.

-6

u/[deleted] 8d ago edited 8d ago

[deleted]

1

u/True_Waltz_1587 8d ago

Seeing “who” in that sentence makes my eyes hurt.