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The JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam is a versatile soundbar that offers clear and well-balanced sound with decent bass, making it suitable for medium-sized bedr... more

$482.88

The Sonos Beam Gen 2 is a compact soundbar that delivers excellent audio quality for both music and movies. It has a wide and immersive soundstage, gr... more

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Experts prefer Sonos Beam Gen 2 over JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam

On 8 Jan 2025 (11 months ago) we went through 93 Sound Bar expert endorsements .

Currently, Sonos Beam Gen 2 received 6 endorsements from Rtings.com (21 Oct 2024), PCMag (25 Nov 2024) What Hi-Fi (5 Dec 2024) and 3 others. Meanwhile, JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam did not receive any endorsements this month.

Rank	Change	Price	Sound Bar	Rtings.com	TechRadar	Tom's Guide	PCMag	What Hi-Fi	TechHive	World Wide Stereo	WIRED	SoundGuys	Digital Trends
2	-	$483	Sonos Beam Gen 2 The Sonos Beam Gen 2 is a compact and stylish soundbar that delivers excellent audio quality for both music and movies, with versatile connectivity options and compatibility with Dolby Atmos, making it a recommended choice for Sonos fans and those seeking high-quality audio enjoyment.	6	-	-	7	4	4	10	-	2	-
N/A	N/A	$240	JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Curious to see this month's entire Sound Bars ranking? It's here

About our ranking methodology

Endorsement summary:

On 21 Oct 2024 Rtings.com ranked Sonos Beam Gen 2 as #6

Rank Sound Bar Comment

... ... ...

#6 out of 7 Sonos Beam Gen 2
Best Small Soundbar

... ... ...

Source: www.rtings.com
On 25 Nov 2024 PCMag ranked Sonos Beam Gen 2 as #7

Rank Sound Bar Comment

... ... ...

#7 out of 9 Sonos Beam Gen 2
Best Midrange Sonos Soundbar

... ... ...

Source: www.pcmag.com

On 5 Dec 2024

What Hi-Fi ranked Sonos Beam Gen 2 as #4

Rank	Sound Bar	Comment
...	...	...
#4 out of 8	Sonos Beam Gen 2	Awards 2023 winner. If space and budget are limited, there isn't a better virtual Dolby Atmos soundbar that we'd recommend
...	...	...

Source: www.whathifi.com

On 6 Oct 2023 TechHive ranked Sonos Beam Gen 2 as #4

Rank Sound Bar Comment

... ... ...

#4 out of 8 Sonos Beam Gen 2
Best mid-range soundbar, runner-up

... ... ...

Source: www.techhive.com
On 10 Sep 2024 World Wide Stereo ranked Sonos Beam Gen 2 as #10

Rank Sound Bar Comment

... ... ...

#10 out of 12 Sonos Beam Gen 2
The Best Smart Sound Bar

... ... ...

Source: www.worldwidestereo.com
On 30 Aug 2023 SoundGuys ranked Sonos Beam Gen 2 as #2

Rank Sound Bar Comment

... ... ...

#2 out of 5 Sonos Beam Gen 2
Best Smart Soundbar

... ... ...

Source: www.soundguys.com

MetaRanking Common points from expert reviews summarized.

As can be seen below, Sonos Beam Gen 2 is mentioned by key experts in Jan 2025, while JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam is not.

Rank	Change	Price	Sound Bar	Rtings.com	TechRadar	Tom's Guide	PCMag	What Hi-Fi	TechHive	World Wide Stereo	WIRED	SoundGuys	Digital Trends
1	-	Check price	Sonos Arc Ultra	-	3	1	1	1	-	-	8	-	2
2	-	$483	Sonos Beam Gen 2 The Sonos Beam Gen 2 is a compact and stylish soundbar that delivers excellent audio quality for both music and movies, with versatile connectivity options and compatibility with Dolby Atmos, making it a recommended choice for Sonos fans and those seeking high-quality audio enjoyment.	6	-	-	7	4	4	10	-	2	-
3	-	$1298	Samsung HW-Q990C The Samsung HW-Q990C soundbar is highly praised for its exceptional sound quality, immersive experience, and extensive connectivity options, making it a top choice for enhancing TV audio and creating a cinematic home theater experience.	-	-	-	6	-	5	-	6	-	1
4	-	$1498	Samsung HW-Q990D	1	4	-	-	7	-	-	-	-	-
5	-	$227	Polk Audio React The Polk Audio React soundbar is a versatile and budget-friendly device that offers big, detailed, and immersive sound for movies, music, and TV shows, with four audio modes and a variety of connectivity options.	-	-	-	-	-	1	3	-	-	-
6	-	Check price	Polk Audio MagniFi Mini The Polk Audio MagniFi Mini is a compact soundbar with various connectivity options, wireless subwoofer, and Google Cast compatibility, delivering clear and powerful sound suitable for small to medium-sized rooms.	-	-	-	5	-	-	1	-	-	-
7	-	Check price	Vizio M-Series 5.1 The Vizio M-Series 5.1 Soundbar is a versatile and affordable audio system that offers excellent sound quality, making it suitable for a variety of audio content, including music and movies, and is compatible with most TVs on the market.	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	7	-	8
8	+1	$1300	JBL Bar 1300X The JBL Bar 1300X is a highly regarded soundbar that offers impressive sound quality, connectivity options, compatibility with various devices and streaming services, a sleek design, and a range of features, making it suitable for creating an immersive audio experience in various use cases.	-	11	-	3	-	-	-	11	-	-
9	-1	Check price	Bose Smart Soundbar 600 The Bose Smart Soundbar 600 is a versatile and highly compatible soundbar with exceptional sound quality, a sleek design, and a range of connectivity options.	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	5	-	6
10	-	Check price	Sony HT-A7000 The Sony HT-A7000 is a high-end soundbar with a neutral sound profile, wide and immersive soundstage, comprehensive connectivity options, and advanced features such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, making it a great choice for enhancing the listening experience.	-	7	6	-	-	-	-	12	-	-
11	-	$298	Sony HT-S2000 The Sony HT-S2000 soundbar is highly praised for its sound quality, clarity, and dialogue reproduction, making it suitable for both music and movie playback in larger rooms with high ceilings.	-	2	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-
15	-	$350	Klipsch Flexus Core 200	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	9
16	+1	$2199	Devialet Dione The Devialet Dione soundbar is a high-end, innovative speaker that offers exceptional sound quality, powerful bass, and a sleek design, making it suitable for both music and movie playback.	-	-	4	-	-	-	6	-	-	-
17	+1	$1000	Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus The Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus is a versatile and high-end soundbar that offers impressive sound quality, advanced features, and customization options for an immersive audio experience.	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	7
18	+1	$702	Sonos Arc The Sonos Arc is a high-end soundbar with impressive sound quality, expansive soundstage, and modern design, ideal for those seeking an immersive surround sound experience for movies and music.	-	-	-	-	5	-	11	-	-	-
19	+1	$1400	Nakamichi Shockwafe Ultra 9.2	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	13	-	-
20	-4	$210	ZVOX AccuVoice AV157 The ZVOX AccuVoice AV157 soundbar is a great option for those who struggle to hear TV dialogue, with its proprietary AccuVoice and SuperVoice technologies improving the intelligibility of spoken words and its dedicated center channel aiding in dialogue clarity.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	10
21	+1	Check price	Sony Bravia Theater Quad	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	-	13
22	-1	$199	Sonos Ray The Sonos Ray soundbar is a high-quality and affordable option with excellent clarity and crispness in sound, Wi-Fi connectivity, multi-room setup capabilities, and compatibility with most TVs and wireless streaming devices.	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	-	-	11
Show all rows

Expert Reviews There are people on the Internet whose job is to review products. Below are their opinions.

Expert reviews [25]

80

Total expert reviews: 25

with a score: 19
without a score: 6

Highest score by shanethegamer.com	100
Average score based on 25 reviews	80
Lowest score by T3	60

Score distribution:

80-100
60-80
40-60
20-40
0-20

Expert reviews [38]

111

Total expert reviews: 38

with a score: 20
without a score: 18

Highest score by BGR	600
Average score based on 38 reviews	111
Lowest score by Rtings.com	74

Score distribution:

80-100
60-80
40-60
20-40
0-20

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