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The Sonos Beam Ultra offers expansive 3D audio from a surprisingly small form factor.
Tyler Hayes/Business Insider
Sonos’ latest soundbar might be small in stature, but it’s kind of a big deal. It’s called the Beam Ultra , and it’s a step-up version of the brand’s popular Beam Gen 2 . This new model adds four more audio drivers to deliver larger, more expansive home-theater sound without compromising a modest footprint. It dials up its Dolby Atmos performance with much more convincing overhead effects, so even listeners in small spaces can get full, cinematic sound.
I’ve used nearly every Sonos speaker the company has released, including all of its soundbars dating back to the original Playbar. The Beam Ultra exemplifies what the company does best, providing a solid upgrade over the standard Beam, in both raw power and dialogue enhancement.
Given its convenient size, the Sonos Beam Ultra is perfect for apartments and smaller living rooms. But you don’t need to be short on space to appreciate what it offers. After spending a couple of weeks with the Beam Ultra, I found its immersive performance ample for a variety of rooms. For $699, the Beam Ultra is an excellent alternative to the bigger, more expensive Sonos Arc Ultra , offering a more affordable way to dive into the brand’s premium home theater ecosystem.
Looking for more soundbar recommendations? Check out our guides to the best soundbars and best Sonos soundbars .
What’s new about the Sonos Beam Ultra?
The Sonos Beam Ultra (front) is a bit wider than the Beam Gen 2 (back), but its height and depth are nearly the same.
Tyler Hayes/Business Insider
The new Beam Ultra is aptly named, upping both the specs and price over the standard Beam Gen 2 . That older model isn’t going anywhere (at least for now) and remains positioned as the brand’s lower midrange soundbar, coming in at $499. But the new $699 Beam Ultra is decidedly more premium, offering an experience that comes closer to the flagship Arc Ultra, which costs $1,099.
The Beam Ultra features more internal components than the Beam Gen 2, and it delivers more power under the hood, allowing its sound to reach new heights — literally. One of the biggest differences between the Beam Gen 2 and Beam Ultra is the latter’s use of up-firing audio drivers.
The Beam Gen 2 was limited to virtualized Dolby Atmos playback, relying on processing and psychoacoustics to simulate overhead audio effects from forward-facing drivers. The effect was decent, but there’s only so much that this kind of processing can do.
With the Beam Ultra, you get much more convincing Dolby Atmos audio effects via two up-firing drivers that bounce sound off your ceiling and back down to your ears. If you’re coming from the standard Beam, this change is instantly noticeable when playing Dolby Atmos content. You can learn more about the benefits of up-firing audio drivers in our Dolby Atmos explainer and our guide to the best Dolby Atmos soundbars .
The Beam Ultra has up-firing audio drivers integrated on top, along with a handy volume control slider.
Tyler Hayes/Business Insider
Interestingly, the Beam Ultra also gains a USB-C line-in, a connection that even the flagship Arc Ultra doesn’t have. The USB-C line-in lets you connect a 3.5mm, Ethernet, or RCA cable when paired with the right Sonos adapter . This is handy for people who want to use the Beam Ultra with a record player, CD player, or wired internet connection. There’s also Bluetooth wireless streaming support, which was missing from the standard Beam.
Other physical design elements remain very similar, but an indented volume control slider is now integrated into the bar’s front right. It’s a practical placement and easy to use for quick control. When it comes to dimensions, the Beam Ultra is about 4 inches wider than the Beam Gen 2, but their depth and width are nearly the same, and both weigh 6.35 pounds.
Though the added width may look substantial in images, in practice, I only noticed the difference when switching between the two and posing them side by side. At just under 30 inches wide, the Beam Ultra is still compact enough to be a space-saving alternative to many rival soundbars.
The Beam Ultra sounds much bigger than it looks
The Beam Ultra delivers room-filling spatial audio.
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I tested the Beam Ultra with several movies that are well known for their excellent surround sound mixes, including “Dune,” “Gravity,” and “Interstellar.” I also used it to watch sitcoms, prestige dramas, and everything in between. It worked well in all cases, but really flexed its muscles with movies that feature big, impressive sound design.
Its wide audio capabilities constantly caught me off guard. Despite the speaker’s modest size, its sound easily spanned the width of my 20-foot living room wall, making it seem like there were multiple speakers around me.
Similarly, the Beam Ultra’s Dolby Atmos overhead sound is much more pronounced than that of the Beam Gen 2 I had been using in the same room. Whenever an aircraft on screen lifted off and flew overhead, it sounded as if it were high above the actual soundbar.
However, unlike the pricier Arc Ultra, the Beam Ultra does not use Sonos’ Sound Motion tech, which can deliver bigger low-end rumble. But despite that omission, the Beam Ultra still offered better bass and resonance than the standard Beam Gen 2.
There’s also plenty of volume. Raising the soundbar’s volume above 60% had me questioning whether people outside the house could hear it. And even beyond raw power, the Beam Ultra simply delivered clearer sound than the Beam Gen 2.
Sonos’ Speech Enhancement technology also works well, but I didn’t need it to be on constantly. I could understand dialogue even when the feature was turned off. Whether you need extra vocal clarity will likely depend on the content you’re watching. When I did turn it on, I was pleasantly surprised by its natural mid-range boost without sacrificing other frequency ranges.
The company says this feature uses AI to intelligently decipher human voices from background effects. There are four levels of Speech Enhancement in the Sonos app, but I was happy with the medium setting.
The Beam Ultra supports new speaker pairing and app features
The Sonos Beam Ultra uses the brand’s new and improved software system, Sonos 27.
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While not unique to this model alone, the Beam Ultra supports several new Sonos 27 software features, including the ability to add portable wireless surround speakers. Adding rear speakers to Sonos soundbars is nothing new, but support for the brand’s battery-powered models is. For example, you can now place two Sonos Play portable speakers behind you, and after a quick initial setup, they’ll automatically become part of your home theater system when placed in the general area.
To test this, I used two Play speakers as wireless rears with the Beam Ultra. I turned on “Dune: Part Two,” and the three speakers worked beautifully together, delivering spectacular sound. (The whole first worm ride sequence is a standout with this setup.) The shape and design of my room don’t lend themselves to permanently placing surround sound speakers, so this new dynamic wireless capability opens up new setup possibilities. To be clear, the Beam Ultra already sounds great on its own, but pairing it with rear speakers offers an even better experience. I suspect having a wireless Sonos sub in the mix would have put it over the top.
The Beam Ultra also supports Sonos’s audio swap feature with the Sonos Ace Ultra headphones . This lets you press a button to seamlessly transition playback from the soundbar to the headphones, and vice versa. This feature worked without any issues, and it’s handy for times when you want to watch a movie without disturbing others in your home.
Voice control is available using Sono’s own system, so you can say “Hey Sonos” to control music playback and other basic functions. I also appreciate that Sonos shows some regard for privacy by processing all commands locally and not sending any personal information to its cloud servers. However, the Beam Ultra does not currently support more advanced voice platforms such as Amazon Alexa or Google Gemini, so it lacks full digital assistant capabilities. It’s possible Sonos may add other voice control systems via a firmware update, but nothing has been confirmed.
Should you buy the Sonos Beam Ultra?
The Sonos Beam Ultra is one of the most impressive Dolby Atmos soundbars in its class.
Tyler Hayes/Business Insider
The Sonos Beam Ultra is an excellent Dolby Atmos soundbar that brings an expansive audio experience to rooms where you’d ordinarily have to settle for less. It’s designed with space constraints in mind, making it an ideal option for apartments, bedrooms, and other smaller living areas.
But its benefits and use cases don’t just stop there. After spending weeks with the Beam Ultra, it’s become my new go-to recommendation for anyone considering a Sonos soundbar. Its combination of space-saving size, powerful 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos playback, and solid pricing makes it a top overall option.
The bigger, pricier Arc Ultra is still technically a better soundbar, but only those with especially large rooms who crave the brand’s most powerful sound should spend the extra money.
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