The original Sonos Beam was already an attractive proposition for anyone who wanted better TV audio without putting a soundbar the length of a small canoe beneath their television. Then came a follow-up in 2021 that added Dolby Atmos. Five years later, Sonos has decided to throw dedicated upward-firing speakers into the mix and call it Ultra.
The new Sonos Beam Ultra, as it is called, packs nine (!) custom drivers, comprising five tweeters and four low-profile woofers, powered by nine Class-D amplifiers. Two of those tweeters fire upward, enabling true 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos playback. That means actual height channels rather than relying entirely on virtual processing to put sounds overhead.
A redesigned center channel also promises clearer dialogue, supported by AI Speech Enhancement with four adjustable levels. There’s Night Sound, too, for watching explosions without announcing movie night to the entire neighborhood.
Despite the acoustic upgrades, the soundbar remains relatively compact at 750 × 105 × 65 mm (29.5 × 4.1 × 2.6 inches), weighing 2.88 kg (6.35 lbs.).
In the connectivity department, it includes HDMI eARC, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, Apple AirPlay 2, and USB-C for optional adapters. It further touts Sonos Trueplay that automatically tunes the sound to your room, while additional Sonos speakers and subwoofers can expand the system into a proper surround sound setup. Compatible portable speakers can even serve as rear surrounds, if so desired.
It also supports TV Audio Swap, letting you transfer television audio to compatible Sonos headphones when everyone else has had enough of your movie marathon.
Available in Black and White, the Sonos Beam Ultra can be had as we speak for US$699.
Images: Sonos.