Sonos Beam Ultra

The Beam Ultra is Sonos filling the gap in its lineup between the Beam (Gen 2) and the Arc Ultra. It doesn't replace the Gen 2, which stays on sale. The headline change is that this is no longer a soundbar that fakes height. Two dedicated upward-firing drivers deliver true Dolby Atmos, where the Gen 2 relies on virtualization. Sonos has done this without making the bar meaningfully bigger: it is only slightly wider than previous Beams and weighs the same.

At $699 (£699 / AU$1099), it's aimed at people who want a real Atmos experience from a single, compact bar in a living room or bedroom. Two groups get the most from it: those who found the Gen 2's virtual height unconvincing, and those who balk at the Arc Ultra's size and price. It comes in black or white.

The supplied information paints a very positive picture. Reviewers consistently praised the sound for both movies and music. Engadget scored it 9/10 and Gizmodo 4.5. Going from five to nine drivers, including physical upfiring units, is a substantive hardware upgrade rather than a cosmetic refresh.

There are caveats worth weighing before you buy:

• Room dependence: Atmos height effects reportedly work best with flat ceilings. Rooms with vaulted or irregular ceilings may not get the full benefit of the feature you're paying extra for.
• Format and connectivity gaps: There's no DTS:X support and no HDMI passthrough. This could be a real limitation if your content library leans on DTS or you were hoping to route sources through the bar.
• Value relative to siblings: Sources disagree on what the Beam Gen 2 and Arc Ultra currently cost. Exactly how the Beam Ultra's value stacks up against them depends on the pricing available to you.

Our assessment rests on the supplied specs and the consensus of the cited reviews, not on our own listening tests. Even so, the agreement among sources is strong. For buyers who want genuine Atmos without stepping up to a flagship-sized bar, the Beam Ultra looks like a compelling middle option. The missing DTS:X and HDMI passthrough keep it just short of a perfect score.