I heard the Sonos Beam Ultra, and it delivers the most impressive Dolby Atmos sound I've experienced from a compact soundbar

Date:
Fri, 04 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Description:
7.1.2 channels of spatial sound make it sound way, way bigger than it is.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Sonos recently announced that it's launching a new soundbar to fill the gap between the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and the Sonos Arc Ultra it's called (perhaps predictably) the Sonos Beam Ultra. It's launching on September 29th 2026, and it costs $699 / 699 / AU$1,099.

It's small, like the regular Beam, but it features nine drivers to deliver 7.1.2 channels of Dolby Atmos, including upfiring drivers (which the Beam doesn't have).

Sonos' promise is that it's a bigger, more expansive, and meatier home
theater experience than the regular Beam, and I got a chance to listen to a demo though we'll have a full and in-depth review later when we can test
more thoroughly. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: (Image credit: Future) But my time with the Beam Ultra was enough to really impress me. We started by listening to some music in Dolby Atmos, and the soundbar
was extremely good at separating the sound from the hardware the audio felt spaced across the whole room in front of me, rather than feeling like it was emitting from a compact soundbar. Bass dispersion was really impressive, as was a feeling of 'airiness', in a good way, to vocals and positional instrument effects. Every element felt like it was able to float in the room very naturally and individually. You may like I tried a wild soundbar with moving 'kinetic fins' and it's one of the most impressive I've seen Ultimea Poseidon D60 review: Atmos and surround sound on a budget, but not without compromise I listened to the worlds first audiophile soundbar and it might actually justify that claim

Switching to something bass-heavy, which is an area Sonos says it
specifically wanted to improve, what stood out to me was the weight of the mid-bass. Often, in smaller speakers, this is where things fall off they might be tuned to give good punch at their lowest point, but can't always maintain good strength as they move towards the mid-range.

There was no problem with that here: bass felt really solid throughout the range. Being a small soundbar, it's not like it can hit hard on really
low-end frequencies, but there's loads of presence across the bass, so it feels satisfying. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. (Image credit: Future) Switching to movies and TV, we watched a clip from the Apple TV+ show Widow's Bay , emphasizing the improvement to the clarity of the center channel dialogue came through clear over background noise.

But the real test was watching Sinners , in the big music scene of I Lied to You , which has become a common demo scene for companies to use. I was so impressed by the positional Dolby Atmos effects of elements that were way off to the side the width was far better than other small soundbars, and was better than most big soundbars I've tested.

There's a real sense of instruments being positioned right in the far forward corners of the room, a good six feet beyond the edges of the TV we were watching, let alone beyond the edges of the small soundbar. What to read next Majority Bowfell Halo Atmos review: a small soundbar system with impressive bass Sony Bravia Theater Bar 7 review: one step forward, two steps back The 'world's first audiophile soundbar' is getting an awesome Atmos update

However, when we get it in to review, I want to test the height channels more deliberately. I wasn't feeling a lot of height effect from the demo which might have been for a few reasons, so I can't cast judgment against the Beam Ultra for it yet. We'll be keeping an ear out for it, though.

I also got to try the same scene using the Sonos system's new ability to add some portable speakers as rear satellite speakers for surround sound. Two Sonos Play speakers were brought in and placed just behind me, and they instantly connected to the soundbar without needing the app at all.

A little tone emitted from the Beam Ultra to indicate that the Plays had connected themselves, but all the detection and connection is done invisibly by the system, and it seemed really slick.

The Plays made for a really good set of rear speakers in the demo, too I got really clear positional effects from them, and they have a great dynamic
range for movies.

Sonos confirmed that with the Plays (or a pair of Sonos Move 2 speakers, or static rear options such as the Sonos Era 100 ) connected, it can describe
the system as a 7.1.4-channel setup, though the extra two height channels
will be virtualized.

I was surprised that Sonos went with the small size of the Beam for a
soundbar to sit below the Arc Ultra in its range, because I assumed that
would mean a compromise on how expansive it would be that's definitely not a concern for me anymore, and I'm really looking forward to hearing how it handles our movie library in our test rooms. Today's best deals on Sonos soundbars Sonos Beam (Gen 2) 449 429 View See all prices Sonos Arc Ultra 999 849 View See all prices Sonos Ray 199 179 View See all prices We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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