Sonos Beam Ultra Delivers Expansive Dolby Atmos Sound

Sonos has announced the Beam Ultra, a compact soundbar positioned between the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and the Sonos Arc Ultra. It launches on September 29th 2026 for $699 / £699 / AU$1,099.

The Beam Ultra uses nine drivers to produce 7.1.2 channels of Dolby Atmos, including upfiring drivers that the Beam does not have. In a TechRadar demo, music appeared to spread across the room rather than come directly from the soundbar. Bass, particularly mid-bass, remained solid across its range, although the compact unit could not deliver the deepest low-end frequencies.

Movie and TV dialogue was clear over background noise in a clip from the Apple TV+ show Widow's Bay. In a scene from Sinners, Dolby Atmos effects reached far to the sides, creating a wider presentation than the reviewer had experienced from other small soundbars and most large soundbars tested.

The reviewer did not yet make a judgment about the height channels and plans to test them more deliberately. Sonos also demonstrated two Sonos Play speakers connected automatically as rear satellites. With compatible rear speakers connected, the system can be described as a 7.1.4-channel setup, although the additional two height channels are virtualized.