Sonos had quite a few surprises in store for fans this week: AI agents, new Wi-Fi features, and even a whole new vibe for its app, just to name a few. While those are all flashy firsts for the company, it’s arguably the most banal category that has me excited: soundbars.
I got a small amount of “hands-on” time with Sonos’s new Ace Ultra wireless ANC headphones and Beam Ultra soundbar, and believe me when I say the latter has some juice. Even in an open venue without any nearby walls to bounce sound off of, the Beam Ultra impressed me with some initial demos. I got a chance to listen to a bit of Apple’s F1, the movie, and there was a clear sense of space with the Beam Ultra. Cars and helicopters panned across the soundbar appropriately with the action, giving the impression of surround sound.
With nine drivers, including some upfiring ones, Sonos says the Beam Ultra delivers true 7.1.2 sound, but you never really know until you hear it, and to my ears, there’s a chance that Sonos may have the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar beat.
One of the things I’m most excited for is to test a new feature that lets you pair two Sonos Play portable speakers by just placing them in proximity. I also got a taste of this feature during Sonos’ event, and it made the Beam Ultra’s sound feel big—like very big. While I’m anticipating some variability in how the feature works (having it trigger on proximity might be an issue), I’m thrilled that Sonos is letting people use its existing speakers to double as rear surround. It’s one more reason to really invest in the Sonos ecosystem.
Another highlight of my brief hands-on was dialogue. Sonos gave a demo, showing a snippet of Widows Bay on Apple TV, and I thought the words came across crisp and clear. There are several AI enhancement modes for speech clarity, so I’m interested to try those out for myself and test how they compare to Bose’s equivalent on the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar. Bose’s version works well, so the competition is going to be tough here.
Maybe the most surprising positive impression that I got wasn’t the sound or any of the new features; it was the general look and feel of the Beam Ultra. The soundbar is compact, and while it’s slightly tall, it’s still very short and minimalist. I can already see this soundbar fitting in perfectly for people in small apartments who still want to maximize sound. It may also be generally appealing to people who want big, premium sound but don’t want to look at all the audio hardware that you need to deliver that.
While $699 is not a small sum of money to spend on a soundbar, there’s (at least in my initial read) a lot to be interested in, so if you’re willing to pay the Sonos premium, the Beam Ultra is looking like a soundbar to have on your radar.
