Sonos Beam Ultra White

With 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos the sound doesn't stay in front of you: it surrounds you and comes from above.

Nine drivers, three dimensions

Despite its compact size, Beam Ultra creates a true bubble of sound around the listener. Nine Class-D digital amplifiers, each tuned to the driver it powers, drive five tweeters and four low-profile woofers. The forward-firing centre tweeter gives voices precision and a stable centre image. Two side-firing horn-loaded tweeters widen the stage and separate the left and right channels. Two tweeters on top, loaded into a directional horn, project sound towards the ceiling, where it reflects back and seems to come from above you.

The result is 7.1.2 channels from a device just 75 cm wide. Effects break free of the bar, to the sides and overhead: cars move across the room and rain falls from above, in films, series and games, without extra speakers in the room.

Dolby Atmos and overhead sound

It supports all the key home cinema formats: Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Atmos, plus multichannel PCM and DTS Digital Surround. Dolby TrueHD and lossless Dolby Atmos require an HDMI eARC connection to the TV. The upward-firing drivers also play Dolby Atmos Music, spreading instruments and effects in three dimensions.

If the top of the soundbar is obstructed, for example inside a cabinet, a dedicated mode simulates overhead sound to preserve the sense of height. You select your setup in the Sonos app.

Artificial intelligence separates voices from music and effects, even when the action gets loud.

AI-enhanced dialogue

In modern films, loud effects often bury the dialogue. Beam Ultra introduces AI Speech Enhancement: artificial intelligence detects human voices within the soundtrack and makes them clearer without simply raising the overall volume. Choose from four levels in the Sonos app, to suit the programme and your preferences.

Night Sound reduces the intensity of loud passages and brings out quieter details, so you can watch comfortably at low volume without disturbing the rest of the house.

Trueplay tuning

Like every Sonos speaker, Beam Ultra features Trueplay: it analyses the acoustics of the room and automatically tunes the EQ to the soundbar's position, its distance from the walls and the character of the space, whether an open-plan area or a cosy lounge. It works with iOS and Android devices. The Sonos app also lets you adjust bass, treble and loudness manually.

The far-field microphone array, with beamforming and multichannel echo cancellation, handles Trueplay tuning, voice control and connecting Sonos Play or Move 2 as surrounds. The result is balanced sound and clear dialogue, whether the soundbar sits on furniture under the TV or is mounted on the wall.

Beam Ultra is the start of a complete Sonos system that grows whenever you like.

Home cinema and multiroom

On its own it already transforms your TV sound, and it can grow whenever you like. Add a Sonos subwoofer for deeper bass and a pair of Sonos speakers as rear surrounds: even the portable Sonos Play or Move 2, which become speakers for the rest of the house once the film is over. In a Sonos multiroom system it plays the same music in several rooms or a different source in each. With TV Audio Swap you can send TV sound, Dolby Atmos included, to Sonos Ace or Sonos Ace Ultra headphones.

Streaming with WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3 and AirPlay 2

Beam Ultra is also a complete wireless speaker. It joins your home network over WiFi 6 and plays streaming services such as Apple Music, Spotify, TIDAL, Qobuz and Deezer, as well as internet radio. Apple users can send audio from any app with AirPlay 2, while Bluetooth 5.3 pairs any phone or tablet at the press of a button.

Control it from the Sonos app, the touch controls on the soundbar, the TV remote you already own, or by voice with Sonos Voice Control. A switch on the back fully disconnects the microphones.

The Sonos app brings all your music services and settings together in one place, and you can also control the soundbar directly from Spotify, TIDAL and other apps.