Want to know a little more about what Sonos has to offer in the soundbar department? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
Sonos Ray
The Ray is Sonos’s smallest soundbar, making it ideal for smaller spaces and second systems. Narrow enough to fit between many TV’s feet and with a low profile that won’t block the screen, it fits where others won’t.
Although it’s the smallest Sonos soundbar, the sound is anything but. With 2-way, stereo speakers built in, it pushes the sound deep into your room. The folded bass reflex ports ensure richly-balanced bass that goes way deeper than the average TV. If you want to go deeper still, add the Sonos Sub Mini for a serious bass boost. You can make the sound even more immersive, too. Simply add Sonos Era 100 SL speakers at the rear and experience true surround sound.
The Ray isn’t just about powerful sound and immersive presence however, it can be subtle, too. When you’re struggling to hear the dialogue, simply turn on Speech Enhancement for vocals to click into focus. If it’s getting late and you don’t want to disturb the household, Night Sound mode reduces the intensity, while still maintaining the essence of Sonos sound.
It might be the baby of the range, but that doesn’t stop the Ray from delivering premium wireless connectivity. Connect via wi-fi to your Sonos system and enjoy peerless music streaming from the innovative app. Unlike many soundbars, the Ray seamlessly transforms from TV soundbar to fully fledged music speaker within a multiroom system. It’s also compatible with AirPlay, making it ideal for using within an Apple ecosystem.
Sonos Beam Gen 2
The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is the compact option in the Sonos soundbar line-up, but its relatively small dimensions don’t mean small sound. Measuring just 651mm wide, the Beam houses five internal speakers and delivers a surprisingly powerful, room-filling performance, with deep bass and plenty of detail at the top end. The big upgrade over the original Beam is Dolby Atmos support, with its processing creating a more spacious and immersive soundstage from compatible content.
As you’d expect from Sonos, the Beam is about much more than simply improving your TV’s sound. It integrates into the wider Sonos ecosystem, allowing you to add a Sonos Sub for greater low-end impact and compatible Sonos speakers for wireless rear channels, creating a more enveloping surround setup without running speaker cables around the room. Trueplay also automatically analyses your room and adjusts the Beam’s sound to suit its surroundings, while Speech Enhancement makes dialogue clearer when you’re watching something particularly busy or dialogue-heavy.
It’s equally capable as a music speaker, with access to a wide range of streaming services, internet radio and podcasts through the Sonos app, alongside Apple AirPlay 2 and voice control via Amazon Alexa. Night Sound is another useful addition, reducing the intensity of louder effects while retaining clarity for late-night viewing. With HDMI eARC connectivity, a compact design and the ability to grow into a full wireless surround system, the Beam Gen 2 is a particularly flexible choice for anyone who wants impressive TV sound without giving up too much space to their soundbar.
Sonos Beam Ultra
Like Goldilocks’s porridge, the new Sonos Beam Ultra is not too big nor too small but ’just right’ for many of us. Featuring a larger cabinet than the Ray, plus a more comprehensive 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos speaker array, it punches harder, wider and deeper.
Fitted with four low-profile woofers, it has a more richly-balanced sound that fills a medium-sized room with sonic presence. Thanks to upfiring speakers and Dolby Atmos, the Beam Ultra is more cinematic too. Use with Dolby Atmos-encoded content and enjoy a more spacious, immersive sound – just like at the cinema. Dolby Atmos creates an impression of height, letting you experience effects such as overhead aircraft and falling rain.
The latest ‘Ultra’ version of the classic Beam soundbar is clearer than ever with dialogue too. Thanks to AI Speech Enhancement, human voices are detected and emphasised to improve clarity – no matter how action-packed the background. For the ideal level, simply choose from four levels – low, medium, high, or max.
It’s not just the sound that takes a step up with the Beam Ultra, it’s the connectivity as well. This is the first model in the lineup with an HDMI socket, making it universally compatible with modern TVs and monitors. As an eARC version, it’s fully featured, allowing full-resolution audio signals, including Dolby Atmos, to be passed from your TV to the soundbar.
Another bonus feature over the Ray is the inclusion of voice control. Fitted with Sonos Voice Control, it’s easy to control the soundbar, without lifting a finger. Just like the Ray, the Beam Ultra can be further enhanced by adding a Mini Sub and Era speakers at the back. If you want to make the most of Dolby Atmos, though, we’d recommend upgrading the rear speakers to the Era 300 model.
Sonos Arc Ultra
If you’ve got a larger room or simply want the best of the best, the Arc Ultra is the ultimate Sonos soundbar. At well over one metre wide, it’s not a compact soundbar, but it does make the ideal match for larger TVs, with the wider spread of speakers syncing seamlessly with big-screen action.
With its 9.1.4 speaker array, Dolby Atmos takes a big step up with the Arc Ultra. For extreme immersion, upward-firing drivers reflect sound off the ceiling, recreating astonishingly lifelike special effects. Meanwhile, side-firing drivers disperse the audio from wall to wall, creating a massive soundstage that’s wide enough to match even the largest screens.
Like the Beam Ultra, this flagship model also features Sonos’s Sound Motion™ technology. In this case the woofer is larger, helping it deliver a deeper, more powerful sound. If you want to go even deeper into the sound, Sonos’s larger Sub 4 makes the perfect match. The ultimate Sonos home cinema system becomes a reality when you add the Era 300 Dolby Atmos speaker as surrounds.
Like all the Sonos soundbars, the Arc Ultra supports Trueplay. Accessed via the Sonos app, this uses your iPhones mic to measure the room’s acoustics and optimise the sound to suit. Where the Arc Ultra is one step ahead of its smaller siblings, is that it’s the first Sonos soundbar that’s able to use this function with Android as well as Apple smartphones, meaning Android users no longer have to borrow an iPhone to optimise their Sonos system.
Finally, as well as the best soundbar for home cinema, the Arc Ultra is also the best Sonos soundbar for music. Powered by 14 Sonos-engineered speakers, it covers a wide frequency response, making it perfect for extracting the maximum impact from all genres of music.
Visit your local Richer Sounds store, or speak to our Telesales team about which soundbar is right for you,
