Sonos Beam Ultra vs Marshall Heston 60 Soundbar Comparison

Sonos Beam Ultra vs Marshall Heston 60

Sonos Beam Ultra

7.1.2-channel | $699

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Marshall Heston 60

5.1-channel | $700

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Sonos Beam Ultra vs Marshall Heston 60: the short answer

We can compare 13 features from the published specs. The Sonos Beam Ultra is ahead on 4, the Marshall Heston 60 on 3, and 6 are ties. The biggest difference for movies is height: the Sonos Beam Ultra has 2 ceiling-firing channels and the Marshall Heston 60 has none.

Reasons to choose Sonos Beam Ultra over Marshall Heston 60

Channel layout: 7.1.2 vs 5.1
Height channels: 2 vs 0
Rear speakers: Optional vs None
Voice assistant: Sonos Voice Control built-in vs Google Assistant optional

Reasons to choose Marshall Heston 60 over Sonos Beam Ultra

DTS:X: Yes vs No
HDMI inputs: 1 vs 0
Streaming: Wi-Fi + AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect vs Wi-Fi + AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect

Side-by-Side Comparison

	Sonos Beam Ultra	Marshall Heston 60
Channel layout Counts speaker channels the bar actually has. More ear-level and height channels means a wider, taller sound field.	7.1.2	5.1
Height channels Drivers aimed at the ceiling, which is what makes Dolby Atmos sound overhead rather than just wide.	2	0
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes
DTS:X	No	Yes
HDMI to the TV eARC carries lossless Dolby TrueHD and Atmos from the TV; plain ARC compresses them.	eARC	eARC
HDMI inputs A spare HDMI port for a games console or disc player.	0	1
Subwoofer Included beats optional beats none: a separate subwoofer is where deep bass comes from.	Optional	Optional
Rear speakers Real rear speakers put effects behind you; without them surround is simulated from the front.	Optional	None
Room correction	Yes	Yes
Streaming	Wi-Fi + AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect	Wi-Fi + AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect
Voice assistant Built in, rather than through a separate smart speaker.	Sonos Voice Control built-in	Google Assistant optional
Dialogue enhancement	Yes	Yes
Height Lower is less likely to block the bottom of the TV picture.	2.56 in	2.63 in
Width / suits TVs from Neither is better: match the bar to your TV. See the size simulator below.	29.53 in / 40-inch	28.75 in / 40-inch
Drivers in the bar	9	7
Power (total, as published) Makers rate soundbar power differently, so the totals are not a like-for-like comparison.	—	75 W
Weight	6.35 lbs	6.08 lbs
List price	$699	$700

Green marks the better figure where one is better. Dashes are specs the maker does not publish.

Size: Both Soundbars in Front of a TV

Drawn to scale. The solid bar is the Sonos Beam Ultra, the dashed outline the Marshall Heston 60. Pick your TV size and how it stands to see whether either would cover the picture.

Full Specifications

Sonos Beam Ultra Specifications

Sound
Channels	7.1.2
Dolby Atmos	Yes
DTS:X	No
Drivers	Tweeters: 1 centre, 2 side-firing horn-loaded, 2 up-firing horn-loaded (5); Woofers: low-profile cone (4); Amplifiers: 9 Class D
Subwoofer	Optional
Rear speakers	Optional
Dialogue enhancement	Yes
Night mode	Yes
Room correction	Yes
Connections
HDMI to TV	eARC
HDMI inputs	0
Optical inputs	No
Analogue input	No
USB	USB-C
Subwoofer output	Wireless
HDMI CEC	Yes
Streaming and Control
Wi-Fi	802.11ax
Bluetooth	Yes
Streaming	AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, TIDAL, Amazon Music, Apple Music
Voice control	Sonos Voice Control built-in
App	Sonos app (iOS, Android)
Remote included	No
Physical
Dimensions (W x H x D)	29.53 x 2.56 x 4.13 in / 750 x 65 x 105 mm
Weight	6.35 lbs / 2.88 kg
Wall mounting	Yes (bracket sold separately)
Warranty	1 Year parts, 1 Year labour
List price	$699

Power is the maker's total across all drivers and is not comparable to an amplifier's per-channel rating.

Marshall Heston 60 Specifications

Sound
Channels	5.1
Dolby Atmos	Yes
DTS:X	Yes
Drivers	Tweeters: 1.25" Dome (5); Woofers: Cone (2); Enclosure: Ported
Power (bar, total)	75 watts
Frequency response	45-20k Hz
Subwoofer	Optional
Rear speakers	None
Virtual surround	Movie Mode
Dialogue enhancement	Yes
Night mode	Yes
Room correction	Yes
Connections
HDMI to TV	eARC
HDMI inputs	1
HDMI version	2.1
Optical inputs	No
Analogue input	3.5mm
USB	No
Subwoofer output	Mono-RCA, Wireless
HDMI CEC	Yes
Streaming and Control
Wi-Fi	802.11ax
Bluetooth	Yes
Streaming	AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, TIDAL, Pandora, SiriusXM, TuneIn, YouTube Music
Voice control	Google Assistant optional
App	Apple iOS, Android
Remote included	Yes
Learns TV remote	No
Physical
Dimensions (W x H x D)	28.75 x 2.63 x 4.88 in / 730 x 67 x 124 mm
Weight	6.08 lbs / 2.76 kg
Wall mounting	Yes (no bracket supplied)
Warranty	1 Year parts, 1 Year labour
List price	$700

Power is the maker's total across all drivers and is not comparable to an amplifier's per-channel rating.

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