Sonos Beam Ultra vs Sonos Beam (Gen 2) Soundbar Comparison

Sonos Beam Ultra vs Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

Sonos Beam Ultra

7.1.2-channel | $699

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Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

3.0-channel | $499

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Sonos Beam Ultra vs Sonos Beam (Gen 2): the short answer

We can compare 13 features from the published specs. The Sonos Beam Ultra is ahead on 2, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) on none, and 11 are ties. The biggest difference for movies is height: the Sonos Beam Ultra has 2 ceiling-firing channels and the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) has none.

Reasons to choose Sonos Beam Ultra over Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

Channel layout: 7.1.2 vs 3.0
Height channels: 2 vs 0

Side-by-Side Comparison

	Sonos Beam Ultra	Sonos Beam (Gen 2)
Channel layout Counts speaker channels the bar actually has. More ear-level and height channels means a wider, taller sound field.	7.1.2	3.0
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	No
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	0
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	Optional
Room correction	Yes	Yes
Streaming	Wi-Fi + AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect	Wi-Fi + AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect
Voice assistant Built in, rather than through a separate smart speaker.	Sonos Voice Control built-in	Alexa & Google Assistant built-in
Dialogue enhancement	Yes	Yes
Height Lower is less likely to block the bottom of the TV picture.	2.56 in	2.75 in
Width / suits TVs from Neither is better: match the bar to your TV. See the size simulator below.	29.53 in / 40-inch	25.63 in / 32-inch
Drivers in the bar	9	5
Weight	6.35 lbs	6.2 lbs
List price	$699	$499

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 Sonos Beam (Gen 2). 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.

Sonos Beam (Gen 2) Specifications

Sound
Channels	3.0
Dolby Atmos	Yes
DTS:X	No
Drivers	Tweeters: Dome tweeter (1); Midrange: Full-range cones (4); Woofers: Passive Radiators (3); Enclosure: Passive Radiator
Subwoofer	Optional
Rear speakers	Optional
Virtual surround	Surround mode
Dialogue enhancement	Yes
Night mode	Yes
Room correction	Yes
Connections
HDMI to TV	eARC
HDMI inputs	0
Optical inputs	No
Analogue input	No
USB	No
Subwoofer output	Wireless
HDMI CEC	Yes
Streaming and Control
Wi-Fi	802.11n
Bluetooth	No
Streaming	AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, TIDAL, Amazon Music, Pandora, SiriusXM, TuneIn, Apple Music
Voice control	Alexa & Google Assistant built-in
App	Mobile, Web, Computer
Learns TV remote	Yes
Physical
Dimensions (W x H x D)	25.63 x 2.75 x 4 in / 651 x 70 x 102 mm
Weight	6.2 lbs / 2.81 kg
Wall mounting	Yes (bracket sold separately)
Warranty	1 Year parts, 1 Year labour
List price	$499

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

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