Sonos’s 4 Soundbars Compared: Arc Ultra vs Arc vs Beam vs Ray

Sonos currently makes four soundbars. There’s the Arc and the Arc Ultra, its two big Dolby Atmos soundbars that cost $899 and $999, respectively. The Beam (Gen 2) is a more compact Dolby Atmos soundbar that costs $499. And the Ray, which costs just $279, is its smallest and most affordable soundbar.

Of the four, the Arc and Arc Ultra are the most similar — in fact, the Arc Ultra is a newer and better version of the Arc, which Sonos is likely to discontinue in the near future. And the Beam (Gen 2) is quite similar as well — it’s just smaller and less powerful.

The Arc Ultra, Arc and Beam (Gen 2) all support Dolby Atmos. They are smart soundbars that can be set up to support voice commands from either Alexa or Sonos Voice Control. And they all connect to your TV via a single HDMI eARC connection.

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

The main difference, other than size and price, is that the Beam (Gen 2) lacks dedicated upward-firing drivers — which both Arc Ultra and Arc have — that really get the most out of Dolby Atmos content.

The Ray is similar to Sonos’s other soundbars, even if it doesn’t support Dolby Atmos. All four soundbars support music streaming over Wi-Fi (including AirPlay 2) and can be integrated in a larger multi-room or home theater system with other Sonos speakers. Because the Ray lacks built-in microphones, it’s the only soundbar that doesn’t support any voice assistants, including the upcoming Sonos Voice Control.

The main differences between Sonos’s four soundbars are size, cost, voice control and the levels of immersive sound each is able to deliver. So, which one should you buy?

What to Look For

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Support for Dolby Atmos

Support for Dolby Atmos is probably the most sound-after feature in a soundbar today. If you don’t know, Dolby Atmos is an immersive audio technology that is able to create virtual height and side channels that trick your ears into thinking that sound is coming from all around you — left, right and above — instead of just right in front of you. It basically makes it sound like you’re in a movie, rather than just watching it.

The Arc Ultra, Arc and Beam (Gen 2) support Dolby Atmos. The Ray does not.

Up-firing drivers

The best Dolby Atmos soundbars all have upward-firing drivers, meaning they have drivers that actually shoot sound up towards the ceiling. These drivers help the soundbar do a far superior job at creating virtual height and side channels and, ultimately, a more immersive sound experience.

These upward-firing drivers tend to only be integrated in more premium “flagship-quality” soundbars. However, you can buy a more affordable Dolby Atmos soundbar, like the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), but it won’t create quite as immersive sound.

Voice control

Most soundbars are “smart” these days. This means that they have built-in Wi-Fi and support a voice assistant, like Alexa or Google Assistant, so you can use your voice to adjust volume, summon songs and sometimes even change channels — all hands-free.

Of Sonos’s four soundbars, the Arc Ultra, Arc and Beam (Gen 2) all support voice control — only the entry-level Ray does not. They can be set up to support Amazon’s Alexa or Sonos Voice Assistant, which is Sonos’s privacy-focused voice assistant that responds to “Hey Sonos” voice commands and can only summon music requests.

The Arc and Beam (Gen 2) can also be set up with Google Assistant, but the Arc Ultra — as is true with all Sonos’s newer speakers, including the Era 300 and Era 100 — cannot. (This is due to a lengthy patent dispute between Google and Sonos.)

Note: You can have Alexa and Sonos Voice Control set up to work simultaneously on your Sonos soundbar (either the Arc or Beam 2). You can not have Google Assistant and Sonos Voice Control set up to work simultaneously, however.

How We Tested

Photo by Tucker Bowe

We’ve been able to test all four of Sonos soundbars thoroughly — you can read our reviews of each individual soundbar (links in their product sections, below). We tested them all in different sized rooms, playing both movies and music, and set up in larger surround sound systems with Sonos’s other speakers and subwoofers.

To learn more about our testing methodology and how we evaluate products, head here.

Sonos Arc Ultra

Sonos

Sonos Arc Ultra

The Sonos Arc Ultra is the company’s flagship Dolby Atmos soundbar. It looks quite similar to the older Arc, but packs more drivers, has a redesigned center channel, and takes advanced of a new woofer technology called “Sound Motion.” This helps the Arc Ultra deliver better midrange and more bass than the Arc, despite being similar in size.

Specs

Drivers	Seven silk-dome tweeters, six midrange drivers, one Sound Motion woofer
Amplification	15 Class-D digital amplifiers
Connectivity	Wi-Fi, Ethernet, optical, Bluetooth

Pros

• Dedicated upward-firing drivers deliver the best possible Dolby Atmos sound as Sonos soundbar can deliver
• Only Sonos soundbar that supports Sound Motion transducer technology, helping it deliver better bass than the Arc
• Redesigned center channel and advanced Speech Enhancement make dialogue super clear
• First Sonos soundbar to support Bluetooth streaming

Cons

• Sonos's most expensive soundbar
• Doesn't support Google Assistant

• $899 at Sonos
  $999 (10% off)
• $899 at Amazon
  $999 (10% off)

• Soundbar: 9.1.4-channel
• Size: 3.87 feet (length); 13.01 pounds (weight)
• Release date: October 2024

The Sonos Arc Ultra is the company’s flagship Dolby Atmos soundbar — it’s essentially an upgraded version of the Arc. It has more drivers (14 compared to the Arc’s 11), a redesigned center channel, and a “Sound Motion” woofer. The result is it has better midrange (and dialogue) performance with deeper bass than the Arc. It’s Sonos’s most immersive-sounding soundbar.

Read our full review of the Sonos Arc Ultra here.

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

Sonos Arc

Sonos

Sonos Arc

The Arc was Sonos’s premium Dolby Atmos soundbar before the Arc Ultra was released. It has a grand total of 11 high-performance drivers, two of which are upward-firing to enable those vertical high channels for Dolby Atmos. It also has smart speaker functionality (just like the Beam 2), so you can control it with your voice using Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. It supports AirPlay 2 as well.

Specs

Drivers	Three silk-dome tweeters, eight elliptical woofers
Amplification	11 Class-D digital amplifiers
Connectivity	Wi-Fi, Ethernet, optical

Pros

• Dedicated upward-firing drivers deliver a very immersive Dolby Atmos experience
• Works with Alexa or Google Assistant voice assistants
• Can be integrated into a larger home theater system with other Sonos speakers and subwoofer.

Cons

• Twice as expensive as the Beam (Gen 2)
• Not as good as Sonos's newer Arc Ultra

• $699 at Sonos
  $899.00 (22% off)

• Soundbar: 5.0.2-channel
• Size: 3.75 feet (length); 13.78 pounds (weight)
• Release date: June 2020

The Arc is a 5.0.2-channel soundbar with five horizontal channels for the left, right, center, left surround and right surround, and two upward-firing drivers that shoot up to your ceiling. It was Sonos’s flagship soundbar before the Arc Ultra was released, and it is best for 65-inch TVs (or larger) in medium to large rooms. Despite not being as great as the Arc Ultra, the Arc is still an excellent Dolby Atmos soundbar — especially if you can get it on sale.

Read our full review of the Sonos Arc here.

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

Sonos

Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

Sonos’s second-generation Beam is the company’s midrange soundbar and, yes, it supports Dolby Atmos. However, it lacks upward-firing drivers and thus is not able to create as immersive of sound as the Arc. Aside from size, power and upward-firing drivers, the Beam 2 works largely the same as the ARC. It connects to your TV via HDMI ARC and has smart speaker functionality.

Specs

Drivers	One tweeter, four full-range woofers, three passive radiators
Amplification	Five Class-D digital amplifiers
Connectivity	Wi-Fi, Ethernet, optical

Pros

• Half as expensive as the Arc, with most of the same capabilities
• Works with Alexa or Google Assistant voice assistants
• Can be integrated into a larger home theater system with other Sonos speakers and subwoofer

Cons

• Lacks upward-firing drivers so it won't sound quite as good playing Dolby Atmos content
• Smaller size means smaller sound.
• More expensive than original Beam

• $369 at Sonos
  $499.00 (26% off)

• Soundbar: 5.0-channel
• Size: 2.14 feet (length); 6.2 pounds (weight)
• Release date: October 2021

The Beam (Gen 2) is a new and improved version of the 2018-released Beam. It has the same exact 3.0-channel speaker array, but Sonos gave it a 40-percent faster CPU and a newer eARC connection, both of which allow it to play Dolby Atmos and other high-resolution content. It’s still the best option for small-to-medium sized rooms.

Read our full review of the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) here.

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

Sonos Ray

Sonos

Sonos Ray

The Sonos Ray is the company’s smallest, most affordable and most entry-level soundbar — and the only one that doesn’t support Dolby Atmos. Unlike the Arc and Beam (Gen 2), the Ray doesn’t have built-in mics and can’t function as a smart speaker. It also connects to your TV via optical rather than HDMI, meaning it’s better suited for smaller and older TVs.

Specs

Drivers	Two tweeters, two high-efficiency mid-woofers
Amplification	Four Class-D digital amplifiers
Connectivity	Wi-Fi, Ethernet, optical

Pros

• It's Sonos's most affordable soundbar
• Sounds great for its size and supports TruePlay
• Can be integrated into a larger home theater system with other Sonos speakers and subwoofer

Cons

• No support for Dolby Atmos
• No support for any voice assistants

• $199 at Sonos

• Drivers: 3.0-channel
• Size: 1.83 feet (length); 4.29 pounds (weight)
• Release date: June 2022

The Sonos Ray is the company’s smallest and most affordable soundbar — and the only one that doesn’t support Dolby Atmos. Unlike the Arc and Beam (Gen 2), the Ray doesn’t have built-in mics and can’t be integrated with a voice assistant. It also connects to your TV via optical rather than HDMI. The good news is it still sounds great for its size and it can be integrated into a larger Sonos multi-room or home theater. It’s really the best option for people with older TVs that don’t have an HDMI eARC connection.

Read our full review of the Sonos Ray here.

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol