Sonos is one of the leading brands in soundbars, and many of you are interested in buying one of the bars that the American brand has in its catalog. Just as I have done with Samsung and LG, here is a comparison of the current Sonos soundbars to help you choose when purchasing.
This year the Sonos catalog has seen the arrival of a new model, the Sonos ARC Ultra, which accompanies the 2020 Sonos ARC, the Sonos Beam Gen2, and the Sonos Ray. The Sonos catalog is limited in models, but each one covers a spectrum of needs and budgets very well.
| Sonos ARC Ultra | Sonos ARC | Sonos Beam Gen2 | Sonos Ray | |
| Channels | 9.1.4 | 5.0.2 | 5.0 | 2.0 |
| Internal Subwoofer |  |  | | |
| Drivers | 15 | 11 | 5 | 4 |
| SoundMotion | | | | |
| Dolby Atmos / Dolby | / | / | / | / |
| DTS | | | | |
| HDMI eARC | | | | |
| Optical | Optional adapter | (Adapter included) | (Adapter included) | |
| WiFi/Bluetooth | / | / | / | / |
| Bar Dimensions | 7.5 x 117.8 x 11 cm | 8.7 x 114.2 x 11.6 cm | 6.8 x 65.1 x 10 cm | 7 x 55.7 x 9.3 cm |
| Available Colors | Black, White | Black, White | Black, White | Black, White |
| Where to Buy | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
ARC Vs ARC Ultra: Which of the two premium Sonos bars is more recommendable?
There is no doubt that the two highest-end Sonos bars are the ARC and ARC Ultra. The Sonos ARC was released in 2020 and quickly became a hit due to its exceptional sound quality, being since then the best “standalone” soundbar (just the bar, without a subwoofer or rear speakers) on the market. The HDMI eARC connection allowed it to reproduce Dolby Atmos in a fantastic way, thanks to a 5.0.2 channel arrangement, with side and top sound projection speakers that provide a very convincing sound bubble, and with a very remarkable bass reproduction for a bar without a subwoofer, neither internal nor external.
The Sonos ARC Ultra arrives at the end of 2024 to replace its sister, and it does so with a more advanced channel configuration: 9.1.4 channels and 4 more transducers in the bar, offering an even more notable sound improvement, especially in the bass. Sonos employs the patented SoundMotion technology: a dual-type internal subwoofer with four amplification motors, allowing the ARC Ultra to deliver much deeper bass. In fact, there are many reviews that claim SoundMotion makes the purchase of an external subwoofer unnecessary with this Sonos ARC Ultra.
But there is not only a difference in the bass, as the Sonos ARC Ultra has more surround projection speakers, achieving an even greater sound immersion than its predecessor. And it achieves all this with an amazing space economization, as the dimensions are practically the same.
Apart from that, the features between the Sonos ARC and the ARC Ultra are very similar, except for the fact that the Sonos ARC Ultra has Bluetooth connectivity, which the ARC does not have. On the other hand, the Sonos ARC comes with the included optical digital cable adapter (for all those with an old TV that cannot take advantage of the HDMI eARC benefits) while the Sonos ARC Ultra does not include it, and if you want it, you must buy it separately (it costs about 30€).
Obviously, today the Sonos ARC Ultra is a much more recommendable purchase. Moreover, one might think that Sonos has significantly lowered the price of the Sonos ARC with the arrival of the model that has come to replace it, but that is not the case, and it is undoubtedly worth paying the small difference between the two to get the Sonos ARC Ultra.
Sonos Beam Gen2 and Sonos Ray, the two low-end Sonos bars
Much more modest are the other two Sonos bars, the Beam Gen2 and the Sonos Ray, especially the latter. But let’s talk first about the Sonos Beam Gen2, a mid-range bar that features Dolby Atmos compatibility, although its channel configuration makes this compatibility more of an advertising claim than something effective and real, as there are only 5 channels.
Even so, its sound is quite good. It is a bar that I was able to analyze at the time and I found it offers truly amazing sound for its compact dimensions, and since then I have been recommending it as the ideal soundbar for small spaces or TVs under 55 inches.
Even more compact is the Sonos Ray, but its sound quality is noticeably inferior. I have not been able to personally test the Sonos Ray, but there are many reviews that speak poorly of it, and reviewing its specifications, one can understand why: it has only two channels, offering stereo sound that is surely quite good (Sonos is a brand that always ensures good sound quality) but for its price, there are bars that are more complete and recommendable.
Additionally, the Sonos Ray is the only current Sonos bar that is not compatible with Dolby Atmos, and it also does not have an HDMI ARC port, but only an optical digital audio port to connect to the TV, which, on the other hand, is totally logical, as its channel configuration makes it impossible to reproduce anything other than stereo audio.
