Sonos brings big audio upgrades with Beam Ultra soundbar and Ace Ultra headphones
A sound investment?
Always dreamed of an all-Sonos home sound system? There are now two pretty easy ways to get it, with the Sonos Beam Ultra and Sonos Ace Ultra.
And, thankfully, neither is quite as expensive as the top-end Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar.
The Sonos Beam Ultra sits under that top home theatre system at £699, while the Sonos Ace Ultra follow-up Sonos’s first pair of headphones and cost £399.
Sonos’s new Beam Ultra soundbar ups the number of drivers you get compared to a regular old Beam, with 7.1.2 channels. That means seven standard surround drivers, a subwoofer and two upwards-firing height channels.
The second Sonos Beam was “just” a 5.0 soundbar. But the Arc Ultra remains a few steps ahead with 9.1.4 channel output.
Still, this new model will save you up to £300. The most important part, of course, is it looks sleek and yet unobtrusive, and is available in black and white finishes.
The usual roster of features applies here. The Beam Ultra supports Bluetooth as well as Wi-Fi, has a dialogue-booster mode and can pair up with a couple of rear speakers for a much more convincing surround sound image.
Virtual surround sound trickery is good, but you can't beat the real thing.
The Sonos Beam Ultra is up for pre-order now, with delivery from 29th September.
The big Ace upgrade
Fancy some headphones instead? The Sonos Ace Ultra look just like the standard Sonos Ace pair in most respects, but Sonos says they have a bunch of major improvements.
They offer “up to 2x more active noise cancellation” according to Sonos, and have a “next-generation” driver for improved sound.
Battery life is bumped up from 30 hours to 35 hours, and both the battery and pads are designed to be easily user replaceable. Big tech longevity points for Sonos, even if it’s in part thanks to pressure from EU legislation.
Intended to slot into a wider Sonos system if you have one, these Wi-Fi headphones can take over from Sonos speakers at a tap. And they use spatial audio and virtual surround sound tech to make it feel as though the audio is still rooted in the room, not the usual “floating around your head” experience of heapdhones.
Or if you want to just them as pure out-and-about headphones, no problem. They transmit over Bluetooth too — and if they're anything like the last generation (which they clearly are) comfort will be dreamy.
The Sonos Ace Ultra cost £399, and come in black, white, sand and a rich “agave” green colours. Just like the soundbar, they’re up for pre-order now and delivery is expected from 29th September.
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