Sonos Arc Ultra vs Beam Gen 2

What published reviews say about each, where the two differ, and who each one suits.

Summed up from 16 published reviews

Sonos

Arc Ultra

The Sonos Arc Ultra delivers excellent Dolby Atmos immersion, stronger bass, and clearer dialogue, but lacks DTS:X, HDMI inputs, and requires costly extras for full surround.

Best for: Atmos enthusiasts invested in Sonos ecosystem seeking premium soundbar
Skip it if: Need DTS:X, multiple HDMI inputs, or budget-friendly surround

PriceToday's price on AmazonView on Amazon

What reviewers say about the Sonos Arc Ultra

Sonos

Beam Gen 2

The Sonos Beam Gen 2 delivers impressive Dolby Atmos sound in a compact, feature-rich soundbar ideal for small spaces.

Best for: Small to medium rooms wanting compact Atmos soundbar
Skip it if: Need multiple HDMI inputs or true surround sound

PriceToday's price on AmazonView on Amazon

What reviewers say about the Sonos Beam Gen 2

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Specs side by side

Spec	Sonos Arc Ultra	Sonos Beam Gen 2
Inputs	HDMI ARC, Bluetooth	–
Kind	Soundbar	Soundbar
Powered	Yes	Yes
Headphone jack	No	No
Remote	No	No
RGB	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes

Rows where the two differ come first.

Where only one fits

connection: Arc UltraBluetoothOptical or HDMI

What reviewers like, and what they don't

Sonos Arc Ultra

Immersive Dolby Atmos with wide, detailed soundstage 1 2 4
Substantial bass improvement via Sound Motion woofer 1 2 3 4
Clear dialogue with enhanced center channel and speech enhancement 1 3 4 5
Expandable with Sub and Era 300 for full surround 1 3 4 5
Bluetooth and AirPlay support for easy wireless streaming 1 5 8
No DTS:X or DTS-HD Master Audio support 1 2 3 7
Only HDMI eARC input; no HDMI passthrough or extra inputs 2 3 5 8
High total cost when adding Sub and rear speakers 1 3 4 5
Sonos app can be buggy with reliability issues 1 2 5 7

Sonos Beam Gen 2

Compact design fits small rooms and TVs 1 2 3 4
Clear balanced sound with excellent dialogue clarity 1 2 3 4
Dolby Atmos support adds immersive audio 1 2 3 4
Seamless Sonos ecosystem integration and streaming 1 2 4 5
Single HDMI port limits connectivity options 1 4 5
No DTS:X support for advanced formats 1 5
Atmos height effects are virtual not true overhead 1 3 5 6
Struggles to fill large rooms with immersive sound 2 3 6 7

Sources

We don't test products ourselves. This page sums up 16 published reviews, read on October 24, 2026; each point above links to the reviews that make it.