We've currently tested eight Sonos soundbars. Sonos is an audio-centric brand that sells a wide range of home audio devices, including speakers. The brand focuses on creating multi-room home audio systems that bring your favorite music to every room of your house, creating a unique ecosystem that's easy to control via its all-in-one app. Its soundbars fit right into the mix, and you can even pair them with some Sonos rear speakers and a subwoofer for a more immersive surround sound.
Updates
- 12/06/2023 Sonos Arc updated
- 10/12/2023 Sonos Beam (Gen 2) updated
- 06/16/2023 Sonos Ray updated
- 05/24/2023 Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc reviewed
- 11/22/2022 Sonos Beam (Gen 2) with Sub Mini + One SL Speakers reviewed
Best Sonos Soundbars
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Best Sonos Soundbar
Mixed Usage8.2Dialogue/TV Shows8.4Music8.2Movies8.1Channels7.1.4The best Sonos soundbar we've tested is the Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc. This versatile soundbar setup builds on the standalone Sonos Arc, with a dedicated subwoofer for improved bass reproduction and two Sonos Era 300 speakers for surround sound. You can't get it as a package deal now, but you can purchase the components from the manufacturer separately and pair them together for the best possible sound. Whether listening to music, movies, or TV shows, you enjoy a clean and clear sound that ensconces you from all angles, making you feel right in the middle of the action.
This soundbar comes with many premium sound enhancement features, too. It has a room correction tool called TruePlay, designed to automatically optimize the bar's sound based on the unique acoustics of your living room. You can manually adjust with bass and treble adjustments if you prefer. There's built-in voice assistant for hands-free control as well. Voices and lead instruments are clear and accurate right out of the box, and the bar's wide and immersive soundstage is great for listening to height and surround sound content like Dolby Atmos and Dolby Digital. It's the best of the best, so it's worth a look if you love Sonos products.
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Best Mid-Range Sonos Soundbar
Mixed Usage8.0Dialogue/TV Shows8.3Music8.0Movies7.8Channels7.1If you want a premium Sonos soundbar for less, check out the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) with Sub Mini + One SL Speakers. It's the next generation of the original Sonos Beam, and it keeps the same small and compact design as its predecessor for easy integration into smaller living rooms. This generation also supports Dolby Atmos content, meaning you can enjoy an immersive sound with your favorite movies and TV shows on streaming platforms and Blu-rays. Despite its small size, it uses psychoacoustic principles to stretch sound past the edges of the bar itself for a more cinematic feel, so you feel immersed in your audio.
This soundbar is suitable for all sorts of audio content. It's available as the standalone Sonos Beam (Gen 2) for those who don't have space for a sub and satellites, but the add-ons improve its sound, especially in the bass range. It clearly reproduces voices and lead instruments, and you get plenty of thump in the bass for explosive scenes. Like the Sonos Arc, you can access the TruePlay room correction feature, and there's built-in support for Alexa and Google Assistant. It doesn't achieve as much height as the Arc and doesn't get quite as loud, but this small bar still packs a real punch.
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Best Budget Sonos Soundbar
Mixed Usage6.3Dialogue/TV Shows7.0Music6.7Movies5.5Channels2.0The Sonos Ray is the best Sonos sound bar in the budget category we've tested. This small 2.0 bar is ideal for listening to stereo content, which includes most music and dialogue-focused TV shows. Despite its budget-friendly price, you can still access the TruePlay room correction feature on the S2 app with your iOS device. Voices are especially clear and detailed out of the box, and lead instruments reproduce with accuracy. As a result, it's suitable for listening to many different music genres and TV shows like sitcoms.
As a small, standalone bar, it's ideal for those who don't have a lot of space in their living rooms. Of course, it doesn't bring as much rumble in the bass, so fans of genres like EDM and hip-hop may want to add a separate sub. Compared to Sonos' premium offerings, there's no Dolby Atmos support. It can still playback 5.1 surround sound formats like Dolby Digital. Since it has to downmix this content into stereo to play it, the representation isn't quite as immersive, but separate satellites are always available to enhance its performance. It's a good choice for a simple plug-and-play upgrade over your existing TV speakers.
Compared To Other Brands
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Easily upgradable setup.
If you don't have a lot of space in your setup, you can use the standalone soundbars to enhance your TV's sound. However, if you move to a larger space or change your mind down the line, Sonos sells compatible subwoofers and satellites that you can add to your setup to improve its performance. -
Wireless multi-room system available.
Sonos sells a wide array of speakers and home audio devices, and their S2 app makes it easy to control your music ecosystem in one place. Use the app to play audio in every room of your house, either in unison or separately. However, you'll need an iOS device to access the room correction feature. -
Wide, immersive soundstage.
Most Sonos soundbars use psychoacoustic principles to make it seem like your favorite movies and music extend well past the edges of the bar itself, resulting in a soundstage that seems to stretch all around you.
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No Bluetooth compatibility.
Bluetooth is a handy tool to stream audio from your mobile devices to your soundbar—unfortunately, Sonos soundbars don't support it. You can still stream wirelessly via Wi-Fi and, in some cases, Apple AirPlay. -
No EQ.
If you like to customize the way your bar sounds, unfortunately, Sonos doesn't have a lot of tools on hand. Its premium setups come with bass and treble adjustments, but you won't find EQ presets or a graphic EQ to customize it across the range. -
No HDMI passthrough.
Sonos' soundbars don't come with HDMI In ports. That means you can't use them to passthrough high-quality video formats from media devices or gaming consoles.
Sonos vs Bose
Bose and Sonos are two premium soundbar manufacturers whose products address a similar market segment. Their top-of-the-line products have built-in smart features like voice assistants for hands-free control, and their wide and immersive soundstages provide a clear and real feel with audio formats like Dolby Atmos. However, Sonos supports DTS content, unlike Bose soundbars. If you already own products in their ecosystem, you can usually connect them to stream audio around your house.
Sonos vs Samsung
Samsung manufactures a wider array of soundbars, so you'll find more mid-range and budget-friendly models in their lineup than Sonos. Samsung's top-of-the-line models are comparable to Sonos', with impressive sound quality and built-in smart features for hands-free control. Sonos tends to shine with soundstage performances, but Samsung soundbars offer more sound enhancement features and HDMI In ports for video passthrough.
Sonos is a premium audio brand with a small array of soundbars to enhance your TV's audio. Their setups are easily upgradable, either by adding subwoofers and satellites or connecting them to your existing Sonos ecosystem to synchronize sound throughout different rooms of your house. Compared to other premium brands, though, there aren't as many customization tools on hand, but the best Sonos soundbars deliver clear sound out-of-the-box, so you don't have to tinker with their settings too much.
Lineup
Sonos only has a few soundbars on the market. Unlike other manufacturers, these products tend to stay available for multiple years in a row, and Sonos doesn't replace them annually. You can learn a bit about the expected features through the naming conventions:
- Arc series: Top-of-the-line model with Atmos support.
- Beam series: Mid-range offering; only the 2nd generation has Atmos support.
- Ray series: Budget-friendly model for stereo content.
Recent Updates
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Nov 22, 2023: We haven't tested any new Sonos soundbars since the last update. Since our picks remain available, they stay the same.
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Jul 31, 2023: Replaced the Sonos Arc with Sub + One SL Speakers with the Sonos Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc as 'Best Soundbar'.
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Apr 12, 2023: No new Sonos products tested since our last update. Our picks remain widely available and are the best for your needs. Some text updates for clarity.
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Dec 13, 2022: Updated the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) text to reflect the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) with Sub Mini + One SL Speakers results.
Conclusion
Sonos is a popular brand for audio lovers who want to enhance their favorite music, movies, and TV shows. Their premium soundbars are a solid choice with great audio quality right out of the box and fit into your existing Sonos ecosystem. You don't get as many enhancement features as other premium brands, but their plug-and-play performance won't disappoint.