If you are looking for a Dolby Atmos soundbar, you may have noticed that there’s a certain price point that sits in a very difficult middle ground. Bars that come in at around the £700 / $700 must figure out how to make their mark between two more competitive categories.
Below this category sit cheaper, entry-level soundbars, such as the five-star Sonos Beam Gen 2 and the JBL Bar 300MK2. With their more affordable price tags and impressively immersive performance considering their compact footprints, we can certainly see the appeal for those wanting to upgrade their TV’s uninspiring audio.
Then, for those wanting a more premium addition to their system, more pricey Atmos bars make for a great upgrade. That includes the likes of the Sonos Arc Ultra which won a What Hi-Fi? Award in 2025.
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So how do you make your mark as the middle child? There are two five-star models at this level that we have just put head to head – and there’s a clear frontrunner.
First up is the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 7 + S, which comprises a soundbar and a separate subwoofer. Together, that gives you a 5.1.2-channel configuration with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support.
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At the back of the soundbar, you will find a cable cove that houses two HDMI sockets. One is the eARC port to connect the soundbar to your TV, while the other is a dedicated input.
Challenging this Sony combo is the newly announced Sonos Beam Ultra, boasting a 7.1.2-channel configuration. It offers an upgrade in hardware from the Beam Gen 2 thanks to its two up-firing drivers, although there is still no DTS:X support.
In terms of design, the two soundbars are taking different approaches. The Bravia Theatre Bar 7 sports a cloth grille, while the Beam Ultra has a matte plastic finish with controls for volume and Bluetooth connectivity on the top. You can get both of them in black, while the Beam Ultra also comes in a white option.
Right now, they are both available for £699 in the UK, despite the Sony model originally coming out with a slightly higher price tag.
We gave each of them five stars in our test room, but which one comes out on top?
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(Image credit: Future)
The Sony and Sonos models each deliver a huge upgrade over the vast majority of TV speakers with their increased scale, clarity and detail.
When it comes to bass, we test out both models with the start of Chapter 2 in Blade Runner 2049. The Sony package is the meatier of the two and offers more of a floor-shaking experience thanks to its separate subwoofer. But the Sonos model blends the bass together more cohesively with the rest of the sound, and none of the frequencies stick out.
Where the Sony bar struggles with the lowest notes and delivers a little buzzing, the Beam Ultra offers a more refined, musical sound that presents more nuance in the low notes.
Both are precise, and we get a good sense of where each character is sitting during the interrogation scene between Officer K and the interviewer. The Sonos once again just edges ahead in this area, though, and has the best spatial positioning from the single bar.
In terms of scale, both Sony and Sonos deliver an expansive sound that extends beyond the height and width of our TV screen. That being said, the Beam Ultra’s audio hangs together more effectively to deliver the more convincing near-dome of Dolby Atmos sound.
Dialogue is crisp and expressive with both models, and remains at the forefront even during the busiest of moments.
Despite the Bravia Theatre Bar 7 + S delivering a bassy and immersive audio experience, the Sonos Beam Ultra manages to offer the most cohesive and engaging sound that makes it our top soundbar pick at this price.
MORE:
Here’s our review of the Sonos Beam Ultra
Check out what we thought of the Sony Bravia Theatre Bar 7 + S
And these are the best Dolby Atmos soundbars
