Sonos currently sells four soundbars in the UK, and the price gap between the cheapest and most expensive is over £800: the Ray at £199, the Beam Gen 2 at £449, the original Arc at £899, and the flagship Arc Ultra at £999. The jump in price mostly buys you Dolby Atmos support and a wider soundstage — the Ray is the only model in the range without any object-based surround audio at all. For most UK living rooms paired with a 43–55 inch TV, the Beam Gen 2 hits the best balance of price and performance; only step up to the Arc models if your room is genuinely large or you already own other Atmos-capable Sonos speakers. This guide breaks down what each price tier actually gets you.
How much does a Sonos soundbar cost in the UK?
Sonos prices its four current soundbars at four distinct tiers, each aimed at a different room size and budget:
| Model | UK RRP | Channels / Drivers | Dolby Atmos | HDMI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonos Ray | £199 | 3.0 (4 drivers) | No | None — optical only |
| Sonos Beam (Gen 2) | £449 | 5.0 (5 drivers) | Yes (virtualised) | ARC |
| Sonos Arc | £899 | 5.0.2 (11 drivers) | Yes | eARC |
| Sonos Arc Ultra | £999 | 9.1.4 (14 drivers) | Yes | eARC |
Street prices move around fairly often — the Beam Gen 2 in particular is regularly discounted to £335–£429 at retailers like Richer Sounds and Amazon, and the Ray dips to around £179–£189. The Arc and Arc Ultra see smaller, less frequent discounts of £100–£150 off RRP during sales events. Always check current pricing before buying, since Sonos itself rarely runs its own promotions.
Which Sonos soundbar is worth the money?
For most UK households, the Beam Gen 2 at £449 is the sweet spot. It is compact enough for TV units up to around 55 inches, supports Dolby Atmos through virtual surround processing, and integrates with the rest of a Sonos multi-room system exactly like the pricier models. Our full Sonos Beam Gen 2 review covers day-to-day performance in more depth.
The Ray at £199 makes sense only if Dolby Atmos genuinely does not matter to you — for a bedroom TV, a student flat, or a simple stereo upgrade over built-in TV speakers, its four-driver 3.0 setup is a real step up for the price. It cannot take an HDMI connection at all, which is worth checking against your TV before buying.
The Arc and Arc Ultra are aimed at larger rooms and dedicated home cinema setups. Our Sonos Arc review and comparison against Bose in Sonos vs Bose soundbar both go into detail on whether the jump to a flagship bar is worth it over the Beam.
Is the Arc Ultra worth £999 over the original Arc?
Only if bass and dialogue clarity in a large room matter more to you than £100. The Arc Ultra replaces several of the Arc's woofers with Sonos's new Sound Motion transducer — a single driver using four magnet motors that Sonos says produces roughly twice the bass output of the original Arc, without a separate subwoofer. It also adds a 9.1.4-channel configuration across 14 drivers, versus the Arc's 11, for a noticeably wider and more precisely placed Atmos soundstage. Since the Arc Ultra launched, Sonos has kept selling the original Arc alongside it at a lower price, so the older model is not being phased out immediately — it remains the better value pick if you don't need the extra bass headroom.
Do you need a separate subwoofer as well?
None of the four soundbars strictly need a subwoofer, but adding one is the single biggest audible upgrade available for any Sonos soundbar setup. The Sonos Sub Mini costs around £429 and pairs with the Ray or Beam Gen 2 for a noticeably fuller low end without the bulk of the full-size Sub 4, which costs considerably more and is aimed at the Arc and Arc Ultra. Budget for the subwoofer as a second purchase rather than assuming it is bundled — none of the standalone soundbar prices above include one.
How does Sonos compare to rival soundbar brands on price?
Sonos sits at the premium end of the soundbar market at every price tier compared with Bose, Sony and JBL equivalents, but the trade-off is deeper integration with the wider Sonos multi-room ecosystem — a Sonos soundbar, speaker and subwoofer all group together in one app with no separate hub. If price is the only factor, our wider best smart soundbar UK roundup covers cheaper alternatives from other brands at each tier.
