Sonos is arriving at CEDIA Expo with its broadest lineup of announcements in some time: Sonos 27, the newest version of the software platform that runs its speaker ecosystem; two new flagship consumer products in the Beam Ultra soundbar and Sonos Ace Ultra headphones; a new lineup of multi-functional portable speakers; and Amp Multi, a professional multizone streaming amplifier built specifically for the custom integration channel. Sonos frames the announcements as the next step in a two-decade effort to build a dedicated “audio operating system” for the home — one that now extends more directly into the professional installation market.
Rather than building a single closed voice assistant, Sonos is opening its platform to multiple AI providers. The update introduces Sonos 27voice, an in-house assistant built around music and mood control, alongside Sonos 27mcp — a framework that lets outside AI assistants and agents connect directly to a user’s Sonos system. OpenAI is the company’s first outside partner under this approach, letting ChatGPT users play music on Sonos hardware without leaving the ChatGPT interface.
Sonos also gave a preview of Sonos Custom Agents, a forthcoming feature that would let users build their own assistants — each with a distinct model, persona, and voice — for control of the system. For integrators, the multi-assistant approach signals that Sonos intends voice control to be a modular layer rather than a single proprietary stack, which could affect how systems are specified and supported going forward.
The release also introduces Sonos Fabric, described as a system-level capability that lets Sonos products sense one another and adjust their roles automatically. Two features built on Fabric are rolling out this fall:
Sonos is also refreshing navigation in its companion app, now referred to as Sonos 27app, based on feedback gathered from its user community. The app remains one of several control surfaces alongside Sonos 27voice and a web-based option, Sonos 27web.
Beam Ultra is positioned as a mid-size soundbar that keeps the compact footprint of the original Beam while adding true 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos decoding through nine custom drivers, including two upward-firing drivers. Sonos says a redesigned center channel improves dialogue clarity, backed by four levels of AI-driven speech enhancement and a night-listening mode for volume-sensitive playback.
Beam Ultra is designed to anchor a home theater setup that scales over time — pairing with a Sonos Sub for low end, or with compatible portable speakers repurposed as rear surrounds via the Fabric-enabled positioning feature described above. Connectivity includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and HDMI eARC.
Sonos Ace Ultra is the company’s new premium over-ear headphone, featuring a Sonos-designed 40mm driver, adaptive active noise cancellation powered by ten microphones, and a rated 35 hours of battery life with ANC engaged. It’s the first Sonos headphone built on what the company calls Headphone Engine 2 — new hardware enabling the direct headphone-linking connection to a user’s broader Sonos system. Wired connectivity adds USB-C and a 3.5mm jack alongside Bluetooth.
Both new products were tuned with input from what Sonos calls its “Soundboard,” a group of music and film industry figures the company consults on sound tuning, and both integrate with Sonos’ existing calibration tools — Trueplay for Beam Ultra, and a headphone-specific counterpart called TrueCinema for Ace Ultra when paired with a compatible soundbar.
Sonos says more detailed rollout information for each feature will follow. Both new products are available through sonos.com and select retail partners.
Sonos frames the announcements as a shift from a portfolio of individually connected speakers toward a more unified, adaptive “system” — one where hardware additions make existing products more capable and where control can be handled by whichever AI assistant a user prefers. For dealers and integrators, the near-term practical items to watch are the Early Access status of headphone linking and Sonos 27mcp (both may see feature changes before wider release), and the September 8 versus September 29 staggered rollout across app navigation, portable surrounds, and the two new hardware products.
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