High-end and Hi-Res, these soundbars could be the Sonos alternatives you've been looking for

When you think of multi-room audio, Sonos is probably the first brand that springs to mind. However, Bluesound's BluOS systems include impressive hardware and software, and the firm has just added two very powerful soundbars to the lineup.

One's a full-sized model with 500W power output, while the other is more compact but still capable of kicking out 280W.

The Pulse Cinema and the Pulse Cinema Mini soundbars span 47-inches and 33-inches respectively, with the larger of the two best suited for 55-inch TVs or bigger.

Bluesound Pulse Cinema and Pulse Cinema Mini: key features and pricing

The Pulse Cinema is a full Dolby Atmos system with 16 drivers, including dual four-inch woofers and dedicated up-firing speakers. The smaller Mini doesn't have up-firing speakers but does have angled drivers and Dolby Atmos 2.1 virtualisation.

The soundbars each offer subwoofer outs, HDMI eARC, optical and RCA inputs, plus Bluetooth and AirPlay 2 wireless support. You can also configure them with other Bluesound speakers to create a full surround sound system.

Both soundbars run BluOS, which supports over 20 streaming services, including TIDAL, Qobuz, Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora and Deezer. They also support MQA and Hi-Res Audio up to 24-bit/192kHz.

BluOS makes it easy to organise and control multi-room setups, and you can use the new bars with home systems from Crestron, RTI and Control4.

Whichever model you consider, there's more connectivity and flexibility here than the Sonos Arc Ultra – but that comes at a cost, because the larger model is more expensive than its Sonos rival.

The Pulse Cinema has a RRP of £1,149 / $1,499 / €1,299 (about AU$2,315), while the Pulse Cinema Mini is £799 / $999 / €899 (about AU$1,543).

Both soundbars will be available for pre-order from 24 September and will ship from 24 October 2025.