You Can Now Tell ChatGPT To Turn Down The Music, Sonos Made That Happen

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Sonos unveiled three products in Malaysia today (24 Sep) — a soundbar, a headphone, and an audio operating system — through its local distributor TC Acoustic, with availability from 29 September.

The hardware made the headline; the software may have deserved more attention.

The Beam Ultra, priced at RM4,199, is a compact soundbar delivering true 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos through nine custom drivers, including two up-firing drivers.

Four levels of AI Speech Enhancement handle dialogue clarity.

The unit supports expansion with a Sub or compatible Sonos portable speakers configured as Portable Surrounds.

The Sonos Ace Ultra, priced at RM2,299, is an over-ear headphone built on Headphone Engine 2, featuring a Sonos-designed 40mm driver,

Adaptive ANC powered by ten microphones, and up to 35 hours of battery life with ANC active.

A direct headphone linking feature lets you transfer audio from any Sonos speaker in the home to the headphones with one press, without needing a phone nearby.

Both products run on Sonos 27, the latest generation of the company’s audio operating system, which introduces AI capabilities and a revised app interface.

Anthropic, the AI safety company behind the Claude assistant, developed the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and released it as an open standard in late 2024 — a common language between AI models and external tools or services, much like a USB standard lets different devices connect to different computers without a custom cable for each combination.

Since its release, MCP has been adopted by a growing number of platforms and developers, giving AI assistants access to real-world applications.

For Sonos, that means any AI platform built on MCP — not only ChatGPT — can interface directly with the speaker system.

Built on the same standard, Sonos 27mcp lets users control their speakers through AI platforms including ChatGPT and Claude, adjusting volume, switching rooms, or moving audio between devices through natural language, without opening the Sonos app.

At the launch in Kuala Lumpur, Sonos demonstrated exactly that — a user asking an AI assistant mid-conversation to lower the volume in the living room, move a podcast to the kitchen speaker, or play music by genre, without switching applications or picking up a dedicated remote.

Sonos also previewed Sonos Custom Agents, a feature that will let users build their own AI agents through the Sonos system, each with a distinct model, persona, and voice.

A rollout is targeted for 2027.

The move marks a significant expansion for a company that built its name on a different kind of simplicity.

Founded in Santa Barbara, California, in 2002, Sonos introduced one of the first consumer wireless multi-room audio systems—the idea that music could follow a listener from room to room without cables, syncing, or a dedicated home automation installer.

The system found its audience in households that wanted premium sound without the complexity of traditional hi-fi.

Sonos went public on Nasdaq in 2018 under the ticker SONO and now has more than 17 million households across 60 countries as users.

Its reputation rests on the longevity and interoperability of its ecosystem — speakers released years apart continue to work together on the same system, a feature the company has historically used as a key differentiator against single-device competitors.

The company entered the headphone category for the first time in 2024 with the original Sonos Ace, a departure from its speaker-only identity.

Sonos Ace Ultra is the second generation of that product.

The Beam Ultra and Sonos Ace Ultra are available for pre-order at the Sonos Concept Store by TC Acoustic at The Starhill Kuala Lumpur, and through my.tcacoustic.asia and Sonos Malaysia’s Official Store on Lazada. Both products are available in stores from 29 September.