Sonos Ray review: Sonos budget lines get all the basics right

In the early days of Sonos, multi-room streaming companies drew numerous comparisons to Apple.

Not only because the product is sophisticated, elegant and only available in black and white, but also because it was expensive.

This is true of most Sonos products, but like Apple, the company is now using technology to offer new products at competitive prices.

So is Ray, the latest soundtrack along with Arcand Beam (Gen 2) from Sonos. Unlike the flagship £99,899 Arc and £449 Beam, the £9,279 Ray soundbar is positioned as the first ‘affordable’ version of Sonos.

Good perfect. Does that mean the angle is cut off? Certainly not where the sound is.

Inside, there are a pair of midwoofers and two tweeters, the latter equipped with a wavetable created by Sonos, with an emphasis on transmitting higher frequencies forward and out… This works to fill the room as much as possible, which means tire rotation, lead shots, conversation, etc. they are sharp.

Even the bass (which you might think you suffer from) is well represented here. Ray doesn’t have the same Dolby Atmos, 3D Arc or Beam Gen 2 sound technology, but he says the company has developed an entirely new bass reflex system for the band.

The result is a big, rounded sound coming out of a fairly compact 22-inch-wide device (the beam is 25.5-inches). Sonos says it’s designed for small to medium-sized rooms, but I don’t think it’s hard to pack in decent-sized room sound.

When it comes to design, Ray looks great and blends well with any home décor (available in black or white). It’s slightly trapezoidal with one side sloped and has the Sonos logo on the front. The speaker grills are placed only in the front, not on the sides and back like the beams and arches. This means you can safely place the spokes in the cabinet or between dividers so you don’t have to worry about losing your vote.

Ray’s feet have small rubber feet that can be wall mounted if desired. The IR sensor is shown in the cutout below, so you can use the TV’s remote after signing in to the Sonos app.

Of course, like all Sonos speakers, it can be quickly attached to other Sonos products around the home. Ray acts as another speaker in the arsenal when you’re not using Ray to play sound from your TV.

This feature is a big part of why we consider SonosRay. This is Sonos’ affordable product, but it still has a cheap soundtrack. However, if you’re trying to add a TV zone and you’re already using Sonos, that makes sense.

So what did Sonos do to get Beam this low in price? Well, as we said, Dolby Atmos is not installed and no voice assistant of any kind is supported. You’ll notice a distinct lack of microphones on top of this soundbar compared to other Sonos.

If you really want to talk to a technician instead of using the phone (remote is not available), even if you have another Sonos product with voice assistant support (such as Sonos One) on the same network, you can. ..

Another abbreviation is HDMI port. Most soundtracks will use the eARC-compatible HDMI port to power newer TVs. But given this, it makes sense. eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) is required for shell audio formats such as Dolby Atmos. This is not supported by Ray yet.

Instead, use the digital optical out port (at least on almost all TVs) to connect to the Ray. And again, this means that you have to spend on these processes.

Overall, the Sonos Ray offers a beautiful design and excellent sound quality, given its size. Not all the extra bells and whistles for more expensive bars are available, but the Sonos ecosystem really benefits.

Setup is simple and easy, and you can control everything from the Sonos Phone app. If you spend a little more money, you can get a more outstanding Beam experience, which is to be expected.

For those who already have a few Sonos speakers and are looking for a second soundbar for their bedroom or bonus room, Ray fits the bill.

Finally, Sonos is one of the best in the industry at supporting software-based products after its debut, so you can be reasonably sure you’ll get years of service from this device.