Whether you’re in the market for designer clothing, lifestyle technology or custom furniture, finding luxury items on a budget is no easy task at the best of times. And in the worst of times? Even a fuss around TK Maxx can produce little more than some fake AirPods and a cracked ramekin Le Creuset.
We’re so conditioned to see high-end product prices go up while quality often goes down that when we first heard rumors that premium electronics brand Sonos was launching its first cheap sound bar, we couldn’t help but wonder. us, what’s the problem
Sonos has always had a cachet of aspirations. Its sleek yet expensive speakers are developed for mass use, integrating to provide you with an expansive and perfect audio accompaniment in every part of your home, as well as an immersive movie sound in your living room. ‘be. Can the affordable Sonos Ray still offer something close to that experience?
- Sonos Ray to Richer Sounds for £ 279 (opens in new tab)
Price
(Image credit: Future)
The Sonos Ray is the most affordable sound bar from Sonos, priced at £ 279 / $ 279 / AU $ 399. It is below the Beam Gen 2, which includes virtual Dolby Atmos and was launched last year at £ 449 / $ 449 / $ 699 AU.
It’s unusual to find wireless connectivity in an entry-level soundbar, and although many soundbars cost money similar to Ray, such as the recently revised Majority Sierra Plus, which costs £ 270 / $ 300 (around $ 470), have HDMI ports. and even Dolby Atmos support, the transmission is usually strictly limited to Bluetooth, which, incidentally, the Ray does not have.
Ray may not be able to decode Dolby Atmos, but it can handle Stereo PCM as well as Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS Digital Surround with confirmation of the codec type shown on the “Now Playing” page of the app.
While the only non-Dolby Atmos soundbar in the current Sonos lineup, Ray still offers users the flexibility to create a standard multi-channel surround system that can be added over time.
Options for expanding the Sonos Ray include adding two One SL rear speakers (£ 358 / $ 358 / $ 538 AU) and the expensive Sonos Sub (£ 699 / $ 699 / $ 999 AU). However, customers are unlikely to pay nearly four times the price of the soundbar for the separate envelopes. Instead, Sonos expects Ray to be paired with the more affordable Symfonisk IKEA rage, which includes the £ 99 / $ 99 (around AU $ 176) Symfonisk shelf speaker and the £ 159 Symfonisk lamp. / $ 140 / $ 269 AU. While Symfonisk does not yet include any subordinates, there are unconfirmed rumors that Sonos will launch a new submarine that is compatible with the size and price of the Ray, which would probably be a welcome addition for most users.
Build
(Image credit: Future)
Ray marks a bit of a game for Sonos. It still maintains the basic interoperability identity of the company, allowing it to be part of a multi-room wireless system using Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and / or the Sonos S2 app. But this is a speaker aimed at those who have probably never considered the brand before. Its ultra-compact dimensions, sharp construction and forward-facing speakers make it take up little space and eliminate any need for a clear line of sight for up and side shooting drivers, making it a handy option for in small rooms or shared spaces.
Aesthetically, the Ray is very much part of the Sonos genetic complex with smooth curves, capacitive touch buttons, monochrome finishes and a perforated polycarbonate grille. The edge of the grille does not sit completely with the main body in any of the production samples provided for review, but while this is unusual for a company as demanding as Sonos, it is a small problem in which is otherwise a very smart speaker. at this price point.
Characteristics
(Image credit: Future)
Inside is a quartet of Class D amplifiers that feed the series of four Ray-facing front-facing controllers: two mid-sized elliptical woofers flanked by a pair of tweeters that light up in ‘ona dividides. The waveguides separate and disperse the high frequencies back and forth for a sense of amplitude that, along with Ray’s audio processing, Sonos says, will create a wide soundtrack and help locate the effects. accurately in your room. While Sonos has said that the Ray could be described as a 3.0 system, there is no dedicated central channel controller, with all controllers sharing the dialog tasks.
Low frequencies are handled with patented low-speed low-curved low-reflective ports that Sonos says offer a high-weight, low-distortion end, thanks to a design that controls the speed of the airflow inside to reduce drag-induced turbulence. We’ve always been impressed with how Sonos can overcome the limitations of scale when it comes to producing a fleshy sound, and we’re intrigued to know what the diminutive Ray can offer in that regard.
Because the Ray has been designed to fit snugly into cabinets without being affected by sound scattering, it doesn’t include Dolby Atmos virtual decoding of Sonos’ most premium sound bars: the Beam Gen 2 and the Arc. Therefore, in a rather pragmatic way, Sonos has decided to abandon the HDMI eARC connections of its more expensive products in favor of a classic optical input, arguing that since this speaker is not designed to handle high-bit immersive formats , then you do not need the requirement. port.
Sonos Ray technical specifications
(Image credit: Future)
1 x optical connections
Stereo PCM, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS Digital Surround sound formats
Bluetooth no
Wi-Fi? Yes, with streaming via Airplay2, Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect
Finishes Matte black, matt white
Dimensions (hwd) 7 x 56 x 10cm
Weight 2.8 kg
Given that even Sonos’ Beam Gen 1, which is now discontinued, carried ARC, we’re a little disappointed that the Ray has been downgraded in this way, as having HDMI on a product other than Atmos doesn’t this is completely superfluous, in part because it allows you to easily use your usual remote control to control the functions of a sound bar. To top it off, the Sonos Ray has an infrared receiver that will allow the soundbar to sync with the TV remote control. The process is very simple for a typical IR remote with the Sonos app, although if you have an RF remote (for example, an LG Magic remote), you’ll also need to delve deeper into your TV’s menu settings.
Most importantly, it’s a shame that Ray doesn’t include HDMI connectivity, as it seems to have obvious potential as a desktop speaker, especially for gaming. At 7 cm high and 56 cm wide, the Ray is the ideal size for sneaking under a monitor. While many people use TVs as game screens and therefore probably have an optical output that they can use, there are many that use dedicated monitors that do not manage sound at all and, thanks to a growing lack of optical outputs integrated into consoles and computers. , these players will not be able to easily take advantage of Ray’s clever design and energetic delivery.
Another notable feature absent from the Ray is the built-in microphones, so direct voice control is not an option here. However, it has all the standard in-app features you’d expect from any Sonos product, such as a two-way adjustable EQ, a speech enhancement mode to help clear up dialogue, and a night mode that compresses the speech. dynamic range of the soundbar for listening at quieter volumes.
Perhaps the most useful on-board feature compatible with the app is Trueplay, Sonos’s room calibration software that uses the microphone of a compatible iOS device to measure your room’s acoustics and optimize your room’s response. sound bar accordingly. This has always been a worthwhile endeavor with Sonos products and is a welcome and decidedly high-end feature to find in a product at this price.
So.
(Image credit: Future)
In many ways, the Sonos Ray does just fine. As K approaches his reference test in Chapter 2 of Blade Runner 2049, the noisy soundscape and snippets of dialogue are clear and direct, completely avoiding the complexity often heard with others. budget sound bars. While there’s not as much authenticity and warmth in the voices as the Beam Gen 2 can offer, the speech is pleasantly crisp without flipping in harshness.
During the reference interview itself, there is a certain sense of the narrow, reflective space where K is sitting and the relative location of the interviewer’s incorporeal voice; however, the image is, as expected, given the dimensions of the beam, relatively narrow. This means that as the Spinners pass, there is not the same breadth and feel of movement on the sound stage that we would expect from more premium products.
Switching to O Brother, Where Are Thou ?, where the southern drag of the main characters can often cause intelligibility issues, Ray offers again, allowing us to easily enjoy the clever and surreal script, as well as of the performances of the actors.
While the Ray is surprisingly detailed for an economical soundbar, compared to the Sonos Beam Gen 2, we find that it slightly decreases the competitive background effects in favor of vocal presentation. This means that sounds like field cicadas or transient chain noises connecting runaway convicts are an embedded touch, resulting in a somewhat flat, one-dimensional global performance. However, given the commitments that must be made when producing a multipurpose speaker of this proportion and price, we believe that Sonos has made the right decision here to prioritize voices, as this will probably be the main concern of the most users.
And of course, compared to the amount of subtle nuances that are regularly lost in movies when only the built-in speakers of a TV are heard, the Ray certainly offers a much greater level of improvement. In streaming The Dig on Netflix, Ray is able to distinguish the soft buzz of the Suffolk camp in the summer, significantly enhancing the dreamy atmosphere of the film. During the storm scene, while a rudimentary Ralph Fiennes is trying to quickly secure the excavation site, his …