I’ve been a big fan of Sonos products for many, many years. You will find a Sonos product in most of the rooms in my house just for the ease of use of their products, the perfect synchronization between them and the good sound of their speakers, but it is true that they are more expensive than most. This is what excites me most about Sonos Ray, which is Sonos’ most affordable sound bar to date, and a product that I see a lot of people look at as their first potential Sonos product.
At about 55 cm wide, it is half the size of the Sonos Arc, so only in terms of size, it will fit into many more entertainment units and can also be hidden much more easily thanks all the speakers are firing in front. Fortunately, the design (available in both black and white) has a metal grille on the front similar to the Beam V2 and the Arc, which means it’s not a fabric design and won’t catch all that dust. .
When it comes to connections, Sonos has opted to remove the HDMI port from the Sonos Ray, but only includes an optical port. Obviously, this can be a nuisance for some, but the fact is that most TVs have an optical port that can be connected to the soundbar and is as simple as using HDMI for the most part.
CHEAPEST PRICE: $ 399 FROM THE SONOS WEBSITE.
The Sonos Ray is literally perfect for a smaller living room or bedroom. I opted to try it in my bedroom connected to a 43-inch Samsung frame and the difference was immense. I could hear voices much more clearly, the bass on the speakers was obvious, and I was obviously able to connect my Ray my Sonos system perfectly and play audio through the soundbar on both Apple Airplay and Sonos Wi-Fi. Fi system.
When it comes to sound, I would put it between the Sonos One and the Beam V2. You’ll get a much more rounded sound than the Sonos One, but then you’ll miss newer features like Dolby Atmos and an amplifier and midwoofer on the Beam V2. However, honestly, for most people, it’s hard to tell the difference between the Beam V2 and the Ray in most cases, especially with a $ 200 price difference.
Another feature you’re missing is a microphone, which means you won’t be able to use Google Home, Amazon Alexa, or your next Sonos voice assistant. This could be a problem if you want to use these features in the room where this soundbar is located, but the omission is not a big surprise given the price reduction.
The most important and best way to get into the Sonos ecosystem is the ease with which everything is set up and used, and then keep adding to it. You can easily add two Sonos Waves to your Sonos Ray to create a surround, add a subwoofer for an even larger base, or just add other speakers to other rooms to make the music sound perfect throughout the house.
Setting up this device is also ridiculously easy. Just grab the Sonos app and Ray will appear instantly, before you can control things like TV volume and play music from TuneIn Radio, Spotify and Apple Music. If you only want to control your TV, most remote controls will also control the soundbar directly.
A couple of other features I want to highlight are the night sound that will reduce the loud effects and improve the quieter ones and improve the speech that can amplify the voices. I know they sound like features you won’t use, but when they’re so easily accessible in the app, you’ll be more likely to use them than with other sound bars.
All in all, it would be hard not to recommend the Sonos Ray for $ 399 if the $ 599 price of the Sonos Beam is too high, or if you just don’t have room for the bigger soundbar. I haven’t heard anyone regret entering the Sonos ecosystem and I don’t see that changing with the Sonos Ray.
The Sonos Ray will launch on June 7th. You can get it for $ 399 on the Sonos website.
Conclusion
The Sonos Ray is the company’s most affordable sound bar to date, and it’s hard to criticize. It’s compact, but it still sounds great and is as easy to use as any Sonos product in the line.
Positive
Great sound for the price / size
It still retains the best features of Sonos
An absolutely perfect experience
Negatives
No HDMI could be a shutdown for some