Sonos Ray Soundbar: A Closer Look | Brentview Electronics

Audio equipment is starting to become more affordable these days. You can buy great equipment at a reasonable price. The Sonos Ray Soundbar continues this trend by offering a soundbar that delivers fantastic audio for the price. At first glance, you might think that this seems like a soundbar with simple features, but it winds up rivaling the more expensive Sonos Beam.

The Positives

There are many positives when looking at this soundbar. If you’re looking for a soundbar for your home theater setup, this is going to give you excellent audio without breaking the bank. The current price is affordable, and it’s capable of giving you a good experience when playing movies and music. Everything sounds accurate and pleasing, and this is much less expensive than many other Sonos products.

One of the best aspects of this soundbar is that it has a sleek and compact design. It doesn’t take up a lot of space and it won’t look unusual next to your television and other pieces of equipment. This is designed to look nice and have a relatively small footprint. You can easily install this soundbar and start to enjoy movies and music in your home.

The simple connection process is great for beginners who want everything to be user-friendly. It doesn’t take a long time to get everything set up and working. You can easily use this soundbar to improve your home theater experience. That being said, it does have a simple feature set and doesn’t have a subwoofer.

Potential Negatives

There are no Dolby Atmos height channels to speak of. It lacks more complex features and instead focuses on providing you with good stereo sound. Some might be peeved by the fact that the Ray doesn’t have an HDMI port. There isn’t any built-in voice support from popular voice assistant programs either.

The Sonos Ray is a great, affordable soundbar with a small footprint.

Sonos Ray vs Sonos Beam

When it comes to Sonos Ray vs Beam, there’s a lot to consider. These are the two smallest soundbars being offered by Sonos. Both are great products and you might gravitate toward one or the other for certain reasons. Which is best, though?

It’s clear that the Sonos Ray is the more affordable option. The Sonos Beam that’s on the market right now is a second-generation product. If you’re looking for an entry-level soundbar that sounds great, the Ray is likely the better choice.

These two products are very similar when it comes to design. They have a similar aesthetic and both come in either black or white. The Ray is slightly smaller and lighter than the Beam. You will find that the Beam has more options.

You’ll get access to an HDMI port with the Beam, but the Ray can only connect to the TV through the optical port. This might not matter to many people. The Ray is easy to set up and features a sleek design. Since the Beam and the Ray are so close in terms of design, your preference might come down to whether you care about the HDMI port.

One area where the Beam stands tall is in the features. The Beam has far more features than the Ray including eARC compatibility, the ability to handle advanced audio formats, and hi-res audio codecs. You gain Dolby Atmos support with the Beam. The Ray is no-frills by comparison.

So which is better? The Sonos Beam is a better overall product due to having Dolby Atmos support and more features. However, the Ray is appealing to people who want a simple experience and those who wish to save money. There’s a clear place for the Sonos Ray on the market, and many will find its simplicity to be appealing.

The Sonos ARC is the best choice for a full, home theatre style audio system. Shown here paired with rear surround speakers and a sub.

Sonos Ray vs Arc

Comparing the Sonos Ray and the Arc isn’t necessarily fair. The Sonos Ray is meant to be an entry-level soundbar option with a lower price. It doesn’t have anywhere near the same level of features as the Arc.

Buying the Sonos Arc is a great idea if you’re committed to having the best possible home theater experience. However, not everyone wants to spend that kind of cash on their home theater setup. The Arc is perfect for those who want lossless audio. You can create a great cinema-like experience that includes Dolby Atmos support.

Understand that the Sonos Ray is aimed at a different market. This is meant for people who want a good experience while playing movies and music without spending too much cash. You won’t get a ton of features, but you will get a huge improvement over standard TV speakers. You’ll get excellent stereo sound from the Sonos Ray, but you’ll need to buy a more expensive product if you’re expecting more than that.

Buying the Sonos Ray a could be a good choice for your home. If you want to have enjoyable movie nights with your family, it’s an exceptional budget option. Compared to other soundbars in the same price range, it’s stellar. It just doesn’t offer the robust features of the more expensive Sonos sound products.