Sonos Ray evaluation: A really perfect $279 soundbar for small rooms

With the brand new Sonos Ray soundbar, you currently have a spectrum of possible choices for bringing Sonos sound into your front room. The $799 Sonos Arc is the papa endure, with an enormous sound and a value to check; the $449 Sonos Beam is the mama endure, a midsize soundbar with a midrange value; and the brand new $279 Sonos Ray is the child endure, a small soundbar with an reasonably priced value.

The Ray has so much going for it — from superb sound to reasonably priced value — however isn’t an ideal fit for everybody because of a few of its barriers. Questioning if it’s the correct Sonos soundbar for you? Right here’s what we predict after dwelling with one for a number of days.

You received’t have hassle discovering area for the Ray, which measures 22 x 3.7 x 2.8 inches. It’s quite smaller than the Sonos Beam — despite the fact that no longer as small as Polk’s MagniFi Mini (alternatively, the MagniFi Mini comes with a large subwoofer). At that dimension, the Ray is a superb fit for laptop displays and smaller TVs underneath 55 inches.

In spite of its svelte shape, the Ray delivers well-balanced sound, with great treble and bass tones. Voices are transparent and resonant — I may perceive the eccentric inflections of Julia Kid’s voice in “Julia” without having captions.

It’s no longer going to wow you with deep low-end results, but it surely has sufficient bass to support the staring at enjoy. When the Batmobile revs up in The Batman, the Ray produced a delightful roar. It wasn’t sufficient to rumble the ground, just like the Beam and MagniFi Mini can, but it surely’s nonetheless spectacular for a small soundbar with no subwoofer.

I used to be extra inspired with how the Ray treated tune. The low hum of the bass on Jon Batiste’s “Freedom” resonated deeply however his vocals have been nonetheless transparent within the combine. The distorted guitars on Rainy Leg’s “Chaise Longue” sounded detailed and the snare drum used to be sharp. The Ray may simply be the primary speaker for tune in a small condominium.

Sonos has a name for handing over top class merchandise at a top class value — kind of just like the Apple of audio — however at $279, the Ray can virtually be regarded as reasonably priced. It’s $170 not up to the Beam and best $50 greater than the MagniFi Mini (these days on sale for $229).

Sure, you’ll be able to in finding small soundbars for far much less, however they received’t sound this excellent and the standard will likely be decrease. In spite of its cheaper price, the Ray has the similar high quality construct that different Sonos audio system have. It seems love it prices greater than it does.

Sonos’s simplicity and best possible options are integrated

The Ray is a Sonos speaker, and that brings with it a number of options that almost all soundbars and wi-fi audio system lack.

You probably have different Sonos audio system, you’ll be able to use the Ray with them for multiroom sound. The Sonos app makes including the Ray for your machine easy. Like whilst you carry a couple of AirPods close to an iPhone, the app senses the Ray whenever you plug it in. The soundbar performs a legitimate that your telephone registers  — and the app walks you via the remainder of setup. It’s almost about as simple because it will get.

The Ray contains room correction — known as TruePlay — to mechanically alter the steadiness of the sound to the distance it’s in. That’s an extraordinary choice in a soundbar at this value. You’ll be able to additionally use the app to change on voice enhancement — making conversation extra outstanding within the combine — in addition to manually alter treble and bass ranges.

The Ray additionally helps Apple AirPlay 2 in case you don’t need to use the Sonos app to regulate tune. However, like every different non-portable Sonos audio system, the Ray doesn’t do Bluetooth.

The Ray is lacking greater than Bluetooth — I assume some sacrifices had to be made to succeed in its dimension and worth.

The most important factor it lacks is HDMI. The Ray makes use of virtual optical audio to hook up with your TV. The standard of virtual optical is superb and maximum TVs (however no longer all, particularly older ones) be offering this output. However my laptop observe doesn’t — and the Ray may make a very good speaker with a big observe. The Ray doesn’t have an auxiliary enter, so you’ll be able to’t attach a three.5mm cable.  You should definitely test your TV’s output prior to including the Ray for your cart.

As it doesn’t have HDMI, the Ray may’t make stronger Atmos encompass sound. I don’t assume that could be a giant deal despite the fact that — small soundbars don’t ship some great benefits of Atmos, akin to top, rather well.

Whilst the Ray produces crisp treble and excellent bass with no subwoofer, it doesn’t unfold sound as huge because the MagniFi Mini or the Beam. The Ray has two tweeters and two midwoofers, and so they level instantly on the listener. That’s nice for stereo sound, but it surely doesn’t have any audio system at the aspect for a digital encompass enjoy. When the Peter Parkers swing around the display screen in “Spider-Guy: No Method House,” I overlooked the sense of motion that the scene has when staring at with the Beam.

Maximum Sonos audio system include good assistants integrated: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and shortly Sonos Voice Regulate, the corporate’s new first-party assistant. Along with permitting you to regulate good units in your house, a voice assistant is to hand for controlling playback, whether or not that’s adjusting the amount with out touching the faraway or converting the track that’s enjoying.

The Ray doesn’t come with any of those choices, despite the fact that you probably have any other good speaker in your community, you’ll be able to use it to regulate the Ray.

For those who’re searching for a small soundbar to move with a TV in a small condominium or bed room, the Sonos Ray will have to be top in your listing. It produces superb sound total, with spectacular bass for a unit with no subwoofer. You probably have different Sonos audio system, it’s a herbal are compatible and provides an alternative choice for multiroom sound. And it’s competitively priced at $279.

For most of the people, the Sonos Beam would be the best possible soundbar fit within the Sonos lineup. However in case you assume the Ray is the just-right soundbar for you, test that your TV or observe has a virtual optical output because it lacks HDMI or an auxiliary enter.