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The Sonos Ray is a brand new budget-friendly providing from the premium audio maker that now has a extra reasonably priced soundbar that sits beneath the Beam and Arc.
The Sonos Ray is available in at lower than $300, making it one of the crucial reasonably priced audio system from the corporate. With the recognition of soundbars on the rise, it is an effective way to get into the Sonos ecosystem.
Comparatively, the Sonos Beam is nearly $500 and the Arc ideas the scales at round $900. Whereas that makes Ray the seemingly straightforward alternative if you wish to avoid wasting money, there are a couple of caveats to think about.
The Ray itself is simply barely smaller than the Sonos Beam. Nevertheless, it is a bit narrower and should not have any problem becoming in entrance of your TV.
It is available in black or white colorways, though we selected the previous.
The soundbar has a totally plastic design, together with the front-facing grill. They every look nice, though we’ll say the black tends to tackle fingerprints.
Bodily controls on the highest of the Sonos Ray
On high of the speaker are your fundamental controls. They’re the identical touch-sensitive buttons you see on all different Sonos audio system. As well as, a multi-control button within the middle controls playback and quantity down and up buttons on both aspect.
Ports on the again of the Sonos Ray
Round again, you may discover the facility enter, an Ethernet jack, and an optical audio enter. Sonos contains the facility cable and an ultra-thin optical cable within the field.
Setup and onboarding
Sonos has a knack for speaker setup that’s emblematic of Apple. For instance, with the Sonos app open, the speaker will routinely be found and seem in a pop-up modal identical to a set of AirPods.
Since we’ve got different Sonos audio system, the app remembered our credentials and Wi-Fi passcode, so it was ready so as to add it to our account and add it to the house community.
With the speaker added, we might immediately begin utilizing it with our tv. One last item you’ll want to do, although, is about up your distant.
Utilizing our Apple TV distant with the Sonos Ray
In contrast to the Sonos Beam and Sonos Arc, the Ray accepts audio by way of optical. The opposite two depend on the audio return channel (ARC) for audio. With HDMI ARC, quantity instructions are handed by way of HDMI CEC.
With out ARC, the Ray is pressured to depend on infrared instructions. This is a matter as a result of many trendy TVs have Bluetooth or RF remotes.
If that is your TV, you will not be capable of management the Ray’s quantity. As a substitute, you may want to make use of the controls on high of the soundbar, the Sonos app, or decide up an affordable no-name infrared distant on Amazon.
Happily for Apple customers, the Apple TV Siri Distant can work simply positive. It will possibly ship audio instructions and management quantity with minimal problem.
You possibly can add audio system to the Sonos Ray
In contrast to many different funds soundbars, the Sonos Ray would not embrace a subwoofer. However there may be each good and dangerous information.
Sonos is a really modular system. You possibly can add on a set of further Sonos audio system to go from stereo to encompass audio. We might advocate a set of Sonos One SLs or the IKEA Symfonisk image body audio system.
There’s even a subwoofer possibility. That subwoofer carries a price ticket of $750. You possibly can purchase practically three Sonos Rays for the worth of the Sonos Sub (Gen 3).
Latest rumors have pointed to a brand new, lower-cost Sonos Mini Sub. That is under no circumstances official, nevertheless it could possibly be a superb possibility for Sonos Ray house owners who need a bit extra oomph to the bass.
Audio high quality
We listened to lots of audio on our Sonos Ray over the previous few weeks, together with TV reveals, motion pictures, and music.
Our takeaway was that — particularly on the value level — the Sonos Ray sounds nice. It presents a superb sound expertise.
In it are 4 drivers — two tweeters alongside two mid-woofers. As well as, bodily wave channels assist route the audio to the edges to extend the perceived soundstage.
Watching TV on the Sonos Ray
We have been particularly impressed by the dialogue readability whereas watching motion pictures and TV. When listening to your TV audio system, dialogue can usually be muddied and onerous to parse.
There is no devoted middle channel, but Sonos was capable of design the Ray to assist increase audio whereas letting the remainder of the audio come by way of. This was a major distinction from the earlier $300 Soundbar from Vizio, JBL, and others.
Sonos Ray in our lounge
The bass was solely okay, although, and left one thing to be desired. It is not dangerous for the scale, however whereas watching motion pictures like Jurassic Park, we needed to really feel these roars in our chest, and we simply did not.
Apple iPhone customers are additionally ready to make use of TruePlay to tune the audio. So, for instance, you stroll across the room, and the telephone’s microphone adjusts the audio to your property’s acoustics.
AirPlay and HomeKit
Sonos audio system have supported Apple’s AirPlay 2 for ages and the Ray is not any completely different. That is one more characteristic that separates the Ray from different funds soundbars.
Most others on this value vary will supply Bluetooth audio however not over Wi-Fi — not to mention AirPlay.
Casting audio to the Sonos Ray with AirPlay 2
As soon as added to the Sonos app, it’s going to instantly be obtainable as an AirPlay vacation spot from any of your Apple gadgets in your house. Solid to it out of your Sword, iPad, Apple TVor iPhone.
In our dwelling, we are able to solid to the Sonos Ray, our HomePod miniand our First Alert Protected and Sound abruptly for straightforward multi-room audio.
In case you do not use AirPlay, you may arrange multi-room audio from the Sonos app too. The Sonos app additionally has a number of direct audio sources, together with Sonos Radio and lots of extra.
Sonos Ray within the Residence app
For energy good dwelling customers, the Sonos Ray may be added to it HomeKit. In case you launch the Residence app and faucet on the Add Accent button, the Ray will routinely seem.
With it in HomeKit, you may management the speaker from the Residence app and embrace it in numerous scenes or automations.
For instance, you can create a exercise scene that can play your pump up playlist on the Ray on the similar time it closes your lounge blinds and adjusts your lights. Or create an automation routine to cease enjoying anytime the final individual leaves the home.
You possibly can even tie the Sonos Ray to your morning alarm to get up to your favourite energizing songs.
Do you have to purchase the Sonos Ray?
In our time-tested soundbars, the Ray stands above the remaining. It is extremely succesful, with an ideal array of supply choices, Wi-Fi connectivity, and wonderful sound high quality.
Sadly, it is held again by the restricted distant assist and optical audio. In consequence, your TV setup might take the Ray out of the working instantly, no matter how good the remainder of its options are.
Sonos Ray on the Sonos Beam
In our case, the distant labored simply positive from our Apple TV, so it wasn’t as a setback as will probably be for others. Now, if Sonos would solely hurry up and launch a extra reasonably priced subwoofer.
- Compact design
- Nice audio high quality
- Clear dialogue
- Ethernet port for connectivity
- AirPlay 2 and HomeKit assist
- Increase system with different Sonos gadgets
- Optical is the one connection possibility
- Optionally available subwoofer is prohibitively costly
Score: 3.5 out of 5
If Sonos does, in actual fact, launch a extra reasonably priced soundbar, our score would enhance to a 4.
The place to purchase
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