Sonos Ray is good, it's beautiful and the price will not be an excuse [Review]

Sonos It is a firm that we know in depth, a brand that despite the undeniable quality of its products has always had a barrier for the general public: The price. This will no longer be an excuse with the arrival of the Sonos Ray, the last sound bar that we have tested and that without giving up anything, turns out to be the cheapest.

We take an in-depth look at the new Sonos Ray, the soundbar ready to lay the foundations of the market and the good sound at the best price. Discover it with us, we will tell you everything you need to know about it, its configuration and, above all, its analysis.

Materials and design: House brand

This Sonos Ray has managed to move away from the design of the Sonos Beam, which until now was the cheapest Sonos soundbar available on the market. It's shorter but wider, with a depth to the back that even catches the eye, but that invites its placement in the holes of the television cabinet. However, it keeps the dotted grille on the front, the touch controls on the top and of course the connections on the back.

As always, we can buy it in only two colors, matte black and matte white. Its measurements are 559 x 955 x 71 millimeters for a total weight of 1,95 kilograms, considerably less than the Sonos Beam, something that surprises in the unboxing.

The layout of the speakers is completely to the rear, so we will not have problems in their placement or arrangement, especially if we place it just below the television. At the same time, has two anchors for typical wall brackets already common in Sonos, in the back.

This detail is curious, but it has the perfect measurements to put it in a hole in the classic IKEA living room furniture… any chance? Once again Sonos has made a product that looks minimalist and feels premium.

The sound, the most important

The sound quality, as happens with manufacturing, has a high quality standard in the firm, hence its catalog content. However, Sonos likes to keep the technical secrets of its devices well, no matter how hard we try to get into them. Be that as it may, the layout of the Sonos Ray bar has inside it:

• Four Class-D digital amplifiers adjusted to the acoustic structure of the bar.
• Two midrange speakers high efficiency to match bass and vocal frequencies.
• two tweeters Tuned to deliver a clean high-frequency response.

Unfortunately I cannot give you frequency ranges or power in watts, it is something that also surprises me, but it is part of the magic of Sonos, you may think that they hide something, but once you start it, you will not discover what it is . The supported audio formats are:

• Stereo PCM
• Dolby Digital
• DTS Digital Surround

To offer the most delicate sound possible, it uses technology Bass Reflex System adjusted to the acoustics of this particular device, in addition to the system TruePlay that through the iPhone device will analyze the environment and virtually redirect the sound to the place where it should arrive.

The result is a fairly balanced, versatile sound, and it differentiates well between music and film, filling a small or medium room well.

Why is it cheaper?

Let's cut to the chase, this Sonos Ray costs 299 euros, which is 200 euros less than the firm's next cheapest soundbar, the Sonos Beam, and exactly 700 euros less than the brand's flagship, Sonos Arc, so... why does it cost less?

Easy, Sonos has removed the HDMI-ARC port, meaning direct connectivity is limited to an optical audio cable, therefore, to reproduce the content of our television we must adjust the output of the optical cable and manage the volume through the adjustment of the television itself.

This allows a very high quality standard, the optical audio outputs are up to (or better) than HDMI, but it limits you in terms of interaction with the TV.

Obviously also we lose virtualized sound compatibility on the way Dolby Atmos so we are left with a traditional PCM stereo. Finally, we also do not have microphones and therefore it will not be compatible with virtual assistants, among them the new "Hey Sonos" announced by the brand.

But he's still the King... let Sonos say

Obviously, a Sonos device is a Sonos device. For this, it has the application that will allow you to adjust an improvement of the dialogue, very important so that the voices are heard above the noises and the music of the movies.

We can play through Spotify Connect from Sonos or Spotify directly our favorite music, also compatible with Apple Music, Deezer and other providers, without losing sight of the fact that it is a device with compatible WiFi connectivity with AirPlay 2 from Apple, so there are no limits to streaming and live music playback.

Connectivity will be based on WiFi 802.11n, or if necessary through the 10/100 Ethernet network cable that is included in the device. To help us on a day-to-day basis, it has an IR receiver that will help us quickly manage television and volume.

To adjust it, as simple as downloading the Sonos application, free for Andriod and for iOS/iPadOS in which it will perform a quick search and locate your Sonos Ray instantly, the rest is a matter of hitting “next” and waiting. If you are still in doubt, the video that accompanies this reveiw includes a small tutorial on setting up the Sonos Ray.

Editor's opinion

I like that they make it so easy for me, and it is that if in the medium/high range we have always recommended Sonos Beam, in the price range of the We are Ray, that is, from 200 euros, I cannot recommend another sound bar other than this one.

If the absence of Dolby Atmos, virtual voice assistant and HDMI eARC is a stumbling block for you (most devices lack one or both of these accessories), Without a doubt, the Sonos Ray is the best on the market for value for money.

The device is for sale for 299 euros both on the official Sonos website and on Amazon, as in the usual points of sale (El Corte Inglés and FNAC).

Pros and cons