Sonos Ray Soundbar

Reviewing the Sonos Ray Soundbar

TVs have come a long way in reproducing high-quality pictures with lifelike details and vivid colors, but the speakers are one area where most TVs fall short. Most TVs have built-in speakers, but a soundbar is a must-buy if you want an immersive listening experience with crystal clear audio and thumping bass.

The Sonos Ray Soundbar is a top-tier soundbar that can enhance your home TV-watching experience. The BestReviews Testing Lab has thoroughly analyzed its features and functions to determine how well it stacks up against other soundbars and if it’s what it’s cracked up to be.

Testing the Sonos Ray Soundbar

BestReviews has a group of testers who test products in a real-world environment. The testing team was presented with several pre-screening questions and were asked to describe their experience using soundbars, surround sound speaker setups and Sonos products. They were also asked to list the functions and features they look for in a high-quality soundbar.

The testing team examined many aspects of the Sonos Ray Soundbar, including how easy it is to set up, how well the Sonos app works with the soundbar, sound quality for different types of media and if the sound remains balanced at higher volumes. The testing team also used the Sonos Ray soundbar in multiple rooms to see if the sound remained balanced in different areas.

The BestReviews Testing Lab strives to investigate every claim Sonos makes about the Ray Soundbar. For this article, the tester aimed to verify if the soundbar is easy to set up, delivers balanced sound and crystal-clear dialogue and adapts the sound profile based on the environment.

What is the Sonos Ray Soundbar?

The Sonos Ray Soundbar resembles a traditional TV soundbar but has a more compact profile than most, measuring 2.79 by 22 inches. It can be mounted on a wall, but it’s also suitable for placing on a tabletop in front of a TV.

See how it compares to other products in its space — check out our reviews for the best soundbars.

Sonos Ray Soundbar price and where to buy

The Sonos Ray Soundbar costs $279 and is available on Amazon.

How to use the Sonos Ray Soundbar

The Sonos Ray Soundbar must be connected to a power outlet, and for it to work with a TV, it must be connected using the included optical cable. It can connect to Wi-Fi through the Sonos app and detect other nearby devices, and you can also tweak the sound settings based on your preference. However, Trueplay tuning automatically optimizes sound settings based on the environment.

Sonos Ray Soundbar benefits

The Sonos Ray Soundbar is easy to set up, and manually fine-tuning the sound settings takes no more than three seconds. The sound quality remains consistent no matter what you’re watching, and unlike other soundbars, there’s no lag when certain things happen on screen, such as a baseball or golf ball being hit. The sound is always tuned if you use Trueplay tuning, so you don’t need to tweak the settings if you move the soundbar to a different room.

The compact design makes it perfect for those who want a clean entertainment center, and the acoustic elements face forward and remain unaffected even if you place the soundbar in a TV stand. Plus, if the soundbar is connected to Wi-Fi, you can stream music, podcasts and other content from wireless devices on your network using the Sonos app, Spotify, Tidal, AirPlay 2, Apple Music and more.

Sonos Ray Soundbar drawbacks

Although the sound quality is good, it won’t blow you away like other soundbars. For example,  one of the best Bose soundbars boasts custom-engineered upward-firing speakers that make for an immersive experience where the sound comes from all directions, including overhead.

It doesn’t have an HDMI port, and hooking it up directly to a gaming console can be challenging if it doesn’t have a jack for an optical connection. Another drawback is that standby mode activates if it’s idle for a specific amount of time, which helps conserve energy, but once you turn it on again, the sound settings will reset. Trueplay tuning helps optimize them again quickly, but it can be frustrating if you manually tweak the sound settings based on your preference.

Should you get the Sonos Ray Soundbar?

The Sonos Ray Soundbar is an excellent entry-level soundbar perfect for smaller home theaters or entertainment hubs. Its low price makes it an appealing option for bargain hunters who want crisp sound quality at an affordable price. For light gaming, watching sports and dramatic movies and TV shows, this soundbar is more than adequate.

However, those looking for authentic surround sound and booming bass might be disappointed in this model and may be better off looking at a more powerful soundbar better equipped for watching action movies and TV shows.