Sonos has launched its newest soundbar – and it comes with a budget-friendly value that is uncharacteristic of the high-end multiroom audio model.
The brand new Sonos Ray is a compact soundbar designed to spice up the sound of your TV, and it’ll go on sale June 7 for simply $279 / £179 (round AU$400).
That is less expensive than every other Sonos soundbar thus far. Till now, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) has been the best choice for these on a funds, costing $399 / £339 / AU4599. In the meantime, the model’s flagship Sonos Arc soundbar prices an eye-watering $899. / £899 / AU$1,499.
Sonos audio system have by no means been low cost, however the brand new soundbar is a part of the corporate’s mission to convey higher audio to extra dwelling theater setups. Chatting with TechRadar’s personal Matt Bolton, Sonos’ Product Creation Chief Brandon Holley advised us that “9 out of 10 TVs on this planet nonetheless depend on built-in TV audio system,” which he described as “fairly tough.”
A soundbar (with a twist)
Along with being reasonably priced, the Sonos Ray is the corporate’s smallest soundbar and options tapered edges, making it a great possibility for anybody who’s brief on house.
Most apparently, a pair of Ray soundbars can be utilized as rear audio system if you happen to already personal a Sonos Arc or Beam. A literal twist on the best way we usually use soundbars, the Ray may be mounted vertically in your wall to amplify the sound of your current Sonos soundbar.
Regardless of its small dimension, Holley says you will nonetheless get that “nice Hollywood blockbuster dwelling theater expertise,” due to a bass-reflex system that delivers low frequencies whereas utilizing anti-distortion know-how to cut back the “chuffing and turbulence noises you hear.” [usually] from a ported field”.
There are a complete of 4 drivers, consisting of two elliptical midwoofers and two highly effective tweeters.
In contrast to the Sonos Arc and Beam soundbars, there is not any Dolby Atmos know-how at work right here – however the firm has tried to supply a large soundstage nonetheless. Utilizing a cut up waveguide, the beam sends a number of the high-frequency vitality straight towards you and sends the remaining behind you to bounce off your partitions. In idea, this may create a spacious sound that belies the compact dimension of the soundbar.
If you wish to additional amplify the sound, you possibly can join the Ray wirelessly to different Sonos merchandise; for instance, a pair of Sonos One SL rear audio system and a Sonos Sub would create a complete dwelling theater system. And you’ve got speech enhancement and evening mode to match the soundbar’s audio efficiency to the content material you are watching.
As with the Arc and the Beam, the Sonos Ray makes use of the corporate’s TruePlay know-how to tailor the audio output to its surroundings. Throughout this course of, the soundbar emits a collection of beeps and faucets throughout the whole frequency vary; you’ll then be requested to stroll round your room and wave your smartphone round. The S2 app then makes use of the microphones constructed into your smartphone to research the audio and tailor the Ray’s sound to your room.
This characteristic is simply out there on iOS, which is a disgrace. Holley admits that TruePlay “will solely make the expertise higher,” however that the Ray is designed to sound nice proper out of the field for individuals who do not have entry to the characteristic.
Whether or not you could have an iOS gadget or not, you get all the opposite options you’d anticipate from a Sonos speaker from the Ray. It is designed to work seamlessly with the model’s different merchandise, so you possibly can construct your system as large (or as small) as you need, and it may be used with the identical distant you employ to your TV.
Most apparently, although, the Sonos Ray’s most important connection to your TV shall be by means of its optical port, fairly than the eARC HDMI connection we frequently see for soundbars. Holley explains that this resolution was made in order that the Ray could be “a product that may work with all the pieces and be as straightforward as attainable to arrange”.
We have loved all of Sonos’ soundbars to date – the Arc is our decide for the very best Dolby Atmos soundbar cash should buy – so we’re excited to see how the Ray stacks up towards its larger siblings. Keep tuned for our full assessment within the coming weeks.