Sonos Ray Review: What to do with a low-quality TV? | Israel today

If you bought a new TV or have had one for a good few years, chances are you are not happy with the sound quality it puts out.

The solution in this case has been around for many years - Sound Bar.

The problem with speakers of this type is that the cheap ones do not always provide the experience you expected.

Known for its successful speaker quality and the smart solutions it provides around them, Sonos recently launched the Sound Bar - Ray.

This is a device that is sold at a relatively affordable price for the company - NIS 1,100, when it also serves as a starting point for its ecosystem.

Sonos Ray - Convenient app, outdated connection

If you are using a Sonos product for the first time, you will be required to download the company app.

This app allows you to perform a firmware update to the device and stream music from many streaming services, such as: Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Sonos Radio and more.

After installing the app, the installation of the Ray to the TV is required, beyond the power cable and the connection to the WiFi network or LAN (wired internet connection), the connection to the TV is made with an optical cable.

Yes, yes, Sonos has given up on an HDMI connection here and decided that you will connect it to your TV with a very outdated connection.

According to them, the reason for this is that all TVs have an optical connection, this is indeed true, but even finding someone's home today, a TV without an HDMI connection is a rarity.

Optical cable is a bit annoying, when at first it did not sit for me exactly well in the connection of the TV, but after a while I was able to fix it and there were no problems.

Beyond that, you need to manually configure the volume control via your TV / Streamer's instructions.

In my case, this worked without issue with the Apple TV.

Beyond that, I was required to change the audio settings on the TV so that the sound came out through the optical connection.

The use itself is simple, on the Ray there are touch buttons for volume control, song switching and stopping / playing the playing song.

Chances are you will hardly touch them, because the convenient control is through the app.

Sonos Ray, Photo: PR

Sonos Ray - Subdued design

The Ray is a sound bar with a restrained design, it comes in black or white colors with a compact look, which in some cases allows you to put it on the shelf in the sideboard and not just put it on top.

This is because it has no speakers at the top, but only front speakers, so the sideboard does not block the sound.

Sonos Ray - Surprisingly good sound

According to the company, the Ray is intended for small and medium-sized rooms, where its sound waves radiate sounds from the floor and thus offer the best sound to the user.

Sonos has incorporated in Ray a new bass reflex system, while the speaker also offers better accuracy of medium and high frequencies.

The Ray supports Dolby Digital 5.1 codecs as well as DTS Digital Surround, but it does not offer support for Dolby Atmos.

The sound that Ray provides is surprisingly good for an experience of watching movies and TV series, but less so for music.

This is a sound bar that provides a stereo sound, it has a strong volume, but not one that will shake the living room.

What's nice is that the sound does not distort, even at the maximum volume.

Need to look at the Ray as an upgrade to the sound your TV offers.

Here he does upgrade the experience.

On the other hand, it does not include an external subwoofer, which slightly detracts from the experience in movies, when listening to music it is very noticeable.

The sound that Ray makes when listening to songs is simply mediocre, metallic and lacks depth.

Price:

NIS 1,100 (in the Bug chain)

Bottom line, I enjoyed the experience Ray provides compared to the sound my TV emits.

This is a relatively affordable solution in terms of price at Sonos, with this sound bar also integrating with the company's ecosystem.

If you have additional Sonos speakers you can listen to music through it, along with the other speakers.

The sound of the Ray provides in terms of listening to movies or watching TV shows, whether it is a mediocre living room or being placed in a bedroom, on the other hand, I liked less the sound quality while listening to music.

The review was published on The Gadget Reviews

Were we wrong?

Fixed!

If you found an error in the article, we would love for you to share it with us