Sonos Ray Review - Compact Speaker For Limited Space


 The floor space size of houses in Malaysia has shrunk from an average of 1500 square feet to around 1264 square feet, especially in metropolitan controls such as Kuala Lumpur. I personally live in a condominium with an area of ​​only 950 square feet which is much lower than average. Luckily the open design of the condo allows me to choose which space is given an advantage and that space is the living room.



The living room is given priority as it is where I relax after coming home from the office. The place to spend hours on the weekends watching Netflix TV series and enjoying video games. As I said in a previous Prism+ Q65 QE review, my home living room is still quite small so it’s not enough to put in a quality soundbar.


For those living in homes that have a small living space, the Sonos Ray tries to offer a good audio experience in a compact size.


Specifications

Sonos Ray

Soundbar type

Four Audio Drivers

Optical I/O port in

RJ45 LAN

CODEC Stereo PCM

Dolby Digital 5.1

DTS Digital Surround

All supported operating systems

Virtual assistant support None

Touchpad Yes

Bluetooth None

AUX Audio Jack None

NFC Yes

Selling Price RM 1799

How dense and compact is this Sound Ray actually? It’s only 559 x 95 x 71 mm smaller than the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) (651 x 100 x 68.6mm) I reviewed earlier. Beam is a soundbar that I feel is quite compact enough but Ray is smaller for those “poor” space at home.


Because of the relatively similar size in fact, Ray aims to be used on televisions up to 55 ″ in size. When matched with the 86 ″ Prism+ Q86 Pro QE television, it looks less suitable because it is too short. This small size allows Ray to be placed comfortably under the TV as well as the work monitor in the office.



In terms of finish it is similar to Beam i.e. the body is made entirely of hard plastic material. Its non -glossy surface makes it easy to clean with a cloth if dust collects. It is offered in black and white. Personally, I prefer AV accessories in dark colors because they are easy to match with furniture in the house and easier to hide than white equipment.



The audio lattice holes all shoot forward. Behind it four audio drivers are included - two front drivers and two tweeter drivers that are pointed slightly to the side. The small size of the hole on the lattice manages to hide the speakers from view. Very useful also to prevent insects from entering the space in the sensitive soundbar.



At the top there are three touch buttons for music pause control, raising and lowering audio volume. No physical control buttons are provided. The only physical buttons are located on the back for resetting Ray or for tethering speakers to the system for the first time for iOS devices.


Speaking of the back design, there are only plugs for the power cable, RJ45 LAN port, optical inputs and physical buttons mentioned earlier. No HDMI is provided and Ray also does not support tethering via bluetooth the same as the Beam (Gen 2) period of the day. There is also no remote control provided. All the controls you want to do need to be through the Sonos app on Android and iOS operating systems only at this time.



The absence of HDMI also means Ray does not support the Dolby Atmos audio system which is now seen as necessary on premium audio systems. Ray is marketed as an affordable sounbar by Sonos and if you want the Atmos you have to spend more to buy the Beam (Gen 2).


The only audio systems supported by Ray are Stereo PCM, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS Digital Surround. This is somewhat of a drawback for Ray as Sony markets their compact audio system at a cheaper price and at the same time supports Dolby Atmos wirelessly - which is currently only supported on Samsung’s latest AV products.



Its compact size makes the total weight of the unit is only 1.95 kilograms. Can be lifted one hand and easily repositioned in the living room. Without a satellite subwoofer system, Ray is also very neat as there are no tangled wires in the living room of the user who buys it.


Consumption

The process of using Ray is simple just requires an Internet connection at all times. This is my main issue with Sonos products as there is no direct option of making a connection using a 3.5mm cable or bluetooth. This is a Sonos option so those looking to buy should be aware that this is the challenge. No internet at home due to technical glitches? There is absolutely no way to stream audio from a phone even if the music has been downloaded on Spotify for example.


The Sonos app needs to be downloaded first for account setup and also to connect Ray to the WiFi system at home. Even already in 2022, Ray only supports 2.4GHz WiFi. For faster speed audio streaming is not required then WiFi 5GHz and WiFi 6e support is not provided. If you want a more stable connection to avoid frequency interference, there is an RJ45 LAN port on the back.


The connection to the TV system is only through the optical cable that is included with each purchase. This limits the number of devices that can be used with RAY. Your TV and monitor have no optical output? Sorry Ray can't connect directly to your device.



After the fixing process has been done, the process of using Ray is the same as all previous Sonos products. Various Ray settings can be accessed through the app and also include the streaming services you want to access through the app. Renaming Ray in a home system and linking it to other Sonos systems like Roam and One is also through the same app.



An exclusive feature that only iPhone users can access is Trueplay. The sound from Ray will be tuned according to the location the speaker is placed. The iPhone microphone is used to detect Ray’s volume levels in the seating and room environment. With Trueplay the audio that is heard should be better after tuning however the audio difference is not so noticeable to my ears.


Ray also has an infrared receiver on the can side. With this the TV remote control can be used to control the volume level of the audio being played. The process of using Ray for the first time may be more complex than it should be as it is necessary to go through the application but does not cause any problems after that.


Audio Quality

For a small speaker the audio quality produced is quite energetic. At the 50% setting though it is already quite loud. At the loudest settings even the sound isolation is still good from the four speakers used.



Speakers are flexible enough for a variety of music genres with possible advantages to be given to acoustic and classical music. Listening to the Nutcracker Suite by the London Symphonic Orchestra made me feel like I was in the Royal Albert Hall. Soundstage Ray is quite large and spacious despite the speakers that produce small sized audio for a soundbar.


EDM music can also be played pretty brilliantly every electronic sound feels loud, clear and sharp as well as not drowning out when the bass starts to explode in the bass drop section. Every orchestral instrument or rock group played sounds clear. Where the music comes from can be detected by the ear even without Atmos. The music just feels less alive if I compare it to the Beam (Gen 2) because there is Atmos support on the soundbar.



Using Ray as a TV speaker also doesn’t disappoint. The part where there is a whispering character though can be heard clearly. I used the bank robbery scene from the movie Heat and the lobby attack from The Matrix in the test. Every gunshot, shattered glass shards and screams of the roaring crowd sounded quite realistic.


The only issue is my ears have already watched these movies using Atmos speakers in previous tests. Ray’s audio performance was indeed satisfactory and therefore passed the us. But it didn’t pass brilliantly because Atmos is the current benchmark. The atmosphere is more dynamic, the audio stage is bigger and feels more alive.


What's In The Box

Here is what is received with each purchase.


1x Sonos Ray.

1x 3 pin power cable.

1x Optical cable.

1x Manual

Conclusion

With its small size I’m a little worried Ray isn’t able to offer satisfactory audio quality. But my initial opinion of this is obviously wrong because Ray is a soundbar that offers excellent audio for its small size. The resulting audio is clear and loud even at moderate settings. The audio also does not mess with any instrument and the sound can be heard clearly.


Sonos products can be used to listen to a variety of music genres. Flexible enough for rock, pop, rap, classical, instrumental and pod broadcast. Using it as a TV audio system is also satisfying because the clear treble is matched with the rumbling bass capability.



All are positive but there are some fairly notable shortcomings. First of all there is no Dolby Atmos support. At RM1799, Ray is an unaffordable soundbar. When looking at other manufacturers being able to include Atmos support on their compact soundbars sold at a more affordable price its absence on the Ray is a little hard to forgive.


The connection options are also frustrating as there is no HDMI. Physical connection can only be made via optical cable. If you want to connect it to a work monitor like the Samsung Smart Monitor M7 for example you are in luck. TV no optical output? Again you are unlucky.


Audio Ray is indeed robust and surprising for its small size. If you don’t need an Atmos and also have equipment with an optical output, I can recommend it to you. But you like me who need Atmos, there are other soundbars on the market at more competitive prices.


Pr o


The compact small design does not take up a large site space.

Lightweight and easily repositioned in the living room.

Excellent audio experience for its size.

Fully plastic building materials are easy to clean because there is no fabric material that absorbs dust.

Cons


No bluetooth, AUX or HDMI support

No Dolby Atmos despite the premium price.

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