Sonos is expanding its soundbar offering. The Sonos Ray is a new entry-level model in the audio specialist’s product catalogue. The price is good, the equipment too?
The new Sonos Ray is available in white and bl ack. (Source: Sonos)
- Sonos has unveiled its new entry-level Ray soundbar.
- The sound system is available from June 7th for 299 dollars.
- In addition, Sonos Voice Control has its own language assistant, which primarily wants to score points when it comes to data protection.
Sonos is known for high-quality audio components with good features. The products are very popular, but are also not for the tight purse. This is changing a bit with the Sonos Ray soundbar that has now been introduced. The sound system is positioned below the Sonos Beam and Sonos Arc in terms of equipment and price. The new soundbar will go on sale on June 7th for 299 dollars.
This makes it 200 dollars cheaper than the Sonos Beam and a whopping 700 dollars below the Arc. In some places you have to make compromises, but overall the range of functions and equipment is impressive. The Sonos Ray does not have an HDMI input, it can only be connected to the television via an optical audio cable.
Thanks to Trueplay, the sound system adjusts itself to the room and adjusts the sound accordingly – the HomePod from Apple, for example, also does this. The soundbar offers a speech enhancement mode that emphasizes voices and makes them easier to understand. There is also a night mode that is supposed to reduce loud sound effects.
No Dolby Atmos, but upgradeable
What the entry-level model lacks is support for Dolby Atmos. Only Stereo PCM, Dolby Digital and DTS Digital Surround are on board. The sound can be personalized via an equalizer via the Sonos app, and the soundbar also offers AirPlay 2 support for audio streaming from iPhone and iPad.
As usual with Sonos, the Sonos Ray is also multi-room capable and can also be connected to other speakers. According to the manufacturer, this is a cheap entry into home cinema, as the soundbar can be expanded with a subwoofer or rear speakers if desired.
New language assistant Sonos Voice Control is coming
In the course of the Sonos Ray presentation, Sonos Voice Control was also announced as its own voice assistant. The voice control specially developed for Sonos is intended to simplify playing music and at the same time offer “maximum” data protection.
According to the manufacturer, the commands are processed exclusively on the devices, and no voice recordings should be sent to the cloud and other people should not be able to overhear or read them.
Sonos Voice Control is compatible with Sonos Radio, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer and Pandora. The voice assistant will be available with all new products with voice control and will be offered to existing Sonos customers via an update.
The service will start on June 1 in the USA, with other countries to follow. It is not yet known when Sonos Voice Control will come to Germany. There is also a small update for the smart Bluetooth speaker Sonos Roam. This is now available in three new color variants.
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