Sonos has announced its latest compact soundbar and it will sell at $279 when it becomes available on June 7. The Sonos Ray soundbar is designed to boost the audio output from your TV. The $279 price tag of the new Sonos Ray puts it as the cheapest Sonos soundbar on the market. It is also the smallest Sonos soundbar yet.
The Sonos lineup of soundbars is priced from $399, for the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) to $899, for the Sonos Arc. The pretty affordable Sonos Ray is part of the company’s plans to deliver immersive sound options to more consumers. Sonos is leveraging the huge estimated percentage (up to 90%) of TV users who still rely on built-in TV speakers.
The Sonos Ray features tapered edges that make it possible for the soundbar to fit even in tight spaces. A pair of Ray soundbars could also be used as rear speakers for more expansive models like the Sonos Arc or Beam. It can also be fixed vertically to the wall as added support for the bigger soundbars. The size of the Sonos Ray however does not prevent it from delivering a great audio experience. Its bass reflex system uses anti-distortion technology to produce high-quality low-frequency sounds.
The Sonos Ray comes with four drivers including two high-performance tweeters and two elliptical mid-woofers. Although Dolby Atmos technology is lacking in the Sonos Ray, a wide soundstage is still available. Furthermore, the Sonos Ray can be connected to other Sonos soundbars to create a great cinema experience at home. There are several other features in the device like speech enhancement and night mode. Sonos’ proprietary TruePlay technology is used to calibrate its output to its surroundings. The S2 app is available on iOS and Android devices but some of the features are lacking in the Android setting.
The Sonos Ray uses an optical port to connect to the TV, hence it can be used for a wide variety of settings. Sonos is excited about the Ray and it feels it will have a great reception in various markets when it arrives. Global availability details are still lacking for Sonos Ray at this time.
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