Testing the New Sonos Ray AirPlay 2-Enabled Soundbar

[MacRumors]

Sonos in June launched the Sonos Ray, a compact, affordable soundbar that pairs well with an Apple TV-powered home setup because of its AirPlay 2 and HomeKit integration. We picked up a Sonos Ray to give MacRumors readers an idea of how it works and whether it's worth the $279.

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The Sonos Ray is smaller than other Sonos soundbars, measuring in at about 22 inches long, so it's ideal for smaller spaces and smaller entertainment setups. Like most Sonos products, it's sleek and blends well into surrounding decor, and it looks a lot like the Sonos Beam.

There are easy access touch controls at the top, along with power, ethernet, and optical audio ports at the back. Just as a quick note, if you happen to have a remote that doesn't support IR, you might not want to pick up the Sonos Ray as some of these remotes are not compatible due to the optical audio port and you'll need to manually adjust volume. This won't impact most people, as most remotes (including the Apple TV remote) work with the Sonos Ray.

If you need more audio output than what the Ray provides, it does play well with other Sonos speakers and subwoofers, but even on its own, the sound quality is impressive. You won't get Dolby Atmos at this price point, but the sound is solid despite the small form factor, and it easily beats out TV speakers. There are four Class-D digital amplifiers, two tweeters, two high-efficiency midwoofers, and a built-in bass reflex system, plus it features adjustable EQ and Sonos' TruePlay feature for tuning sound to the room the Ray is located in.

With AirPlay 2 and HomeKit integration, the Sonos Ray pairs with HomeKit-enabled products and speakers, plus it can be controlled and adjusted through the Home app and Siri commands. AirPlay integration makes it easy to AirPlay audio directly to the Ray if needed, and it is all in all a good choice for those who need a soundbar for a smaller space.

Article Link: Testing the New Sonos Ray AirPlay 2-Enabled Soundbar

 

[rictus007]

I hope the fixed the connection issues (some newer routers have issues with wifi 802.11 B)…. Eg Sonos One Gen 2

 

[Xano]

great for a smaller space.

 

[bkaus]

Not buying anything Sonos again until they get rid of the "check for upgrade" banner on the old app. I've clicked it, my device doesn't qualify, please make it go away. I don't need yet another report that says none of my devices will work with the new version.

 

[danny1305]

Not buying anything Sonos again until they get rid of the "check for upgrade" banner on the old app. I've clicked it, my device doesn't qualify, please make it go away. I don't need yet another report that says none of my devices will work with the new version.

I’m sure they will read this and rethink their whole sales strategy

 

[chickeneaster]

I've always wondered, are these speakers worth it? Do they create rich sound?

 

[jns2001]

How do I fix it on the wall?

 

[serpico007]

I stopped using my Sono's speakers with AppleTV via Airplay because it wasn't reliable. The connection would work fine some days but then disconnect on others. When you have a family that uses the TV and this continues to happen, best to get rid of it and go back to wired. I don't want to troubleshoot the TV for them every week.

 

[bkaus]

I’m sure they will read this and rethink their whole sales strategy

I agree, they aren't going to do crap. But I feel better

 

[dorph313]

I really like our Ray, we have had it since the release. We have a smaller space and it fills the sound better than other sound bars. It replaced a 2.1 bar and the bass is comparable even without a sub. We use an Apple TV 4K exclusively and have had zero issues, same with air play.

 

[chickeneaster]

I really like our roam, we have had it since the release. We have a smaller space and it fills the sound better than other sound bars. It replaced a 2.1 bar and the bass is comparable even without a sub. We use an Apple TV 4K exclusively and have had zero issues, same with air play.

I'm sure this is a silly question but does it offer better sound than the original HomePod?

 

[kyjaotkb]

I'm sure this is a silly question but does it offer better sound than the original HomePod?

I was actually wondering how it would sound compared to my iPod HiFi. Similar size and 4-driver plus bass reflex setup. Now what’s the silly question

 

[jazz1]

I stopped using my Sono's speakers with AppleTV via Airplay because it wasn't reliable. The connection would work fine some days but then disconnect on others. When you have a family that uses the TV and this continues to happen, best to get rid of it and go back to wired. I don't want to troubleshoot the TV for them every week.

I was looking at this product for use with my Apple TV. If Airplay isn’t reliable, is there another way to physically connect to the Apple TV, or even a TV?

 

[dmparry]

I did have a hard time getting my Samsung Frame remote to connect with the Ray. The line of sight with the Ray's very small IR "window" on the bottom of the soundbar has to be very direct, so if the Ray is slightly higher and pushed back on a shelf the remote is unresponsive.

 

[SFjohn]

I'm sure this is a silly question but does it offer better sound than the original HomePod?

No. It “sounds better than your TV”, is high praise indeed (Not). 😉

 

[LawJolla]

No eARC is a non-starter

 

[dorph313]

I'm sure this is a silly question but does it offer better sound than the original HomePod?

My original post I had said Roam instead of Ray. Doh! I was talking about the Ray. The HomePod is the only Apple product I have never owned, so I'm no help there. Sorry! I am an "audiophile" in the most budget way possible (I'm a teacher). I do have nice klipsch tower speakers that I do a lot of my music listening on. I listen to a fair amount of music with the Roam though because of ease and convenience and the trade-offs are acceptable to me (convenience vs sound quality).

(I did have a Sonos Roam, but I had connection issues with my 13 mini, I returned it)

 

[CarlJ]

I was looking at this product for use with my Apple TV. If Airplay isn’t reliable, is there another way to physically connect to the Apple TV, or even a TV?

Depends on what you mean by "this product". You're responding to someone talking about an unspecified collection of Sonos speakers. The article is about Sonos' lowest-end soundbar - a product specifically designed for connecting to a TV, over digital optical cable ("Toslink"). They have two other soundbars, the Beam, and Arc, both of which normally connect to the TV using HDMI eARC (those two will also do digital optical using a special digital-optical-to-HDMI converter cable suppled with the Beam and Arc). To be clear, all of these are designed to connect to a television, not to the Apple TV in particular (Apple dropped the digital optical connection that earlier versions of the Apple TV had). The current Apple TV has no provision for separate audio output other than AirPlay. All modern Sonos speakers can do AirPlay, but only their soundbars are designed to connect to a TV (using HDMI ARC/eARC or digital optical) - running them over AirPlay from an Apple TV is bound to have some hiccups. From the way the comment was phrased, I expect the commenter you replied to is using, say, a stereo pair of Sonos Ones over AirPlay to the Apple TV.

I have an Arc (with the associated surround speakers and Sub), and they sound wonderful, and the set is 100% reliable in the connection to the TV - the Apple TV plugs into the TV, the Arc plugs into the TV (via the TV's HDMI eARC port), and it Just Works™️. Turn on the TV, sound is automatically routed from the TV's tuner, or the Apple TV, or the PS5, to the Arc (and from the Arc to the surrounds and Sub). When I hit the volume buttons on the Apple TV's remote, it sends volume commands to the Apple TV over bluetooth, the Apple TV transmits them to the TV over HDMI CEC, and the TV forwards these to the Arc - it's all completely seamless from the user's perspective - TV sound always comes out of the Arc, and the Apple TV's remote controls the volume.

With the Ray, the digital optical standard has no provision for sending volume control information, so the TV sends the audio to the Ray "full strength", and you'd program the Apple TV's remote (which can send IR commands for volume) to send volume up/down commands directly to the Ray. The only limitation of this is that you need more-or-less direct line of sight from the remote to the Ray. (I've found with the Apple TV remote transmitting over bluetooth, I'll often walk into the kitchen for a moment, remote in hand, and raise the volume a bit along the way to be able to follow what's being said - obviously more useful if you're watching something news-like, where you're mostly listening - for a movie, I'll just pause.)

 

[hobspain]

A bit off topic but I’m on the market for a tv rack and I really dig the one in the video. Anyone has a clue which one is it and/or where to get it?

 

[brubeast]

I stopped using my Sono's speakers with AppleTV via Airplay because it wasn't reliable. The connection would work fine some days but then disconnect on others. When you have a family that uses the TV and this continues to happen, best to get rid of it and go back to wired. I don't want to troubleshoot the TV for them every week.

The airplay feature is not meant to connect Sonos speakers to your Apple TV. Only HomePods are specifically set up for a permanent airplay connection. You should be using one of their sound bars and plugging in via hdmi or optical. Airplay on Sonos is great for beaming a podcast or music from your phone when you don’t want to go through the Sonos app. The last sentence of the article was likely referring to this use case; not a permanent audio output solution.

 

[jazz1]

Depends on what you mean by "this product". You're responding to someone talking about an unspecified collection of Sonos speakers. The article is about Sonos' lowest-end soundbar - a product specifically designed for connecting to a TV, over digital optical cable ("Toslink"). They have two other soundbars, the Beam, and Arc, both of which normally connect to the TV using HDMI eARC (those two will also do digital optical using a special digital-optical-to-HDMI converter cable suppled with the Beam and Arc). To be clear, all of these are designed to connect to a television, not to the Apple TV in particular (Apple dropped the digital optical connection that earlier versions of the Apple TV had). The current Apple TV has no provision for separate audio output other than AirPlay. All modern Sonos speakers can do AirPlay, but only their soundbars are designed to connect to a TV (using HDMI ARC/eARC or digital optical) - running them over AirPlay from an Apple TV is bound to have some hiccups. From the way the comment was phrased, I expect the commenter you replied to is using, say, a stereo pair of Sonos Ones over AirPlay to the Apple TV.

I have an Arc (with the associated surround speakers and Sub), and they sound wonderful, and the set is 100% reliable in the connection to the TV - the Apple TV plugs into the TV, the Arc plugs into the TV (via the TV's HDMI eARC port), and it Just Works™️. Turn on the TV, sound is automatically routed from the TV's tuner, or the Apple TV, or the PS5, to the Arc (and from the Arc to the surrounds and Sub). When I hit the volume buttons on the Apple TV's remote, it sends volume commands to the Apple TV over bluetooth, the Apple TV transmits them to the TV over HDMI CEC, and the TV forwards these to the Arc - it's all completely seamless from the user's perspective - TV sound always comes out of the Arc, and the Apple TV's remote controls the volume.

With the Ray, the digital optical standard has no provision for sending volume control information, so the TV sends the audio to the Ray "full strength", and you'd program the Apple TV's remote (which can send IR commands for volume) to send volume up/down commands directly to the Ray. The only limitation of this is that you need more-or-less direct line of sight from the remote to the Ray. (I've found with the Apple TV remote transmitting over bluetooth, I'll often walk into the kitchen for a moment, remote in hand, and raise the volume a bit along the way to be able to follow what's being said - obviously more useful if you're watching something news-like, where you're mostly listening - for a movie, I'll just pause.)

Sorry, I was looking at the Ray. Thasks for the info!

 

[serpico007]

I was looking at this product for use with my Apple TV. If Airplay isn’t reliable, is there another way to physically connect to the Apple TV, or even a TV?

It sounds like the sound bar wired to the tv is best solution.

 

[lk400]

Another MacRumours review of an audio product without any mention of how it sounds...

 

[chickeneaster]

My original post I had said Roam instead of Ray. Doh! I was talking about the Ray. The HomePod is the only Apple product I have never owned, so I'm no help there. Sorry! I am an "audiophile" in the most budget way possible (I'm a teacher). I do have nice klipsch tower speakers that I do a lot of my music listening on. I listen to a fair amount of music with the Roam though because of ease and convenience and the trade-offs are acceptable to me (convenience vs sound quality).

(I did have a Sonos Roam, but I had connection issues with my 13 mini, I returned it)

It's all good in the hood! I have a Samsung speaker, I forget the name of it, and it's really good! I got it on Groupon refurbished for like $85 in 2016! Definitely worth, excellent sound for what it cost. I would like to get more of them but I haven't seen them on Groupon since 2016

 

[japanime]

Another MacRumours review of an audio product without any mention of how it sounds...

The accompanying video talks a bit about the sound. But, of course, it's all subjective. The guy in the video says he was "blown away with the sound quality," which is almost certainly hyperbole. He also says the thing is intended for those who "want something better than your TV speakers." Not exactly a ringing endorsement.