{"id":32134,"date":"2022-06-01T14:53:09","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T14:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/sonos-ray-review-a-starter-soundbar-sort-of-stuck-in-the-past\/"},"modified":"2022-06-01T14:53:09","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T14:53:09","slug":"sonos-ray-review-a-starter-soundbar-sort-of-stuck-in-the-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/sonos-ray-review-a-starter-soundbar-sort-of-stuck-in-the-past\/","title":{"rendered":"Sonos Ray review: a starter soundbar sort of stuck in the past"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The new $ 279 Sonos Ray is the company’s most affordable soundbar yet, and it has two core purposes. The first, like any entry-level soundbar, is to free you from having to listen to your TV’s atrocious built-in speakers. But the Ray is also designed to be an enticing gateway into the Sonos’ multiroom audio platform. To hit a price point of under $ 300, Sonos removed many of the advanced features offered by its more expensive Beam and Arc soundbars. The Ray doesn’t support Dolby Atmos, and it lacks HDMI connectivity altogether. Instead, you hook it up to your TV using an optical audio cable. <\/p>\n

I’ve spent a few days testing the Ray, and it delivers impressive sound for such a compact soundbar. There’s a lot to like about its performance – both in terms of TV audio and music playback. Its forward-facing speakers mean you can place it in a tight media stand cabinet, and its sound will remain consistent. But Sonos’ decision to lean on an older-style optical input has brought about inconveniences and frustrations that don’t exist with the HDMI-enabled Beam or Arc.<\/p>\n

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