![]() You need HDMI ARC/eARC if you want to do advanced surround formats like Dolby Atmos, but since the Ray isn’t compatible with them (it’s only designed for stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, and DTS Digital Surround), ARC/eARC would be of limited value. That sparse set of connections, especially the lack of an HDMI ARC/eARC port, was a surprise to me when Sonos debuted the Ray, but it actually makes sense. Connections Simon Cohen / Digital TrendsĪround the back of the Ray, you’ll find one of the simplest sets of connections in the soundbar world: A port for the power cord, an Ethernet port, an optical port, and a button for identifying the speaker for setup purposes (more on that later). This comes as something of a surprise given that on the same day that Sonos announced the Ray, it also announced its own voice AI system called Sonos Voice Control, which will debut in June 2022. What you won’t find on the Ray are microphones for voice control. Given how short the Ray stands, it’s unlikely that it will block that sensor, but if it does, you may have trouble controlling your TV. But there’s no IR repeater on the back of the unit, so you’ll need to pay close attention to where your TV’s IR receiver is located. On the bottom edge of the speaker sits an infrared (IR) receiver, which the Ray uses to interpret volume up/down and mute commands from your TV or universal remote. But given that all of the speaker’s functions can be controlled from a mobile app, they’re not essential if you want to take advantage of the ability to enclose it. Like all of Sonos’ recent products, you’ll find a set of discrete touch controls on the top surface for play/pause, volume up/down, and skip track forward/back. The Ray is a bit narrower than its bigger sibling, the Beam (22 inches versus 25.5 inches) but the two speakers are almost identical in height and depth, and both are ideally suited for use in smaller rooms, in front of smaller TVs (think 55-inches or smaller). ![]() But then again Sonos always has charged a lot of money for its speaker mounts. ![]() Adding to the placement flexibility is an optional $39 wall-mount bracket - a ludicrous price for what is basically a single piece of metal with a set of four screws. Sonos recommends giving the Ray 5 millimeters of clearance on the top and sides, but that’s effectively nothing at all. Sonos’ new Era 100 and Era 300 wireless speakers go all-in on spatial audio and Bluetooth Why Sonos Era 300 buyers should switch to Amazon Music We've updated the review to say that the Arc full setup is 5.1.2.The 9 best soundbars of 2023: get great sound from your TV The Dynamics tests have been reconducted due to a value input bug. Updated 5.1 PCM (eARC only) to 'Yes' after updating the bar's firmware. Updated latency measurements with new methodology. ![]() Updated results since this setup now features a height level adjustment feature, following the 13.1.2 firmware update. Since we don't factor this into our scoring, there were no changes to the Height (Atmos) score. We added our subjective impressions of the bar's soundstage with Atmos content. Added additional information to 'Stereo Frequency Response' but no changes to test results. Updated the bar to firmware version 14.12. The 'Stereo Dynamics' and 'Stereo Total Harmonic Distortion' scores improved, as well as the overall usage scores. Noticed an improvement in bass reproduction, which improved the 'Stereo Frequency Response' score. Retested the bar's sound with firmware version 14.16. Retested the bar's sound with firmware version 14.18. With this update, we've added a Mounting test and added information about Subwoofer Output, Spotify Connect, and Microphone Mute.Īdded the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) with Sub Mini + One SL Speakers as a market comparison in the Dimensions - Bar box. Added market comparison with the Samsung HW-Q990C to the Inputs/Outputs - Bar box.Ĭonverted to Test Bench 1.1. ![]()
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