The Sonos Ray is the American audio brand’s cheapest soundbar, and while it doesn’t feature any fancy 3D audio processing capabilities, it focuses on getting the basics right.
Most importantly, it sounds way better than the built-in speakers of most TVs on the market right now, including the LG C5 OLED TV.
Launching in 2022, it’s remained in our best budget soundbars list for quite some time, and it’s seen quite a few price decreases in the last two years. In fact, it can be picked up for just £189 at Amazon right now.
Admittedly, we have seen it drop lower during the Black Friday sales; however, this is still a sizeable £90 discount compared to the price we initially reviewed it at.
It’s worth noting that this deal is exclusive to the white model; however, the black version can be picked up for £10 more if you prefer the sleeker look.
The Ray is something of an oddity in Sonos’ lineup. The aspirational audio brand is known for its flagship Dolby Atmos soundbars and premium wireless speakers, so when news broke that it would be launching a budget soundbar, it’s fair to say that there were quite a few sceptics around.
In practice, the Ray proved to be a plucky and likeable soundbar that scored four stars in our AV testing room. We approved of its “excellent vocal clarity”, “detailed high end”, and “punchy, forthright projection”. We agreed that Sonos had fulfilled its brief to deliver a simple yet effective soundbar to replace your TV’s speakers.
Despite it being an affordable alternative to its pricier ‘bars, Sonos ensured to keep its smart functionality intact, including compatibility with the Sonos app. This means that you can stream music directly to the bar via the app, and even link it to an existing Sonos multiroom system.
Furthermore, it ensures full compatibility with other Sonos products. This means that you can link the Ray to the Sub Mini and a pair of Era 100 wireless speakers to create a full surround sound system if you wish.
Bear in mind that not all features from the pricier models are included here, though. This soundbar relies on an optical connection rather than HDMI ARC, and there is no support for voice control via the likes of Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.
That being said, this is still a pleasingly straightforward and effective soundbar that can be yours for £90 off the original launch price right now at Amazon.
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Read our full Sonos Ray review
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