Budget-Friendly Sonos Ray Soundbar Coming in June
The model is smaller, simpler, and less expensive than the company's current TV audio products
Sonos just introduced its lowest-priced soundbar yet, the Sonos Ray, which will go on sale June 7 for $279. The new model—designed for simple setup and use—is aimed at viewers who are disappointed with the sound quality on their TVs but put off by the expense and complexity of many of the premium soundbars on the market.
The Sonos Ray comes in matte black or matte white and is available for preorder this week.
According to Jeff Derderian, the company’s vice president of product program leadership, only 1 out of 10 televisions is hooked up to an external audio device, despite the fact that the low profile of modern TVs often compromises sound quality. “Even though the sound isn’t great, 90 percent of viewers are simply living with it,” he says.
Only about a third of the sets in CR’s TV ratings do well in our tests for sound quality.
Testing to Come
Sonos soundbars have generally performed well in Consumer Reports’ testing. The Sonos Arc is our top-rated soundbar, while the Sonos Beam slots in third in our ratings. When the Sonos Ray arrives in stores, we’ll purchase one through regular retail channels (as we always do) and our trained testers will put it through its paces in our dedicated listening labs in Yonkers, N.Y.
Sonos also introduced three new colors for the Roam portable Bluetooth smart speaker: olive, an earthy green; wave, a light blue; and sunset, a reddish-orange. All are available now, along with the current white and black options.
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