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SONOS STAND TV

Waveguides flank the left and right speakers to push audio out wide. The Ray features four Class-D amplifiers that control two tweeters, two full-range mid-woofers, with two curved low-velocity ports for bass. Aside from that ill-defined crossover between midrange and bass, itвЂ™s an impressive sounding model. The top end of frequency range is crisply defined, bass hits hard and the mid-range is spacious and detailed. One thing we noted with the Arc was that the transition between midrange and bass is not wholly unified, so itвЂ™s not the most seamless performer in that sense.

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Two mid-bass drivers fire upwards for the height channels, while another two sit at either end to push audio out wide with three are titled upwards at the front to fire sound towards the listener. Its speaker set-up boasts three silk dome tweeters and eight elliptical mid/bass drivers. With the Arc an Atmos soundbar, it produces a bigger, wider and taller soundstage than the Ray. For the latter itвЂ™s the Arc, and for the former the Ray is best suited.

SONOS STAND TV

The crux of this section whether you want a soundbar to go with an older TV or youвЂ™re looking for a partner with a new Dolby Atmos compatible TV. Lastly, the Arc supports Dolby Atmos, Dolby Audio, Stereo PCM and DTS Digital Surround, while the Ray drops the Atmos as it doesnвЂ™t have the speakers/processing for it, nor can Atmos be played through an optical connection. Trueplay is the means by which the speakerвЂ™s sound is calibrated to suit the environment itвЂ™s in to deliver optimal sound, and both the Ray and Arc make use of this. The Sonos Ray doesnвЂ™t feature any microphones like the Roam SL and One SL, and therefore doesnвЂ™t feature any digital assistance. Out of the two, the Arc is the smarter effort, with support for Alexa and Google Assistant with its integrated far-field microphones there to pick up your voice. AppleвЂ™s AirPlay 2 features on both model, which brings casting from iOS devices into the fray.

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The S2 app supports Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz and Apple Music streaming services along with dozens more, and thereвЂ™s also access to Sonos Radio, which brings with its 60,000 plus radio stations. Using the Sonos app both soundbar can be used in a multi-room set-up alongside other Sonos speakers. To get past this, you should check as to whether your TVвЂ™s speakers can be turned off.Д«oth models support SonosвЂ™ S2 app (you can find out here which other devices are compatible). We found this aspect to be more fiddly than it should be, and that bumping up volume on the Ray can also bump up volume on the the TV. HDMI CEC on allows for control over power and volume, whereas with the RayвЂ™s IR input, it has to be tuned to receive the signal from the TVвЂ™s remote.

With the Arc, it does support HDMI (eARC), although it doesnвЂ™t feature an optical connection, utilising an optical adapter if your TV doesnвЂ™t support an ARC or eARC connection. You also get an Ethernet port for hooking up to the Internet to connect to the soundbar to the Sonos S2 ecosystem. The Ray relies on an optical input for receiving audio, and Sonos have gone in this direction in an attempt to offer the widest compatibility with newer and older TVs. Sonos tends to offer consistent feature support across its soundbar models, but the Ray differs in that it doesnвЂ™t bear support for HDMI. For bigger rooms and those who do desire Atmos compatibility, then itвЂ™s the Arc. Both can be wall-mounted with an optional bespoke mount available from the Sonos website.Д«oth serve different spaces, so if youвЂ™re someone whoвЂ™s not interested in Atmos and has a smaller TV/room, the Ray would be the direction to go in. The Ray suits TVs up to 55-inches, while the Arc takes over from (55-inches or more), so that will give interested customers any indication of how each bar is intended to work with your existing set-up. You wonвЂ™t want to cover the top of the Arc either, as that would disrupt the effectiveness of the upfiring speakers used to create the Atmos effect. The Ray is better for smaller spaces and can even be put into your TV rack to save more space, while the Arc is best suited on a wide piece of a furniture in front of a TV. The main difference here is the size, the Arc is 90 x 1140 x 115mm, while the Ray is 71 x 559 x 95mm (HWD). All of SonosвЂ™ bars since the original Sonos Beam have adhered to the companyвЂ™s industrial aesthetic, minimalist in appearance, rounded edges and a front-facing acoustic mesh.

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