Sonos Ray vs Beam – Check Which One Is Best & Why?

Why Do I Recommend The Sonos Beam? 

• The Sonos Beam includes a faster processor to enhance speaker coordination, reduce latency, and support smoother app navigation, while the Sonos Ray runs on a less capable chip.
• Sonos Beam comes with a capacitive touch panel for responsive tap controls to manage volume, playback, and muting, while the Sonos Ray uses basic physical push buttons with less tactile precision.
• It includes an HDMI ARC port for high-quality digital audio transmission and TV remote syncing via HDMI CEC, while the Sonos Ray only has an optical input.
• The Sonos Beam has built-in microphones for voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to allow hands-free control and smart home integration, whereas the Sonos Ray has no microphones and does not support any voice assistant.
• Sonos Beam supports HDMI CEC to enable automatic syncing with TV remotes and system controls, while the Sonos Ray depends solely on IR control.
• It features a 3.0 channel layout with a center tweeter that improves voice clarity in dialogue-heavy content, compared to the Sonos Ray’s dual tweeter design, which lacks a dedicated center channel.
• The Sonos Beam features a polycarbonate wraparound grille for a sleek, premium finish and added durability, while the Sonos Ray uses a standard plastic grille.
• Sonos Beam supports Dolby Digital 5.1 via HDMI ARC for more immersive multichannel audio with compatible content, while the Sonos Ray is limited to stereo PCM.

Maybe the Sonos Ray price can make you comfortable because it’s a little bit cheaper than the Sonos Beam. But you have to compromise all the above-mentioned features. Now the Decision is Yours. I hope it was helpful to choose the right one.

What Common Both Can Do?

• Audio Channel Configuration (3.0): Both the Sonos Beam (1st Gen) and Sonos Ray use a 3.0 channel layout, allowing for clear left, center, and right channel separation to enhance stereo imaging and vocal clarity in TV and movie dialogue.
• Apple AirPlay 2: Both soundbars support Apple AirPlay 2, enabling users to stream audio directly from iPhones, iPads, and Macs, and sync playback across multiple AirPlay 2-compatible speakers in different rooms.
• Trueplay Tuning (iOS only): Each model supports Sonos Trueplay, which uses an iOS device’s microphone to analyze room acoustics and adjust the speaker’s EQ for more balanced sound tailored to your space.
• Night Sound Mode: Both soundbars include Night Sound mode, which reduces the intensity of loud effects while maintaining dialogue clarity, making late-night viewing more comfortable without disturbing others.
• Speech Enhancement: Both models feature Speech Enhancement, which boosts frequencies associated with human voices, helping make dialogue clearer in movies, shows, and news broadcasts.
• Expandable with Sub and Surrounds: Both the Beam (1st Gen) and Ray can be expanded into a full home theater system by wirelessly pairing with a Sonos Sub or Sub Mini and adding two Sonos One SL speakers as rear surrounds.
• Sonos App Control: Each device is fully compatible with the Sonos S2 app, allowing for full control over playback, grouping, EQ settings, software updates, and integration with major streaming services.
• Multi-Room Playback: Both support Sonos’s multi-room ecosystem, which enables synchronized music playback across multiple Sonos speakers in different rooms for a seamless whole-home audio experience.
• Streaming Service Compatibility: Both soundbars can stream from a wide range of services including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and more, directly through the Sonos app.
• Ethernet Port and Wi-Fi (802.11n): Both models offer stable network connectivity through either Ethernet or Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 4), ensuring smooth playback even in bandwidth-heavy streaming situations.