Design and build:

Comparing Sonos Ray vs Beam, the Beam is slightly bigger and weighs more. Both are available in black and white color combination. Sonos Ray has curved sides and has a sleek design. This speaker has lights that glow when it is connected to Wi-Fi. Sonos Beam has two lights one indicates different inputs and the other glows for microphone options. These speakers are suitable to place under 55 to 56” TVs and due to their slim size, they will not block the view.

They come with key holes with which you can wall mount the bar. While both speakers have plastic body overall, the build quality is better with Sonos Beam.

Performance:

Comparing Sonos Ray vs Beam, Sonos Beam has 3.0 channel whereas the Ray is a 2.0 channel soundbar. While none of these speakers support Dolby Atmos, the upgraded Sonos Beam Gen 2 supports it. Inside the Sonos Beam speaker there is one tweeter, 4 full-range drivers, along with three passive radiators. Since the left and right drivers are on sides, they can produce good surround sound. It sounds rich and warm which is great for everyday use.  

Sonos Ray has dual tweeter and midwoofers that are placed inside a bass reflex cabinet. It has average soundstage and imaging. Compared to the Sonos Beam, it is a stereo soundbar that supports Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS surround formats. It is a simple soundbar that can be considered as an upgrade over TV or PC sound. Comparing it with the Beam, it has average surround sound.

Comparing Sonos Beam vs Ray, the Ray has decent dialogue clarity as it works with a phantom center channel. Sonos Beam has great vocal clarity due to a dedicated center channel. Both these speakers support Trueplay Tuning which uses microphone to determine the room acoustics and adjust the sound accordingly.

However, it works only with iOS devices so Android users cannot take advantage of this. While both these speakers have low latency, the Beam shows extremely low latency resulting in satisfying movie watching experience. They can get quite loud and can produce room filling sound in medium sized rooms.

Features:

In terms of features to improve the sound, both these speakers are the same. They both support Trueplay and come with Dialog Enhancement option that improves the vocals. You can also use the app to adjust the bass and treble which is quite handy to optimize the audio profile. Sonos Ray and Beam works with Airplay 2. With this you can stream content from iOS device to create wireless multiroom audio. This allows you to play same song in all rooms or different sound in different rooms.

Connectivity:

The back panel of the Sonos Beam shows HDMI ARC and ethernet port along with a pairing button. Comparing Sonos Ray vs Beam, the Ray has an optical port whereas the Beam has the newer HDMI port. In terms of pairing with TV, the HDMI is the best way of connection. Most new TVs have both HDMI and optical ports so make sure to check the TV port before purchasing the soundbar.

None of the bars have Bluetooth but they support Wi-Fi for wireless connectivity. This opens many doors including streaming from online music streaming services, radio, popular apps like Spotify, Tidal, etc. Along with Wi-Fi, the soundbar can also connect by SonosNet proprietary wireless mesh network technology. This allows you to create wireless system throughout the house within 100’. For this you need Sonos Port and Sonos Boost with your router.  

Compatible speakers:

With Sonos Ray, you can expand the system by connecting two One SL rear speakers along with a Sonos Sub. You can create a 4.1 system with Sonos Sub and two Sonos speakers (Sonos ERA 100). You can use the Sonos amp for the surround speakers as well. It supports the S2 OS but the Beam can work with both S2 and S1 OS. With the Beam, you can a 5.1 system by pairing Sonos Sub and 2 Sonos speakers.  

Control options:

Sonos Beam has the following control options: volume up/down, play/pause, next/previous track along with a microphone button. The controls are similar for the Sonos Ray. They both work with Sonos S2 app that several settings and options. Along with controlling Sonos soundbars, speakers and other devices, you can use it to stream contents from internet radio (Sonos Radio, iHeart Radio, etc) and streaming services (Apple Music, Amazon music, etc). It offers additional settings like setting an alarm.  

Sonos speakers will work with Sonos Voice Control with which you can command for music. Since the Ray does not have built-in microphone, it needs a Sonos speaker with one to work with the Sonos Voice Control. Comparing Sonos Ray vs Beam, the Beam comes with built-in microphone and works with Google Assistant and Alexa. Its far field microphone can easily pick up your voice from anywhere in the room. The Beam supports HDMI CEC which means you can use the TV remote to control the bar.  

Cost:

Comparing Sonos Ray vs Beam, the Beam is costlier but it comes with better connectivity and sound quality. In case budget is an issue for you, go with the Sonos Ray.

FAQ:

How to connect Sonos Beam to a TV without any HDMI port?

You cannot directly connect a Sonos Beam to a non-HDMI TV. For that you need an optical adapter with the HDMI cable. Then use it to connect to the optical out port of the TV.

How to connect Sonos surround speaker?

Choose the desired Sonos surround speakers then place them 10 meters from the sitting position. Then go to settings, find out the room where the bar is located, choose Add Surround speakers and complete the connection.