Sonos Ray lowers the barrier of entry to the popular audio ecosystem

Sonos has announced its most affordable soundbar yet. At $399, the Sonos Ray is a compact home theatre solution partly marketed toward gamers and those looking to start building their Sonos empire. Here in Australia, the Sonos Ray will be available from the 8th of June.

It’s a surprising turn from Sonos– a company that raised its prices mid-pandemic– but it might not be quite as magnanimous as it sounds. The Sonos Ray’s cheaper price comes with some significant compromises. For example, the Sonos Ray will only have forward-facing speakers; you won’t find the side-facing speakers typically found in Sonos speakers. According to WhistleOut, it also won’t support Alexa and Google Assistant but will retain AirPlay 2 support for Apple devices.

Sliding in just below the $400 mark, the Sonos Ray may not seem too affordable when compared to alternatives such as Samsung’s sub-$200 300W Soundbar (and subwoofer) or the 3.1ch Dolby Atmos Hisense Soundbar ($299) but Sonos soundbars typically command a much higher price. Before the Ray, Sonos soundbars started at $699 for the Beam Gen 2 and cost as much as $1,499 for the primo Sonos Arc. So for $399, the Sonos Ray is a lower barrier of entry for home theatre hopefuls. It's currently available for pre-order via the Sonos website.

The Sonos Ray will officially launch in Australia on Wednesday the 8th of June 2022. It will be available through all the usual retailers, such as The Good Guys and JB HI-FI. Otherwise, the Sonos Ray is available for pre-order now through the official Sonos website.