Sonos Ray launches as a cheaper soundbar from the company at US$279

Sonos has launched the Ray, a cheaper alternative to it's Arc and Beam soundbars. The slim gadget has four Class-D digital amplifiers, two tweeters and two mid-woofers to create a unique home cinema experience.

A bass reflex system reduces distortion at lower frequencies, and split waveguides are used to generate wall-to-wall sound. The Ray has many features, such as Trueplay technology which alters the soundbar's settings based on the room in which it is placed.

Speech Enhancement ensures dialogue is easy to distinguish from the rest of the soundtrack; Sonos claims to have consulted “award-winning Hollywood sound engineers” on this feature. The speaker is capable of Stereo PCM, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS Digital Surround formats.

You can connect the soundbar to Wi-Fi to group it with other speakers and send songs to it via Spotify connect or Apple AirPlay2. However, the lack of a microphone means it is not voice-enabled like other Sonos speakers such as the Roam.