Sonos Beam Gen 2 vs Sonos Ray - which one to buy?

You might be contemplating your first soundbar from Sonos. Which is it? The $449 Beam Gen 2 which is capable of Dolby Atmos? Or the cheaper new entry level $279 Sonos Ray which uses an optical jack for input from your TV?
I rate the Beam Gen 2 and Ray objectively with frequency response charts to tell the exact picture. No emotions involved. No subjective opinions. Hear for yourself with binaural recording of both sound bars playing Dolby digital content.
If you found my work useful and would like to support it, please visit my Patreon link to contribute to my coffee fund! : / peterpee .
Now, only if you really find value! Even if you don’t contribute, I am happy to share my experience with all you viewers on my channel here!
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0:00 Introduction
0:20 Sonos Ray Rating
1:00 Sonos Beam Gen 2 Rating
1:49 Sonos Ray vs Beam Gen 2 Rating
2:34 Price consideration
4:13 Sonos Ray Optical input
4:45 Placement Considerations
4:57 Sonos Beam Gen 2 HDMI eARC input
7:27 Frequency Response - Sonos Ray
8:45 Frequency Response - Sonos Beam Gen 2
12:47 Soundstage comparison
14:19 Sonos Ray - Clip 1
15:25 Sonos Beam Gen 2 - Clip 1
16:29 Sonos Ray - Clip 2
18:19 Sonos Beam Gen 2 - Clip 2

[@6058jeremysmith]

Thank you Peter for going into such detail and the great comparison video .. I recently purchased the Sonos Ray which I am extremely happy with ..

[@PeterPee]

Very cool. The size is definitely not indicative of the amount of sound that it is capable of.

[@tctterry]

Loves the new format. Thank you Peter for the comparison. 👍🏼

[@PeterPee]

Glad you like it! I am quite proud of that too!

[@tctterry]

Well done. Keep it up! 👍🏼

[@james1313]

Really liked your new intro Peter. Very good quality. Please don’t talk any less in your videos though! I like listening to your advice and comparison info 😊

[@PeterPee]

Great feedback! I love to talk!

[@michaelleong8230]

Nice content Peter! For me I still prefer your upfront summary as that way not only I can hear your opinion but also see your body language to better appreciate how you reached that decision. And then to further understand throughout the rest of the video. IMHO this is one of your main difference compared to other techtuber. Having said that, I feel this video's visual and content layout are the best thus far and very modern looking! Nice!

[@PeterPee]

Hey Michael! Thanks for the feedback! I think there is nothing stopping me from combining both! I will strive to deliver the upfront summary in my videos still! Thank you!

[@michaelleong8230]

@@PeterPee Most welcome Pete, this is just my opinion. Will definitely support your channel and provide feedback to you as you go along. Content quality so far has always been top notch! Jia you!

[@ewanreid854]

Just added Sonos mini to the ray and the bass is epic👍👍

[@PocariPocari]

I wish you had a conclusions section! great video. I think the text in the first clips can be larger! it’s small on a phone.

[@PeterPee]

Good point! Thanks for the tip! I have to bear that in mind.

[@happybeerlove]

Great comparison 👍 I have a beam 1st gen and a ray, and this summary is the most accurate I've come across so far

[@robertlopes2163]

How does the 1st Gen compare to Ray?

[@brucemurray1517]

Thank you for your comparison. I listened with some decent AKG headphones and to my hearing they both sound great. My conclusions were similar to yours; the most noticeable difference is in Dolby Atmos (in particular the bass). If you don't need Dolby Atmos, the difference was minor.

[@PeterPee]

Thanks for sharing your opinions! And I am now dying to see what 14.12 comes up with for the voice/dialogue enhancement to the ARC too!

[@rjejames28]

I have a beam gen 2 with sub and symphonic rears and it's amazing.

[@dykoubiz]

Yes, good approach to take price out. So that people do the judgement themselves if it’s worth paying more for difference.

[@mrgold3591]

I would go for the Ray if I had an older TV with only Optical output. The Ray would be good for me as guest room or office setup with an older LCD TV you are not ready to replace. I would lean towards the Beam if I had the eArc 4k/8k TV and plan to keep the Sonos for awhile with upgrades (surrounds and/or subs). The Beam would future proof you with higher quality content with more 4K/8K/Atmos down the road.

[@joelsomerville6102]

Hi Peter, love the channel! Do you have any feedback on the Ray's connectivity to a projector rather than a tv. There is very little out there outlining this!

[@petermaz701]

Great job! I have the Ray in my bedroom sounds great I am very pleased. I have the Arc in my living room set up. I actually prefer the Ray over the Beam.

[@Thatbeardedguy86]

Can you explain why you prefer it? I just picked up the Beam 2 for my small entertainment room and I’m not super impressed for the money. Just returned a Vizio V51 because it kept cutting out. Saw the Ray but was worried it would be bad

[@petermaz701]

@@Thatbeardedguy86 the Ray is a bit more directional than the beam, which is a bit more open. In my particular set up, it's a very narrow bedroom and right in front of the bed is the TV so I don't need the sound to spread out. I'd rather have it come straight towards me so I could hear it nice and clear.

[@misskitty3694]

thank you

[@skydancerforever]

love your new format. keep going with it.

[@PeterPee]

Thanks, will do!

[@JR-vk5sz]

Thanks for another informative video! I enjoyed the rating system. Is it possible to overlay the frequency output of the studio recording of a popular movie relative to the frequency response curve of the speakers? A movie like The Dark Knight or Ford vs Ferrari would give me an idea of where a speaker has shortcomings. I don’t even know if this is possible.

[@PeterPee]

It's an interesting suggestion... but frequency responses are really just the same level played back by the system throughout the entire frequency range. So it's not like taking a movie clip and analysing the frequency response. But I get what you are trying to say... Let me take in this suggestion and see what I can research on...and come up with something. No promises though...

[@laurenschung]

Thks for making this comparison video. I am ok with both presentation, it's just that i needed to pause the video to look at the specs comparison because it changes frame quicker than i could comprehend. And you seems to look thinner. Hope your health is ok!

[@PeterPee]

Hey! Ok, noted on the feedback. This is what I needed. Cos it's clear to me, I wasn't paying attention to the speeds. Let me retime it to a more comfortable pace. :) And don't worry, I am eating well (maybe a little too well). :D I was intentionally trying to lose some weight as I was getting to unhealthy weights.

[@laurenschung]

@@PeterPee yes, to be more specific, i think the main points should be on the left, with the stats on the right, with smaller fonts. My eyes kept darting left and right to make sense of the info and the main point changed very quickly. Cheers to your health!

[@azmadazhell]

Great comparison! I would love to see a shootout between the Ray, a One SL and a pair of One SL's. I have a One SL in the kitchen on top of my fridge and would be keen to know if replacing it for a Ray as a stereo music source would be better than the One SL by itself, and how well it compares to a pair of One SL's which I assume would be better than the Ray. Cheers!

[@fredflinstone3173]

Since you already have a One SL, purchasing a second one for a stereo pair is for sure the best option. I would also highly recommend finding a better place to put them. You’re missing out on sound quality by it sitting on the fridge (unless you’re really tall).

[@jerryh367]

Thanks for your sharing. I just have one question. If I only focus on music, such as Violin & Piano. Is there much difference between Ray and Beam 2? Many thanks.

[@VidVayder]

I got the Beam 2 and it's been superb for my setup. eARC is amazing as I also have Apple TV 4K, PS5 and Series X hooked up to my LG B9. With the One SL surrounds connected, the lower frequencies seem to be boosted and I was honestly embarrassed by how loud and boomy it was. Neighbours definitely hate me now!

[@PeterPee]

Unless I am your neighbour. Then I will love you. In fact, any neighbour should love you. They are enjoying the system without having to pay for it... Dang... what happened to the world? :D Haha.

[@Blake00001]

Got a 55 B9 and Beam 2 as well (and PS5).. looking forward adding the surround.. and possibly the mini sub!

[@VidVayder]

@@Blake00001 you will love it. I too intended to get the sub-mini but it seems like overkill now after adding surrounds. I might still get it out of curiosity but it doesn’t feel like I need any more bass. 55 B9 gang 👊

[@MrsDeliciouss]

Thank for the video! I really like Sonos Beam 2 with ikea book shells as surrounds for my setup. The only problem is that the surrounds keeps drooping out sometimes. Beam is wired, all surrounds with sound bar sits in the same network. Router just few meters (without any walls) away from all the speakers. Sometimes it seems that when TV is on and I want to switch (spotify connect) to music listening - surrounds dont go back to normal status and work as surrounds.

[@PeterPee]

Yeah, I think there was a problem. If you do an upgrade to the firmware to 14.12 which is the latest, it should help. The dropouts were supposed to be resolved from 14.10 onwards.

[@patriciacristobal6977]

One question, Arc or Bean gen 2 + sub mini, for music & movies. Many thanks.

[@garyfelder5057]

Beam 2 is now $499 .. so $220 difference than Ray. However, I'm still thinking of upgrading from Ray to Beam since our Samsung Frame TV can't really control the Ray easily.

[@theacegio]

Will you make a new video for the updated arc (14.12) EQ settings ? It seals that after the trueplay calibration everything is quite thin except for the voices thanks Peter

[@PeterPee]

Yes! I will do that soon!

[@TheGichnni]

Could you please make a video with the new Sonos Arc settings after the update? The bass is very flat after the update with the same settings!

[@PeterPee]

Waiting to get back home to do the testing!

[@MrObear]

In the frequency response, for the Ray would the treble dip because your microphone was too close for the wave guides on the tweets which are positioned rather far apart with wave guides directing the sound parallel leaving a dead zone right in front of the mid woofers?

[@PeterPee]

Yes, that is a possibility. Thanks for bringing that up. But I tried to standardise all the testing to within 8-10 inches of the speakers.

[@Knight-pb5bp]

I have a Ray and love it but considering a beam

[@PeterPee]

Ha... I suspect you are going down the Sonos rabbit hole. Would you consider adding a sub mini or surround speakers first?

[@iwx2672]

@@PeterPee I would and I am, the real question is I do wonder if it's worth the money to upgrade a Sonos Ray to a Sonos Beam

[@Nathan-hs6uc]

Can you make a video of the new 14.12 S2 update, it seems to have lowered the volume of my sonos arc system significantly

[@PeterPee]

Coming soon!

[@egborkowski]

@@PeterPee awesome! I find the vocal clarity outstanding now! Curious to see your insights!

[@Pete_or_Peter4Long]

Is there any information on a potential updated or new Sonos Arc coming anytime soon?

[@PeterPee]

New Sonos arc won’t be soon

[@patrickyk1900]

Without a HDMI connector is a problem for the RAY. Is there a converter to convert a HDMI signal from TV to optical for use in the RAY? If so, how much would it cost?

[@PeterPee]

There are quite a few options on Amazon. You need to search for hdmi arc extractor. Not just hdmi audio extractor.

[@CoreMaster111]

I got Ray for 220€ and I can't really say anything bad. In fact it's pretty good. Sound quality is great and even bass is more than good enough for listening any type of music unless you want to feel the bass because with Ray you are not going to. If you want to add Era 100 or 300 speakers then obviously no point cheaping out on the Ray.

[@chakwong]

Is the Ray good for music? How does it compare to a Sonos 5 or two Sonos 1s?

[@PeterPee]

Good question! I am working on that exact video. Stay tuned! I can't answer for the Ray vs pair of Sonos 1s yet... but for Five, the Five is definitely better...

[@dichi2122]

what a great comparison ! Do you think is worth going for the beam if my TV does not have Dolby Atmos ?

[@PeterPee]

Actually, you might want to look out for a Beam Gen 1 in the used market? They are going for a really good price now. I think Sonos even sells refurbished units at like $2xx.... So price is really quite good.

[@johnnydo22]

Will we get your take on the new Sonos update specifically the Arc retune? 😉

[@Licks61SG]

+1 for this - I’ve used Peter’s EQ settings with the arc, sub + one sl’s, however since the update, and with these same settings applied, the system sounds very flat in the bass department.

[@TheGichnni]

Thank god I'm not the only one having an issue with this. I experience the same as you. Bass is very flat with the settings after the update on the Sonos Arc.

[@PeterPee]

I am definitely going to be doing an update. Will get round to the video this weekend. Am travelling now.

[@Licks61SG]

@@PeterPee thanks Peter - we appreciate it!

[@benbrg3581]

hello, the sonos beam 2 is a good choice for a living room of 25 m2, the arc is out of budget? thank you

[@PeterPee]

The Beam Gen 2 is alright. 25m2 is not small. But you can definitely get by.

[@Ghost-sz7uo]

so is the beam just a louder version of the ray since it has the extra woofers or is there an actual difference in sound quality??

[@PeterPee]

Yes, there is a difference in sound quality. Louder sometimes make people think that it's better but objectively speaking, the bass response is better on the Beam and the treble is infinitely better.

[@petermaz701]

@@PeterPee for some reason vocals sound better to me on the Ray then on the Beam. I agree with the other comparisons.

[@josetumax1047]

How can I get the Dolby atmos video

[@PeterPee]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZjTiKqKZt2Mr5o Here you go. The links are also in the comments section.

[@CHRIS-lm2jx]

Written a little too small for me at first, unless it's who sees better 🙂

[@PeterPee]

Hey Chris, thanks for the feedback! I will bear that in mind. Let me see what I can do to make it more legible!

[@CHRIS-lm2jx]

@@PeterPee on smartphone I specify, thank you for your professional analyzes👍

[@alexgamez1872]

14:28 15:33