What you need to know
- Sonos' supposed $250 soundbar has appeared on a Columbian online retailer.
- The product listing seems to confirm the Sonos Ray as the name of the next soundbar.
- According to the listing, Sonos will keep the cost down by omitting a few features.
Back in April, an upcoming Sonos soundbar was leaked with a codename of "Fury" and an internal model name of "S36." According to the leak, Sonos is nearing the launch of its first sub-$300 soundbar, coming in at a price of around $250.
As spotted by The Verge, this previously-leaked soundbar made an appearance on Columbian retailer Ktronix. While the online landing page is no longer available, we now have some official-looking renders that match up with previous renders. According to the listing, the Sonos "Fury" will actually be released as the Sonos Ray. As this retailer is based in the country of Columbia, the ~$323 price tag doesn't exactly match up with previous claims. But overseas pricing rarely matches up with what we see here in the States compared to countries abroad.
Along with the pricing and name, this listing also provided some indication as to what features would be available, along with where Sonos plans to cut corners. Thanks to these renders, we can see that there are three touch-sensitive controls at the top, along with an LED status light above the Sonos branding.
Moving to the back, you won't find much in the way of connectivity, as the renders reveal only a single optical audio input port and an Ethernet jack. This means that you won't be able to connect the Ray to your TV using an HDMI cable, as you would with some of the best soundbars. Other missing features include the lack of built-in microphones for voice control, along with making use of just a pair of tweeters and a pair of woofers.
While it may seem like a bad thing for Sonos to ditch the built-in microphones, the listing did reveal that Sonos still plans to provide voice assistant support through the likes of Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Doing so still provides users the ability to use their favorite smart speakers in conjunction with this upcoming soundbar once released.
The final major missing feature is the lack of Dolby Atmos support when using the Sonos Ray as a standalone soundbar. But it appears as though Sonos could allow owners of the Arc and Beam to use the Ray as rear-mounted surround speakers. As noted by The Verge:
The soundbar is designed to be mounted vertically for that purpose, and in the vertical orientation, its slanted side drivers will route Atmos audio toward the ceiling more effectively.
Chris Welch, The Verge
We're still awaiting an official announcement or confirmation from Sonos in regards to the Ray. But this is shaping up to be one of the more impressive and versatile soundbar releases that we've seen. Previous rumors point to an early June announcement, giving us just over a month until the next best soundbar could be unveiled.
