So this is the Sonos Ray, its a very affordable soundbar that gives you some very big features that aren’t commonly found in this price range. But the Sonos Ray does have its drawbacks. And then theres the Bose TV Speaker which is actually one of the most popular soundbars out there. And then theres the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus which is another solid 3.1 soundbar to consider. So today we’re going to see how these three entry level soundbars stack up to enter another and we’re going to see which one is right for you.
Now first off, all of these systems are self contained systems, as in they dont need an external subwoofer cause they all produce their own bass. Now obviously, having an external subwoofer is always better cause this way you’re going to get a more movie theater like experience cause you’re going to have more bass, but everyone might not have the room for an external subwoofer or maybe they dont want to disturb their neighbors if they live in an apartment.
But this is actually one of the big differences between these three soundbars. With both the Sonos Ray and Amazon Fire TV Soundbar plus, you can always build out these systems with an external subwoofer and or rear satellite speakers. And their subwoofers and rear speakers connect wirelessly. Where as with the Bose TV Speaker, you can only add an external subwoofer to this soundbar, and you have to do so with a wired connection.
Now I feel that if you’re planning on build out your soundbar with an external subwoofer and rear speakers, you should go with the Amazon Fire TV Plus cause this soundbar connects via an HDMI port, where as the Sonos Ray only uses an optical port. But we’ll talk about that more later. But in this video we’re going to be testing all of these soundbars by themselves. And we’re going to be comparing them so the Sony Bravia 3 tv which I feel is a solid entry level TV to consider.
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Now when it comes to the design of these soundbars, both the Sonos Ray and Bose TV Speaker are pretty small. The Ray has a length of 22 inches and the Bose has a length of 23 and a half inches. Overall both of these sounder bars have a small foot print and they’re easy to place on your tv table. But then theres the Amazon Fire TV plus which is huge by comparison coming in at a length of 37 inches and overall this soundbar just has a large foot print. So placing it in your home theater set up can be a lot more challenging.
However, the good thing here is, all of these soundbars plug in via a double barrel AC port and theres no external power brick to worry about, making them all good options for wall mounting… but the Amazon soundbar is the only one here that comes included with a wall mounting kit. Where as with both bose and sonos, their wall mounting kits are sold separately.
Now regarding connectivity, both the Amazon soundbar and Bose TV Speaker connect to your tv via an HDMI port, which means a few things. First off your going to be able to take advantage of higher quality audio formats and you’re going to be able to easily just adjust the sound of your soundbar with your TV’s remote. Where as with the Sonos Ray, this soundbar plugs in via an optical port… now your audio is still going to sound good, but you’re not going to be able to take advantage of higher quality audio formats like dolby atmos and DTS X.
And the lack of an HDMI connection on the Sonos ray and the lack of support for Dolby Atmos is the main reason why I recommend that you dont build out your Sonos ray by adding rear speaker and a subwoofer. If you plan on adding rear speakers and a sub to your soundbar then you should go with the Amazon soundbar. Plus with the Sonos Ray, if you want to adjust the volume on this soundbar using your tv’s remote then you do have to go through a separate set up process which may or may not work with your TV.
Overall, I like the Sonos ray, but I feel that not adding an HDMI port on this soundbar was a huge mistake. But the really crazy thing here is, the Sonons Ray is the only soundbar here that has wifi and it connects to Sonos app. So from here you can much easily adjust the sound of this soundbar and you can also go through all of the other settings. Where as with both Bose and Amazon, these soundbars dont have wifi and they dont have an app. So in order to adjust their audio you have to use the included remote, and the audio settings that these soundbars give you are a lot more limited compared to the Sonos Ray. Now personally I think that Sonos’s app is very cluttered… but I am glad and surprised that the ray has an app period cause not a lot of other soundbars in this price range have an app. But in sonos fashion, the Sonos Ray doesn’t have Bluetooth where as these other two soundbars do.
But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound. Regarding speaker set up, the Bose TV speaker has the most basic set up here. It has a single frontward firing tweeter and dual frontward firing speakers which are angled out a little bit and it has a single bass chamber with an exhaust port that shoots out the back. Then theres the Sonos Ray which has a more impressive speaker setup of dual frontward firing tweeters, dual frontward firing speakers and dual bass with exhaust ports that shoot out the front. And finally theres the Amazon Fire TV plus which has 3 frontward firing speakers, 3 frontward firing tweeter and dual passive radiators that shoot out the back. Now I feel that this is a very impressive speaker set up, but I just feel that it could have been in a smaller package.
But now we’re going to jump into the soundtest. All of these soundbars are playing at 70% volume, and they are all using my preferred EQ settings, and we’re going to be comparing them to the built in speakers found on the Sony Bravia 3 tv, but those are going to be playing at max volume.
Sound Test
So like you may have just heard, the Sony Bravia 3 actually performs pretty well. It has dual downward firing X balanced speakers which get decently loud, and thanks to the additional surface area, they produce a decent amount of bass. But with other entry level TV’s this built in speakers might not get as loud or their bass can become a rattling mess, but regardless, you’re almost always going to be much better off upgrading to a soundbar.
Now when it comes to sound signature, I feel that the Sonos Ray is the most balanced sounding sound bar, the Amazon Fire TV Plus is the warmest sounding sound bar here, as in it has the most amount of bass, and the Bose TV Speaker is the brightest sounding soundbar here as in it puts an emphasis on the mids and highs. Now since the Bose TV speaker is the brightest sounding soundbar here, its going to be good for like hearing dialog… but done expect to feel all that much phsycialty in the bass.
Now if you want to feel the bass, then you do want to go with the Amazon Fire TV soundbar plus here cause the a passive radiators on this soundbar a really putting in work… but I cant help but feel that the instrument separation on this soundbar isn’t all that great and the highs aren’t as defined. Or if you want a more balanced and more life like lisnteing experience, then you’ll might want to go with the Sonos Ray.
Now I like how the sonos ray sounds and I really like how small it is… but the problem here is that it is the quietest soundbar here. Now dont get me wrong, this soundbar gets plenty loud to fill a bed room or small lignin room with sound… but both the Bose and Amazon soundbars get louder. So the Sonos Ray is a real catch 22, I think it gives you the best audio quality here and its the only soundbar here that connects to an app. So you can much more easily adjust your sound for what ever you’re watching, which I feel is a very important these days for a soundbar cause everything just has different mixing now. But with these other two sound bars, they get louder, but they dont sound as balanced and you don't have as much flexibility when it comes to adjusting your sound signature. Plus you have to use their remote instead of an app which isn’t as sleek.
So overall, if you’re looking for an affordable soundbar for your bedroom or small living room, I think the Sonos Ray is the best option here cause its gives you the most balanced sound and its the only soundbar here with an app. And I also really like how compact it is. However it does have some major draw backs. First off this soundbar doesn’t get as loud as these other two soundbars. But also the Sonos Ray connects to your tv via an Optical port, which for your common person means, adjusting the volume on this soundbar might not work as flawlessly as it should. And for your more advanced persons, I wouldn’t recommend building this soundbar out cause it doesn’t support dolby atmos.
If you plan on building out your soundbar, then you do want to go with the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus here cause it does connect to your tv via an HDMI port and it supports higher quality audio formats. Or if you dont plan on building out your system then the Amazon Fire TV is the better option to go with if you want something super loud and you want more bass. The main trade off here is, this soundbar is very big for its price and speaker set up. And it doesn’t have an app.
Or if you are looking for something small and easy to use then you do want to go with the Bose TV Speaker. It connects via an HDMI port and it gets a little louder than the Sonos. But the Bose TV Speaker is going to be better off for dialog cause it doesn’t have all that much kick in its bass.