Sonos Ray vs Beam vs Arc

Check the back of your TV first

The Ray connects by optical cable only. It has no HDMI socket at all, so it cannot use HDMI eARC, and Sonos is explicit that your TV or PC must have an optical output.

Most televisions still have one, but not all recent sets do, and some that do restrict what they will send over it. The Beam and the Arc both use HDMI eARC, which is the better connection: it carries higher-quality audio, and it is what passes Dolby Atmos through.

So before comparing anything else, look at your TV’s sockets. If there is no optical output, the Ray is not an option at any price.

What the Ray gives up

At £199 the Ray is less than half the price of the Beam, and the savings are real things, not marketing distinctions:

• No Dolby Atmos. The Beam creates virtual height effects and the Arc has two dedicated upward-firing height channels. The Ray does neither.
• No built-in voice assistant. The Beam and Arc have microphones and answer directly. With a Ray, voice needs a separate speaker in the room.
• No HDMI, as above.

What it keeps is the part that matters for this site: AirPlay 2 and Trueplay. You can send audio to a Ray from an iPhone exactly as you would to an Arc, and it tunes itself to the room the same way.

The Arc is on its way out

Sonos lists the Arc as Last Chance and now sells the Arc Ultra as its flagship, alongside a Beam Ultra. The Arc is still a current-quality product — eleven internal speakers including the two height channels — and a run-out price on one is a genuine bargain.

But know what you are buying. A soundbar being discontinued does not stop it working, and AirPlay 2 will keep working regardless, but you are buying the previous flagship rather than the current one, and the price should reflect that.

Note also that Sonos sells the middle model as Beam (Gen 2). Original first-generation Beams still turn up on resale listings at similar prices, so check which generation a listing is actually offering before you buy.

What all three do in Apple Home

All three appear in the Home app as AirPlay 2 speakers. You can play to them, group them with other AirPlay 2 speakers, include them in a scene and ask Siri to send audio to them.

None of them is a HomeKit accessory. You cannot automate the soundbar itself the way you would a light — Apple Home sees a speaker to send audio to, not a device with switchable inputs. That is true of the £199 Ray and the £899 Arc equally, so it is not something you can buy your way out of here.

Which to buy

Buy the Ray for a bedroom, a small lounge, a desk or a gaming setup, as long as the TV has an optical output. It is a large improvement on television speakers and it does the AirPlay 2 job completely.

Buy the Beam for most living rooms. HDMI eARC, Dolby Atmos and a built-in voice assistant for £449 is the sensible middle of this range, and it is the one to default to if you are unsure.

Buy the Arc if the room is big, you want genuine height channels rather than virtual ones, and you can find one at a run-out price. If you are paying close to full price for a model Sonos is clearing, compare it against the Arc Ultra before committing.