Every Christmas I behave the same way, all-the-while promising myself, "next year will be different".  Alas, the year goes by too fast, it seems, for my words to ever turn into action. 

So I sit at home on Christmas Eve wondering what kind of gift could I possibly give my Father this year?  A few years ago, a similar train of thought led me to buy my mother a 'as seen on TV' 'Salad Shooter'.  Big Mistake.  Need I say more?

All year long I have noted my father watching the TV with the volume loud, then louder, then as of late 747 jet loud.  The entry-level Sony branded soundbar I purchased him a few years back was not cutting it these days.  So a new soundbar was to be 'it' this year.  The big gift. 

I already had purchased him a single Sonos smart speaker a decade or so ago, so I was familiar with the Sonos economy and the good sound that comes with the price.  Dad likes the Sonos stuff, (so do I) so I had a look at what kind of options they have in the soundbar category.  

I did not want to spend big bucks, and needed very few features.  Varied inputs were unnecessary for this application.  Neither needed were any surround formats, subwoofers, etc, and not even HDMI was needed.  All Dad needed was much clearer sound to go with his TV, and the only connectors needed were power and Toslink.  

The Sonos Ray ticked all the boxes needed, and the features missing?  Dad has no use of.  

I finally installed it today.  Setup was a breeze, and it sounds GREAT.  Dialog is crystal clear, Bass is limited, but there is just enough to provide a sense of warmth and fullness without negatively affecting the mid-range clarity.  The sound is quite low distortion, and I was very surprised how composed the Sonos Ray can be with more complex material.  

Dad noticed immediately as well, and the first act of his?  Turning off the subtitles.  He can finally hear the dialog with ease. 

Mission accomplished.  

Heck, it sounds so nice, even I was thoroughly enjoying it.  For $280, it is an amazing value, especially if a single Toslink connection and IR remote control will suffice.  It more than suffices here. 

Rating

Sound Quality 8/10
Value Factor 10/10 (if the feature set is acceptable in your application)

Overall 9/10