Sonos has always been known for setting benchmarks in the industry. So, when they released a budget-friendly soundbar, Sonos Ray, a lot of audio enthusiasts were eager to see how Sonos overcame the challenges of the physical limitations of the speakers.
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Although many of the reviewers have found that Ray’s sound quality is worth it for the money, they also found a deal-breaking issue.
So, even though the desktop-sized speaker offered room-filling, sparkling, and clear sound, it also outputted unusual low-frequency buzz across a range of music and movies.
This issue was something that kept a lot of Sonos fans away from the budget-friendly speaker.
But the good news is that the company contacted the reviewers and successfully recreated the issue with the speakers.
And after that, Sonos took their time and fixed the issue through a firmware update. This software upgrade offered a significant tweak to the low-end response of the speaker.
Basically, the issue arose because of the curved bass-reflex design. That made the speakers get a port frequency that was around 55 Hz. This frequency is very susceptible to ‘chuffing’ when the speaker is handling resonant frequencies.
However, it was not like the users had no options when dealing with the issue. If a Sonos Sub was added to the system, this frequency issue would become less of a problem.
But the thing is, Sonos Sub has a price that is twice more than the price of the Ray. And it did not make sense if the users had to make a costly purchase to get the most out of the cost-friendly speakers.
Also, many were looking to achieve a minimalistic setup with the Sonos Ray. Adding additional components or devices goes totally against that.
Now, Sonos’s tweak to the low-end response makes the frequencies dip below 50 Hz. That is in line with the increases in the volume level, which successfully mitigates the unwanted vibrations.
In other words, the bass buzz that was ruining the experience for the Sonos Ray users will not be there after the update.
That means if you were looking to get the Sonos Ray but did not feel like purchasing after seeing the reviews, now is an excellent time to give it a second thought.
Now, although it does not have some of the hardware features present in the higher-end speakers of Sonos, the speaker is truly offering a good value for the money after the update.
Slava is a man of mystery and no-one seems to know exactly where he is at any point in time. When he isn't enjoying writing about all things audio and technical he can be found researching his next project of interest. The man never rests.
This post was last updated on 2023-03-20 / Some images from Amazon Product API & some links may be affiliate links which may earn us a commission from purchases.
