Best Sonos Soundbars Under $500

Every other year the Sonos bring forward new soundbars, and don’t fail to amaze audience. And to get a soundbar under $500 from such a high standard and hyped brand is sure a miracle. In 2023, you don’t always have to break your bank to have a perfect soundbar with top notch features. Sonos with sleek designs drop the jaws of the customers. Not only this, but it also provides the most immersive sound experience. These Sonos bars are all-rounder, and are great for music, movies, TV shows, news, games, and whatnot. Come with us on an amazing adventure and discover the key features and the performance of the best Sonos soundbars.

Also, consider the buyer’s guide of the soundbars and make a conscious purchase.

• Design: Ensure that the size and style of the bar should match your room’s aesthetics.
• Compatibility: Always check the compatibility of your soundbar and TV and it is a must have.
• Audio Performance: A great sound bar should deliver the clear dialogues, deep bass, and an immersive sounds. Never compromise on these things even with a low budget.
• Technology: The latest tech soundbars are super attractive in this modern era. Assess if the bar you are going to purchase has EQ settings, voice assistants, virtual sound, Dolby atmos, etc.
• Simple Installation: A guide to install the soundbar is very helpful for users. And if the setting up soundbar is simple, it’s a big relief for consumers.
• Brand Reputation and Reviews: The famous brands are less likely to sell the defected products. And this is the reason why people trust them and buy the renowned soundbars. To be on the safe side, you can go through the user’s reviews before buying the specific bar.

Sonos Beam

This 3.0 Sonos Beam is a smart structured and elegant soundbar which you can get just under the $500. The Sonos Beam bar is made up of solid plastic and a fabric covers the whole bar, but it can get dirty and weary over time. Furthermore, the top of the bar contains the touch-sensitive buttons that are play/pause, volume, track skip, and mic enable/disable. Subsequently, the bar interface shows two lights: one color shows input source and the other one is for mic activation. The center channel produces the dialogue clarity, and with dialogue enhancement the voice can be modified into crispier and clearer sounds. It is great for listening podcasts and watching TV shows. The side firing drivers along with the center channel induce the wide soundstage. TruePlay analyze the room acoustics and generates the perfect and balanced vocals.

If you want more from it, feel free to customize the bass and treble. However, if you are a fan of pop music or action movie, you may feel the need to buy the subwoofer separately for the deep and heavy bass. The Sonos bar supports Dolby Digital and DTS, and produce the surround sound but it is not as immersive as it should be. Following, you can buy the satellites if you have some extra cash and make the sound more immersive. Nonetheless, the Beam soundbar doesn’t support the Dolby Atmos and DTS: X content.  Importantly, the Sonos Beam soundbar is great for middle sized room, as the audios are pure at normal volumes while show the compression artifacts at high volumes. The physical inputs available are Ethernet port and an HDMI ARC in port. The bar uses the Wi-Fi connection to connect to other devices. Similarly, it is compatible with Spotify and Apple Airlay. Install the Sonos S2 app and enjoy interesting features which also includes using your TV remote control by changing the settings from “remote control setup”.

Sonos Ray

Sonos rays was first introduced in 2023, and its narrow body comes in white and black color. The top of the bar has three touch sensitive buttons: play/pause, skip track, and volume up/down. If you look at the rear side of the bar, the Ethernet jack, power and optical audio input are visible. There is an IR receiver at the bottom of the Sonos Ray bar which is controlled by the TV or universal remote. In addition to that, there are total four forward facing drivers against the grille. The standalone bar doesn’t have any subwoofer and that’s why the rumbling bass is missing. For this purpose you can buy the sub and enhance your home theatre experience. Sonos Ray is good for movies, shows, and music. Despite of not having center channel, the dialogues clarity is alright, but sometimes it still lacks the quality. 

Fortunately, TruePlay feature is accessible for the Apple phone users. As a result, it adjusts the sound and make sure you get the best audio experience possible. With the help of Wi-Fi connection, you can connect the Sonos Ray with the other devices. One of the drawbacks of this bar is that there is no proper remote control and optical audio. It supports Dolby Digital and DTS whereas is not compatible for Dolby Atmos. Setting up the soundbar is not complicated, and you need to install the Sonos mobile app and create an account. Moreover, the Ray is great for the small to middle sized rooms, and surprisingly can be expanded up to 5.1 surround sound system. If your space is too small, consider having the wall mounting set. When you can get all of this under the range of $500 then it is sure a great bet that you won’t regret later.