Despite Sonos’ setbacks, the Ray soundbar was still my best 2024 purchase

In the world of tech, there are a few companies that you don’t anticipate having a catastrophic year. For all of its detractors, Apple still puts out quality products year after year, as does Garmin, and until 2024 came around, Sonos would have been lumped in the same crowd.

However, even if you caught only a glimpse of the coverage that the Californian audio company received in 2024 then you’ll know that, for several reasons, Sonos just couldn’t catch a break. Yet, despite what the company went through, I think it’s necessary to point out that of all the tech purchases I made in 2024, it was the Sonos Ray soundbar that easily stood tall as my favourite, and why that’s important going forward.

What happened to Sonos?

Of course, if you didn’t catch any of the Sonos news this year then you might be wondering what on earth it is that I’m talking about, so let’s start with a bit of context. Sonos endured two major setbacks in 2024: the launch of a revamped app and the debut of its first pair of headphones, the Sonos Ace, neither of which stuck the landing.

In the case of the Sonos app, it’s difficult to understand what went wrong here. The app in its previous form, from what I’ve been told, did the job just fine – acting as a hub not just for one’s own Sonos products but also any connected audio streaming services. Well, for whatever reason the classic adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” never seemed to reach Sonos HQ.

Not only were core features like the alarm and sleep timer removed with the intention to reintroduce them at a later date, but the app itself became a buggy mess that made day-to-day use a bit of a nightmare. Luckily, things have smoothed out quite a bit since the start of the year, but the whole thing seemed so unnecessary, even if it did make the app look nicer from an aesthetic point of view.

What didn’t help matters was the incredibly lukewarm reception to Sonos’ long-awaited first pair of headphones, the Sonos Ace. Given just how well-regarded Sonos’ other products are, the hype for these cans was quite substantial, and yet that same Sonos magic just couldn’t seem to translate into these first-generation headphones.

Sure, they scored a respectable four-star rating in our review, courtesy of AV Editor Kob Monney, but they were a letdown in the sense that they weren’t quite matching the competition at what they do best, with ANC that falls far shorter than what Bose has achieved, not to mention sound that isn’t as detailed as what you’ll find on the Sony WH-1000XM5.

To make matters worse, these headphones were priced far too high, ringing in at £449/$499 to match the far more powerful AirPods Max. To see a plummet to around £299/$299 over the Black Friday period was telling.

None of this paints a pretty picture, and yet in spite of it all, I have not stopped recommending the Sonos Ray to almost everyone I know.

A (Sonos) ray of sunshine?

For the longest time, I’ve been on the lookout for a soundbar that can give a certain oomph to late-night entertainment but without the type of rocket-firing audio that’s likely to get someone evicted out of their flat. The Sonos Ray had always been tempting, but when it fell down to a measly £130 over Amazon’s October Prime Day I knew the time had come to buy it – and it did not disappoint.

Despite the fact that it’s small enough to fit underneath my TV, the Sonos Ray still boasts a rich and expansive soundscape, and being able to use it for music via Apple AirPlay has been the cherry on top. Honestly, if (like me) you’re not an audiophile and you simply want a great soundbar that can get the job done then I cannot recommend the Sonos Ray enough, particularly as it still seems to be heavily discounted as I write this.

The reason why I bring this up at all is to say that while its undoubtedly had a tough year, Sonos is far from being out of the race. Years-old products like the Sonos Ray have stood the test of time, and the recent release of the excellent Sonos Arc Ultra shows that there are better days ahead. 

I expect that Sonos has learned a valuable lesson over the course of the last 12 months, the teachings of which are no doubt being employed in bringing the app back to its best self, and hopefully being utilised in developing a far superior successor to the Ace headphones. With 2024 in the rear-view mirror, don’t be surprised if we see a wiser Sonos in the New Year.

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