TCL S45H S Class Sound Bar vs Sonos Ray Soundbar

The TCL S45H is the more versatile bar: HDMI eARC, Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X processing, Bluetooth, USB playback and a wall mount in the box. The Sonos Ray is the better fit for a small room and a Sonos household: clearer dialogue tuning, Trueplay calibration and multiroom streaming over Wi-Fi and AirPlay 2. Neither has a subwoofer, so both are modest on bass; the TCL's virtual processing gives more of a surround effect, while the Ray's strength is clean speech. Owners rate both around 4.2 to 4.3, with the Ray drawing complaints about app setup and optical-only control, and the TCL drawing complaints about limited bass.

• Choose the TCL S45H if your TV has HDMI eARC, you want Atmos and virtual surround processing, or you need Bluetooth and USB music playback.
• Choose the Sonos Ray if you have a small room or secondary TV, want clearer dialogue, and already use or plan to use Sonos multiroom audio.