Sonos Subs Mini and Ray review: Bass that brings stories to life

The Sonos Subs Mini is largish, though compact, cylindrical sub-woofer that could fit easily on the side of my TV set-up (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan / Indian Express)

Set up is easy, but remember a solid Wi-Fi connection is a prerequisite to enjoy any Sonos wireless device. You follow the instructions on the Sonos app and you will be ready to listen to songs and podcasts in a few minutes. For the TV, you need an optical cable input and set up separately. The app lets you sync the audio output in case there is a delay. And this is one aspect I like about Sonos, they think of everything a user might need. Once the Room is set up, the app asks you if you want to link the Subs Mini too. I linked the two and named them as Living Room so that it becomes easy to select and play. However, on the app, you have the ability to adjust the volumes of both separately, this is important in some use cases.

I watched Tetris on Apple TV and a new Malayalam Horror comedy called Romancham using the set up. What was immediately different in the experience was how Sonos creates like a bubble around your listening area, especially if you have tuned True Play — which takes a few minutes and many tries if your house has a lot of ambient noise like mine. The sub-woofer gives the right amount of bass which makes you feel the wind flow when the spirit makes its presence felt in Romancham. It makes you feel you are in the Moscow Airport when the protagonist is trying to flee USSR in Tetris. Sonos does all this without being in your face or without peppering your room with small speakers. With a 65-inch television like mine and audio set up like this from Sonos, you are literally bringing the cinemas home.

With a 65-inch television like mine and an audio set up like this from Sonos, you are literally bringing the cinemas home (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan / Indian Express)

However, if the Subs Mini is high on bass then there is a tendency to drown out a bit of the dialogue. So I had to keep it in regular setting for a more balanced experience though the extra bass does add some serious oomph to action scenes.

I spent more time listening to music and there were no such issues there. The bass is perfect even when you have amped it up to the max and listening to a Carnatic fusion version of Pibare Rama Rasam. The bass from the Subs Mini almost embalms the room breathing life into everything from the sofa to the books as the vocals come inside this layer like a filing. I could not have asked for anything better.

Over the past week or so I have been rummaging through my playlists to listen to my favourite songs with this set up because there are new layers that open up with that subwoofer. My son rushed into the room when Imagine Dragons started playing and was asking me why his favourite song sounded a bit different this time. The audio profile is perfect for listening to the great Leonard Cohen, for instance. The bass, even at higher levels, is great to listen to vocal-heavy numbers like the ones I love. This is usually not the case with sub-woofers.

Sonos has many options for users who want to have a cinematic experience in the home, but my experience with the Ray sound bar in tandem with the Subs Mini is right up there when it comes to experience and it’s not that expensive either. At a combined cost of Rs 1,00,000, this is a worthy investment to create the perfect soundscape in your home, one that is ideal for listening to music daily and enjoying the latest shows and movies on your telly. Go ahead, take the plunge.

Sonos Subs Mini: Rs 59,999
Sonos Ray: Rs 39,999