Sonos Ray vs JBL Bar 300MK2: JBL adds a direct-player Atmos route, Ray suits a narrower open shelf

Check these before you buy

• If a Ray is going on a shelf, measure the inside width, height and depth, and the distance to the TV. The roughly 22-inch body needs at least 2 inches at each side, 1 inch above and 2 inches from the TV. Lay it flat at the front with the touch controls facing up. Leave space for bent cables, open sound paths, ventilation, a reachable power plug and the TV’s IR sensor. A 28-inch-wide opening can clear the width check and still fail the other checks.
• The JBL measures 37 inches wide, 2.0 inches high and 4.1 inches deep. Set it somewhere flat, stable and open, with nothing on top, with enough support, and with room for cable connections, clear sound paths and power access. The placement diagram suggests sitting about 2.5 to 3 m away and shows a room width over 4 m. Do not read that room arrow as a gap required on each side of the bar.
• With the Ray, check that the TV’s optical output can deliver Stereo PCM, Dolby Digital or DTS Digital Surround from the player or TV app you really use. The optical cable in the box carries sound and not HDMI control. Set up a compatible IR remote in the Sonos app. A Bluetooth-only or RF-only remote may need configuring, or may not work. The Sonos app and touch controls can stand in only if you accept that change in daily use.
• In the JBL example with an ARC-only TV, run the supplied HDMI cable from the bar’s TV output to the TV’s ARC port. A second HDMI 2.0 or later cable, which you buy separately, links the player to HDMI IN on the JBL. Turn on the TV’s ARC and compatible HDMI-CEC settings as well as the player’s applicable CEC setting, then choose Bitstream or Raw audio output as JBL directs. Pick HDMI IN as the input for that player. Full HDMI-CEC compatibility is not guaranteed.
• Before you rely on this route, confirm that your exact player outputs Atmos for the content you picked, and check its exact video mode through both the JBL and the TV input you plan to use. The documents back 4K Dolby Vision and HDR10+ passthrough, but they give no complete list of refresh-rate, audio-container or VRR compatibility. They do not qualify every console or streaming box. With a suitable eARC TV, the player can connect to the TV instead, provided the TV passes along the audio you need. Ray still does not support Atmos.
• Sketch out both full connections first and count devices afterward. A Ray on optical uses no TV HDMI input. The JBL uses up the TV’s ARC/eARC socket and gives you one player input on the bar. If the TV sockets are equally suitable, either arrangement can keep the same number of players connected. The case for the JBL here is supported audio routing. It does not give you a free extra device slot.
• Treat network music as its own plan, apart from the TV cable. The Ray needs broadband and a compatible Android or iOS device to set up the Sonos app. On the JBL, JBL One running on Android or iOS handles home Wi-Fi setup and network streaming, and the remote can start room calibration. None of these network steps means that wired TV playback on the JBL always needs internet, or that calibration runs before every film.
• Order exactly the selected packages, which are the Sonos Ray and the JBL Bar 300MK2, and not an earlier JBL Bar 300 or a speaker bundle. Both are standalone soundbars. Add-on speakers fall outside this comparison and are not counted in the stated body sizes. Before ordering, confirm any cables you need and the full current offers. Nothing here promises a current price, stock or delivery.