The Ray is very much a budget soundbar while that JBL, at least back in its day, was probably closer to a mid range bar. Without a sub the Ray will likely be underwhelming in all respects compared to what you have. Beam Gen 2 will at least give you access to newer audio codecs and simulated Atmos.
Personally, for what you've described, I'd go with another Move 2. That's what I use when we bring the projector out to the backyard for movie night. But Play would also be a good option.
What's the source you're playing from on the projector? If you're using an Apple TV or Mac laptop, you can also use AirPlay as an option, which would allow you to use one of the soundbars (Arc Ultra, Beam gen 2, or Ray) instead. If it has to be Bluetooth, Arc Ultra would work as well.
Yup. You can always set the Ray volume to 0 and just use the Amp, but at some point you can just use the Ray to not make that much noise.
If you have home automation, you can do this automagically.
adayinalife
