Ray

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.

I bought and am returning the ray, the sound is awful ! Worse than a cheap refurbished Panasonic unit I had !

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.

Sonos Ray is the cheapest way to plug a TV into the system.

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.

This is how I do it and I don’t notice a delay

I have an older Sonos Ray with only an optical connection. I can adjust the volume with the tv remote just fine.

The only soundbar in the Sonos lineup that won't be affected by hiding it in a cavity is the Ray. The Beam /Beam 2 and the Arc/Arc Ultra all require plenty of side space (and upward firing space in the case of the Arc/Arc Ultra). Enclosing either of those will severely limit the sound stage.

It has its uses and still sounds good, but it's not what I call anywhere near a "great" soundbar. It's an entry-level piece. I use one on my desk as a PC speaker and it's fantastic for that, and I have one with my TV in my camper, but that's about all I'd use one for.

I use a Ray, mounted underneath my monitor, and it sounds absolutely fantastic as a PC speaker.