Ask that question of 10 players and you'll get 29 different answers 
I've owned both versions of the Ray you asked about, along with a Classic 2-band, and an "Old Smoothie (slightly different 2-band EQ)." Being that I don't like redundancy I decided to keep the Special (4HH) and sold the others.
To me, the differences really depend on how you want the bass to sound, and your specific application.
When playing my 2014 Ray with the controls all centered, I struggled getting rid of the harshness in the highs and the lows weren't to my liking much, so there was a lot of tweaking of things to get the tone I wanted.
When playing the new Special in the same 'centered' position I am more than happy with the tone-- right from the start. Tweaking the controls from there simply makes me smile even more.
Also, I've no problem getting the new Special to sound like the model it replaced, and it easily nails the sound of the other two Rays I mentioned (making them redundant).
Now if you are looking for something to complement the Ray, find a Bongo to try out. I have had mine (4H) for the last few weeks and REALLY like what I'm hearing. One warning however, the Bongo tends to upset the easily excitable, which can be fun too
Last edited by Monahan; 01-23-2021 at 06:07 PM.
Reason: Clarity
“Most of all, play with joy. Therein you'll find the Way.” ~Philip Toshio Sudo
Stingray Special 4HH Aqua Sparkle (2018)
Stingray Special 4HH Black (2019)
Bongo 4H Firemist Purple (2018)
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