- VERDICT
The versatile Sonos Move speaker offers the best of both worlds - an elegant wi-fi speaker that fit seamlessly into the Sonos ecosystem and a powerful companion when you want to take your music with you.
Sonos has been a pioneer in multi-room audio so you can play your music wherever you want and has held its own in a market that was flooded with competitors. Its latest Move speaker shows it’s not just keeping up but leading the way.
Move is both a wi-fi and a Bluetooth speaker.
For Sonos die-hards with existing multi-room systems, Move can fit right in as a wi-fi speaker and expand your audio footprint.
You can control Move and direct whatever audio you want from the other side of the house or include it with the rest of your Sonos speakers to play music in sync.
But for those times when you want to take your music with you, Move can also connect via Bluetooth to your mobile device and stream content directly to the speaker through the Sonos app and still give the listener complete control.
Move is also Apple AirPlay 2 compatible so you can direct audio from iPhones and iPads as well.
And it’s also smart too and gives you the option of adding the voice assistant of your choice – Google Assistant or Alexa – so you can control it with your voice and use it like any other smart speaker.
But the voice assistants only work when the speaker is connected to wi-fi.
The Sonos Move speaker itself is a decent size at 24cm tall and weighing 3kg yet is it easy to carry around thanks to the snug handle on the back.
It has a sleek cylindrical shape that matches the design language of other Sonos speakers so soccer look to foreign if you add this to your existing system.
The speaker sits inside a small charging cradle so it is always powered and the battery fully charged if you decide to take Move with you.
When used in the go, the Move speaker can run for up to 10 hours on the onboard rechargeable battery.
The electronics are housed in an ultra-durable hard-wearing case which means it can cope with the accidental drops and scrapes.
It is also rated IP56 which means you can handle the dust and liquid splashes.
On top of the unit are capacitive touch control so you can adjust the volume, navigate your music and mute the microphone.
There is also an illuminated LED which tells you when the microphone is active and can also let you know when you’re connected to wi-fi (white light) or Bluetooth (blue light).
Under the hood are Class D digital amplifiers that work hand-in-hand with the speaker drivers and the acoustic design of the product.
There is also a downward firing tweeter for nice high frequency response along with the mid-woofer to handle the medium-range vocal frequencies and the bass.
As a result, Move delivers the typical Sonos sound – bold with a healthy fix of bass and also plenty of detail.
The automatic TruePlay tuning also balances the sound based on where you’ve positioned the speaker in the room. This makes a huge difference the audio quality.
And its powerful too – at the highest volume it will raise the roof.
The powerful Sonos app gives users not only complete control but also links their favourite streaming music services including Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, iHeartRadio, Google Play Music and YouTube Music.
Move pairs with other Sonos speakers seamlessly over wi-fi.
You can also create stereo pairs with two Move speakers over wi-fi but that won’t work over Bluetooth like other brands.
It would also have been nice to pair two Move speakers as rear home theatre surrounds if you’ve got a Sonos Beam soundbar connected to your TV. Maybe next time.
The Sonos Move is not cheap at $649.
Yes it is both a wi-fi and Bluetooth speaker but there are plenty of value competitors that are hundreds of dollars cheaper.
But they are not Sonos speakers which is why these pricey speakers will appeal mostly to current Sonos customers who have been dedicated to the brand for years.
Sonos Move
Price: $649
VERDICT
The versatile Sonos Move speaker offers the best of both worlds – an elegant wi-fi speaker that fit seamlessly into the Sonos ecosystem and a powerful companion when you want to take your music with you.
