- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Updates
- Comparison
- Best Speakers
- Conclusion
- Discussions
We've currently tested five Sonos speakers. Sonos is an American brand that manufactures home audio products, primarily soundbars and speakers. Some of their speakers are compatible with their soundbars to make a surround sound setup. Sonos speakers tend to have many different features, so you can find one that best suits your needs. Many Sonos speakers have a wired design, making them most suitable for home use.
Updates
- 01/20/2022 Sonos Roam updated
- 11/30/2021 Sonos Move updated
- 11/30/2021 Sonos Five updated
- 03/02/2021 Sonos One SL reviewed
- 02/03/2021 Sonos One Gen 2 reviewed
Best Sonos Speakers
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Best Sonos Speaker
BluetoothYesWi-FiYesSpeakerphoneNoVoice AssistantYesBattery PoweredYesThe best Sonos speaker that we've tested is the Sonos Move. This medium-sized Bluetooth speaker is well-built and impressively portable, with a built-in handle that lets you carry it with one hand. It also has an IP56 rating for dust and water resistance, so it's certified to be protected against direct contact with water for up to three minutes and dust for around two to eight hours. It has a balanced sound profile suitable for listening to a variety of audio content. It can produce quite a deep bass, which is nice if you're a fan of bass-heavy genres like EDM or hip-hop. The companion app also has bass and treble adjustments so you can tweak the sound. It can get quite loud, though there's some compression present at max volume. Also, Alexa and Google Assistant come built-in, and the speaker has no trouble understanding you if you're far away, though it may struggle a bit if you're in a noisy room.
Unfortunately, its Bluetooth latency is high with iOS and Android devices, so it may not be well-suited for watching videos. However, some apps compensate for latency differently, so your results may vary. It also has to downmix stereo content into mono. That said, it's versatile and has a solid performance across the board, making it a great choice.
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Best Sonos Speaker For Music
BluetoothNoWi-FiYesSpeakerphoneNoVoice AssistantNoBattery PoweredNoThe Best Sonos speaker we’ve tested for music is the Sonos Five. This wired home speaker has a sleek design that can blend in with most home decor. It comes with a Trueplay room correction feature that adjusts the sound to the acoustics of the room it's placed in. With this feature enabled, it has a bright sound profile with a neutral mid-range, so vocals and lead instruments sound clear and present in the mix. It can get pretty loud and produces quite a deep low bass, meaning you can feel the thump and punch in bass-heavy music. Additionally, you can tweak its sound to your liking thanks to the bass and treble adjustments featured in its companion app. You can even place it horizontally when you want to listen to stereo audio and vertically for mono.
However, it doesn’t support voice assistants and isn’t Bluetooth compatible, so you have to connect to it via a Wi-Fi connection. There’s a lot of compression at max volume, so your audio doesn’t sound as clean at louder volumes. That said, if you’re looking for a speaker that offers a punchy low-bass for playing your favorite music, it's a solid choice.
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Best Portable Sonos Speaker
BluetoothYesWi-FiYesSpeakerphoneNoVoice AssistantYesBattery PoweredYesThe Sonos Roam is the best portable Sonos speaker that we've tested. This amazingly built and lightweight speaker is small enough to carry in one hand and is rated IP67 for dust and water resistance, so it's certified to be fully dust-tight as well as submersible in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes. It offers incredible voice assistant support with Alexa and Google Assistant built-in, and it does a great job of understanding your commands from far away, as well as in noisier environments. This speaker has a neutral sound profile with its Trueplay room correction feature enabled, making it suitable for listening to a wide variety of audio content. Its companion app also features bass and treble adjustments you can use to tweak its sound to your liking.
Unfortunately, like many speakers its size, it struggles to reproduce low-bass, so you can't feel the thump and rumble in bass-heavy music. It also has a disappointing battery performance, lasting roughly five hours from a single charge. That said, battery life can depend on your usage, and your experience may differ. If you're looking for a small Sonos speaker you can take with you when you're on the move, it's a solid choice.
Compared to other brands
- Built-in voice assistants. Some Sonos speakers come with built-in voice assistants, typically Alexa and Google Assistant. They also have no trouble understanding you, even if you're far away or in a noisy room.
- Well-balanced sound profile. The Sonos speakers we've tested tend to have well-balanced sound profiles, making them suitable for listening to most audio content. Many can also produce a thumpy low-bass, which will please fans of bass-heavy genres.
- Sound customization options. The Sonos S2 app is compatible with most of the Sonos speakers we've tested, and it has bass and treble sliders, letting you tweak the speaker's sound to your liking. Although it doesn't include a full graphic EQ, it has a Trueplay room correction feature that automatically adjusts the speaker's sound profile to the room it's in.
- Multiple devices can be linked together. Using the Sonos S2 app, you can pair multiple Sonos speakers to amplify your audio or play it across different rooms in your house. Also, some Sonos speakers, like the Sonos One SL, can be paired with compatible soundbars to create a surround sound system.
- Wired-only design. Many of the Sonos speakers that we've tested need to be plugged into a power source to work, so they're not very suitable for outdoor use. That said, Sonos is expanding its lineup of speakers to include more wireless models.
- Often no Bluetooth compatibility. Most of the Sonos speakers we've tested can't stream audio over Bluetooth. However, there's currently one Sonos speaker that has Bluetooth compatibility, the Sonos Move. Fortunately, Sonos speakers tend to be Wi-Fi compatible, and you can stream audio using Apple AirPlay.
- Downmixes stereo content into mono. In general, the Sonos speakers we've tested have to downmix stereo content into mono, which doesn't sound as immersive.
Overall, Sonos makes speakers with well-balanced sound profiles suitable for home use. Some are even compatible with certain Sonos soundbars, letting you create a surround sound system. Many of their speakers have built-in voice assistants, like Alexa and Google Assistant. They're typically compatible with the Sonos S2 app, which has customization features like Trueplay room correction and bass and treble sliders. However, some Sonos speakers don't support Bluetooth, so you may have to stream audio over Apple AirPlay or an AUX port.
Recent Updates
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Oct 29, 2021: Confirmed the picks are still available and are still the best recommendations for our users.
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Jul 02, 2021: Replaced the Sonos One Gen 2 as the 'Best Sonos Speaker For Voice Assistant' with the Sonos Roam as the 'Best Portable Sonos Speaker' since it's a better speaker overall. The text was updated for consistency.
Conclusion
Sonos offers a variety of speakers that are suitable for different uses. Generally, they have well-balanced sound profiles, and some can even produce a thumpy low-bass. Some Sonos speakers come with built-in voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant, making them suitable for home use. However, many have a wired-only design, so they're hard to use outside.