Sonos Five vs Apple HomePod mini

Which Speaker Is Better?

Products

Sonos Five
Apple HomePod mini

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Aug 14, 2024 02:05 PM

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Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Nov 05, 2025 05:09 PM

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  1. Recommended in 1 article:
  2. Apple

Our Verdict

Sonos Five

Apple HomePod mini

The Sonos Five is a better speaker for music than the Apple HomePod mini. It can get louder than the Apple and can produce a thumpy and rumbling low-bass which may please fans of bass-heavy music. However, the Apple comes with a built-in Siri and can understand your commands from afar and in noisy settings. It also has significantly less compression present at max volume, so your audio sounds cleaner at louder volumes.

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Variants

  • Five (Black)
  • Five (White)
  • HomePod mini (Blue)
  • HomePod mini (Midnight)

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White
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
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Blue
HomePod mini
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Midnight
HomePod mini
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Orange
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
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Space Gray
HomePod mini
Amazon.com
 
Yellow
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
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Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 
 

7.5
6.4

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

8.2
6.5

EQ 
 

Bass/Treble
No

Dynamics 
 

5.0
5.9

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Sonos Five Style Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple HomePod mini Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

3.6
5.8

Dimensions Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Sonos Five Dimensions Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple HomePod mini Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

671 in³ (10,996 cm³)
48 in³ (790 cm³)

Weight 
 

13.9 lbs (6.3 kg)
0.7 lbs (0.3 kg)

Power Source 
 

AC Only
AC Only

One-Hand Carry 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

6.4
6.4

Build Quality Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Sonos Five Build Quality Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple HomePod mini Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Good
Good

Water Resistance 
 

No
No

Dust Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified

Impact Resistance 
 

No
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Controls 
 

7.0
8.0

Controls Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Sonos Five Controls Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple HomePod mini Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2 
 

Compare High-Res
Sonos Five Controls Photo 2
Compare High-Res
Apple HomePod mini Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Great
Great

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Tactile)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
Yes (Tactile)

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Tactile)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Tactile)

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Sonos Five In The Box Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple HomePod mini In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

8.2
6.5

Frequency Response Graph  

 Preview Graph
Sonos Five Frequency Response Graph
 Preview Graph
Apple HomePod mini Frequency Response Graph

Slope 
 

1.16
-0.41

Std. Err. 
 

3.96 dB
3.49 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

23.4 Hz
70.3 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

18.8 kHz
17.7 kHz
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

 Preview Graph
Sonos Five Raw Frequency Response Graph
 Preview Graph
Apple HomePod mini Raw Frequency Response Graph

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

7.5
7.3

Directivity Graph  

 Preview Graph
Sonos Five Directivity Graph
 Preview Graph
Apple HomePod mini Directivity Graph

Directivity Index 
 

4.17 dB
1.30 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes (when horizontal)
No (mono)
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

5.0
5.9

Dynamic Range Compression  

 Preview Graph
Sonos Five Dynamic Range Compression
 Preview Graph
Apple HomePod mini Dynamic Range Compression

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

94.0 dB SPL
76.7 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

7.30 dB
1.36 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power Saving 
 

No
No

Charging Port 
 

No Battery
No Battery

Battery Powered 
 

No
No

Voice Assistant 
 

0.0
9.1

Alexa 
 

No
No

Google Assistant 
 

No
No

Speakerphone 
 

No
Yes

Siri 
 

No
Built-in

Voice Assistant 
 

No
Yes

Voice Activation 
 

No
Yes

Microphone Mute 
 

No Microphone
Yes

Far-Field Performance 
 

No Microphone
Excellent

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

No Microphone
Decent
Show Text 

App 
 

9.3
6.6

App Picture 
 

Compare High-Res
Sonos Five App Picture
Compare High-Res
Apple HomePod mini App Picture

App Name 
 

Sonos S2
Apple Home

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
No

EQ 
 

Bass/Treble
No

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

Yes
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

Yes
No
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

0.0
0.0

Bluetooth 
 

No
No

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Bluetooth Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Wi-Fi 
 

7.6
8.2

Wi-Fi Version 
 

Wi-Fi 3
Wi-Fi 4

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

2.4GHz
2.4GHz & 5GHz

Wi-Fi 
 

Yes
Yes

Apple AirPlay 
 

Yes
Yes

AirPlay Latency 
 

15 ms
11 ms

Google Chromecast 
 

No
No

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

Check Price

White
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Blue
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
 
Midnight
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
 
Orange
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
 
Space Gray
HomePod mini
Amazon.com
 
Yellow
HomePod mini
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com

Sonos Five

Apple HomePod mini

Comments

  1. Comparison

Sonos Five vs Apple HomePod mini: Main Discussion

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