Sonos waited a long time to come out with their first truly wireless, portable Bluetooth speaker. Fortunately, it was worth the wait. The aptly named Sonos Move is the first Sonos speaker that you can take with you and easily move around the house, the backyard, and just about anywhere else.
Design & durability
When it comes to design, the Sonos Move more or less resembles a huge Sonos One. In terms of sheer volume, we’d say that it’s as if the Sonos Move gobbled up two Sonos Ones. That means that it’s pretty huge, so you can’t easily throw it in a bag – although Sonos does include a non-padded drawstring carrying case to transport the Move around outside your home. And despite its large size, Sonos has made it easy to grab the Move using an ergonomic handle located on its backside. With all of that said, even though it’s on the large side for a portable Bluetooth speaker, it’s wonderful being able to easily transport the Sonos Move from room to room and outside as needed.
Unlike its Sonos family counterparts, the Move is IP56 rated. That means that it can withstand humidity, rain, snow, dust, salt spray, UV rays, and extreme heat and cold. At its launch event at IFA, we watched it get dropped, get blasted with dirt and water, and it still kept kicking. So it’s certainly ready for a pool party and whatever else you throw at it.
Set-up
Using the latest version of the Sonos app, setting up the Sonos Move is super easy. It took only a few steps to add the Move to our multi-room Sonos system, and within a few moments, the Move was streaming music.
Features
The majority of the features you’ve come to expect from Sonos can be found in the Sonos Move – that includes multi-room support and Alexa and Google Assistant support. That said, the Move is unable to be used as part of a home theater system’s 5.1 rear channels. But we consider this to be a forgivable tradeoff for its portability.
But new to the Sonos Move is Auto Trueplay. Auto Trueplay technology uses the Sonos Move’s mics and built-in accelerometers to automatically adapt the Move to different environments, and it does a killer job of doing so. To that effect, most outdoor speakers simply don’t sound very good indoors, and vice versa, but thanks to Auto Trueplay, the Move is able to adapt to both outside and inside environments. For some additional background, Trueplay is a standard feature that comes with all Sonos speakers, but this is the first time that it has been implemented where it automatically works to adapt to a new environment. This feature is pretty much a necessity being that the Move is designed to be moved around. Needless to say, we especially appreciate this feature because it means you don’t have to tinker around with the Move in order to get the best audio experience each time you transport it to a new environment.
Audio
The Sonos Move packs in 2 class d amplifiers and its roundish design allows it to evenly disperse sound around it. The result is audio that is POWERFUL, balanced, rich, and detailed. Just about every genre shines on the Sonos Move, and thanks to Auto Trueplay, the Move’s sonics shine in just about every environment – including outdoors. Again, it’s unusual to find a speaker that performs well both outdoors and indoors. It’s usually just one or the other.
Furthermore, the Sonos Move sounds better than just about every portable Bluetooth speaker we have ever tested. Granted most portable Bluetooth speakers aren’t this large or this expensive, but that still says a lot. Ultimately, the Sonos Move competes with the likes of the larger portable Bluetooth speakers out there such as the JBL Boombox. And while the Sonos Move doesn’t offer a flashy design like much of the competition does, it wipes the floor with them in terms of audio, useful features and general versatility.
Battery
The Sonos Move takes about 2 and a half hours to charge fully. A full charge keeps it going for 10-hours of battery life, which means it will keep playing all day. The Move comes with a proprietary charging base to rest on while charging. Fortunately, you don’t have to take that charging base with you. If you’re on the go and the Move needs a charge, you can charge it with a (compatible) USB-C charger. We’re grateful that Sonos included USB-C charging!
Bottom line
The magic in the Sonos Move is that you can easily move it around your home, your backyard, and just about anywhere, and that it sounds fantastic in every kind of environment you place it in. That said, you’ll need to keep in mind that it’s still quite huge, so unlike most typical portable Bluetooth speakers you can’t as easily throw this one into a backpack. Regardless, the Sonos Move is a fantastic addition to the Sonos family. The Sonos Move retails for $399.