CRISP. Tech: SONOS Move Review – The Speaker We’ve All Been Waiting For

Sonos delivers a home speaker that ticks all of the boxes.

You did it Sonos, we asked and you listened. The result? A beautiful speaker that we’re calling a tech must-have for the home.

For the time ever, Sonos has added a fully portable, rechargeable battery-operated speaker to their portfolio of speakers, which will no doubt bring it with it, a bigger fanbase.

Since it launched its PLAY:5 back in 2002, the company have gone from strength to strength making high end connected audio accessible to the masses with its multi-room offering.

Using Wi-fi, customers are able to control their speakers using their phone/tablet/laptop as a controller to listen to speakers independently or group them all together to play the same track which is usually the highlight when it comes to parties and bbq’s.

Sonos fans reading can also relate to these two things. One, you never really buy just one Sonos. Two, whilst they’re wireless they’re not really portable. If you need to move a speaker you need a power outlet.

Well, all of that is about to change now that Sonos Move is here.

“Move takes freedom of choice to the next level. For the first time, you can take Sonos anywhere. Move marks the beginning of a new era for Sonos—one where brilliant sound not only fills your home, but extends to every part of your day.” Patrick Spence, CEO, SONOS

So how does it work?

The speaker sits on an ergonomically designed charging cradle which you plug into a wall like you would do any other speaker, the difference being you can lift the move and take it with wherever you are around the house and it will stay powered up.

When out of its charging cradle, Sonos claims around 10 hours of battery life on a continuous playback (We weren’t far off) and it’s “suspend mode” is another feature we really like whereby it’ll go into a soft shut down to preserve battery life even longer.

Design

Fitting all of these new features into a Sonos speaker would have required a revamp on the design whilst still keeping to Sonos design standards.

Sonos has to sound good and look good and it manages to do both of those things, in fact this is probably the best looking Sonos product we’ve seen.

The beauty lies in its simplicity. The toggle button shifts the button from Wifi to Bluetooth seamlessly and you’ll have LED indicators to show you what mode you’re in and when you’re charging.

On its head, you’ll find the same controls as you would on the newer Sonos speakers. Touch-sensitive, simple and very easy to use. The microphones on top allow for smart usability with Google Assistant and Alexa built-in but it also doubles down as a ‘Trueplay’ tuning controller.

The concave-esque scoop handle just works. It could have easily had a pull-out handle or strap but there is just something so sleek about having it cut out. When picking it up there’s a strange urge to pass the speaker around and it’s not light. At nearly 3kg, the speaker feels as premium as it sounds.

Sonos could have easily just allowed this speaker to be charged via a USB (you can do that too via USB C) but they opted for a halo style charging cradle for the Move to sit on.

Unlike other Sonos speakers, The MOVE has a removable rechargeable battery inside that sits inside well-designed housing. Yes, if this battery does need replacing, it can be done very quickly and easily by yourself at home.

https://youtu.be/3fiSFjaKXcQ

Can it connect to my other Sonos speakers?

When in Wifi mode, you’ll set up Sonos like you would any other speaker in the series. If you have a previous system set up already, you’ll have the Sonos working in less than 2 mins with all of your others and you’ll still have access to more than 100 music services and 1000’s of radio stations.

Just like the other speakers, you can group the Move with other speakers in its family and also pair up two Moves to offer an L and R stereo experience. The only downside is that you cant use the moves in your 5.1 theatre system like you can other speakers in the range.

What if I take it outside and it loses its connection to Wifi?

Unlike other devices in the portfolio, the Move has the added benefit of being a hybrid speaker as it features both Wifi and Bluetooth connectivity options. This makes it the first Sonos you can use away from your home and outside giving you the Sonos sound experience anywhere.

What if it Rains?

Sonos have created this speaker to withstand the elements and take a bit of a beating if it ever came to it. Its sole purpose was to be moved around and the product design team have done a brilliant job to encourage that without sacrificing sound quality.

Move’s premium design pulls no punches outdoors where Move’s tough and durable exterior will withstand falls, bumps, rain and moisture, dust and dirt, UV and extreme temperatures, and features a rating of IP56.

Sound and ‘Trueplay’

The design of the move coupled with its internal organs makes for a beautiful listening experience. Its 360 design means the audio is evenly dispersed, wherever you move it.

It has two digital Class-D amplifiers and one downward firing tweeter that delivers high-frequency responses with clarity.

Its mid-woofer is fully integrated into the cabinet and provide a lot of balance between mid-range frequencies in vocals and deep rich bass tones. It managed to handle everything from Wu-tang to Earth, Wind & Fire with ease.

The move is the first speaker from Sonos to feature Automatic ‘Trueplay’. On other models, you used your phone to set up Trueplay to measure how your speaker would fare in the room it resided in and tweak its sound in relation to its environment.

Of course, the Move doesn’t stay in one place anymore and so Auto-Trueplay was adopted. The speaker will now quickly adapt to its surroundings and change its sound accordingly giving you the best sound experience at all times.

Verdict

The Sonos move is currently retailing for £399 at the date of this write-up. That’s £200 more than its cousin’s the Sonos One and One SL and you can pick up a twin set for the same price.

However, we feel the price is completely justified considering what you’re getting in return. This speaker has ticked all of the boxes. Not only is feature-rich, but it also looks beautiful, sounds superb and somehow made a speaker really ‘fun’ to use. This is the speaker we’ve all been waiting for.

CRISP. APPROVES