Web User - UK (2019-10-16)

24 16 - 29 October 2019

Product Test Sonos Move

Although it’s bigger and

heavier than most portable

speakers, this battery-

powered smartspeaker

from Sonos produces

top-quality sound, made

even more impressivebyits

automatic tuningfeature.

You can choose Alexaor

Googlevoice support, and

switch between them from

the supplied app. It also

supports Bluetooth, soyou

canconnect devicestoit

directly.

There’s no denying that

it’s pricey, but it’s alsowell

worth the money.

Sonos Move

PRODUCT INFO

Sonos Move

Price: £399

Buy from Sonos:

bit.ly/s onos486

SPECIFICATIONS

■Dual-band 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi

■Bluetooth

■Apple AirPlay 2

■IP56 dust and splash protection

■10-hour battery

■240 x 160 x 126mm

■3kg

FOR

✓Brilliant sound quality

✓Drop- andweather-proof

✓Supports Alexa and Google

Assistant

AGAINST

✗Big and heavy

✗Expensive

OUR VERDICT

FEATURES HHHHH

PERFORMANCE HHHHH

EASE OF USE HHHHH

VALUE FOR MONEY HHHHH

Sonos has a reputation for making the best wireless

home speakers but the Move is its first portable model

on the floor, on shelves and in

corners, and the Sonos Move’s

clever self-adjusting sound

consistently produces an

excellent balance between

powerful bass and high-end

clarity.We’dgo asfar as

saying that this is the

best-sounding smart speaker

both Amazon Alexaand

Google Assistant (though not

both simultaneously –you

havetouse its apptoselect

one or the other),Wi-Fi and

Apple Airplay 2, full

integration with other Sonos

devices and the abilityto

automatically tune itselffor

best performance based on its

current surroundings. It also

comes with supportfor over

100 streaming services,

including Spotify.

The maincontrols –a

microphone on/off button,a

Play/Pause button and a pair

ofcontrolsfor adjusting the

volume up and down – are

touch-sensitive,andwork

reliably and quickly.Theysit

on thetop panel, along with

the speaker’s far-field

microphone array.

The rear of the speaker

consists of a scooped-out

hollow that doubles asa

carrying handle.Within this

cavity, there’s a power button,

a Join buttonfor connecting

toa Wi-Fi or Sonos network

and anotherfor switching the

speaker between Bluetooth

andWi-Fi.Tocharge the

speaker’s 10-hour battery,you

simply drop it into the

supplied ring-shaped charging

base or plug it in via USB-C.

Sound quality and price

The speaker’s output is

impressive,with enough

volumetofill a large open-

planroom.We’ve listenedto

the speaker indoors and out,

positioned nexttowalls and

you can buy – better than the

Apple AirPod and, given that

it supports Google Assistant

and Alexa, much smartertoo.

It’s got more oomph than the

Sonos One and it’s streets

ahead of the best Amazon

and Google-branded smart

speakers or screens.

However,at£399, there’s

no denying that the Sonos

Moveis expensive.Apple’s

HomePod iscomparatively

cheapat£2 79 , while the

top-of-the-range Google

Home Max is only £299.

S

onos speakers have

long been the

benchmarkfor ease of

use and sound quality in

multi-room audio. However,

thecompany has never

produced a mobile, battery-

powered speaker with

Bluetooth – until now.Atlast,

Sonosfans get a speaker

that can be picked up and

moved whereveryou like,

with no needfor a mains

extension lead.

Design and build

At 24 0mm tall and 3kg, the

Sonos Moveis big and heavy

for a portable speaker.You

can lug it into the garden but

you probably aren’t goingto

wanttopack it in a suitcase

and take it on holiday.

It has afantasticrange of

features, including supportfor

An excellent balance between powerful

bass and high-end clarity