Sonos has been known for giving you the home theater connected experience with minimal use of wiring for quite some time. For the most part they have revamped their catalog of speakers, but Move is in a section of its own. While portable speakers are not by any means new, it was for Sonos. Now you have been so used to having Sonos all over the house but what about outside with the rest of world?
Style
When you first glance at the Sonos Move it can look like an oversized Sonos One. It comes in a bit over 9ins tall and has a hefty weight of 6.61lbs. This is making it slightly heavier than the Beam by comparison but not by much. Move comes in just one colorway of Black with only accents of white in the capacitive touch controls on the top and the Sonos emblem on the upper front of the speaker. There are the usual buttons for volume controls, Play/Pause, and mic. On the back there is more controls with a Connect button, Power, and Bluetooth/Wi-Fi toggle button.
Sonos wanted to make this one of the better portable experiences you can have with a speaker. Hidden under into the speaker is a handle grip so you can pick and go with ease. It makes moving around a bit easier thanks to its hefty weight. You don’t have to worry about the speaker moving even in the most bassy turn ups thanks to its rubberized material on the bottom.
Move is rated IP56 which means it can pretty much stand up to various weather conditions. Rain, snow, dust and extreme periods of cold and heat. You can take it in the shower too if you want. I have on various conditions and water has splashed upon it and still intact.
Sonos Move can be charged via two ways. On the back is a Type-C USB port or you can place it on its included Charging Base. I have found using the Charging Base the Move will go from 1% to 100 in 1 ½ hr. That is not bad at all, frankly.
Sonos Move comes with a Charging Base. No USB cable.
Setup / Features
With the Move being primarily a portable speaker, it’s the first where I haven’t connected an Ethernet port (since there isn’t an option). Like its predecessors Beam and PlayBase it can be connected to your home network via Wi-Fi. Just start up your Sonos app, use the on-screen instructions and it will be connected in a snap. You can also decide if you want to use the Move with Alexa or Google Assistant for voice controls. I have mines setup for Alexa since I have other Google devices in the home, I rather rely on Google than Amazon. I did find using voice controls responsive for the most part but then at other times it couldn’t hear me over the music no matter how much I screamed “Alexa” at it.
If you decide to not be near your Sonos network or just want to connect it to your smartphone you can press the toggle button putting you in Bluetooth mode. The indicator light will change from its signature light blue to a royal blue. You be surprised how much it comes in handy even in the home. For instance, I wanted to watch an Instagram Live but from my phone and synced the speaker with my phone to broadcast the sound. But yeah otherwise the Bluetooth capabilities work just like any other BT speaker. Move retains Sono’s swiping control options either left or right to change songs. It works in Wi-Fi and BT modes. One thing you can’t do in BT mode is get the indicator for battery life. This only shows when its connected in Wi-Fi mode on the app.
Also as this writing Sonos has updated their Sonos App software. The Move works with the Legacy S1 version but also with the newer S2 option.
Sound
Sonos has positioned audio components in an interesting way in the Move. You have a mid-woofer of course giving you that mid-range flavor but also a tweeter is firing down that helps spread the sound even further then you imagine. This ends up creating a spread-out music experience whether you are inside a tight space or outside in the backyard. The Move makes it presence felt and you wouldn’t realize it’s the only speaker in the room. No issues with sound here and its what you expect from Sonos and you will be pleased. Like usual with Sonos speakers, you are a balanced sound profile also giving you just the right amount of bass without being too overbearing.
For the Portable Music Lover or the Sonos Addict?
With a price tag of $399.99 the Sonos Move can be considered one of the more expensive portable speakers on the market. But also, the best sounding. It doubles the price of a Sonos Play:1/One but with its size and portability it’s understandable why. The fact its durable for drops and bumps and handle itself in weather conditions with its IP56 rating is a plus. Its weight makes it not the easiest to lug around at times though. If you are just looking for a portable speaker to use occasionally, I’d say to look elsewhere. But If you want are invested in the Sonos brand and want to take a piece of your Sonos home theater with you everywhere it’s a definite pickup.
