Sonos Play review: The company's best portable speaker so far

It’s been a unsmooth mates of years for Sonos. In mid-2024, nan institution released a redesigned and thoroughly busted update to its app, which Sonos owners request to group up caller products, negociate their speaker groups, play euphony and entree a big of different important features. The fallout from that was far-reaching — nan institution replaced its CEO, canceled a fewer planned products and released nary caller hardware successful 2025.

The Sonos Play, announced earlier this month, is nan company’s reset button, a measurement to punctual group what nan institution does well. The Play is simply a portable speaker that sits betwixt nan $499 Sonos Move 2 (which is large, costly and highly loud) and nan $179 Roam 2 (the cheapest Sonos speaker and mini capable to bring anywhere). The $299 Play sits correct successful nan mediate of nan company’s portable lineup successful some size and value — and aft spending a fewer weeks listening to it, I deliberation it’s a very smart summation to nan collection. Thanks to its awesome sound quality, versatility and portability, nan Play is instantly 1 of nan champion speakers Sonos sells. The timing couldn’t beryllium better, either, pinch warmer upwind yet connected nan way.

Feature set

Like each different Sonos speakers, nan Play is simply a Wi-Fi smart speaker that tin watercourse audio from dozens of services; you tin besides play contented connected it via AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect and Bluetooth. The USB-C larboard connected nan backmost besides lets you link to turntables, CD players and different audio devices via a line-in dongle, aliases you tin besides usage that larboard for an Ethernet relationship (again pinch nan corresponding dongle). Finally, you tin besides power nan Play via Amazon Alexa aliases nan Sonos Voice Assistant. And for illustration nan Roam, nan Play is IP67 rated for h2o and particulate resistance.

That’s each modular fare astatine this point, but I admit that Sonos included Ethernet and line-in capabilities, 2 things nan Roam doesn’t support. It makes nan Play a overmuch much versatile action for being a centerpiece of your indoor setup arsenic good arsenic thing you tin return connected nan go. And since nan Play comes pinch a wireless charging base, it’s easy to support it charged up during indoor work and arsenic elemental to conscionable drawback it and spell without fussing pinch cables. (Strangely enough, it does not travel pinch a powerfulness adapter, truthful you’ll request to supply your ain USB-C brick.)

Physically, nan Play reminds maine of nan Sonos Era 100 pinch its width squished down to make it much portable. Unsurprisingly, it comes successful nan aforesaid achromatic and achromatic colour options; I had been hoping for a fewer much options for illustration nan vibrant Roam colors. The 1 touch of colour you’ll spot is connected nan ray greenish drawback loop attached to nan back; you tin region it if you’re not a fan. At 7.6 inches, it’s somewhat taller than nan Era 100, but it’s overmuch thinner and lighter. Based connected nan first merchandise renders, I expected nan Play to beryllium larger than it is successful reality, but it feels rather compact and easy to move around. It’s not a “throw successful your container and hide it” speaker for illustration nan Roam, but it’s acold much portable than nan Move. The Move is simply a speaker I’d really only usage successful my location aliases successful nan backyard, whereas I’d flip nan Play into a backpack and return pinch maine — unless I really needed to prevention abstraction aliases weight.

Its diminutive size is moreover much awesome erstwhile you see nan audio components Sonos packed inside. The Play features a speaker array astir identical to that of nan larger Era 100. It has 2 tweeters angled astatine 90 degrees for immoderate stereo separation, on pinch a mid-woofer and 2 passive radiators for bass performance. The passive radiators are unsocial to nan Play, specifically included to thief bass levels successful settings wherever location aren’t walls for nan sound to bespeak disconnected of — for illustration anyplace extracurricular you mightiness return a portable speaker.

Audio quality

The Play’s elasticity only matters if it sounds good. Fortunately, Sonos has ne'er struggled pinch producing a speaker that’s a pleasance to perceive to, and nan Play surely fits nan bill. My top-level and unscientific study is that nan Play sounds nearly arsenic bully arsenic nan Era 100, an awesome feat considering its comparatively mini frame.

I tested a azygous Play speaker arsenic good arsenic a stereo brace successful my mini office, wherever I typically perceive to euphony done a stereo brace of Era 100 speakers. I besides utilized them successful stereo connected my larger and much unfastened first floor, some streaming euphony and playing connected my turntable via nan line-in jack. Finally, I sewage to trial them extracurricular connected my platform connected a fewer beautiful early Spring days that nan Boston area was graced pinch recently. I utilized nan car Trueplay tuning characteristic throughout; it uses nan Play’s built-in microphone to optimize audio for whenever you’ve placed nan speaker. Sonos has offered various versions of Trueplay for complete a decade now and it consistently makes its speakers sound better. And fixed you don’t person to do nan aged “wave your telephone astir nan room” method to usage Trueplay, there’s really nary logic not to person it on.

While successful my office, I did a batch of A/B testing of nan Era 100 vs. nan Play, typically playing Apple Music lossless via nan Sonos app, but I besides tried AirPlay and Spotify Connect arsenic good arsenic different euphony services including YouTube Music and Bandcamp. The biggest differences I noticed betwixt nan 2 speakers are nan Era 100 is louder and has a much pronounced mid-range. The Play comparatively feels for illustration its EQ is “scooped,” and it conscionable isn’t rather arsenic large astatine nan aforesaid measurement level. The Play besides doesn’t support value rather arsenic good done nan afloat measurement scope — I wouldn’t opportunity that it sewage distorted erstwhile I was playing it astatine 75 percent volume, but it’s not arsenic clear arsenic nan Era 100 either.

These differences I mostly only noticed erstwhile I was flipping backmost and distant betwixt nan 2 speakers — erstwhile I conscionable sat backmost and listened, I was highly happy pinch nan Play’s sound. When listening to a azygous Play, nan angled tweeters did supply a mini grade of stereo separation erstwhile things were hard-panned to nan near aliases correct channels. For example, nan backing vocals successful nan chorus of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” jump from 1 transmission to nan other, and I did prime up connected that effect.

The Play sounds very well-balanced and neutral, tin of reproducing songs without over-emphasizing immoderate peculiar frequency. My accustomed listening habits see a ton of ‘90s-era replacement and much modern indie rock, positive immoderate modern popular and nan occasional movie aliases video crippled score, and nan Play sounded awesome crossed nan board. Daughter’s “Be On Your Way” is an atmospheric way juggling strings, physics underpinnings, reverb-drenched guitar and a gorgeous vocal track, and each those elements shined here. The dance-influenced thumps of Nine Inch Nails’ “Less Than” had due listen and powerfulness down them, and “Stay Down” by Boygenius sounded great, whether it was nan acoustic-tinged intro aliases nan layered, full-band climax. Heavier fare for illustration Metallica’s “Battery” and Tool’s “Fear Inoculum” deed pinch nan due strength arsenic well, peculiarly erstwhile I was moving 2 Play speakers successful stereo.

My go-to movie people for these kinds of tests is Howard Shore’s Lord of nan Rings: The Two Towers, and it’s often nan lawsuit that doesn’t sound arsenic majestic connected smaller speakers. But nan Play did a awesome occupation pinch nan intricate orchestral arrangements that jump betwixt delicately friendly moments and full-throated majesty — nan first opus “Glamdring” has each these elements successful little than 4 minutes, and it sounded excellent. I besides emotion Gustavo Santaolalla’s people for The Last of Us pinch its tortured strings and big of integrated acoustic sounds alongside unsettling electronics, and each its various elements were faithfully conveyed here.

Using nan speaker’s line-in capabilities pinch a USB-C to 3.5mm audio input worked easy arsenic well. The only existent rumor I noticed is that my peculiar turntable’s output meant I had to move nan Play up overmuch louder than I would erstwhile streaming music, truthful its apical measurement level is overmuch lower. That wasn’t precisely a problem, but if you really want to push a batch of measurement from a line-in source, this mightiness not beryllium nan speaker for you. I was besides worried that I’d move from line-in to streaming and hide to set nan measurement down, but nan speaker is smart capable to re-adjust from nan line-in measurement down to wherever it was group previously.

While nan Play isn’t nan loudest speaker retired there, it has plentifulness of powerfulness erstwhile outside. I group nan measurement to astir 60 and walked from my structure to nan sidewalk and could still faintly perceive nan euphony (though not large capable to beryllium excessively violative to passers-by aliases neighbors). Back up connected nan deck, nan Play maintained its elaborate floor plan contempt nan deficiency of surfaces for nan sound to bespeak off. It feels for illustration a awesome instrumentality to person playing successful nan inheritance erstwhile you’re entertaining outdoors, but thing for illustration nan Move 2 will do amended if you want euphony to beryllium nan centerpiece of a gathering.

The Play’s Wi-Fi relationship is beardown capable that I didn’t request to move to Bluetooth erstwhile I was outside, but it’s elemental to usage if you request it. There’s a dedicated Bluetooth fastener connected nan back; pressing it turns it on, while holding puts nan speaker successful pairing mode. Bluetooth is astir apt nan easiest measurement to springiness personification other power complete your Sonos system. If you commencement streaming euphony to it, you tin past group different speakers pinch nan Play to get those tunes anyplace successful nan location without having to springiness a impermanent entree to your Sonos system.

Sonos included a caller Bluetooth characteristic pinch nan Play that they’re besides bringing to nan Move 2. If you’re distant from Wi-Fi and playing audio via Bluetooth, different Play aliases Move 2 speakers tin subordinate a group conscionable by pressing and holding nan play/pause button. This useful pinch Play aliases Move 2 speakers that person antecedently been group up connected nan aforesaid Sonos system, and it’s arsenic elemental arsenic it sounds. I conscionable paired my telephone to 1 speaker, started playing immoderate euphony and past held nan play/pause fastener connected nan 2nd speaker to get them successful sync.

As for artillery life, nan Play is simply a immense measurement up complete nan Roam’s alternatively paltry 10-hour estimate. The Play is rated for up to 24 hours of playback, aforesaid arsenic nan Move 2, and I deliberation Sonos conscionable astir deed that mark. I spent respective activity days playing euphony for eight-plus hours and nan Play’s artillery only dropped astir 30 percent each time. Your mileage whitethorn vary, but I deliberation nan Play has plentifulness of artillery life considering its smaller size — and fixed really easy it is to conscionable driblet connected a charging guidelines erstwhile you’re done, I don’t deliberation astir group will tally its artillery down excessively often. Sonos besides made nan artillery successful nan Play user-replaceable, a bully action to support nan speaker moving for years to come.

Competition

While location are loads of portable Bluetooth speakers retired there, nan Play’s position arsenic a Wi-Fi speaker that tin group pinch others successful a family arsenic good arsenic beryllium utilized on-the-go pinch Bluetooth makes it a alternatively unsocial option. The $269 Bose SoundLink Plus sounds great, tin beryllium paired successful stereo aliases grouped successful “party mode,” and is simply a akin size arsenic nan Play. But its artillery doesn’t past arsenic agelong and, much crucially, it only useful via Bluetooth. Some group won’t care, but I for illustration nan overmuch wider assortment of playback options that nan Play provides.  JBL besides has a big of portable Bluetooth speakers, arsenic good arsenic Wi-Fi enabled options meant for location usage — but again, nan combo of Wi-Fi playback and portability seems to beryllium chiefly constricted to Sonos correct now.

As such, nan main title for nan Play comes from Sonos itself, pinch nan Move 2, Roam and Era 100 each offering different pluses and minuses depending connected what you’re looking for.

Wrap-up

If it isn’t obvious, I’m a beautiful large instrumentality of nan Sonos Play. While it’s not rather arsenic portable arsenic nan mini Sonos Roam, it sounds importantly amended than nan smallest Sonos speaker while still being easy to transportation around. It’s astir apt nan astir versatile speaker successful nan Sonos lineup correct now, and a smarter prime than nan $499 Move 2 for astir people. Unless you really request monolithic outdoor volume, nan Play is nan champion portable Sonos speaker.

The only drawback is its price. $299 is adjacent erstwhile you see its sound value and characteristic set. But it’s besides $80 much than nan Era 100, aliases $110 much than nan Era 100 SL (which drops nan microphone but is different identical to its much costly counterpart). So you’ll person to determine really overmuch portability is worthy to you. For me, nan Play is an fantabulous summation to my existing setup. But if you’re apt to do astir of your listening indoors, nan Era 100 and its superior sound value mightiness make much sense.

To beryllium clear, that’s not a sound against nan Play. The latest Sonos speaker offers awesome sound quality, elasticity and portability, and it’s nan benignant of merchandise that tin thief Sonos rebuild its estimation aft its caller difficulties.