Sonos Move: a versatile and robust transportable speaker

Presentation

Specializing in sedentary speakers and multiroom, Sonos created the surprise at the start of the 2019 school year by announcing its first transportable wireless speaker. Wireless speakers are popular, but there are still very few models combining Wi-Fi, multiroom and Bluetooth in a transportable format (and therefore with battery). There is therefore a game to play for Sonos. The Move also tries to stand out with its rugged design, its compatibility with voice assistants and its automatic TruePlay calibration.

If not its cooperation with Ikea for Symfonisk speakers, Sonos is not known to be aggressive on the price. The Sonos Move is therefore launched at € 400.

We tested the speaker in version 1.25.1.7-2 with an application in version 10.4.2.

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Ergonomics

The speaker retains the aesthetic codes of the American brand, with a very refined appearance, close to the One, for example. The quality of manufacturing and finishes is truly there. The plastic used on the chassis of the enclosure seems particularly robust and thick, just like the grid which protects the reproduction system. The lower part of the enclosure is covered with a non-slip rubber coating. It holds very well in place once installed. Its robustness is verified in practice, with excellent resistance to shocks, small drops and especially to water splashes and dust. The Move is IP56 certified.

Sonos signs here its arrival in portable audio. That said, with its size of 16 x 24 x 13 cm and more than 3 kg on the scale, this speaker is clearly not a paragon of compactness. This is indeed a transportable enclosure. To facilitate its transport, precisely, the design of the Move incorporates a very easily accessible handle. For the most careful, a flexible fabric pocket is also present to protect the chassis from possible scratches.

Having already welcomed Sonos products in our labs, we very quickly took our brands with the Move. The start-up of the loudspeaker, the light / sound indications and the control possibilities are very close to models like the One or the Beam, for example. Neophytes are not left behind since the handling is relatively intuitive. The first configuration is also very simple and quick, just follow the steps via the Sonos app. Interaction with the Move is regularly punctuated by sound and light alerts, but it is true that we would have appreciated some vocal indications (native, not linked to Alexa or Google Assistant intelligent assistants, moreover both supported by the Sonos system and the Move).

All essential controls (management of playback, volume, navigation between tracks) are present directly on the speaker (three sensitive touch buttons). The orders respond perfectly well. There are also two physical buttons on the back of the speaker. The first allows both to select the wireless connection mode (Wi-Fi / Bluetooth) and to start pairing. Note also that it is impossible to take advantage of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections at the same time. In Bluetooth, it is therefore necessary to make a cross on the connected functionalities (multiroom, intelligent voice assistant, TruePlay calibration…). The second button simply turns off and on the speaker: something that may seem anecdotal, but never seen before at Sonos.

Sonos promised the Move 10 hours of autonomy. Even if the promise is kept and some direct competitors do not necessarily do better, it remains low compared to most portable Bluetooth speakers. In addition, this data can quickly drop if we set ourselves to a generous listening volume (around 60 to 70% of the maximum volume). Note, however, that the speaker can stand 120 hours out of its base when it is in standby. What's more, the battery is relatively easy to access and it's very easy to remove. It only remains to wait for Sonos to make available batteries on the market. In any case, this is excellent news for the life of the enclosure.

Communication latency in Bluetooth is slightly above the average of portable speakers. You will be able to perceive a small difference between sound and image in this connection mode. In the best of cases (mobile application automatically applying a certain compensation), you will be able to follow your audio / video content without too many problems, but not in absolute comfort.

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Multimedia

We're starting to get to know the current Sonos ecosystem and application, which hasn't seen any real change since the launch of Sonos One at the end of 2017. After all, we don't change a winning formula: it is still the best in the world today, both for its completeness and for its remarkable ease of use.

From the initial configuration, very carefully guided step-by-step guidance ensures that a novice can start the system. Subsequently, managing the multiroom (grouping of speakers, individual volume settings) is just as intuitive. Only slight concern that can be noted: in their business of simplifying the basic interface, the designers of the application were forced to relegate to submenus some useful features (such as adjusting the bass level and treble). It is certainly little compared to all the qualities.

Finally, the Sonos system is distinguished by the crazy amount of music streaming services with which it is natively compatible. There are absolutely all the popular services: Spotify, Deezer, Google Music, Amazon Music, Qobuz, Tidal, and even Apple Music via the AirPlay 2 broadcast protocol. Cherry on the cake, the search function integrated into the application is capable of producing unified results from all these services. A real joy!

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Speech Recognition

The voice recording part of the Sonos Move is provided by 4 microphones that can be seen on the upper part of the speaker. They are only active when the speaker is connected to the local network and in Wi-Fi mode. They can be deactivated at any time using a dedicated button. As mentioned above, the Sonos system is compatible with Google Assistant and Alexa. If we put aside the difference in power of the assistants' detection and analysis algorithms, the speaker provides a very satisfactory quality of capture with the two services.

The microphones perfectly pick up voice and requests in a calm environment, even several meters away, or even in a neighboring room. You don't have to speak very loud to be understood. When the speaker is playing music or in a slightly noisy room, remember to place yourself in the same room as the speaker, but the trigger does not require you to speak particularly loud. No problem to address the assistant at high listening volume, just get close and speak out loud and intelligible. That said, it sometimes happens that the trigger is a little more finicky or that it is necessary to repeat more often certain requests than with the best models on the market.

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Audio

The Move is equipped with a mid / bass speaker and a tweeter for monophonic sound reproduction. The internal architecture is a bit special since the manufacturer has chosen to tilt its tweeter down to “ensure wide distribution of high frequencies”.

It really does not jump to ears when you start using the speaker. Indeed, the Move shows above all a great affection for low frequencies. Without direct user intervention (which goes through the two-band EQ present in the application), the bass is always well in front, thus giving a very warm sound rendering. That said, there is a balance in this region of the spectrum, especially with the activation of automatic TruePlay calibration. The bass is rather well defined, relatively punchy and they are deep. The extension in the bass extremes is generous since the Move attacks the reproduction from 40 Hz. We thus feel the impact coming from the bass and we benefit from a good seat. To gain readability on certain songs (very rich in sources, with very little dynamics) and obtain a more balanced and clearer overall rendering (especially indoors), do not hesitate to reduce the bass by a notch or two and boost the treble a notch with the equalizer of the application. Also remember to deactivate the “Loudness” mode.

The very warm sound rendering offered by the Move is mainly due to a wide and marked withdrawal from the high-mids to the extreme treble. The balance in this region alone is more than adequate, but the accuracy is not incredible, especially when you start to push the volume. This loss of precision is accompanied by a reinforcement of the brilliant aspect of the treble, which one can also qualify as scintillant according to the songs listened to. What's more, even with the help of the EQ, the sound reproduction still lacks a bit of air and detail in the treble. The increase in power also has an impact on the bass precision because, here again, of a perfectible management of the distortion below 150 Hz. This results in more boomy bass and mask effects on the higher frequencies.

Given this, it is not possible to exploit the power reserve of the Move, as generous as it is in terms of its size. In practice, you should not exceed 60 to 70% of the volume to maintain good listening quality and limit the harmful effects of distortion. Under this threshold, we are still able to sound a living room of a very correct size (about 20 m²) or an outside, a terrace, about ten meters from the enclosure. The amplitude of the diffusion of the speaker alone is not extraordinary, and it is felt outside. It will be necessary to opt for a couple of speakers to hope for a correct immersion in the desired listening area, which will increase the bill.

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Conclusion

Let's face it, the Move isn't the best model if you're looking for a “classic” portable Bluetooth speaker. Although it is relatively powerful and very robust, it does not offer any wired connection and its autonomy is far behind that of the best on the market. On the other hand, its connected part (multiroom, AirPlay 2, compatibility with voice assistants, etc.) is the most developed and the most intuitive to date, thanks to the Sonos system. It is therefore intended for users who wish to both enlarge their Sonos fleet and take advantage of the advantages of a transportable speaker, and also to those who want to discover the joys of the Sonos multiroom without limiting themselves to a sedentary speaker. You can also take a look at the Zipp 2 (more possibilities of wired connections, much less robust ...) or the Link 20 (more compact, much softer price, Chromecast only ...), which are for the only real direct competitors of this Move.

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