A couple of months ago, we tested the Sonos Beam for MW. It’s easily one of the most capable soundbars with a sub Rs 40,000 price tag. While the Beam is positioned primarily as an accessory for your flat screen TV or projector that can also handle your music playlists, the Move is among Sonos’ first portable speakers. We like Sonos’ signature sound and it’s great to see the brand now available in India. The Move might be positioned as a portable speaker but I’m not sure it’s something you’re likely to slip into a backpack.
In many ways, this is a transitional product for the brand, a speaker that you can move around your house or even lug in your trunk if you need to add extra thump for a house party at your friend’s beach house. It weighs about 3 kgs, this is clearly not a speaker that is ultra-portable. While it is IPS56 certified, it’s not ready to be dunked in the pool. It can survive a sudden shower at your pool party though. We’re likely to see more portable products rolled out from the Sonos portfolio in India.
Set up is simple. There’s a wireless charger, a base stand of sorts. Once you’ve figured out the charging point, it’s easy to place it at the right spot each time. In that sense, it’s like a wireless charger for your smartphone. We charged the speaker thrice for this review and it takes about 2.5 to 3 hours to power up the device. Battery life is consistent with Sonos’ claim of about 10 to 11 hours. There are cheaper Bluetooth speakers that offer twice the battery life but they don’t have the sound pedigree.
The Move stays consistent with Sonos’ minimalist design language, the indent on the back of the speaker makes it easier to cart around. We checked out the black colour option, it’s also available in white that might look nicer in brighter environments. You will find a few physical buttons that are placed on the top and a couple behind the speaker that include a power on/off and a pairing button. You will also notice a microphone button; the Sonos Move is kitted with a far-field microphone array that uses advanced beamforming and multi-channel echo cancellation so your voice assistant can be readily activated. Alexa and Google Assistant are baked in.
I found pairing even more simple than the Sonos Beam. You have the option of hooking up your device via the Sonos App that uses Wi-Fi. I used the Bluetooth option to connect with an iPhone 13 and it was a breeze. While the Sonos Move ticks key boxes like design, its sound quality that’s its forte. This is where the Sonos Move really justifies its premium price tag.
The Move boasts of two Class-D digital amplifiers perfectly tuned to match the speaker drivers and acoustic architecture. The downward-firing tweeter is designed to provide an omnidirectional soundstage. You don’t have to worry about positioning yourself in the ideal spot, you hear the music regardless of where you’re positioned in relation to the speaker. Bass is really rich with a wide soundstage. The Move’s automatic Trueplay tuning feature continually adapts the sound to where you’ve placed the speaker in your room. I tried an assortment of genres from lounge to heavy metal to Carnatic music with heavy vocals and the Move truly hit out of the park. This is a portable speaker for serious music aficionados who don’t mind the premium price tag and the extra heft.
The Sonos Move costs Rs 37,999 and comes in black and white colour options
Also Read; Sonos Beam – Review – This Soundbar Punches Above Its Weight
