Pros
- Excellent battery life
- High-quality audio
- Works as a regular Sonos speaker at home
Cons
- Expensive
- Line-in adaptor is optional extra
Four years after the original launched, Sonos brought the sequel to the Move in the Move 2, featuring a number of design tweaks and a redesigned audio system, though this does come at a cost, with a higher price of £449 / $449.
Nothing has really changed in the size of the speaker, we feel this remains more an outdoor speaker for the garden or to take with you in a car. It still weighs 3kg, so this isn’t really a speaker to slip in your bag and head out of the house with. The buttons have been tweaked so they’re easier to understand and use. Black, white, and a fetching green finishes are the colours the speaker comes in.
An IP56 rating means this speaker is protected against dust, water, and mud, although it’s not rated against is submersion in water. You can feel confident in leaving this speaker outside, and not having to worry about it being ruined in the morning. The battery can be replaced too, good for the longevity of the product as well as being better for the environment.
With Sonos’ Auto Trueplay feature, the speaker is able to automatically optimise audio output based on where it is placed placement for the best sound quality when the microphone is enabled. The biggest boost is to battery life which is now 24 hours (13 hours better than the original). During an eight hour session, we found that battery life fell to 54%, which we feel is more than good enough for any occasion.
But outdoor use isn’t the only reason to get the Move 2, as with its Wi-Fi support (Spotify Connect, AirPlay 2), this speaker works like any other Sonos speaker when used indoors. There’s hands-free access Amazon Alexa and Sonos Voice Control, but there’s no Google Assistant on this model.
The audio quality is another area that’s gained improvements. The speaker now supports stereo playback, producing a wider presence than original’s mono speaker was capable of. Purchase two of these speakers, and you can get full-on stereo playback. We found there was more subtlety that this speaker was capable of, better at retrieving the detail in a song, and when it needs to, it can summon plenty of punch and weight to the midrange and low frequencies.
This is an improvement on the original model, the price increase is at least justified by the better audio quality, stereo sound and improved batter life. The old Move is still a fine effort, on sale for less than £400 / $400 if you find this new speaker a little steep in terms of pricing.
Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: Sonos Move 2
