The Sonos Move 2 speaker // Source: Tristan Jacquel for Aroged
The Sonos Move 2 is in line with the Era 100, from which it borrows transducers and electronics for almost identical sound. Replacing the Sonos Move, it obviously inherits the Sonos signature, solid and soft at the same time, thanks to a sturdy bass-midrange transducer and a pair of silky-sounding tweeters, oriented to create a wide sound field. Like any self-respecting Sonos speaker, the Move 2 can be combined with other speakers to create an immersive musical ambiance or a multiroom installation.
Sonos Move 2 Datasheet
Model Sonos Move 2 Number of speakers 3 Subwoofer No Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa Wifi Yes Color Black, White, Green Weight 3 kg Product sheet
The enclosure used for this test was loaned by the manufacturer
Sonos Move 2 Design
First (good) sign right out of the box, the Sonos Move 2 weighs its weight, which suggests good acoustic performance. For years, the American manufacturer has understood that there is no robust and precise sound without solidly motorized transducers, nor a body with interlayer reinforcements and well-damped partitions.
The Sonos Move 2 is equipped with a base with battery // Source: Tristan Jacquel for Aroged
If you have had the opportunity to use a Sonos One or an Era 100, the extra height of the Move 2 might surprise you. It is linked to the presence in the lower part of the speaker’s battery housing, which it is also possible to dismantle and replace yourself. Sonos charges €89 for this replacement battery. Small connectors at the base are present, to allow the speaker to be recharged with its base. However, this is not the only way to refuel the Move 2, there is a USB-C port on the back. This USB-C socket can be combined with an optional adapter (sold for €25) which transforms it into a line input for connecting an external analog source. Sonos is not promoting the use of a vinyl turntable this time, but it remains possible provided you use a model with an integrated phono preamp. For the rest, portable music players, smartphones or radios can be connected to the Move 2 in this way.
The carrying handle is integrated // Source: Tristan Jacquel for Aroged
The rear panel also accommodates a switch to activate or deactivate the speaker’s microphones, which are used for voice commands as well as its autocalibration.
The Sonos Move 2 is largely covered with a fine aluminum acoustic grille, through which we can guess the presence of its transducers. The large 12 cm driver is installed in the center and the two tweeters just above it, facing forward at an angle of approximately 30°. A discreet LED is located at the top and shows how the speaker is working.
The tactile volume adjustment slider is pleasant to use // Source: Tristan Jacquel for Aroged
The top of the speaker houses the fully touchscreen control area, with a volume slider borrowed from the Era 100 and Era 300 and operated by sliding or tapping. The touch sensitivity is good and you only need to touch the speaker to control it. Finally, the Move 2 has a large ridged notch on the back, for easy grip and transport, and is IP56 certified, which gives it very good resistance to splashing water, but does not allow it to be submerged.
Design internal
Sonos provides several visuals of the installed transducers and the innards of the speaker, which help determine the retained charge. The Sonos Move 2 is, unsurprisingly given its IP rating, fully enclosed and should produce fast low frequencies with no obvious broadcast delay. This closed load is in fact qualitatively superior to that with passive radiators or bass reflex tube.
The three transducers of the Sonos Move 2 // Source: Sonos
The main transducer is similar to that of the Era 100 and therefore flanked by a large motor (magnet). It promises. The dome tweeters are small (about 1.5cm in diameter), but, since there are two, should keep up with the main transducer. Again, these are the same as in the Era 100 and 300.
Sonos Move 2 Usage et application
Like all Sonos speakers, soundbars and subwoofers, the Move 2 is initialized and used with the Sonos app. The latter evolves slowly over the years, always offering a cocooning user experience. You can record your music streaming service(s) (Spotify, Apple Music, Qobuz, etc.), radio stations (Sonos Radio is free) or podcasts, in order to carry out searches directly from the app and create favorites very easily . Local DLNA/UPnP servers with audio files are also supported.
Apple device owners will be able to do without the Sonos app to listen to music, by using the AirPlay protocol directly from their music service app or by choosing the Sonos Move 2 as their default audio device .
Multiroom still just as practical
The strong point of Sonos speakers remains their really simple integration and management within a Multiroom system. To do this, when you have several, you just need to associate them individually or in groups with the different rooms in your home. You can then play one or more titles on all the speakers and adjust the volume of each room independently. The Sonos Move 2 also works in stereo with another Sonos Move 2 speaker (not with the first Move version). On the other hand, the association with the manufacturer’s wireless subwoofers is not planned, the speaker having to be transported almost everywhere which is not the case with the Sonos Sub and Sub Mini subwoofers.
Two onboard voice assistants (or not)
To control the speaker by voice, you can activate one of the two supported assistants, Sonos Assistant and Alexa. By default, none are active, but installing them only takes a minute. The Move 2’s four microphones are sensitive and pick up user commands really well.
The microphones can be muted using a button // Source: Tristan Jacquel for Aroged
The Sonos Voice Control assistant, whose functions are limited to managing music playback, has the advantage of processing user requests locally and not sending any to Sonos servers. What you say therefore remains in the private sphere. And if the presence of microphones worries you, know that it is possible to deactivate them using a button on the back of the speaker.
Automatic TruePlay
Sonos has overhauled its in-car calibration system, which previously only worked using an iPhone to measure the sound produced in the room and was not available to Android smartphone users. No more calibrating the speaker based on the acoustic characteristics of the room (frequency attenuations, delays, resonances, etc.), TruePlay technology now only needs the Move 2 microphones to determine which sound signature to adopt.
It is not with a wet finger therefore, but according to the ambient noise and with the aim that the sound is as intelligible as possible. This approach is not isolated and Apple does exactly the same thing with its HomePod 2. A little more treble, a little more bass… the changes are discreet, but effective.
Bluetooth with minimum service
The Sonos Move 2 used outdoors via Bluetooth behaves like any other portable speaker. It therefore loses its Multiroom functions and can no longer be paired with a second speaker. In Bluetooth, the speaker can only be used alone, which is a shame, because many competing models (Sony, JBL, UE, etc.) offer party modes to use several speakers simultaneously and enjoy more powerful sound. Note that the Sonos Move 2 must be initialized on a Wi-Fi network before it can then operate via Bluetooth.
Sonos Move 2 Audio
Mission accomplished on the sound side, the Sonos Move 2 offers a very nice balance and smooth reproduction from bass to treble. It sounds more or less like the Era 100, but is capable of playing even louder at full volume. Its larger size gives it more authority in the bass, so much so that the Move 2 surprises people on certain songs, as it seems improbable that such a compact speaker would have such a trunk.
The blue curve is obtained at moderate volume, the pink at high volume and the orange at full strength // Source: Tristan Jacquel for Aroged
The three response curves above are obtained at three different intensity levels, in order to highlight the changes in sound signature as the volume is increased. First observation, the Move 2 only slightly reduces the sail at full power at the low frequency level, always maintaining a good balance between bass, midrange and treble registers. In other words, whether you listen at a whisper or at a sustained level, the sound will be generally the same. Well seen. On the other hand, the extension in the bass is a little limited: the bottom of the spectrum is generous, but without abysmal depth. As is often the case with Sonos, the frequency range of human voices is well placed and the top of the spectrum devoid of aggression. Finally, the Sonos Move 2 is capable of producing a sound volume greater than 90 dB at 1 meter, which is a great feat and ideal for creating a solid musical ambiance outdoors.
Bass: very solid and full of punch, fast and precise Midrange: well placed, without harshness Treble, soft and silky, with a very pleasant hint of shine around 8 kHz
Dynamic behavior and soundstage
The dynamic qualities of the Sonos Move 2 are of a good level. Whether or not you activate sound compression in the Sonos app, the score played is always rich in small details and properly supported level differences. The only weak point of the speaker is its soundstage, as the presence of two tweeters is not enough to provide vast sound spatialization.
Sonos may say that the speaker is stereo, but it is true in the treble, but not in the low-midrange or bass, where the instruments and voices remain glued to the central transducer. The fact remains that the two tweeters make the speaker less directive than the first Sonos Move and that there is therefore real progress.
Sonos Move 2 Battery life
Sonos announces a doubling of the autonomy between the Sonos Move and the Sonos Move 2, now 24 hours. I measured approximately 11:30 p.m. active loudness, at 50% volume and on Bluetooth. This is a great performance, which should make it possible to extend festive evenings until the morning, or even longer if you combine an external battery with the speaker. The USB-C port can also be used to charge a smartphone.
Sonos Move 2 Price and release date
The Sonos Move 2 is available in black, white and green colors, priced at €499. The bill is steep if we consider that its performance is approximately the same as the Sonos Era 100, certainly without a battery, but sold for €279. The fact remains that the Sonos Move 2 fulfills its missions perfectly.
Where to buy
Sonos Move 2 at the best price?
