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Sonos makes some really great sounding speakers, and personally, I have a number of them throughout my home. So adding the Move 2 to my setup was a no-brainer. But the amount of time it took Sonos to make a portable, Bluetooth speaker wasn’t a no-brainer. Sonos debuted the first Move in 2019. That was a solid 17 years after its first speaker hit the market.
The Sonos Move was a big hit for the company. It packaged Sonos’ popular technologies and impressive sound quality, into a portable package. It was quite pricey for a portable speaker, when many think of a “portable speaker” they think of something that’s sub-$100. That’s not Sonos and not the Move. It retailed at $399, and still sold very well.
Now here we are four years later. The Sonos Move 2 is here, and it has a $50 price increase. Normally, that would be a big deal-breaker for me in recommending a product. But considering the Move was announced four years ago, before the pandemic, a $50 price increase is not bad. Basically just keeping up with inflation. Not to mention, Sonos added more battery life, better stero sound and even line-in. Making it worth more than that $50 price increase.
The real question here is whether you should buy the Sonos Move 2, and if it is worth that price. Let’s find out in our review of the Sonos Move 2.
Sonos Move 2 Review: Hardware and Design
If you’ve used or own the original Sonos Move, the design of the Move 2 is not going to surprise you. At first look, it looks identical to the original. But there are a few minor tweaks here, externally. Similar to the original Move, Move 2 is available in black and white. New this year is an Olive color, which looks quite nice. What I have here is the white, along with the black original Move. Which gives a nice look at the different colors and how the two models have changed in four years.
On the top, you still have all of the same buttons. This includes play/pause, forward and back. The volume buttons are also here, and they have a recessed line from the – to the + which is a small thing, but makes it a lot easier to slide the sound from low to high. The indicator light for the speaker listening to you is still there, but with a different icon. Not it looks like a thought bubble, versus a microphone.
The other major change is on the back. Previously, there was no button to turn off the microphone on the speaker itself. Now there is. So on the back, you’ll see a power button, a Bluetooth toggle and another toggle for the microphone. Otherwise, these two are identical from the outside. But, Sonos did make bigger changes internally.
The biggest change to sound quality here is in the form of the tweeters. Sonos ditched a single tweeter to offer dual left- and right-channel tweeters here. This works with the single woofer to deliver stereo audio. And while this is technically not a full stereo setup, the configuration is pretty similar among portable speakers.
The other big change is the bigger battery inside the Move 2. Sonos claims that the Move 2 can now last 24 hours of continuous playback. That is actually more than double what the original Sonos Move did – at 10 hours. We’ve been testing it, and it does seem to last that long and then some. Sonos tested this number at 50% volume for 24 hours. I usually have it lower than that – since I have it on my desk playing YouTube Music while I work. And it was able to last quite a few days on a single charge for me. If you’re looking to take this to a get-together outside, or the beach, you’ll be happy with the amount of battery life you get here.
Speaking of the battery, there is a dock that comes with the Sonos Move 2. It does use USB-C, but you will want to plug it into the charging brick that is in the box. There is a USB-C port on the back of the Sonos Move 2, so if you’re out and run out of juice on your Move 2, you can plug it in. You will need a USB-C PD power brick for this, which most smartphones use these days anyways. . Now the USB-C port does more than just power. It can also be used for an Ethernet dongle, and that’s also how you do Line-In on the Move 2.
Sonos Move 2 Review: Software
There’s not a lot that’s special about the software on the Move 2, it’s basically exactly the same as any other Sonos product. You’ll use the new Sonos app, which has all of your speakers included. Within the app, you can control some settings for the Move 2, like the Bluetooth and WiFi Settings, as well as setting the bass and treble volumes, and more. But you can also choose what you want to listen to, and also group different speakers together in your home.
This is where Sonos excels over the competition. The fact that you can group speakers wirelessly to play the same thing, and there’s no lag. So I can have music playing on the Sonos Move 2 in the basement, and group it with the Sub Mini and Beam 2 in the Living Room to fill the home with audio, and it sounds incredible. Especially with the Sub Mini and Beam 2 since they have Dolby Atmos. Sonos will also allow you to change the volume levels on each room or speaker.
Sonos does have support for Apple’s AirPlay 2 here, it has never had Google Cast and after Sonos sued Google for patent infringement, I don’t think that’s going to ever come. Which means that the streaming music services are kind of limited here. Spotify works perfectly, because Spotify Connect is just so good. But if you use YouTube Music, you’ll have to get creative here. The best way to listen to music at your desk is to download the Sonos app on your computer and add YouTube Music. Apple Music does have AirPlay 2 support, so it’s as easy as connecting to the speaker – the same as Spotify.
Sonos Move 2 Review: Audio Quality
Now what about the most important aspect of a speaker, the sound quality. If you’ve owned any Sonos speaker recently, the sound won’t surprise you. There’s plenty of bass here, and the mids and highs sound really crisp and clear. But I would recommend not to go much louder than 50%. That’s when the sound starts to disintegrate. Luckily, even at 50%, it does get very loud. Great for using outdoors, which is the whole point of having a portable speaker.
The only other complaint I have here is that it does not have Dolby Atmos. I really wish it did have Dolby Atmos support here, like its soundbars and subs have now. But that would, understandably, add more to the price here.
Should you buy the Sonos Move 2?
So the big question is, whether you should buy the Sonos Move 2. And the answer to that question is whether you are invested in the Sonos ecosystem already or not. I have a Sonos Beam 2, Sub Mini, SYMFONISK and a few other speakers in my home, so the Move 2 is a great addition. As it’s one that I can take outside onto the patio for a BBQ with ease. But if you’re not already in the Sonos ecosystem, this might not be as easy as a choice.
But it is a good way to get into the Sonos ecosystem. Since the Move 2 is pretty accessible, with both Line-In and Bluetooth support here. If you want a speaker that sounds great, can be taken outside without even thinking about it, then it doesn’t get much better than the Sonos Move 2.
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