Sonos Move 2 Review: Fantastic sound and a price to match

To figure out whether the Sonos Move 2 is for you, think about the reasons you want a portable speaker. Do you need something you can throw into your backpack and take camping, boating, outdoorsing of any kind? Or do you need a great-sounding speaker that can also be moved around a little if need be?

The Sonos Move 2 is definitely a speaker of the latter variety. It sounds fantastic, but it's essentially a home speaker that also happens to be somewhat portable. That's due to its pretty hefty weight, but also the fact that it requires a somewhat unwieldy charging base, which is an additional hassle to carry around. Don't get me wrong, though: This speaker is one of the best in class, and the quality of sound it produces is reason enough to consider it.

What I love about the Sonos Move 2

This speaker almost sounds too good for its size and intention. It's not extremely loud, but the bass goes very deep, and the presentation is crystal clear across the dynamic range. It's capable of producing one of those effects where you play a song you know well (in my case, "Roxanne" by The Police), and you hear details you never knew were there, like the (accidental?) touching of the drumsticks at the end of the song's intro.

Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable

Even better, the Move 2 is equally as good at playing various types of music, including modern pop and its vast electronic soundscape, a well-recorded studio track by a jazz ensemble, and an intimate, live acoustic performance. As is typical, this single stereo speaker had a slightly harder time handling very busy heavy metal recordings or a performance by a classical orchestra, but it still made a valiant effort. Here's a tip: Disable the "Loudness" option in the Sonos' app's Settings; the sound is boomy enough without it.

Unlike the first Move, the second iteration has stereo sound. It makes a difference, though you won't get a lot of stereo separation from a single speaker. Unfortunately, the Move 2 can only pair with another Move 2 (even the original Move isn't supported due to lack of one tweeter), so I couldn't test what the Move 2 sounds like in a real stereo configuration.

What I dislike about the Sonos Move 2

The weight. This is a very conditional "dislike" — I'm fully aware that the speaker probably wouldn't sound this good if it weren't this big or heavy. It weighs 3 kg, or 6.61 pounds, due to three amps, two tweeters, and one woofer inside. But the size is a drawback. Compared to something like the Ultimate Ears Boom 3, or Sonos' own Roam, which you can easily toss into a bag, the Sonos Move 2 is a speaker that will require nearly an entire backpack for itself.

A big recess on the back makes the Sonos Move 2 easier to carry. Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable

This is not so much a flaw; the Move 2 is simply a different type of speaker. It's something you'll keep in your living room, but can move out to the garden when guests arrive.

Traveling with the Sonos Move 2 is possible, but further complicated by its charging base. Yes, the base is wireless (meaning you can just place the Move 2 into it and it will charge), but it's another gadget you'll have to carry with you for a longer trip. Unfortunately, it's not possible to charge the Move 2 by plugging a USB-C cable into it.

Also, when the Sonos Move 2 is off its charging base, it will shut down. And after you wake it up with a press of the power button, it will take a while to fully connect to your home Wi-Fi; if you start playing an Apple Music track too soon, it will stutter. This can be incredibly annoying when you just want to quickly fire up some music for your friends.

What’s 'eh' about the Sonos Move 2?

The controls on top are alright, though I'd appreciate if they were a little easier to see and find in the dark. Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable

The design of the Move 2 is just OK — not bad, but also unlikely to make you say "Wow." It's better than the odd-shaped Sonos Era 300 (read our review here), but not as striking as Apple's HomePod. I got the black variant to test, though; I suspect the green one (the third available color is white) might be more striking.

The touch controls on top aren't very visible, especially in the dark. The indented volume slider is a nice touch, though.

Also, the Move 2 could be louder. It is, in my opinion, loud enough for most situations, but it will never produce that holy-crap-it's-loud effect in a big, crowded room.

Finally, with Sonos products I'm never quite sure whether I should be using the Sonos app for playback, or stick to Apple Music, Spotify, and others. The Sonos app, which is available for both my iPhone and Mac, is pretty good, but its search is not as good as on the native apps. It also doesn't display some details about the track you're listening, such as audio quality. On the other hand, the Sonos app has some additional info about Sonos hardware, such as battery state. In the end, I always end up reverting to listening to Apple Music and Spotify directly.

Sonos Move 2 battery life

Take it out, but make sure you take the charging base with you on longer trips. Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable

Battery life on the Sonos Move 2 has been significantly improved to 24 hours, compared to the 11 hours of battery life on the Sonos Move. In my testing, it lasted almost exactly 24 hours of continuous playback, but that was on a fairly quiet volume setting. When I listened at loud volumes, the battery drained twice as fast, which is something to keep in mind if you're planning to throw a party with this speaker.

Sonos Move 2 features

With the Move 2, you get the Sonos sound assistant, which is alright, but it can only perform playback-related tasks. Alexa is also on board, but Google Assistant isn't supported, which is a shame.

Line-in playback is also supported, though the 3.5mm jack isn't present; you'll need a 3.5mm to USB-C adapter to connect a standard audio cable to the Move 2. Even more problematic is the fact that you cannot directly connect, say, a phone or a laptop with a USB-C cable to the Move and send audio to it; you have to go through the USB-C adapter (Sonos sells one for $19 or a whopping €25 if you're in Europe).

The USB-C connector does enable the Move 2 to do a cool party trick: It can reverse charge, meaning you can charge your phone or other device from the Move 2's battery with a USB-C cable.

Connectivity and audio quality is a bit of a mixed bag. The Sonos Move 2 supports AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth 5.0 (you have to set it up using Wi-Fi, though). But hi-resolution, lossless audio is only supported on Amazon Music and Qobuz, not on Tidal and Apple Music. In fact, even CD quality audio isn't officially supported on Apple Music, though Dolby Atmos will work. If you don't care about hi-res audio, though, you'll be happy to know that almost every service we could think of is supported with standard-quality audio streaming.

Final thoughts

One of the best-sounding battery-powered speakers you can buy. Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable

As an upgrade to the original Move, the Sonos Move 2 is excellent. It has longer battery life (not as long as advertised, though), stereo sound, and line-in input. It also sounds absolutely stellar, surpassing most home speakers I've heard.

At $449, it's not cheap, and it's not as portable as you might think. This makes it a somewhat niche product. For example, if you have a large budget and want decent-sounding speakers you can move around your house at will, sure, buy a couple of Move 2 units. Perhaps you already have a pair of Sonos Era 300 or Era 100 speakers and want a portable speaker that can sync with those; the Move 2 can do that and it's again a great option. If you just want the best-sounding, battery-powered speaker you can get, the Sonos Move 2 is there at the top.

If, on the other hand, you've got under $500 to spend, you can get a pair of regular, stereo speakers for your home, and a smaller, truly portable speaker (Sonos' own Roam is $199, and it's far from the cheapest option out there) to lug around on your adventures.

All in all, it boils down to the price and weight. The Sonos Move 2 is an excellent, battery-powered speaker, but only if it's not too heavy or too expensive for you.