The best Sonos speakers to buy in 2025

6 days ago 3

After the twelvemonth of self-induced tumult that Sonos has been through, I tin recognize wherefore immoderate radical are reluctant to walk wealth connected the company’s products. But interim CEO Tom Conrad has shown that he’s determined to get backmost connected way and revitalize Sonos arsenic the starring whole-home audio brand. The contentious mobile app is successful a overmuch amended spot contiguous than conscionable a fewer months ago, though immoderate customers inactive brushwood bugs and the vexation of speakers randomly vanishing from their system. It’s not each roses, but the concern is moving successful the close absorption — and I took Sonos’ determination to cancel its video player arsenic a promising motion of renewed focus.

I’m not astir to merchantability immoderate of my Sonos gear. For one, the company’s whole-home level offers conveniences that competitors don’t lucifer — astatine slightest not without hassle. Most of the clip I’m streaming from Apple Music, Spotify, oregon YouTube Music. But if I’m watching a sports crippled connected my TV, I tin tube the audio from my Sonos soundbar to a talker successful a antithetic country to travel the action. Playing thing implicit Bluetooth? With astir of the company’s caller speakers, it’s imaginable to bash the aforesaid happening and spread that euphony crossed your full Sonos system.

Why you should spot my Sonos recommendations

I’ve covered Sonos extensively for respective years astatine The Verge. This has included reporting connected the company’s latest news, reviewing a lengthy database of Sonos products, and bringing attraction to the app fiasco, which yet led to the ouster of erstwhile CEO Patrick Spence. Audio and location theatre are 2 of my superior absorption areas successful merchandise reviews, truthful I’m well-versed erstwhile it comes to determining whether a talker oregon soundbar is large — oregon conscionable different also-ran product.

I wouldn’t responsibility anyone for waiting to spot wherever Sonos and its app spell from here. But support successful caput that tariffs mightiness yet pb to terms increases for immoderate of these products. Putting the bundle misstep aside, this institution makes immoderate genuinely fantabulous hardware, truthful if you don’t privation to hazard paying more, present mightiness beryllium the clip to buy. And if you’re wondering which are the existent standouts, I’ve got you covered.

How I trial Sonos speakers

I enactment successful galore hours investigating Sonos’ assorted speakers and soundbars successful their intended environments. That means listening to a merchandise similar the Move 2 some indoors and outside, having movie marathons to trial the capabilities of Sonos soundbars, and spending the bulk of afloat days gauging the audio show of speakers similar the Five. With devices that are advertised arsenic being h2o resistant, I’ll often bring them to water getaways oregon usage them adjacent the excavation to guarantee that they tin grip splashes and mundane elements.

The close talker for the close scenario

Sonos has an extended lineup of speakers spanning assorted signifier factors: determination are table speakers, portable Bluetooth speakers, soundbars, subwoofers, and, abstracted from each that, you person the Ikea Symfonisk products that are designed to blend into your location decor. The champion prime volition beryllium connected what you need.

Good dependable quality

Some “audiophiles” mightiness crook their chemoreceptor up astatine the thought of Sonos hardware being susceptible of fantabulous sound. But I deliberation astir radical volition beryllium plentifulness blessed with the audio quality. Even the company’s smaller products consistently present clear, pleasant audio.

Adaptability

Part of what makes the Sonos ecosystem truthful appealing is everything you tin bash with it. Want to play your TV’s audio successful different rooms? You tin bash that. If you’ve got a Bluetooth-capable grounds player, the tiny Sonos Roam tin play your vinyl and nexus that audio to the remainder of your system. Line-in allows for the aforesaid astatine higher fidelity. Most important of all, the Sonos controller app supports practically each euphony streaming work connected the marketplace today.

Lengthy bundle support

Few tech companies proceed to supply bundle updates and caller features for their products arsenic agelong arsenic Sonos. Speakers introduced a decennary agone are inactive compatible with the company’s latest S2 level and inactive person firmware releases.

The champion Sonos talker to commencement with

If you’re looking for a decent-sounding, compact talker to enactment successful the kitchen, office, oregon truly anyplace successful your home, the Era 100 is your champion option. Sonos improved upon this speaker’s predecessors, the Play:1 and Sonos One, by upgrading to stereo drivers for richer, wider audio. Bluetooth playback is present supported, on with line-in audio (with a abstracted dongle). And the Era 100 besides has reworked carnal controls, including a measurement barroom you tin descent your digit crossed and, finally, dedicated way controls.

The talker has an elegant design, and you tin usage hands-free dependable controls to summon Amazon Alexa oregon Sonos Voice Control to skip tracks oregon power to a antithetic playlist. Sonos precocious dropped the Era 100’s terms to $199, which is much than just for what you’re getting. I’d bargain present and debar risking the outgo going up again, acknowledgment to tariffs.

Read my afloat Sonos Era 100 review.

The champion wide Sonos speaker

The Sonos Five isn’t conscionable Sonos’ best-sounding speaker; it’s astatine the apical of the battalion compared to each competitors. From an audio prime perspective, it beats the HomePod, Echo Studio, Nest Audio, and different wide marketplace speakers — some those that are astute and not. Can you find amended hi-fi bookshelf speakers? Absolutely, but those aren’t natively tied into euphony services similar Sonos cogwheel is. The Five is simply a hefty portion and takes up a decent magnitude of table space. But erstwhile you propulsion immoderate euphony on, its almighty stereo output is capable to grip immoderate meal enactment oregon play get-together.

There’s thing “smart” astir the Five. It lacks microphones and dependable adjunct functionality. But that simplicity is appealing successful its ain right: you’re getting a damn bully talker that ties into the Sonos platform. The Five besides features a 3.5mm aux input, making it a bully turntable companion — particularly if you outpouring for a stereo pair.

The champion portable Sonos speaker

When it comes to portable speakers, the Move 2 is successful a full antithetic league than Sonos’ overmuch smaller Roam 2. It’s bigger and heavier, but a built-in grip makes it easier to lug the Move 2 astir your location oregon retired to the backyard. There’s nary examination betwixt the 2 erstwhile it comes to audio: the Move 2 smokes the acold much compact Roam 2. Like the Era 100, it has a stereo operator arrangement, whereas the Roam mixes everything down to mono and sounds much muffled.

The Move’s larger size gives it a wide vantage successful presumption of bass punch, and speech from playing euphony wirelessly, you’ve got the enactment of plugging successful different devices implicit USB-C for line-in audio. I besides proceed to admit that the artillery successful the Move 2 is user-replaceable, which can’t beryllium said of galore Bluetooth speakers. You’ll beryllium capable to support enjoying your concern for long, agelong into the future. And with a particulate / h2o absorption standing of IP56, it tin grip rainfall and splashes of h2o without problems; conscionable don’t driblet it into a pool.

I similar the Move 2 implicit accepted portable speakers since, astatine slightest whenever I’m home, the Sonos lets maine play euphony implicit Wi-Fi astatine a higher fidelity than Bluetooth tin offer. Plus, the Move 2 besides supports Apple AirPlay and Spotify Connect, truthful it’s casual to conscionable skip the Sonos app altogether if you wish.

Read my afloat Sonos Move 2 review.

The champion Sonos soundbar for location theatre enthusiasts

Introduced successful precocious 2024, the Arc Ultra improves connected the archetypal Arc with importantly much almighty bass response. That’s mostly acknowledgment to the inclusion of Sonos’ caller SoundMotion technology, which manages to get a amended low-end wallop from a soundbar that’s not overmuch larger than the exemplary it replaces. This means immoderate buyers tin get distant with buying the Arc Ultra connected its ain without adding a subwoofer.

The Arc Ultra delivers Dolby Atmos situation dependable that’s much convincing and immersive than immoderate different Sonos soundbar to date, and it’s up determination with the precise champion you tin find from a single-enclosure speaker. Vocal clarity has besides improved substantially acknowledgment to amended halfway transmission performance. Another upgrade implicit the archetypal Arc is the summation of Bluetooth audio support.

Read my afloat reappraisal of the Sonos Arc Ultra.

The champion Sonos soundbar for smaller rooms

There are plentifulness of scenarios and TV rooms wherever the Arc Ultra mightiness beryllium too powerful. If you’re successful a smaller abstraction oregon don’t request the implicit champion situation sound, the Beam (Gen 2) starts to marque much sense. It inactive has Atmos, but the effect is virtualized since the Beam lacks the Arc Ultra’s upward-firing speakers. Even so, the location theatre acquisition you’ll get from the Beam volition stroke distant immoderate speakers built into a TV.

Read my afloat Sonos Beam (Gen 2) review.

The champion Sonos subwoofer for astir people

In the aforesaid vein, unless you’re hellhole bent connected rumbling your walls, the $429 Sub Mini subwoofer is much than capable for layering immoderate other oomph and growl onto Hollywood blockbusters and your favourite TV shows. The $799 Sub 4 is Sonos’ flagship subwoofer, but plentifulness of radical person saved hundreds of dollars by pairing the Sub Mini with immoderate of the company’s soundbars — and they’ve been ecstatic with the results.

As its sanction suggests, the Sub Mini is much compact than the Sub 4, which makes it easier to find an inconspicuous spot to spot it. Even if you’re the benignant to do a sub crawl and enactment it determination successful plain sight, I’d reason it looks much stylish than the blocky Sub 4.

Read my afloat Sonos Sub Mini review.

The champion fund Sonos speaker

It’s been years since Sonos and Ikea introduced caller products arsenic portion of their associated effort, but that doesn’t mean you should slumber connected the existing ones. In particular, the Symfonisk Bookshelf Speaker (Gen 2) is the astir affordable gateway into the Sonos ecosystem — particularly if you tin drawback it astatine a discount during Ikea’s regular sales. Sound-wise, it’s not acold disconnected from the aged Sonos One / Play:1 and is simply a precise enjoyable speaker. Plus, the debased terms makes it easier to person yourself to scoop up 2 for a stereo pair. These — oregon the Symfonisk Picture Frame Speaker — marque fantabulous rear situation speakers if you’re connected a budget.

Read my afloat Ikea Symfonisk Bookshelf Speaker review.

The Sonos merchandise worthy of a 2nd chance

Boy ohio boy, did Sonos’ wireless headphones travel close astatine the worst imaginable moment. The company’s app situation wholly sidelined the Ace headphones. Some customers were besides disappointed that the Ace can’t play euphony implicit Wi-Fi oregon beryllium grouped with the company’s in-home speakers.

But here’s the thing: the Ace headphones are inactive fantastic. They’re comfortable, person a gorgeous plan (with easy swappable receptor pads), and dependable detailed, powerful, and expressive. They enactment wired audio implicit USB-C successful summation to Bluetooth. And the TV Audio Swap diagnostic is simply a utile perk that I inactive often usage precocious astatine nighttime erstwhile my Arc Ultra would disturb others. You tin way immoderate audio that would usually travel done the soundbar — from your TV, gaming console, oregon streaming instrumentality — done the headphones and perceive privately (with spatial audio situation sound).

No, the Ace headphones aren’t what I’d see the perfect of a wearable merchandise from Sonos. But they stay a wholly awesome debut that fell unfortunate to the company’s mediocre bundle decisions.