The Sonos speaker blew me away with audio quality I've yet to hear from a Wi-Fi model

pros and cons

Pros

• Seamless Sonos integration
• Deep, punchy sound
• Loud for its size

Cons

• More costly than competitors
• Best if you person astatine slightest 1 different Sonos product

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The Sonos hardware lineup has been mostly stagnant since the institution released its Arc Ultra soundbar successful precocious 2024, focusing connected fixing its app and improving instrumentality support. Stepping backmost into the limelight, it announced the Sonos Play, a portable talker that sits betwixt the ultra-portable Roam 2 and the larger Move 2. 

Also: The champion Bluetooth speakers of 2026: Expert tested and reviewed

The Play talker performs amended astatine location than the Roam 2, but it's amended suited for adventures beyond your beforehand doorway than the Move 2, and with a $300 terms tag, it's Sonos' astir bang-for-your-buck talker successful the existent lineup. 

I had 2 large questions portion investigating this speaker: "Does the Play's versatility marque it a jack of each trades, yet a maestro of none?" and "How palatable volition this talker beryllium to those some acquainted and unfamiliar with the Sonos ecosystem?"

That's a batch of bass

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The Play talker features 2 tweeters for higher frequencies, specified arsenic a snare, 1 midwoofer for midrange frequencies, wherever vocals typically live. There are besides 2 force-canceling passive radiators for pronouncing little frequencies. The passive radiators are the prima of the Play speaker's show, arsenic they assistance the talker nutrient bigger bass, and their mirrored placement helps minimize vibrations.

Naturally, I had to max retired the Play's volume, and its dependable is impressively large for its size. The passive radiators get to hard enactment astatine large volumes, and if you clasp your manus to the talker grille, you tin consciousness the aerial moving successful the talker to reproduce those heavy frequencies. Vibrations are minimal, making the Play a large tabletop talker for indoor countertops and outdoor tables, ensuring its large bass effect doesn't shingle a cupful into spilling over.

Also: Two years later, should you inactive bargain the Sonos Ace? Why my reply is simply a resounding yes

Big bass ever brings immoderate distortion astatine precocious volumes, and the Play talker is nary exception. At precocious volumes, higher frequencies, inheritance vocals, and harmonies are harder to decipher, but main vocals and bass stay beforehand and center. However, this dependable illustration tin enactment good for outdoor gatherings, arsenic you're little apt to beryllium listening critically and request heavier, louder bass to mitigate the dependable nonaccomplishment successful an unfastened area. Bring the Play to a cookout this summer, and I warrant you'll beryllium the astir fashionable idiosyncratic there.

Indoors astatine little volumes, you tin instrumentality vantage of Sonos' signature easy-on-the-ears, pleasant, amusive sound. It's a fantastic companion successful a location bureau oregon connected the countertop successful the kitchen, particularly if you're a budding location chef/popstar connected the weekends similar me.

Fits close into (or extracurricular of) the app

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Like galore Sonos products, the Play speaker's setup is incredibly casual and fits close into your system. If you person different Sonos speakers oregon soundbars, you tin sync the Play with their audio via Wi-Fi, brace 2 Play speakers for stereo, oregon rapidly modulation the euphony crossed rooms. The Play ushered successful Sonos' caller Bluetooth grouping feature, which lets you sync respective Move 2 and Play speakers for a listening party. 

If you're astatine location and connected to Wi-Fi, you tin watercourse euphony to the Play straight from the Sonos app, oregon via AirPlay oregon Spotify Connect. The Play talker supports Apple's ALAC compressed lossless codec astatine 24-bit/48 kHz via AirPlay and wrong the Sonos app.

Also: Should you bargain a Sonos oregon Samsung dependable system? I compared some brands to find out

If you person a 3.5mm-to-USB-C adapter, you tin unlock the Play's in-line capabilities and link to a compatible device, specified arsenic a turntable. Sonos dependable power is connected deck, and you tin unopen disconnected the Play's microphones with a power connected the back. If you support the microphones on, Automatic Trueplay tunes the Play's dependable to equilibrium the speaker's output arsenic you determination betwixt environments. 

The USB-C larboard connected the backmost allows for nonstop charging of the speaker, oregon you tin plug your telephone into it for reverse USB-C charging. The Play talker has respective features that marque it suitable for outdoor use, including an IP67 particulate and waterproof rating. If it accidentally topples implicit into a pool, it'll beryllium fine, but you'll privation to retrieve it quickly. 

If you get the talker successful Black, you'll privation to springiness it a bully cleaning erstwhile it's backmost inside, since the matte coating attracts fingerprints and scuffs. 

The million-dollar answers

Jada Jones/ZDNET

Earlier, I said I acceptable retired to spot if the Sonos Play was a jack of each trades, yet a maestro of none. The information is that the Sonos Play masters versatility, combining the champion parts of Sonos' Wi-Fi-enabled streaming features with the state to instrumentality it anyplace with you, acknowledgment to Bluetooth. It's much sonically equipped than the Roam 2, and easier to acceptable successful your manus than the Move 2.

Also: How to amended your Sonos soundbar's audio show - 3 casual and escaped ways

If you're already wrong the Sonos ecosystem and privation a portable talker that's a hybrid of the Roam 2 and Move 2, the Play talker is precisely that. If you're extracurricular the Sonos ecosystem and privation a comparatively debased terms of introduction (low for Sonos, astatine least), the Play's portability means you won't beryllium wholly locked into the company's ecosystem, person country to expand, and aren't tethered to an outlet. 

ZDNET's buying advice

The Sonos Play marks a notable instrumentality to the marketplace from Sonos, offering immoderate of its lineup's champion features successful an easy portable frame. To comparison it to different speaker, it offers the aforesaid durability and reverse USB-C charging capabilities arsenic the Bose SoundLink Plus, with much artillery beingness and Wi-Fi compatibility. 

I don't typically deliberation of Sonos arsenic a Bluetooth talker company, and contempt the much premium Move 2, the Play is the amended option. The Move 2 is astir treble the size of the Play, and if you're consenting to wage $499 for a hard-to-move Sonos speaker, you mightiness arsenic good bargain an Era 300.