Sonos sent me their latest portable speaker, Move 2, to try out. The original Move debuted in 2019. Four years is a long time in the tech world. According to Moore’s Law, the new Move 2’s performance should be at least double that of its predecessor. The Move already sounded pretty good. I was a bit skeptical that something could sound twice as nice. I began unboxing and prepared to find out firsthand…
Unboxing
Sonos is really into sustainability, and their packaging shows it. The Move 2 ships in a plain brown recycled cardboard box. Everything inside is recycled as well, even the cushioning is all molded out of post-consumer paper. Here’s the skinny straight from Sonos’s fact sheet: “Move 2 reduces its idle energy consumption by more than 40% and comes in a responsibly designed package that uses sustainably sourced content, zero virgin plastic and is curbside recyclable. A removable and replaceable battery extends the overall life of the product.”
Installation
I didn’t expect much complexity from a portable speaker installation. I opened up the included Quick Start guide and followed along. After plugging the base station into a nearby wall outlet and pressing the power button on the back, Move 2’s status LED woke up and began pulsing a friendly green heartbeat.
I opened up the Sonos app and was prompted to install the new speaker almost immediately. Recent generations of speakers utilize Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to streamline the setup process before the new gear is even connected to the Wi-Fi network. I love this versus the old days of having to pair to a temporary SSID created by the gear or, worse, be compelled to hardwire a piece of equipment first before final setup could be completed.
I bumped along through the app installation screens, which asked me to name the Move 2, installed an update, and asked if I wanted dynamic TruePlay enabled. This was a new one. Apparently, the Move 2 listens to its environment and dynamically adjusts playback based on what it hears. I could see this being tremendously useful in a beach environment versus a screened-in porch.
As soon as all the setup screens finished, I tooled over to TIDAL and queued up “We Used to Wait” by Arcade Fire. Since I had both Move and Move 2 next to each other, I decided to fully leverage the side-by-side demo opportunity. I began with Move and then added Move 2 both playing the same song. The combination sounded fantastic.
Sonos supports creating a stereo pair from these two speakers, but this wasn’t what I wanted. I muted the Move and let the Move 2 bathe me in sound. I flipped it over to the Move with the Move 2 muted. I went back and forth like this a few times just to reconfirm what I was hearing.
The Move 2 sounded twice as powerful and even better sounding than its predecessor. The form factors are similar, but the side-by-side test didn’t lie. The Move 2 sounds amazing. Killer low end and mid-range round out the aural profile nicely from this little powerhouse. I sent a few more songs through for my A/B test, including “California Magic” by Goose, “I/O” by Peter Gabriel, and “New York Morning” by Elbow. Everything sounded great. I performed the same test paired to Bluetooth, and the experience stayed the same.
I’m always puzzled that Sonos takes the customer out of the Sonos app for Bluetooth pairing. I get why that’s an option, but why couldn’t the app be smart enough to know it’s paired to the Move 2 and play on as usual? Maybe this opens a can of worms where customers would ask for all their Bluetooth speakers to become Sonos endpoints?
There are a few nice final touches that come in handy. The microphone has a hard switch to enable/disable its capabilities, and the Move 2 can be charged via USB-C if you leave the charging base behind. Keep in mind that not all USB-C is created equal. You will need a USB-C PD charger capable of delivering at least 45W, 20 V/2.25 A.
Don’t be like me and spend a bunch of time buying USB-C PD gear from Amazon on your beach vacation only to learn about power requirements the hard way. You’re welcome. Finally, if your phone needs a little battery top off, the charging port also works in reverse, which I can see coming in handy during a car camping trip or day at the lake.
Final Report
The Sonos Move 2 retails at $449. It’s a slam dunk no brainer. If you have a first-generation Sonos Move, be prepared to put baby in a corner. The sound difference is stunning and amazing. It’s a little big for hotel travel and other use cases where the smaller Sonos Roam does the trick, but the Move 2 begs to be picked up and carried outside. I can’t wait to see what’s next from Sonos!
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