Sonos Play review: Big, bold sound in a portable speaker at a premium price

Best Prices Today: Sonos Play

• Who is the Sonos Play for? Apple users who care about sound quality and want the flexibility of AirPlay at home, while still being able to stream from other devices and apps. It’s also a good fit if you want a single speaker that works both indoors and outdoors. However, it comes at a premium price.

We really liked the compact Sonos Roam speaker – and its Roam 2 update last year – which provides impressive sound quality for a highly compact speaker that can easily be carried around in a backpack or travelling bag. Sonos also makes a larger battery-powered speaker called the Move 2, but that’s too big and heavy to carry around in a backpack and is more likely to stay at home most of the time. However, the company has now released a third portable speaker, called the Sonos Play, which sits right between the Roam and Move.

Priced at $299/£299 and available in black or white, the new Sonos Play aims to offer the best of both worlds, combining the more powerful sound and longer battery life of the Move 2 with a portable design that is still small and light enough to carry around when you’re travelling.

Sonos fans will also notice that it revives the name of the original Play range of speakers, which gave the company its big breakthrough 15 years ago. That’s clearly an attempt to put its recent problems behind it and get the company back on track following the widely criticised update to the Sonos app back in 2024.

How portable is the Sonos Play?

The design of the new Play is fairly innocuous, simply consisting of an upright slab of plastic and metal, but it gets all the basics right. It’s about twice the size of the Roam, standing 192mm high, 112mm wide and 77mm deep, but you can still slip it into a bag when you’re out and about. It’s a little heavier than it looks, weighing in at 1.3kg – slightly heavier than the new MacBook Neo at 1.23kg – so you’ll notice the weight when you’re carrying it around.

What’s inside the Sonos Play?

It packs a lot into that compact design, though, with a large central woofer to handle the mid-range and bass, and two high-frequency tweeters that are angled out to the sides to create a greater sense of space.

There are also two bass radiators on the sides of the speaker that help to enhance the bass, and a larger battery that lasts for 24 hours on a full charge, compared to 10 hours for the smaller Roam. The battery is replaceable too, with a battery kit costing $69/£49.

There’s also a built-in microphone for using the Sonos Voice assistant – although you can turn off the mic using a switch on the back of the speaker if you prefer.

How portable and durable is the Sonos Play?

The Play boasts a rugged IP67 rating for water and dust-resistance, so it’ll be able to survive a beach holiday or a muddy music festival, and there’s a small strap on the back of the speaker so that you can just grab it and go whenever you want.

We were pleased to find that the Play includes a wireless charging dock in the box, whereas the charging dock for the Roam is an optional extra that costs $49/£49. However, the charging dock only comes with a USB-C cable, with no mains adaptor included, so you’ll need to supply that yourself or buy the official Sonos power adaptor for $29/£29.

I was able to use the Play’s charging dock with the mains adaptor that came with my HomePod Mini, although the mains adaptor for my Sonos Roam didn’t seem to be powerful enough for the Play.

How does the Sonos Play connect?

Like most Sonos speakers, the Play turns its back on wired connections, although it is possible to buy an optional 3.5mm adaptor for $19/£19. However, the Play does well with its wireless audio features, supporting both Bluetooth (5.3) and dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5.0GHz) with support for AirPlay 2 for Apple devices. For more AirPlay speakers see: Best AirPlay speakers for iPhones and Apple Music.

Is the Sonos app still a problem?

The AirPlay support means that Apple users weren’t too badly affected by the botched update to the Sonos app, since AirPlay allows Apple devices to directly control Sonos speakers without really needing to use the app very often.

The app still seems a little awkward though – it seemed to get confused when I had both the Play and my own Roam speaker connected to the app, and it was actually easier to switch between the two speakers, or even to use them together for multi-room music, by using the AirPlay controls on my iPad.

What’s the sound quality like?

The app still needs a little work then, but I can’t criticise the sound quality of the new Play.

Compact portable speakers often suffer from weak bass, but the first thing I notice as I fire up Bad Guy by Billlie Eilish on Apple Music is the bouncing electronic bass that gets you dancing straight away.

The Sonos Play has a deeper, more full-bodied bass sound than the smaller Sonos Roam, and it’s quite a bit louder too, so it’ll be a good option for listening to dance music when you’re on holiday or at a music festival with friends.

There’s also a nice rumbling sound to the slinky bass guitar riff on Leonard Cohen’s You Want It Darker, and the Sonos Play really captures the gritty, gravelly sound of Cohen’s own voice as well.

The bass isn’t overwhelming though, and the Play can pick out lighter details, such as the sharp tap on the snare and the smooth, multi-layered harmonies on the chorus.

Switching to something more delicate, the Play works wonderfully well with the strings on Max Richter’s On The Nature Of Daylight (check it out at the end of The Last Of Us, episode 3, but grab some tissues first). It captures the bittersweet tone of the violins and violas as they weave around each other, while still finding room for the deeper tone of the melancholy cello that underpins the piece.

Should you buy the Sonos Play?

If you just want a portable Bluetooth speaker for outdoor use then you may not need the additional Wi-Fi and AirPlay features provided by the Sonos Play. However, AirPlay is a real bonus for Apple users when you’re at home, and the excellent sound quality and sturdy IP67 rating make the new Sonos Play a great option for listening to music both indoors and outdoors.

Best Prices Today: Sonos Play