Best Sonos speakers of 2023
Sonos is one of the biggest names in music streaming hardware, and its line of speakers combine great sound quality with polished aesthetics. There is support for just about every popular music streaming serviceincluding Spotify and Apple Music. Many Sonos speakers on the market also offer built-in voice assistance through Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, or Sonos Voice Control.
With the release of Sonos Bow and the Gen 2 Harnessthe range also includes Dolby Atmos playback, which brings incredible sound quality. When you add the budget Ikea Symphonisk
range, Under Mini And Ray soundbarsthe number of Sonos-compatible speakers makes the multiroom system more attractive than ever.
Yet, as the number of Sonos products continues to grow, it has also become more difficult to decide which speaker system device or devices in the Sonos ecosystem to buy. With that in mind, we’ve put together a quick guide to Sonos and the products that deliver the best performance for your money. We’ll keep this list updated as the company releases new products.
Which Sonos is right for you?
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The Ikea Symfonisk line is the result of a collaboration between the Scandinavian furniture giant and Sonos. It’s fully compatible with other Sonos products, and the bookshelf, table lamp, and picture frame can also be used for stereo sound, or as a relatively inexpensive pair of rear speakers ($240 for two shelves vs. $378 for two One SLs). If you want a Sonos speaker for the price of a Bluetooth speaker, this is the model for you.
Read our review of the Ikea Symfonisk Bookshelf WiFi speaker.
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Sure, the Sonos Roam is one of the most expensive portable speakers you can buy, but it’s also one of the best. It’s weatherproof and solidly built, but its secret weapon is its ability to switch between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when you’re within range.
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While the Sonos One SL is the cheapest indoor speaker in the range, for a bit more you can upgrade to a better value model. The Sonos One (Gen 2) sounds great and includes both Alexa and Google Assistant in a single speaker (although you can only choose one at a time). Sonos Voice is also coming to this smart speaker and other smart speakers in the line.
Read our Sonos One review.
You are receiving price alerts for Sonos One (Gen 2, Black)
His bone
Sonos has a new entry-level soundbar with the company’s excellent multiroom music system on board. A two-channel soundbar with Dolby Digital decoding, it’s about two-thirds the size of the Sonos Beam but offers a surprisingly wide soundstage thanks to the use of proprietary waveguides.
While it doesn’t support Dolby Atmos surround sound or have an HDMI port to connect to your TV (you connect it to your TV with an included optical cable), the sound quality for music and movies is awesome. You can pair it with a few other Sonos speakers, like the Sonos One, to create a surround sound system.
Read our Sonos Ray review.
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Now that the Sonos Play:3 has been discontinued, a pair of Sonos Ones are your next best bet. Setting up a stereo pair is easy with the Sonos app, and the system sounds better than equivalently priced speakers like the Google Home Max or Apple HomePod.
Read our Sonos One review.
You are receiving price alerts for Sonos One (Gen 2, Black)
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With the addition of Dolby Atmos, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 is the smart soundbar to get. You might miss deep bass without subs, but the speaker makes your movies sound huge thanks to its virtual surround capabilities.
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The Sonos Arc is the best soundbar the company has ever released. It has some great features including a built-in voice assistant, HDMI eARC playback, and Dolby Atmos. Unlike the Beam, the system doesn’t need a subwoofer, and unless Sonos offers a cheaper Sub, it’s the best money you can spend on a grand.
Read our Sonos Arc review.
You are receiving price alerts for Sonos Arc (White)
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At the upper end of what most people would pay for a Sonos soundbar surround sound system, this system will deliver plenty of surround sound and musical thrills. You can buy the Sonos Beam Gen 2 ($449), Sonos Sub ($749), and a pair of One SLs as part of a bundle, or you can combine them with a pair of Ikea shelves ($198) separately. Although the Sub alone is quite expensive, it makes a great partner for the smaller Beam, while the addition of surrounds completes the effect. The system doesn’t have real Atmos, and if you want you can upgrade to the Arc or you can mount the bookshelf speakers high on the walls behind you.
Read the Sonos Sub review.
What is Sonos?
Sonos is one of the oldest multiroom audio systems on the market and also one of the most capable. Since the way we consume digital music has changed from playing MP3 to streaming services and beyond, the audio system has also adapted and grown.
Sonos started as a way to play iTunes playlists on your existing speakers and it has grown to support streaming music services on a range of table speakers, amplifiers, bars sound and subwoofers. System control started with a desktop application and the CR100 Handheld Controller, then it moved on to mobile apps and voice assistants. Sonos now offers a range of speakers including the choice of Google Assistant, Alexa or Sonos Voice on board (One, Beam and Arc).
Here is some information about the product line that you should know:
- Works without a hub on a standard Wi-Fi network (no Bluetooth except for Roam)
- Supports over 100 streaming services
- Works with Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri
- Compatible with Apple AirPlay 2 and Spotify Login
- The new S2 system supports high resolution (i.e. Dolby TrueHD and Atmos) while older Sonos systems only carries 16-bit/44.1kHz
- Stream your analog connected music throughout your home (with Amp, Five or Port)
- Beam Gen 2 and Arc include Dolby Atmos
The One is our favorite Sonos speaker.
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With the arrival of its S2 operating system, the company replaced many of its legal product while introducing new ones. In 2022 alone, the company announced the Sonos Ray soundbar and the Sonos Sub Mini. If you have older components, especially those with “Zone” in the title, they are not interoperable with the new system.
The current Sonos lineup is as follows:
- Sonos Roam: $179 — Bluetooth and Wi-Fi outdoor speaker
- Sonos One SL: $199 – small tabletop audio speaker without microphones
- Sonos One (Gen 2): $219 – smart table audio speaker with built-in voice assistant
- Sonos Ray: $279 — soundbar with optical connection
- Sonos Beam Gen 2: $450 – soundbar with voice assistant and HDMI
- Sonos Move $399: – portable smart speaker with water resistance
- Port Sonos: $449 — streaming add-on for existing systems, analog in/out
- Sonos Sub Mini: $429 – compact wireless subwoofer
- Sonos Five: $549 — large table speaker
- Sonos amplifier: $699 — amplifier with analog input
- Sonos Sub: $749 – wireless subwoofer
- Sonos Arc: $899 — Dolby Atmos soundbar
There are also three speakers from Ikea that work with the Sonos system: the Ikea Symfonisk Library Wi-Fi Speakerthe $181 Symfonisk Speaker lamp base (which replaces the Table lamp) and the $250 Ikea Symfonisk picture frame.
The Sonos app
Until voice control completely replaces it, the Sonos app is where you control most of your audio setup and playback. The focus of the app has changed over the years as it moved away from services to focus on the speakers themselves. The app still has one of the best universal searches and it’s easy to set up your speakers.
The Sonos app
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The app is available for the following devices:
- Apple iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch
- Android phones and tablets
- Apple laptops and desktops
- Windows laptops and desktops
- Amazon Fire tablets
In addition to the Sonos app, you’ll also be able to stream to the speakers directly from your favorite apps using Play To Sonos. These include: Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music and Tidal’s music streaming service. The system also supports streaming from iOS and compatible software using Apple Air Play 2.
The competition
The Polk Command Bar is a smart soundbar that supports Amazon’s multi-room music system.
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The main competitive standards available to Sonos are Bose Music, DTS Play-Fi, Google Chromecast built-inApple Air Play 2, Yamaha MusicCast And Denon HEOS. Amazon Echo and the Polk Command Bar also support Amazon MRM System.
Wireless audio speakers start at around $100 — most featuring Apple AirPlay, Chromecast, or both — and great wireless soundbars like the Polk Command Bar start at $250. Here are some of the best multiroom music systems.
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