{"id":546870,"date":"2026-03-26T18:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T18:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/546870\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T18:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T18:10:14","slug":"sonos-play-review-a-versatile-bluetooth-speaker-for-the-sonos-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/546870\/","title":{"rendered":"Sonos Play review: a versatile Bluetooth speaker for the Sonos world"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been nearly a year and a half since Sonos released a consumer product, and those last two releases \u2014 the Arc Ultra<\/a> and Sub 4 \u2014 were updates to existing products. The $299 Sonos Play, however, is a brand-new portable speaker that can expand an existing system or be the gateway into the Sonos world. When on Wi-Fi, it acts like any other Sonos speaker \u2014 with features like Auto Trueplay, AirPlay 2, and the ability to stereo pair \u2014 but it\u2019s also a water-resistant Bluetooth speaker.<\/p>\n

The Play falls right in the middle of Sonos\u2019s portable speaker lineup. While it\u2019s not quite as easily packable as the Roam 2<\/a>, the Play has more than twice the battery life and is capable of filling larger spaces with sound. It\u2019s a far more grab-and-go option than the Move 2<\/a>, which at more than twice the weight of the Play, and two inches bigger in all directions, is really only luggable between rooms or out to the backyard. The Play melds the home use of the Move 2 with the portability of the Roam 2 to make it the most versatile Sonos speaker yet.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a>\"Two<\/a><\/p>\n

$299<\/p>\n

The GoodEasily portableIntegrates into the Sonos ecosystemBluetooth capableThe BadDoesn\u2019t include wall adapterSound is a little shouty<\/p>\n

In size and shape, the Play looks a lot like someone took an Era 100<\/a> and smushed it to about half the depth. It has four buttons on the top \u2014 play\/pause, volume up and down, and one to turn voice services on and off \u2014 and a Bluetooth button, mic switch, power button, and USB-C port on the back. Like the Move 2, it has a charging base where it can live when not being toted around, although the base has a hard-wired USB-C cable and doesn\u2019t come with a wall adapter. It requires at least an 18W charger; if you don\u2019t have an extra already, you\u2019ll either need to buy the $29 one from Sonos<\/a> or a cheaper one elsewhere<\/a>. The USB-C port on the back can be used to charge the Play when away from its base, allow the speaker to act as a power bank for your device, or \u2014 with the $19 line-in adapter<\/a> \u2014 to connect a wired 3.5mm audio source.<\/p>\n

Much like the Era 100 and Move 2 before it, the Play features two angled tweeters with waveguides designed to provide stereo separation (although it\u2019s very difficult to hear a stereo image from any single speaker). There\u2019s a front-firing midwoofer for midrange and bass frequencies, as well as two force-cancelling passive radiators on either side of the speaker.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The Play can rest on its charging base while at home.<\/p>\n

The Play delivers clear vocals \u2014 whether they\u2019re Chris Cornell or Ella Fitzgerald \u2014 and solo instruments like Miles Davis\u2019 trumpet stand out in the mix. For my taste, the sound tuning of the Play overaccentuates the midrange and treble a bit compared to the Era 100, which has a smoother midrange and a bit more bass response. On the Play, both the string-muted guitar and cymbals of Fleetwood Mac\u2019s \u201cSecond Hand News\u201d sounded too present and forward. Songs that already have a lot of high-end, such as the metallic sounds in \u201cSuper Bon Bon\u201d by Soul Coughing, can get shouty at higher volumes. And the Play can get loud, particularly with rock and pop that\u2019s more compressed, where I tended to keep the volume set at 50 (out of 100) or below.<\/p>\n

Dimensions (H x W x D, in.): 7.57 x 4.43 x 3.02<\/p>\n

Dust\/water resistance: IP67<\/p>\n

Smart assistants: Sonos Voice Control, Amazon Alexa<\/p>\n

Connectivity Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C, AirPlay 2<\/p>\n

Bluetooth codecs: SBC, AAC<\/p>\n

As long as you keep the mic turned on, you can enable Auto Trueplay, which allows the speaker to constantly listen and adjust the tuning based on the environment it\u2019s in. In my days with the speaker, I kept this on as I moved it around to different rooms, or out to the front yard, and it kept the sound tuning consistent. Which also means that in all of those situations, it still kept the slightly pushed upper frequencies. There\u2019s an EQ in the Sonos app, but it\u2019s limited to just bass and treble. There\u2019s no way to back off the shouty upper mids, but I found that boosting the bass by a couple ticks gave me the low-end response I was looking for without needing to pump the volume up, and doing so gives more depth to the strings during the opening theme of Rachmaninoff\u2019s second piano concerto.<\/p>\n

As with other Sonos speakers, you can use the Sonos app to connect two Plays into a stereo pair, which allows you to have a much wider soundstage and stereo separation. This is only available on Wi-Fi, though. Even if you take both with you, they won\u2019t maintain that stereo connection on Bluetooth. If you do take only one, the Play will act as a Bluetooth speaker while away from Wi-Fi and reconnect as a part of the stereo pair when returned and the Bluetooth connection is turned off. If you want to use one Play on its own around the house, turning off the other one will temporarily disable the stereo pair so you aren\u2019t carrying around just the left or right channel.<\/p>\n

The stereo pairing is a nice feature, but if I were going to make a stereo pair with Sonos speakers, I\u2019d do it with an Era 100 and the new Era 100 SL. They sound better, they\u2019re cheaper, and since they need to be plugged in, you know they\u2019re staying put.<\/p>\n

The Play shines as a portable speaker. It weighs 2.87 pounds (less than half the 6.6 pounds of the Move 2), has a built-in durable rubber carrying loop, and is IP67 rated to keep it dust-tight and protected from being dunked in water. Sonos claims the battery lasts up to 24 hours, which is consistent with my testing, and in the future when it no longer holds a charge, you can replace it yourself using Sonos\u2019 battery replacement kit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

On the back is a mic switch that disables the built-in microphone, as well as a carrying loop, Bluetooth button, USB-C, and power button.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a><\/p>\n

Multiple Play speakers can be grouped together over Bluetooth.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re out and no longer on Wi-Fi, you can connect to the Play via Bluetooth. And you can group multiple Play or Move 2 speakers using a proprietary speaker-to-speaker grouping technology with no audible lag (it\u2019s like party modes on other portable speakers). The pairing process is quick, and the added speakers have an impressive range. I was able to carry a second Play speaker around 200 feet away before losing the connection. This isn\u2019t the same as the stereo pairing you can do on Wi-Fi. In this mode, each speaker is getting the same signal, not split between left and right channels. And since you\u2019re on Bluetooth and not Wi-Fi, you can\u2019t share what\u2019s playing on the rest of your Sonos system.<\/p>\n

When you pick up the Play, it\u2019s best to get into the habit of grabbing for the loop instead of the speaker body. Its size and shape are great for grabbing it by its side, but on a few occasions when I did that, one of my fingers would accidentally press either the Bluetooth button or the power button, stopping my music playback.<\/p>\n

In the app you can choose between Sonos Voice Control or Alexa (still no Google Assistant). The Sonos voice assistant can complete Sonos system tasks well \u2014 stopping and starting music, changing volume, moving your music to other speakers \u2014 but can have trouble with more specific requests, such as searching for songs.<\/p>\n

My experience with the Sonos Play speakers was smooth, except for an issue I ran into with one of my two review samples, which stopped working or charging after a short while. Sonos was quick to send out a replacement, and this would be covered by the one-year warranty, or the 30-day return policy.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sonos Play gets up to 24 hours of playtime on a single charge.<\/p>\n

The Sonos Play speaker is a highly capable portable Bluetooth speaker with great, albeit mid- and high-end focused, sound that\u2019s rugged and can easily expand with other Sonos speakers. If you\u2019re just looking for a portable Bluetooth speaker, though, there are lots of less expensive options with similar performance, like the Bose SoundLink Plus<\/a>, JBL Charge 6, or Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 \u2014 although all of them have flaws in their sound profiles (for instance, the Bose can get a little distorted at higher volumes, and the Megaboom doesn\u2019t get too loud).<\/p>\n

But the Play isn\u2019t just a portable Bluetooth speaker, it\u2019s a way to build \u2014 or start \u2014 a Sonos home system. If you want to be able to easily, and temporarily, bring your Sonos system into a room that doesn\u2019t have a speaker \u2014 for a relaxation playlist while taking a bath, perhaps \u2014 the Play is the best way to do that. The Move 2 has better sound, but is much bulkier, less water-resistant, and $100 more expensive; the Roam 2 is $160 cheaper, and a lot smaller, but with a corresponding decrease in sound quality and volume.<\/p>\n

An Era 100 \u2014 or a pair, with an Era 100 SL \u2014 is still a better choice for a stationary setup. It\u2019s cheaper and it sounds better. But if you were thinking of buying something like the Era 100, and you also want a speaker you can carry around, the Play is a great choice for both existing Sonos users looking to expand or someone that\u2019s been waiting to try out the system. It\u2019s the most flexible Sonos speaker, with the fewest compromises yet.<\/p>\n

Photography by John Higgins \/ The Verge<\/p>\n

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