Where do I use each Sonos Product? A Simple Guide:

Sonos offers a range of audio products designed for various uses throughout your home; including home entertainment, music streaming, and voice-controlled smart home setups. 

Not sure which speaker you should use for a certain room? Here’s a breakdown of the current line of Sonos products and their ideal purposes:

 

Sonos Era 100 

The Era 100 is one of Sonos' most popular products at the moment due to its versatility and simplicity. This milk-carton sized speaker will work wonderfully in the majority of environments - most ideally a kitchen, bedroom or small living space. The Era 100 is also one of a handful of Sonos products with built-in voice control technology - so is an excellent addition to an active environment where you'd prefer to manage your music playback hands-free!

RRP £249

 

Sonos Era 300

Much like its baby brother, the Era 300 is a versatile, voice-controlled active speaker but with some sonic upgrades. This powerful unit boasts double the amount of drivers present in the Era 100, meaning it can fill bigger environments. These additional drivers are also designed to to accomodate spatial audio and Dolby Atmos - so can also perform excellently as surround speakers.

RRP £449

To sum up - the main difference between these two is the Era 100 has less power and spatial capability and is better suited for casual listening - while the Era 300 produces a bigger sound and can faciliate larger rooms and function as surround speakers more effectively. 

 

 

Five

The Five is Sonos' largest standalone active speaker to date. This speaker is closer to true Hi-Fi than anything else Sonos is manufacturing at the moment - and is recommended for people who are very active listeners. It has an aux input and a built-in amplifier, so can act as the remainder of a turntable/CD system provided the incoming signal is at line level. This is a very powerful speaker and is reccomended for the largest rooms in a home. It can also be positioned vertically or horizontally depending on what you prefer the sound and look of! 

RRP £549

 

Move 2

The Move 2 certainly brings new meaning to the word "portable". This speaker is chunky and robustly-built - but has an impressive 24 hours of battery life and so can perform outside of your home. While it is not necessarily handbag-portable it more than compensates for it with its sublime sound quality and powerful output. In addition, the Move 2 also has a USB input in which an external source can be utilised, or it can be used to charge your phone! This speaker also meets IP56 standards so is very weather resistant. To conclude it's functionality, it also has the aforementioned voice control and a wireless charging base to further extend the 24-hour battery life.

RRP £449

 

Roam 2

Think of the Roam 2 like the child of the Move 2. This (actually) portable speaker is designed for on-the-go casual listening and can fit into a large pocket or small handbag with no issue. Don't be fooled by it's petite build howver, this speaker still packs a punch despite its physical restrictions. Perfect for relaxed listening sessions at the beach, at a picnic or generally any social scenario where a little bit of music would make it all better. The Roam 2 possesses an IP56 build quality - meaning it is water resistent. It also has integrated voice-control and can function whilst powered into a socket for charging. 

RRP £179

A neat thing to note about the two portable Sonos speakers is that they can both function as standard Sonos Multiroom speakers when not travelling with you.

 

Ray

The Ray is the smallest of the three ranges of soundbar currently available by Sonos - perfect for bedrooms, offices and generally smaller rooms. This soundbar is ideal for people who are looking to venture into the Sonos ecosystem but without breaking the bank. The quality is not compromised however; when utilised in the right space this soundbar will perform very well - it boasts four Class-D amplifiers and an impressive frequency response. It is a fully front-firing soundbar so is designed to minimise interference when placed inside cabinets. One thing to note in terms of functionality however, is that there is no HDMI eARC input - only Optical; and it cannot be integrated into an external Dolby Atmos setup - the Ray is designed to work alone. 

RRP £279

 

Beam 2

The Beam is essentially the premium version of the Ray. The two are very close in size and have similar goals - but the Beam's main physical difference lies in its more spatial design. The drive units curve round to the sides slightly, allowing for a wider dispersion pattern and thus more immersion for the listener. It possesses an extra amplifier as well as an extra midwoofer and the inclusion of a centre channel.Unlike its younger sibling, this soundbar has built-in voice control and is Dolby Atmos compatible. The Beam also possesses an HDMI eARC input.

RRP £449

 

Arc Ultra

Sonos' top-of-the-range soundbar was released just earlier this year and possesses quite a large price jump - but this is certainly justified by its performance. It possesses a whopping 11 amplifiers and up-firing drivers; certain to completely fill any room it sings in. The Arc Ultra also possesses significantly better bass response than it's two inferiors and has full Atmos integration including height channels. This soundbar is most suitable for large living rooms and like the Beam, it can be fully integrated with an accompanying Sonos Surround System. While certainly not cheap, the Arc Ultra is arguably one of the best soundbars for it's price and holds amazing value. 

RRP £999

 

Any of the Sonos soundbars can be utilised as a standalone Sonos speaker, so, if you don't have the television on, but want your music playing all throughout your house - the soundbars can act as normal multi-room speakers!

 

Sub Mini

The Sub mini is a neat, compact subwoofer designed to enhance small Sonos setups. It wirelessly pairs with any Sonos speaker of your choice (minus the Move and Roam) and deepens the frequency range - immersing the listening experience. The Sub mini is downwards-porting thus allowing for placement in a corner or against a wall without distortion.

RRP £429

 

Sub (Gen 4)

The 4th Generation of the best-selling Sub has essentailly the same function as the Sub Mini, but elevates it to a new level. An ideal pairing for premium products such as the Arc Ultra, the Sub reaches deeper frequencies and posesses optimal processing power - delivering a truly impactful and clean bass performance. More suitable for larger rooms. 

RRP £799

 

Amp

Stepping away from the active Sonos components, the Amp is designed to honour the Sonos ecosystem through passive speakers. This includes the Sonos Outdoor speaker, the Sonos In-Wall speakers and the Sonos ceiling speakers. The amp can drive up to four loudspeakers (provided they have 8 ohm impedance), making it an excellent choice for the heart of a multi-room system. Even non-Sonos loyalists love this amplifier due to its extremely smart design and simplicity to use - not to mention the obvious built-in streaming capabilities. 

RRP £699

 

Port

The Port is a very handy piece of kit - used to bring any traditional amplifier and speaker system onboard with the Sonos Multi-room ecosystem. As an added bonus, the Port also has a line input which allows you to connect a traditional source component to the rest of your sonos system! On top of that, it can also function as a standalone streamer, with or without Sonos integration. 

RRP £399

 

For those wanting a TL;DR, here is a table summarising the main functionalities of the active Sonos products:

 

 

 

Stereo Pairing with another active speaker?

Inputs? (without adaptors)

Voice Controlled?

Portable/ can run without plug?

Bluetooth?

Needs external amplifier?

Tv size?

Sub compatible?

Atmos Compatible?

Era 100

Y

USB-C

Y

N

Y

N

N/A

Y

As a component

Era 300

Y

USB-C

Y

N

Y

N

N/A

Y

On its own

Five

Y

3.5mm AUX

N

N

N

N

N/A

Y

As a component

Move 2

Y

USB-C

Y

Y

Y

N

N/A

N

N

Roam 2

Y

N

Y

Y

Y

N

N/A

N

N

Ray

N

Optical, Ethernet

N

N

N

N

20”-50”

Y

N

Beam

N

HDMI eARC,

Ethernet

Y

N

N

N

20”-50”

Y

On its own

Arc Ultra

N

HDMI eARC,

Ethernet

Y

N

N

N

50”+

Y

On its own

Sub Mini

N

Ethernet

N

N

N/A

N

N/A

N/A

As a component

Sub (Gen 4)

N

Ethernet

N

N

N/A

N

N/A

N/A

As a component

Amp

N/A

RCA, Ethernet, HDMI

N

N

N

N/A

N/A

Y

As a component

Port

N/A

RCA, Ethernet

N

N

N

Y

N/A

N/A

N/A

Outdoor

N/A

N/A

N

N

N

Y

N/A

N/A

As a component

In-Wall

N/A

N/A

N

N

N

Y

N/A

N/A

As a component

Ceiling

N/A

N/A

N

N

N

Y

N/A

N/A

As a component

 

Sonos have certainly made a name for themselves in the smart home/home audio industry. You can't really go wrong with their products - there's something for everyone!

Here at Holburn Online we specialise in home audio brands such as Sonos, so if you have any questions dont hesitate to reach out.

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