Sonos Move 2 – heavy, but impressive
21/9/2023
Translation: Veronica Bielawski
The Sonos Move 2 has a better battery than its predecessor and native stereo support. Although I’m excited, I do wonder: will the sound quality outweigh the speaker’s, well, weight?
Picking up the box for the first time, I’m hit by its weight. No wonder – the Move 2 weighs almost three kilos according to my scale. And that’s without the charging dock and power supply. Don’t let the name «Move» fool you. If you ask me, it’s a reference to the dance moves you’ll be pulling rather than the speaker’s portability. It’s too heavy and bulky for me to carry around.
The Move 2 is low-key, but pretty
The speaker measures 24 × 16 × 13 centimetres (length/width/depth). If you don’t want to limit yourself to filling your home with sound, but want to groove under the free sky, I see two options:
one, you limit yourself to your garden. Or two, you pluck up some courage in addition to packing serious muscle and schlep the Move 2 to your destination. The upside? This high-end speaker is suitable for outdoor use, protected against dust and strong jets of water according to IP56. In other words, it’ll survive any surprise downpours. And it’s built accordingly. Apart from a USB-C port on the back, the Move 2 lacks any physical interfaces. There are no active, open-design drivers, like those often found in JBL speakers.
The upper two thirds of the front and sides are covered in a fine wire mesh. The lower third of the speaker is covered in a kind of rubber. On the top, you’ll find the control panel, which relies entirely on touch; there are no physical buttons. I especially like the small, straight groove that you can move your finger along to adjust the volume.
Source: Florian Bodoky
On the back, there’s an indentation you can use to lift and carry around the speaker. That’s also where the power and pairing button is located, along with the microphone toggle switch. The buttons and switch are recessed and therefore rainproof. The Move 2 is supposed to be weather-resistant in terms of temperature as well, surviving -10° Celcius to +55° Celcius.
Sonos includes a circular dock for stationary use. It comes in the same colour and shape as the speaker, so you hardly notice it. This aligns with my expectations of a more expensive speaker. To charge the Move 2, you place it on the dock, which supplies it with power via two contacts.
Setup: you’ll need – and want – the app
Getting the Move up and running is an absolute breeze. Important: you’ll need the Sonos app and a corresponding account. There’s no option to use the speaker without it. But in all fairness, the Sonos Move 2 does only unfold its full spectrum of capabilities with the app. Unlike with other manufacturers, the app isn’t some cheapo wannabe software.
What I’m especially taken with is the variety of playback sources. The Move 2 supports Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer, TuneIn, Sonos Radio, Soundcloud, Mixcloud, Audible and more. The list goes on and on. You can even connect physical players, such as a laptop or turntable, via the USB-C port.
Source: Florian Bodoky
I’m chuffed! Yes, I’m one of those people who own vinyl records while also hoarding a few dozen gigabytes of sound on their NAS. The USB-C port can also be used to charge the speaker or other devices (USB-PD, 45 watts).
Connect your streaming service, and you can then either control it normally in its app or via voice control. For voice control, you can choose between the proprietary Sonos Voice Control or Amazon Alexa. So, to simply play music, you don’t need to go through the Sonos app unless you want to listen to DAB+ radio. In it, you can search and change channels. Even local radio stations like Aarau’s «Kanal K» are available. To find them, open the app, tap on the magnifying glass at the bottom of the screen, and search for your desired station under Stations.
Sound
Without a doubt, the big innovation offered by the Move 2 is stereo support. The predecessor didn’t offer this. Inside the speaker are two tweeters and a woofer. In addition, Sonos includes its own D-class amplifier for all three drivers. Together with Trueplay, this is supposed to draw you right into the middle of the sound.
Source: Florian Bodoky
I test this promise with three entirely different pieces of music. Once via WLAN in lossless format, and then via Bluetooth at 320 kbit/s. The latter corresponds to Spotify’s «Very High» quality setting. To examine the promised effect of Trueplay, I also test the speaker outside in my garden as well as indoors. The set list:
- A classical, purely instrumental piece of music
- A song with the focus on a human voice
- Something electronic with a heavy bass
Track 1: Liebestraum – Ferenc Liszt
This piano concerto in A flat major starts off stormy, with low and high notes alternating erratically. The Move 2 follows along nicely and reproduces the width with good detail and balance. It never sounds washed out, but always crisp and clean. Liszt’s composition isn’t the most complex piece in the world, but the abrupt changes in volume and pitch are challenging.
Track 2: Talk – Coldplay
Talk by Coldplay is peppered with instruments, including electronic samples. In addition, there’s a proper pinch of autotune. The Move 2 nevertheless succeeds in distilling Chris Martin’s voice without it being too loud or overemphasising the sibilants. With Martin’s falsetto, the latter effect is common on other speakers and headphones. The Move 2 wins me over here as well. The only thing is that the bass is somewhat dominant albeit still in the range of what’s bearable.
Track 3: Remmidemmi (Yippie Yippie Yeah) – Deichkind
The third track is also marked by the very much present but not over-the-top lows. The bass, which I expect to feel in my core after Coldplay, also proves more subtle than anticipated. You can adjust it to an extent, but if you’re on the hunt for truly hardcore bass, the Move 2 isn’t for you. Its sound signature is too balanced for that, which doesn’t detract from the speaker’s quality.
Trueplay
I tested The Move 2 both with and without Trueplay. Whether it made a difference depended very much on the room the speaker was in. As a rule of thumb, it’s worth experimenting with Trueplay if the room is crammed or empty with an echo. In my opinion, Trueplay has the speaker adapt well to such conditions. Outside in the garden, however, I could hardly make out any difference in the sound.
Big weakness eliminated
The Achilles’ heel of the predecessor was the battery life. Sonos has noticeably improved it in the Move 2, where it should now last 24 hours. The predecessor only offered 11 hours. I measured the playback time – in part with white noise, as I would never have reached 24 hours of pure listening time in my test period. The specification is accurate. The speaker showed signs of weakness after 23 hours and 14 minutes. Should the battery eventually die or decrease significantly in terms of runtime, you can have it replaced by the manufacturer.
The complete package – if it’s what you’re looking for
The Sonos Move 2 is a great, somewhat pricey speaker with many advantages. The sound is suitable for a wide range of musical genres, the battery lasts a long time, and the finish is great. A disadvantage is its hefty weight. Overall, I wonder exactly which hole it fills within the Sonos portfolio. If you’re simply looking for a Bluetooth speaker to carry around that sounds decent, the Sonos Roam is a more portable and affordable option. If you prefer a classic multi-room speaker, you can get the Era 300 for a similar price. Or you can opt for the Era 100 – which you can even get in a double pack for the same price. Mind you, they need a constant energy supply.
You can also find a similar type of device from other manufacturers, for example the Citation ONE DUO MKIII from Haman Kadon. If you’re looking for a high-quality speaker with a solid battery that can hold its own outdoors – and you don’t mind the size and weight – then you’ll enjoy the Move 2.
Header image: Florian Bodoky
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
