Sonos Move Portable Speaker

 

With our kitchen remodel complete we got rid of our 1st generation Echo Show and replaced it with an Echo Show 15.  I knew from reviews I read that the speakers on the Echo Show 15 were not great for music.  The speakers on the 1st Gen actually sounded a bit better than the Show 15 and that was my wife's primary device for listening to music while working in the kitchen.  So this gave me the perfect opportunity to upgrade our kitchen speaker.  I considered getting another Sonos One speaker but a little more power and the ability to move the speaker around my home was really appealing.  

The Sonos Move falls between the One and the Five as far as sound quality goes.  But the Move has a couple advantages:

• Battery Powered / Rechargeable
• Wifi and Bluetooth
• Alexa and Sonos Voice Control
• Indoor / Outdoor (IP56)
• Durable

I bought the Move for primary use in the the kitchen as I expect that is where it will live 90% of the time.  But the option to bring it with me in another room or outside where I am working is a nice option.  Sonos claims 11 hour battery life, I have not had a chance to test this out yet.  It does come with a charging cradle but you can also charge it using a USB-C charger. 

The wifi range on the Move seems pretty good, I have an acre and a half yard with a firepit quite a ways away from the house and the Move works fine there which is the furthest away I would probably be using it.  I did do some range testing walking the perimeter of my yard and I did have one drop out at the far end of my yard but the speaker reconnected quickly when I got back in range.

This speaker is a tank, it weighs about 6.5 pounds, it does have a carrying handle built into the back of the speaker but you are going to get a workout if you are carrying it any significant distance.  I like the rubberized base which will protect it from drops, although I have no plans to test the drop rating of a $400 speaker.  It also has a IP56 moisture rating so getting caught in a rainstorm isn't going to ruin the speaker.

I have owned cheaper BlueTooth speakers which is a nice option when on vacation.  Switching to Bluetooth mode is as easy as pressing the Bluetooth button on the back of the speaker and then connecting your device.  You switch back to wifi mode by pressing the Bluetooth button again.

The Move come in black and white, I opted for the white version to blend in a bit more with my white/grey kitchen.  Setup was very easy as it is with all Sonos products, I was up and running within a couple minutes.  Sound quality is excellent, it fills my kitchen up nicely with sound and the larger speaker has plenty of bass.  

Overall I am pretty happy with my Move, I have only been using it for a month though so I will update this post as I put it through its paces over the next few months.