Sonos is famous for its wireless multi-room speakers but it can be hard to know which one is best for you. We explain everything you need to know about Sonos and review the speakers to help you choose the best one for your needs.
Founded back in 2002 in California, Sonos has been setting the bar and leading the way in the multi-room speaker market for a long time. Designed to be easy to use, stylish and sound great, there’s little not to like about the Sonos range of speakers (and headphones might be on the way, too).
In 2020, Sonos introduced a range of new speakers including the Sonos Arc soundbar with Dolby Atmos. There’s also a new S2 app to use them with, but it comes with compatibility issues with older devices.
Sonos has also been exploring the Bluetooth route with the Move and much smaller Roam. These give you the benefit of the usual multi-room experience but can also be taken out into the garden or beyond.
Note that the prices of some speakers were increased in September 2021 by as much as £100/US$100 with little reason given.
Scroll beyond the chart for our complete Sonos buying guide explaining how the system works and how to choose the right speakers.
Best Sonos Speakers 2022
Sonos One – The all-rounder
- Pros
- Great sound
- Smart features
- Timeless design
- Cons
The Sonos One is a top-quality smart speaker, essentially a One SL with Alexa and Google Assistant voice-control built-in. We’d have liked some Sonos-related voice commands that most people will expect.
It’s more expensive than many other smart speakers but it’s worth the extra – compared to non-Sonos rivals it offers much better build quality and sound.
As an all-rounder it’s a great place to start to begin building your Sonos system.
Read our full Sonos One review
Sonos Roam – The truely portable speaker
- Pros
- Highly portable
- Bluetooth & WiFi
- Astonishing sound
- Smart features
- Cons
- Limited battery life
- Fairly expensive
- Bluetooth limited to music
Following up from the Move, Sonos has gone truly portable with the aptly named Roam.
While its big brother can technically go anywhere, its size and weight make it quite tricky and more suitable for taking out into the garden. The Roam is 1/6th of the size and just 430g (vs 3kg).
It’s also IP67 so more durable, the clever design works in upright or landscape orientations and there’s even wireless charging.
It doesn’t hit full marks as the battery life is short of similar rivals and Bluetooth is limited to streaming. However, the Roam is designed to be part of a Sonos system with features like Sound Swap.
Even if you don’t have any Sonos speakers yet, you could arguably just use Roams around the house for a basic multi-room setup.
Read our full Sonos Roam review
Sonos Move – The one for indoors and out
- Pros
- Portable & durable design
- Big sound
- Bluetooth connectivity
- Cons
- Heavy
- Limited battery life
The Move now has a smaller and more portable brother in the Roam that’s a lot cheaper so it’s understandable to find that the more attractive buy if you need a Sonos with Bluetooth.
However, the Move remains a solid purchase if you don’t need it to go further than the garden and want more power. This is still the far better option for things like garden parties.
It also has other advantages over the Roam such as a replaceable battery and the charging base is included in the box. The battery life is also one hour longer at 11 hours.
Read our full Sonos Move review
Sonos One SL – The basic speaker
- Pros
- Affordable
- Great sound
- Versatile
- Cons
Not including the Ikea speakers, the One SL is the cheapest in the range and replaces the older Play:1 which was a staple speaker.
Not a huge amount has changed, but it didn’t really need to. This is effectively the regular One without the microphones for voice control via smart assistants. So you get things like touch controls and AirPlay 2.
The One SL is the one to go for if you don’t want or need Alexa or Google Assistant. For example, making a stereo pair with the One or using them as rear surrounds with one of the home theatre speakers.
Read our full Sonos One SL review
Sonos Beam – The compact, affordable soundbar
- Pros
- Compact design
- Great sound
- Premium features
- Cons
For most people, the Beam will be the easy choice when comparing the other Sonos soundbars.
It’s more affordable, more compact and yet still sounds excellent. Plus it has features not found on its bigger brothers like HDMI ARC. Only those with a much larger room and budget really need to opt for the Playbar or Playbase.
Since Alexa is built-in, the Beam is also a smart speaker and a great choice if you’re looking for one to sit in the living room.
Read our full Sonos Beam review
Ikea Sonos Symfonisk Speaker Lamp 2 – The hybrid device
- Pros
- Sonos quality audio
- 360-degree sound
- Takes standard E26/27 bulbs
- Cons
- No microphones
- Unusual design
- Lamp doesn’t preserve power state
This speaker and lamp in one hybrid design is now in its second generation, available in a range of colour combinations as well as glass or textile shades.
Provided you like the aesthetic – which we think is improved – you get Sonos quality sound that’s 360 degrees in a neat and affordable solution. It’s a great option for spots around the home that lack space.
You can use a wide range of lightbulbs in the lamp, too. It’s just a shame that there are no mics for digital assistant use and when it loses power, won’t come back on automatically.
Read our full Ikea Sonos Symfonisk Speaker Lamp 2 review
Sonos Arc – The premium soundbar
- Pros
- Immersive sound
- eARC HDMI
- Dolby Atmos
- Smart features
- Cons
- Expensive
- No remote
- No HDMI passthrough
It took a while but Sonos has replaced its original soundbar with the fantastic Arc.
Beyond all the usual features you get from Sonos devices like multi-room, the Arc is all about spacial sound thanks to drivers pointing in all directions and support for Dolby Atmos.
It’s easily one of the best sounding soundbars we’ve ever tested and it looks rather nice too.
It also benefits from eARC HDMI, although the problem here – apart from the Arc being expensive – is making sure your TV is compatible to get the most out of the soundbar. There’s also no HDMI pass-though which makes it tricky for those with limited ports.
Read our full Sonos Arc review
Ikea Sonos Symfonisk Bookshelf – The cheap bookshelf speaker
- Pros
- Cheap
- Compact & versatile design
- Sonos ecosystem support
- Cons
- Limited bass
- Basic control
Sonos hasn’t managed to perfectly recreate its classic sound in the £99$99 Symfonisk, but it’s done a decent job if you don’t mind compromising a little on the bass.
Throw in the fact that you can wall-mount it to double as a bookshelf or hang it from an Ikea kitchen rack, and it’s a handy little speaker for smaller homes.
These are a budget-friendly way to get into the app – though be warned, before long you’ll be eyeing up the pricier models to add on.
The bookshelf will be just as appealing to Sonos regulars looking either for a friendly way to bring that Sonos sound into the kitchen, or for a cheaper way to upgrade to surround sound.
Read our full Ikea Sonos Symfonisk Bookshelf Speaker review
Sonos Playbase – The one for your TV to sit on
- Pros
- Great sound
- Smart & robust design
- Cons
- Expensive
- No HDMI
- No remote
The Playbase is expensive and you can certainly get a soundbar for a lot less if this is a problem. It’s no longer part of the official range but is still on sale while retailers have remaining stock.
Like with most Sonos products, you get you what pay for so the Playbase offers superior sound quality, design and all the additional features that Sonos has.
This really comes down to design and whether you want to sit your TV on top of the speaker. Otherwise, the Arc is a lot better if you can afford the difference.
Read our full Sonos Playbase review
Ikea Sonos Symfonisk Picture Frame – The one hidden behind artwork
- Pros
- Strong sound
- Sonos ecosystem support
- Discreet design
- Cons
- Limited artwork choice
- No microphone
- Srews/wall plugs not supplied
The latest collaboration from Sonos and Ikea is another successful one, albeit with a few caveats that we hope are addressed going forward.
Hiding a speaker inside a picture frame is a neat idea, especially if you don’t like the idea of a traditional design or simply want to wall-mount. It could make a nice addition to an AirBnB, for example. However, mounting screws/plugs aren’t supplied – just a bracket – and the choice of artwork is limited.
If you do like the look and don’t mind a bit of DIY then the Symfonisk Picture Frame makes for an elegant and good-sounding solution at an affordable price.
Read our full Ikea Sonos Symfonisk Picture Frame Speaker review
What is Sonos?
In the company’s own words: “Sonos is the smart speaker system that streams all your favourite music to any room, or every room. Control your music with one simple app, and fill your home with pure, immersive sound.”
That’s a pretty accurate summary and Sonos is easily one of the easiest wireless speaker systems for consumers to get to grips with and set up. Watch the video at the top of the page for a nice visual overview.
Sonos speakers simply connect to the internet and each other via your home Wi-Fi network and you control them with the Sonos app which is available for iOS, Android, Mac and Windows (download it via here). The speakers also have buttons for basic functions. The Sonos Controller app has replaced the physical controller which used to be the traditional method.
There was a time when you needed the Sonos Bridge to connect the speakers together but those days are gone – although the Sonos Boost is available if you have poor Wi-Fi in your home. You just need to connect one to your router to create a Sonos Mesh Network. A handy feature is that the Ethernet ports on the back of Sonos speakers can be used to provided connectivity to other devices, like laptops.
Price and where to buy
Sonos has previously been out of many consumers’ budgets but the Sonos Roam is a reasonable £159/$169 – while the Ikea Symfonisk bookshelf is even cheaper at £99/$99.
Prices then go up to £799/$799 for the full-on home theatre speakers.
There are many places to buy Sonos speakers including the firm’s official shop but you can also buy Sonos speakers from Amazon, John Lewis, Richer Sounds and Currys.
There are exceptions to that, however: the company partnered with Ikea to make a range of Symfonisk speakers – one in a bookshelf design, one designed to double as a lamp and one that is disguised as artwork. They are available exclusively through Ikea – even the Sonos store doesn’t stock them.
The original Symfonisk lamp has now been discontinued and a new model is replacing it. We’ll add this to the list as soon as we’ve tested it out.
If you can’t afford the Sonos speakers you want, then the new Flex subscription service might be the answer. Sonos has also launched an Upgrade Program so you can get up to 30% off if you own an old device. Trade-in eligible speakers here.
How does Sonos work?
One of the great things about Sonos is you can simply start with one speaker and add more as and when you like (or can afford more). You can have as few or as many as you like. Adding a new speaker into the system takes a matter of seconds via the app.
Each speaker is assigned a zone, or room, and you can play different music in each zone from a number of different sources (see below) or you can group them up so the same tunes are playing throughout the house – this is great for parties.
It’s easy to move speakers around and there are many different sizes and prices to suit different needs (see below).
Features include the ability to create a stereo pair if you get two identical speakers, using any Sonos speakers as an alarm (with your choice of music or radio station to wake up to) and plugging in devices directly with the line-in port on the back.
One of the latest features is Trueplay which uses the microphone on your iPhone or iPad to tune the Sonos speaker based on various factors like the size and shape or your room and even where the speaker is placed within it. This doesn’t work with Android devices though, as there’s too much variation in microphone hardware.
In 2018, Sonos updated the system with AirPlay 2. That means you can…