Sonos Move 2 portable speaker review

Numerous speaker brands compete for the press release spotlight several times every year, but Sonos isn’t one of them. Known for its premium line of speakers, Sonos likes to launch products that can last multiple years, which is why you usually have to wait a while for a successor. The first-gen Sonos Move is a good example as it launched back in 2019 as the company’s first ever “portable” speaker and it had a hefty $399 USD price tag to boot. Paying a heavy price for a rather heavy speaker wasn’t convincing enough for some buyers despite its impressive audio quality. Now the Sonos Move 2 is here and it’s still heavy and commanding an even higher $449US/$559CAD price. Did Sonos make the right move? In this review I’ll test out the new Sonos Move 2, see what’s new and different, how it sounds, and if overall I think it’s a good speaker for you.

What is Sonos Move 2?
The Sonos Move 2 is a pretty large but portable speaker offering both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Most of the speakers in the Sonos lineup only support Wi-Fi making the Move 2 one of the few options to consider if you really need to use it away from Wi-Fi.
Just keep the 6.61-pound weight in mind because this is likely a speaker you may only want to move around in the house or out to the yard which could be a good thing if you can’t put a Sonos Era 100 or 300 in every room. Under its dust and water-resistant housing lies some sophisticated speaker tech. It even has Amazon Alexa and/or Google Assistant functionality baked in.
The speaker is IP56 rated against water and dirt getting inside; which is generally pretty reliable (IP56 means protection from harmful deposits of dust and protection from heavy seas or strong jets of water from all directions).
Just like the original Move, there are touch controls on the top, a good sized inset handle at the back, and the Move 2 is drop-resistant.
What has improved over Sonos Move Gen 1?
Although the Sonos Move 2 looks similar to its predecessor, the company really took its time making quite a few improvements and changes.
Stereo playback
Longer battery life (twice as long)
Bluetooth 5.0
Line-in
Powerbank support
Smarter touch controls
Higher price
For starters, Sonos Move 2 supports stereo playback and even with its tall profile, I noticed the stereo separation and extra audio detail when playing back music.
The Move 2 also comes with larger battery along with some power efficiency improvements allowing the speaker to continuously play back audio all day (as in 24 hours). That is double the battery life of the older model (just 11 hours of battery on original Move) and it really opens a use case for using the speaker outdoors. In fact, the Sonos Move 2 sounds really good as an indoor or outdoor speaker.
Bluetooth 5.0 finally hits the Sonos Move 2 which gives the speaker the ability to stream Bluetooth audio to other Sonos Bluetooth speakers like the Sonos Era 100 and 300. If you decide to get a pair of Sonos Move 2 speakers, you may also pair them to form a set-up with real stereo separation.
The USB-C port found on the back of the Sonos Move 2 charging base remains the lone option for a physical connection, but it comes with some extra improvements. The port supports the $19 USD Sonos Line-In Adapter allowing older devices such as turntables to plug into the speaker. It might not sound like a huge feature but that single physical connection serves as an entry point to the entire Sonos speaker system thanks to the Wi-Fi connectivity. If you have the Sonos Combo Adapter, you can connect the speaker to your router via Ethernet cable which is good if you plan on playing back lossless music.
The USB-C port can also now charge other devices effectively making the Sonos Move 2 a pretty massive powerbank.
The touch controls on the Move 2 have also been improved (slightly) with a grooved volume slider now resting across the top of the speaker.
What’s in the Box?
There’s only two things in the box: The Sonos Move 2 speaker is your main component and it comes with a narrow, ring-shaped charging base and a 6-foot USB-C to C cable. The inclusion of a 45-watt power adapter with power delivery support is a nice bonus. The rear of the speaker features a power button, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi toggle switch and Bluetooth pairing button. You can find the playback controls on top.

[frankflores]

I didn’t have any problem installing the move 2 maybe 5 minutes on the era 300 a little longer maybe 10 minutes

[weekendwarrior]

It’s so unfortunate that you have had issues setting up Sonos speakers. I have a Sonos Five and it took all of 5 minutes.

[WarChortle]

That's disappointing their app support isn't good anymore. I've set up a Sonos for a friend and it was very easy as well as we have a Sonos Arc.

[oobenoob]

I love sonos I have so many speakers and soundbars.

Hi Erin, your reviews are always very helpful and informative, and in this case esp so as would-be buyers of this device can weigh the frustrating setup against the sound quality once it is ready to go. (Nice to know in advance what you are getting into!)...RogerC 11/6/23

[afpitbull]

Great stuff, Erin. I have the first edition. This one is on my wish list.