Back in 2012 when we heard there was a new product from Sonos in the offing, we wouldn’t have guessed a wireless subwoofer.
The addition of a sub to the wireless multi-room specialist’s range showed the company cared about sound, not least home cinema sound, and perhaps recognised the slight weakness of its small-but-effective Play:3 and Play:5 systems.
Design and build
The simply named Sub is heavy at 16kg, and fairly large. The novel design allows it to stand upright or laid flat.
Connections are minimal. There’s a power supply, an ethernet input should you prefer to make a wired connection, and that’s your lot.
The Sub will work wirelessly with any Sonos speaker, Sonos Amp, or Connect:Amp, so you can add it to a music system or one aimed more at home theatre.
A press of the button on the front connects it to your existing Sonos network. And set-up is suitably Sonos-simple.
Performance
We connect the Sonos Sub to a pair of Play:3 speakers working in stereo, and we’re impressed.
A similar sonic character ensures the Sub integrates well with the Play:3s, and the extra weight, power and scale is obvious.
Play Swindle’s Air Miles and the bassline is controlled nicely, albeit a little on the fat side. Flick the Sub on and off, and the differences in dynamics are apparent.
Verdict
We like the Sonos Sub. It’s easy to get up and running, sounds good and improves your system.
It’s expensive compared with standard subwoofers, but then it’s wireless and built specifically for the Sonos system – itself not a cheap proposition.
Ultimately the Sonos Sub simply sets out to add bass to a system probably built around the Play:3 or Play:5. And it does a very decent job of it.
MORE:
Sonos: everything you need to know
