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This is the comparison between two speakers of one brand i.e. Sonos, which is really well-known and popular. Sonos Move and Sonos Play 5 both are amazing speakers. The price gap is huge between both speakers. The shape and design of both speakers are totally different. As both are of the same brand sound quality does have some similarities. This detailed review comparison will make it easy for you to decide which is better and suitable for you.
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Sonos Move | Sonos Play 5 |
BUY NOW | BUY NOW |
PROS | PROS |
Wireless connection is reliable. The sound is open and loud. Great sound on indoors and outdoors. Great charging base. Effective Auto-true play. Great compatibility of Amazon Alexa ad Google Assistant. Integrates with other Sonos apps. IP56 weatherproof build. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth do have their support. Microphones work well. | Powerful and loud sound. Amazing sound quality. Attractive look and solid build quality. It gives a business look. Easy and simple setup. Excellent Dynamic range. Touch controls. Flexible design. The wireless mesh network is Impressive. TruePlay helps in certain environments. Compatible Airplay. |
CONS | CONS |
Pricey. aptX Bluetooth support is missing. Too heavy speakers. It cannot be used as rear cinema speakers. The handle is weak, cannot carry the speaker for long distances. Too big to travel with. Battery life is shorter. | Support of High-resolution audio missing. The bass is somewhat heavy. Design is simple. Expensive. The set-up of TruePlay is complicated. The single app approach can be a pain. Somewhat bulky. |
SPECIFICATIONS:
HEADER | SONOS MOVE | SONOS PLAY 5 |
Brand | Sonos | Sonos |
Model | MOVE1USBLK | PLAY:5 |
GENERAL | SONOS MOVE | SONOS PLAY 5 |
Manufacturer | Sonos | Sonos |
Design Features | matte finish | |
SPEAKER SYSYTEM | SONOS MOVE | SONOS PLAY 5 |
Amplification Type | active | active |
Crossover Channel Qty | 2-way | 2-way |
Frequency Response | 50-60 Hz | 50-60 Hz |
Audio Amplifier | integrated | integrated |
Connectivity Technology | Wireless | Wired, Wireless |
POWER DEVICE | SONOS MOVE | SONOS PLAY 5 |
Power Source | AC power adapter, battery | AC power adapter |
Controls | next track, play/pause, previous track, volume | |
NETWORK AND INTERNET MULTIMEDIA | SONOS MOVE | SONOS PLAY 5 |
Connectivity Interfaces | Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi | IEEE 802.11b/g, IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet) |
SPEAKER SYSTEM DETAILS | SONOS MOVE | SONOS PLAY 5 |
Speaker Type | Speaker | Speaker |
Speaker Channel Qty | 2 | |
Speaker Channel Type | mono | mono |
DRIVER DETAILS | SONOS MOVE | SONOS PLAY 5 |
Driver Type | mid/woofer driver, tweeter driver | mid/woofer driver, tweeter driver |
Driver Qty | 1 | 3 |
CONNECTIONS | SONOS MOVE | SONOS PLAY 5 |
Type | Bluetooth Speaker | LAN, audio line-in |
Connector Type | Bluetooth and Wi-Fi | RJ-45, mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm |
DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT | SONOS MOVE | SONOS PLAY 5 |
Width | 4.9 in | 14.3 in |
Depth | 9.4 in | 6.1 in |
Height | 6.2 in | 8 in |
Weight | 6.59 lbs | 14.02 lbs |
FEATURES | SONOS MOVE | SONOS PLAY 5 |
Features | The durable, battery-powered smart speaker for outdoor and indoor listening Easy to use – Setup takes minutes, and control is simple with the Sonos app, Bluetooth, AirPlay 2, and your voice Wi-Fi and Bluetooth – Stream over Wi-Fi and connect Move to the rest of your Sonos system at home. Switch to Bluetooth when you’re away and offline Voice control – Amazon Alexa is built right in so in Wi-Fi you can play music, check news, set alarms, get your questions answered, and more, completely hands free Battery that lasts – Enjoy up to 11 hours of continuous play time and deep, powerful sound. Easily recharge Move on the included base, or a compatible USB-C charger Weather resistant – With an IP56 rating, Move stands up to humidity, rain, snow, dust, salt spray, UV rays, and extreme heat and cold Ultra-durable – Don’t worry about accidental drops or bumps. Move’s components are protected by a hard-wearing, shock-resistant case Brilliant sound – Enjoy surprisingly rich bass, a wide soundstage, and automatic Trueplay tuning, which continually adapts the sound for where you are and what you’re listening to | Six smartly synchronized drivers serves the purest, deepest, most vibrant sound True play tuning serves sound that’s true to the music and right for the room Music that’s pure, ferocious, tasty and true Three midwoofers ensure faithful playback of vocal frequencies, in addition to rich bass without distortion, even at high volumes. Three tweeters, including one centre tweeter and two precisely-angled side tweeters, create a crisp high-frequency response. Phased array creates a wide stereo soundstage that directs sound to the left, right, and centre. Adjustable EQ settings in the app, including bass, treble, and loudness. |
Detail Review:
INTRODUCTION:
Sonos Move
The Sonos move is an ideal speaker that works powered on your counter. It works as you move room to room, it goes with you out on the porch or patio, and, it goes further as you go on vacation or to the beach. It works in the rain, works inside, pretty much works wherever you need it to work. It’s got smart assistance built-in in the form of Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, it doesn’t include Siri support in there but since it does work with airplay – you can automate it and include it in smart home kit scenes. It works with Bluetooth as you travel outside your home and lose track of Wi-Fi and it just really overall is an amazing speaker.
Sonos Play 5
Sonos Play 5 is for basic good space like for those who want to listen to music and has a huge space that they want to fill, this speaker is perfect for that. It fills up the room very nicely, it gives great sound quality. You can store a ton of music onto the Sonos itself through the app and you’re also going to be able to use your music services or line-in features. The features of this speaker are amazing. You have access to the app that allows you to connect to music service, you have obvious its settings there you can search within the music service different things, songs, artists, albums, and, whatnot.
DESIGN:
Sonos Move
The body is largely enveloped in a metal grille that covers the speaker. The top is adorned with a fire-filled microphone array, a small light, and, a series of controls that are familiar using any other Sonos product. A play/pause in the centre with volume up and volume down on either side. A small button in the middle can be used to mute the microphones if those aren’t your thing. Around the back we have three more buttons the Infinity Leyden pair button, the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth toggle, and, the power button. As far as actually getting power, well it mainly requires the dock there is an additional USB C port around the back which is great for charging on the go when we don’t have our dock with us.
Sonos Play 5
On the speaker they put little tabs there, right after you pull the licensing agreement sticker there’s a little tab there that makes it easier for you to unwrap it. The build quality of this speaker is solid. So, this is not gonna be an issue. The front meshing on the speaker is metal, you have a plastic body but a very tough one and the packaging itself was amazing. Then you have a very sleek design, the design itself is beautiful and great. The cool thing with this speaker is you have the little feet at the bottom and they’re basically protecting the speaker or the surface that you’re putting it on for scratching. You also have feet on the other side so that you can turn the speaker vertically and you can put it on the other way as well.
FEATURES:
Sonos Move
The Sonos move is a portable speaker but it’s much more than that it’s one that works just as well in your home as around your home and outside of your home. There is a lot to do with the Sonos. Inbox there is Sonos move speaker, it comes in a nice microfiber like a bag that can be useful but doesn’t really seem helpful because you can’t hold the speaker very well, speakers rather large and quite hefty so putting it into a bag makes it a little bit harder to carry around day to day, that was nice of them included one at all.
Sonos move operates like any other Center speaker. It works great in your house, connects over Wi-Fi, and many more. It’s also meant to be taken with you or out on the patio, in the yard by the pool, or, even on vacation. It does have a nice grip on the back they can easily allow it to be picked up right off the dock and carry with you. Again Sonos stressed how much time went into developing that perfect grip and honestly it does feel very good and grippy, allows us to take them move everywhere.
It’s super durable, drop-proof, and, even gives me left on the rain overnight and still be functioning the next morning. The Move was rather large and heavy which means we didn’t want to take it with us quite all the time which didn’t hesitate to have another smaller Bluetooth speaker around. For the most part, we loved relying on the move for both indoor and outdoor audio when not in use it drops down to a low-power standby mode and can be awakened in an instant whenever you send a signal to it whether through the Sonos app or relying on airplay too.
Sonos designs its speakers to last, which means it’ll get software updates in the future, and after about three years that battery can be replaced, it’s about 10 hours on a normal charge but over time that’s going to degrade. Internally the move has the same speaker array as the Sonos one but it’s all custom designed for the move and far more powerful. All to bring you loud powerful outdoor sound. Setup is all done through this Sonos app like every other sort of speaker you go through the app add a new product press the pair sync button along the back after which the app will guide you through adding it to your Wi-Fi and even performing any software updates, it’s worth noting we did need to make sure we performed an update to the rest of our centre system before we could set up the move. The move primarily works on Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi signal was great but you can easily be switched over to Bluetooth mode whenever you’re outside of your home is Wi-Fi range.
Sonos Play 5
The box from which this speaker comes looks nice. It’s one of those unboxing experiences that really are laid out almost like an apple product. You’ll have the beautiful box and nice packaging and the smart way of opening it without breaking your back and ridiculous polling. To open the box there is a little tab there you have to pull that, basically, remove the sticker from both sides. The little tabs allow you to open the box by pulling it. When you will open the box it contains the speaker itself which is covered in plastic and that’s a nice thing. Then there is another little box that’s very nicely protected you have all the foam in there. Inside the box you have a bit of literature for setup and whatnot, then it also has the wire that it comes with is the only thing that’s gonna be plugged into the wall. Also, you have your ethernet cable if you really want to use it.
You also have features in the equalizer section and you also have features in volume limit, so you will able to set a specific volume limit for a specific room, let’s say you don’t want to bother anybody and you know that that specific volume is the threshold. The idea and the good point about this speaker are, actually, you can have two of it connected onto the same Wi-Fi system and you can have them running stereo sound, this is an amazing feature because that’s what Sonos is all about they’re allowing you to connect multiple speakers in one environment to have a beautiful crisp sound everywhere you are. So, that’s the beauty of it.
The bottom of the speaker is plain and on the backside of the speaker you’re going to have your power cable that’s going to go right there in your internet cable, that is an option that you can put right there. Then you are going to have your 3.5-millimetre jack input so, you can actually go ahead and plug different auxiliary cables and have that running directly plugged in. You also have a syncing button there and you have your touch interface. So, they are not clickable buttons they are touch buttons. You have there your Center play button and then the Skip features on the side.
The interesting thing about it is this is also in the airplay 2 devices so, you don’t have to necessarily use this interface which you can do is go ahead use your Apple music interface or Spotify whichever one preferably will play music. So, you’re basically on your phone taking a look at the music you have and the same song can put on it’s playing on your phone and you can go ahead and do airplay and put the speaker and like that you can play. So, the interface of your phone is the same interface that you could be used to it to connect the speaker. So, the speaker will act like your Apple TV or any other device that you can connect like your headphones and whatnot.
Bluetooth will give you the same ease of connection right there on any app interface same thing for a YouTube video and the volume control of your phone becomes the volume control of the speaker device too. So if your device is connected, there are many things that you can do from there, you can do line-in as well and line-in is going to be plugging at a 3.5-millimetre headphone jack right there. So, you have basically an accessory cable that you can play into your phone or any other device unless you have an existing system for a CD player and you absolutely wants to have your CDs which is understandable a lot of people still have a great collection, you could plug it directly in the back there and have your CD player right there connect it to an axillary port and play directly from there.
SOUND QUALITY:
Sonos Move
In audio quality, we did notice a small decrease in audio quality when we moved from Wi-Fi to Bluetooth, it wasn’t huge but especially with iPhone which doesn’t support apdex, it’s definitely a little bit noticeable, but it’s still the move so it’s still gonna sound better than almost any other Bluetooth speaker out there. Primarily we found ourselves relying on airplay to a Wi-Fi, the Wi-Fi range was great, so we really used Wi-Fi a lot when we were even around our home. The move overall sounds great, it definitely has a Sonos sound. When we compared it directly to Sonos one, it’s pretty much the same, the same profile but louder. As we went through our playlists that we use for testing all of our audio gear, we are decently happy with the amount of bass provided. We went through the playlist and listen to things like Joe Cocker’s altogether there was definitely a good feeling of bass right at the beginning of the song if the guitar comes in, still isn’t a huge amount of bass it is still a smaller speaker and a lot of the space is consumed by the battery. Basically, the Sonos move is just a great-sounding speaker one that works in the home as well outside the home.
Sonos really thought through a lot of the details on the speaker optimizing for both situations we found that a really did have a good wide sound which was really beneficial because the sound does not come out of both sides just one, who really need that large sound wall to fill an entire room and the move was loud it was usually too loud for indoors if we tried to crank all the way up, but keeping a normal mind inside was great and outside it was perfect for large gatherings.
The true play tuning works automatically. Instead of waving your phone around to tune this Sonos move like other standard speakers, it’ll use those microphones on top to automatically tune itself whenever it detects that it’s been moved to a new location. In practice, we found that true play tuning worked great, but it was usually more subtle than you may think, otherwise this is a Sonos speaker it can be controlled entirely through the app grouped with any other Sonos speakers that you have added to a stereo pair with a second Sonos move and everything else you’d come to expect, you can stream from sources right therefrom within the Sonos app over Wi-Fi and not need that device. Once you go into settings you can add additional voice services which in the case of the move can be google assistant or Amazon Alexa whichever assistant you prefer to use and use that far-field microphone array on top to talk to or you can add any of the services that there are.
There are a ton here we relied primarily on iheartradio, Apple music, and, Sirius XM. There are a ton of different options there. There is some sort of streaming service that you’re going to listen to for us iOS users the service move can also be added to the home kit which means it works with airplay too when can be included in scenes and everything else that airplay to a speaker can do. They can be grouped together for multi-room support with other airplay to speakers, so you don’t have to rely entirely on the Sonos ecosystem. We’re still waiting for Apple to ship the automation features that are supposedly coming in iOS 13.1, but when they do the move can be added to the scenes and automated based on time of day other actions you coming and going whatever you want to do. Airplay Tunes you can also use Siri just ask Apple’s voice assistant to play some happy music in the living room or throw on your favourite jams on the move it’ll be able to do that and it’s probably the easiest way to actually send something to the move.
Sonos Play 5
When you will plug the wire in and it will show light right there on the speaker. If your screen will show you that it’s unable to connect that’s maybe because you may have the existing Sonos account, so what you need to do is set up a new account and fix it by going to more options and then add another Sonos account, you will have to create an account there enter an email address and enter your password then you need to verify the email address and once verified done then you have to set up your Sonos product and click continue and then choose set up products, continue plugged in and then it will show searching for products and the light there will turn green, this is on the play five it might be different for different devices. When it will find found that it will give you the serial number to match and you will have to choose to set up this product, and then continue to get to the accessory setup, by doing this it will set up the WI-FI on the device and it’s done. After that, you need to press the button there in the back which is kind of an infinite symbol right there and it will show that it is connecting that’s gonna be your link button right there and it will be added.
So, now you can name your speaker whatever you want to from the options. Even you can add another product if you want to anytime. And then you will have to update the speaker because it out of the box it might not be at the latest software update, it might take a few minutes just let it do its thing do not unplug it while it’s doing it and after that, it will show that Sonos products are now up to date and then you have to continue registering a product and then it will show begin tuning, so that is called tuning process go ahead and do it, it takes a few minutes you can go ahead and skip that part if you don’t want to but what’s really nice with that is it gives you the crispy sound for the room itself. After that you can add music for that you need to choose to add a music service and you need to go ahead and add Apple music or whichever you use. And then you will be a member and will access to music. After that, you can play your playlist.
For true play tuning, you need to do is pull up your app, go into the system and then go on to the device that you want to tune for the play five and then will have to go down to true play. Once you click on the true play you will be able to go and tune and so what you’re going to have to do is you’re gonna have to flip your phone and rotate it like and then you’re going to follow the instruction on the screen but essentially it’s going to test the noise all around the room you’re at which can be a quite a large room as mine it’s much bigger it actually doubles on both the sides so, it’s a quite a large space area. So, what have to do is you have to go around each corner up and down and see any hum or noise that needs to be cancelled or echo from the room while the speaker will emit a signal so, you’ll hear it and like your true play is done, the tuning is done according to your space and so you should get the best sound quality.
WHICH TO BUY?
Sonos Move is a no-brainer for anybody that wants a great audio system with amazing sound quality and that wants to maybe match it with a different speaker, you’ll have maybe one upstairs in the bedroom or another one in the room to have even a deeper sound. So, a great option for that. It is better suited for outdoor use, as it’s battery-powered. The problem with Sonos Play 5 is its high price tag. The good thing is kind of replaces two devices. So, you don’t have to buy a Sonos speaker in your home and a second portable speaker for outside your home. So, in that way, it could easily be justified. There are minor issues like the size the weight the no USB output and no omnidirectional sound but those are kind of minor qualms with an overall amazing device.
Both have different features and strengths. Sonos play 5 is expensive than Sonos Move, so if your budget is low then go for Sonos Move, and if it’s high go for Sonos Play 5.
Expert Reviews of Sonos Move:
By theguardian
The Sonos Move is an excellent, smart, great-sounding speaker that is truly wireless. Packing wifi and Bluetooth, a 10-hour battery, easy charging, a durable case, weather resistance and loud, punchy sound, you could take this portable powerhouse…By CGM
With the Move, Sonos has built one of the best portable speaker systems I have ever used, and while it is pricey, it is well worth the cost for anyone that demands quality…By techgearlab
The Sonos Move maintains the company’s reputation for great sound and seamless multi-speaker management, while adding the portability of battery power and the simplicity of a Bluetooth connection. If you ever wished you could move one of your Sonos…By TheStraitsTimes
It sounds almost unbelievable that the Sonos Move is the audio firm’s first portable speaker. It is also Sonos’ first Bluetooth speaker, though it still supports Sonos’ Wi-Fi-based system, which lets users group and control multiple speakers at the same…By techguide
The versatile Sonos Move speaker offers the best of both worlds – an elegant wi-fi speaker that fit seamlessly into the Sonos ecosystem and a powerful companion when you want to take your music with you.Related PostsBose announces new Portable Home…Expert Reviews of Sono Play 5:
By TechRadar
An elegant looking and bombastic sounding speaker that proves Sonos is still king of the streamers.By Tom’s Guide
The Play:5 can easily replace most wired stereo systems, and comes with the option of adding additional Sonos speakers for multiroom sound. It’s easy to use and produces balanced and detailed sound for all music genres.There are a few shortcomings worth…By soundandvision
The Sonos PLAY:5 gets a radical makeover that adds $100 to the price but combines an amazing user experience with stunning audio…By PC Advisor
Aside from the lack of High-Res support, there’s very little to dislike about the new Play:5. It looks great and sounds awesome with plenty of power on offer. We like the new touch sensitive controls, the wide range of streaming services on offer and a…By PCMag
The Sonos Play:5 speaker justifies its very high price by delivering excellent wireless audio in a seamless, simple design that’s expandable to serve every room of your house.