Sonos Play Review: All Work and Plenty of Play

Sonos is a brand often associated with elaborate home theatre systems rather than the great outdoors. Its soundbars in particular have earned a strong reputation for sound quality and build, and now the California brand is looking to take that same pedigree on the go with the Sonos Play portable speaker.

What Is It?

The Sonos Play is a portable Bluetooth speaker with a 24-hour rated battery life and IP67 waterproofing, meaning it can handle submersion in up to a metre of water for 30 minutes. Wi-Fi connectivity enables multiroom listening across other Sonos devices, and voice control is on board for hands-free operation.

The Automatic TruePlay feature uses the speaker’s built-in microphones to continuously adjust tuning based on the acoustic environment it is placed in, whether that is a small room, a large open space or outdoors. Controls are available both via on-board buttons on the speaker itself and the Sonos app.

The wireless charging base that comes in the box keeps the speaker docked and ready to go at all times, and the Play even doubles as a power bank for charging your phone.

For those concerned about long-term ownership, the battery lifespan of the Play is said to be about five years or 750 charges. The good news is that the battery is user-replaceable, which is a welcome sustainability consideration at this price point.

Two or more Sonos Play units can be paired together for a stereo or surround sound experience, though with only a single unit available for this review we were not able to put that to the test.

If you own the Sonos Ace Ultra headphones, the Sonos 27 update also introduces headphone linking via Sonos Fabric, allowing you to push or pull audio between compatible Sonos speakers and the Ace Ultra with a single button press. You do have to set up both devices in the Sonos app and then play music through the app for the feature to work. But once it does, it seamlessly transfers what you’re playing on one device to the other within 5 seconds.

The Sonos Play retails at RM1,899 at TC Acoustic’s store in The Starhill via their online store.

What’s Good?

Sound quality is where the Sonos Play makes its strongest case, particularly for its size. The bass response is deep with sub-bass rumble that you can feel, though it carries a slight boxiness that is hard to avoid entirely in a compact enclosure.

Vocals come through clearly, with female vocals in particular standing out, though they lean a touch thin and bright. Male vocals benefit from the thicker low-end with a bit more note weight to then. Treble is slightly blunt and rolled off, but that actually works in the speaker’s favour by preventing the shrill, hollow quality that cheaper portable speakers often suffer from.

Automatic TruePlay is actually quite effective and one of the more underrated features here. The difference between the speaker tuning itself in a small indoor room versus an open outdoor environment is noticeable, and it adjusts automatically without any input required. Voice controls are also responsive and reliable. Tracks skip, volume adjusts and queries are answered without noticeable lag.

Battery life is quite respectable as well at 24 hours. I usually use it to play music throughout the day and just leave it on the charging dock to top up the battery so there’s never any issue when taking it on the go for quick listening sessions or at parties.

The speaker went from 40% to a full charge on the wireless dock in about an hour. A full charge from 0% will likely take you a little over 2 hours, which tallies with Sonos’ claimed estimate of 3 hours to fully charge the speaker.

What’s Not-So-Good?

The charging dock connects via USB-C but no power adapter is included in the box, so you will need to supply your own. For a speaker at this price, that feels like a bit of an oversight, with Sonos assuming you likely have an adapter or two lying around.

Also, while you can adjust EQ on the Sonos app, the adjustment values are quite limited. You’re only able to increase or decrease the amount of bass and treble, as well as toggle a Loudness setting that, well, increases loudness. It would have been nice to see at least the 3-band equaliser found on the Ace Ultra to also be present here. Though I suppose Sonos doesn’t find that minute level of control to be necessary for a wireless speaker, which is fair.

At RM1,899, the Sonos Play sits at a significant premium over the many capable portable speakers on the market. That said, you are paying for the Sonos ecosystem, the build quality and features like TruePlay and multiroom support that most competitors at a lower price point simply do not offer. Whether that justifies the cost depends on how much those things matter to you.

Is It Worth It?

If you are already invested in the Sonos ecosystem, the Play is an easy recommendation. Sonos Fabric integration with the Ace Ultra alone makes it a compelling addition for existing Sonos users who want seamless audio handoff between speakers and headphones.

For everyone else, it is a well-built, great-sounding portable speaker that asks a premium price for a premium experience. Whether that trade-off makes sense will come down to your budget and how much the broader Sonos ecosystem factors into your decision.