The 10 Best Sonos Speakers
Updated by · How we research
Sonos makes speakers, soundbars, portables and a subwoofer, and we compared 10 by sound, TV connections, battery life and price. The Era 100 leads. When users buy our independently chosen editorial selections, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
Every Sonos speaker needs Wi-Fi and the app for its first setup, and that app drew heavy criticism after its 2024 redesign, though updates have fixed a lot. The California company's speakers play together, so music can follow you from room to room or a soundbar can pull in rear speakers. That suits homes adding speakers over time.
Editor's Notes
October 17, 2026, by Ezvid Wiki Admin:
Sonos has replaced almost every product we ranked in 2020. The Arc Soundbar gave way to the Sonos Arc Ultra, the Move Portable to the Sonos Move 2, the Sub Gen 3 to the Sonos Sub 4, and the original Beam Soundbar to the Sonos Beam (Gen 2). The One Gen 2 and One SL live on as the Sonos Era 100 and its microphone-free twin. The Playbar Soundbar and Playbase Soundbar are long gone. We dropped the Outdoor Pair because it needs a separate amplifier, and the Five Gen 3 because we couldn't confirm a current price for it, though Sonos still sells it.
The Sonos Era 100 now leads. It's one of the cheapest ways into Sonos, and it grows with you as a stereo pair or as rear surrounds. The Sonos Era 300 is the pick for Atmos music, and there are four soundbars now, from the optical-only Sonos Ray to the Sonos Arc Ultra.
Portables changed too. The Sonos Roam 2 is the small one, and the Sonos Play, new in 2026, brings a 24-hour battery at a lower price than the Move 2.
We retired the Ikea Symfonisk honor, since Ikea and Sonos ended that line in 2025. One more thing worth knowing: the Sonos app drew heavy criticism after its 2024 redesign. Updates since then have fixed a lot, but some owners still report glitches.
June 22, 2020:
This round of updates saw our rankings for this category expand considerably, in keeping pace with the company’s growing repertoire of offerings. Selections we previously included, like the Play:5 and Play:1, were replaced by their new-generation successors like the Five Gen 3, One Gen 2 and One SL, which is nearly identical to the One Gen 2, but lacks the integrated microphone that makes it Alexa compatible. Some of our further new additions include the Arc Soundbar — which packs 11 drivers and amplifiers, the Move Portable — a Bluetooth-compatible model with an 11-hour battery life, and the Outdoor Pair — one offering from the company’s line of architectural speakers, which were designed in collaboration with California company Sonance.
A few things to think about for this category:
Installation: One of the great things about Sonos is the convenience of their one-button setup and wireless design, which make it practical and easy to install them virtually anywhere. That being said, there are still some important considerations to make, regarding wall mounting and weather resistance.
Wall mounting is an easy one to cover: If you want to do it, it can be done. Sonos offers full line of proprietary brackets that make it easy for any DIYer with a basic knowledge set to wall mount any speaker that they offer. The full line is available from their website.
Weather resistance is a quality that’s found much more sparsely through Sonos’ line of offerings. Two instances of models they offer that are built for the elements are the Move Portable, which features an IP56 dust and water resistance, and the Outdoor Pair, which is the only option from the company’s line of architectural speakers built with any sort of weather resistance.
Color: Except for in the case of some limited-edition collaborative projects, Sonos doesn’t tend to dabble in color too often. However, it’s worth noting that most of their models are available in both black and white (the Move Portable is only available in black as of this writing, but its lunar white version is scheduled for imminent release), except for the Playbar — which is only available in a gray-and-black two-tone look, and its architectural speakers — which are only available in white.
Warranty: Sonos backs all of its products up with a two-year warranty, although may early adopters of the system will testify that their speakers are built to last quite a bit longer.
Special Honors
Sonos Certified Refurbished Sonos sells refurbished speakers, soundbars and subwoofers on its own site, and says they carry the same warranty as new products after testing. Prices run well below new, and the selection often includes recent models such as the Arc Ultra and Beam (Gen 2), so it's worth a look before buying new. sonos.com
Sonos Mounts And Stands Sonos makes wall mounts, stands and shelves sized for its own speakers and soundbars, including mount sets for the Arc Ultra and Beam and stands for rear surrounds. A mount built and rated for your exact model is a safer bet than a generic bracket, especially for a 13-pound bar. sonos.com
Match The Speaker To The Room And The Job
The microphone-free Era 100 SL has the same acoustics for less, and the two can be mixed in a stereo pair.
Every Sonos speaker joins the same system, so start with the job each room needs. For music in a bedroom, kitchen or office, a compact speaker like the Era 100 is enough: it's 7.2 inches tall and gets stereo from one box with two angled tweeters. The microphone-free Era 100 SL has the same acoustics for less, and the two can be mixed in a stereo pair. For a bigger living room, or for music mixed in Dolby Atmos, the Era 300 adds upward- and side-firing drivers, but it weighs 9.85 pounds and costs more than twice as much. Sonos still sells the Five, a 13.9-pound stereo speaker with a 3.5 mm line-in and an Ethernet port, for people who want a large speaker without the Atmos features.
Two identical speakers can be paired as left and right channels, and a pair of Era 100 or Era 300 speakers can serve as rear surrounds with a Sonos soundbar. Reviewers at Sound & Vision found Era 300 rears add real overhead effects to a soundbar system. If you have passive speakers already, the Amp drives them at 125 watts per channel into 8 ohms and connects to a TV over HDMI ARC.
Soundbars: Check Your TV's Ports First
A Sonos soundbar is only as good as the connection your TV offers. Dolby Atmos needs an HDMI eARC port, which most TVs sold in recent years have. The Arc Ultra, Beam Ultra and Beam (Gen 2) all use it, and each has a single HDMI port, so a game console or streaming box plugs into the TV, not the bar. None decodes DTS:X; the Arc Ultra handles DTS Digital Surround. The Ray connects only by optical cable, which rules out Atmos but suits older TVs without HDMI ARC.
Size matters too. The Arc Ultra is 46.4 inches wide and suits TVs of about 55 inches and up, while the Beam (Gen 2) is 25.6 inches and the Ray 21.9 inches. What Hi-Fi found the Arc Ultra's own bass strong enough that many rooms won't need more. If you do want a subwoofer, the Sub 4 is the full-size option at 26 pounds, and Sonos also sells the smaller, cheaper Sub Mini, which reviewers suggest is enough for small and mid-size rooms. Heavy bars and speakers belong on mounts rated for them; a third-party speaker wall mount was recalled in 2019 for fall hazards (CPSC).
Portables, Wi-Fi And The Sonos App
Sonos portables play over Wi-Fi at home and Bluetooth away from it, but the first setup needs Wi-Fi and the Sonos app. They differ mainly in size, battery and water protection. The Roam 2 weighs under a pound and is rated IP67, meaning it survives 30 minutes in a meter of water, but its battery lasts about 10 hours. The Play, launched in 2026, keeps IP67 and stretches the battery to 24 hours (TechRadar). The Move 2 also runs 24 hours and has a battery you can replace, but it weighs 6.6 pounds and is rated IP56, which covers rain and water jets, not submersion. Keep any lithium-ion speaker out of a hot car, and stop charging one if the battery swells.
All Sonos speakers depend on the app for grouping rooms, stereo pairs and updates, and they support AirPlay 2 on Wi-Fi. The app's May 2024 redesign drew widespread complaints. Sonos has shipped fixes steadily since, including a July 2026 update (Sonos Community), but forum users still report occasional glitches. We searched the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's database and found no recalls of Sonos-brand products.
How we researched this
We compared the 14 products in the current Sonos speaker, soundbar, subwoofer and amplifier lineup and studied 13 of them closely. We read the maker's spec pages, independent reviews from outlets including What Hi-Fi, TechRadar, Sound & Vision, Expert Reviews, Trusted Reviews, Tom's Guide, T3 and RTINGS, Sonos Community threads about the app, and broad owner feedback signals, and we checked the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's recall database. Owner feedback on the two 2026 models is limited. The 3D models are built from published dimensions.
Sources (23)
- Sonos: Era 100
- Sonos: Era 300
- Sonos: Arc Ultra
- Sonos: Beam (Gen 2)
- Sonos: Beam Ultra
- Sonos: Move 2
- Sonos: Roam 2
- Sonos: Play
- Sonos: Ray
- Sonos: Sub 4
- Sonos: Five
- Sonos: Amp
- Sonos: Certified Refurbished
- What Hi-Fi: Sonos Arc Ultra review
- What Hi-Fi: Sonos Beam Ultra
- Expert Reviews: Sonos Beam Ultra review
- Sound & Vision: Sonos Era 300 and Arc 7.1.4 system review
- TechRadar: Sonos Era 300 review
- TechRadar: Sonos Play review
- Tom's Guide: Sonos launches two new speakers for 2026
- Sonos Community: July 28, 2026 app and player updates
- AppleInsider: Sonos and Ikea break up
- CPSC: VIVO speaker wall mount recall (2019)
Frequently asked questions
Who makes Sonos speakers?
Sonos Inc., a company based in Santa Barbara, California. It designs its own speakers, soundbars, subwoofers and amplifiers, all controlled by the Sonos app.
Which Sonos speaker should I buy first?
For most rooms, the Era 100. It's one of the cheapest Sonos home speakers, plays stereo from one box, and can later become a stereo pair or rear surrounds for a soundbar.
What is the best Sonos soundbar for a TV?
The Arc Ultra if you have a large TV with HDMI eARC and the budget. The Beam (Gen 2) costs less and fits smaller TVs. The Ray suits older TVs that only have an optical output.
Can Sonos speakers work without Wi-Fi?
Only the portables. The Roam 2, Play and Move 2 switch to Bluetooth away from home, but every Sonos speaker needs Wi-Fi and the app for its first setup.
What is the difference between the Era 100 and Era 100 SL?
The SL has no microphones, so it has no voice control, and it costs less. The speaker drivers and sound are the same, and the two can be paired as a stereo set.
Are Ikea Symfonisk speakers still sold?
Ikea and Sonos ended the Symfonisk line in May 2025, and Ikea is selling off what's left. Sonos says it will keep supporting existing Symfonisk speakers in its app.
