Sonos is one of the most popular audio tech brands in the world, and for good reason. The Sonos range of portable Bluetooth speakers, wireless speakers, soundbars and home audio systems are among the best you can buy today, combining class-leading audio with slick and minimal designs.
All of the best Sonos speakers are compatible with each other, which makes them an easy choice for anyone looking for a non fussy multi-room audio setup that minimizes annoying cables.
Although a Sonos soundbar on its own will upgrade your TV's audio to be one step closer to achieving an enhanced surround sound, you'll get the most out of your audio setup if you combine more of its products to create a bespoke wireless sound system that suits your home and your sonic tastes. This is something you can do gradually, adding and taking away Sonos devices as needed.
We've tested many Sonos speakers over the years, and they regularly top our roundups of the best wireless speakers and best soundbars you can buy. In our guide below, we've selected the best Sonos speakers followed by the best Sonos soundbars. Read on to discover our top picks for every budget and audio setup, as well as advice for how to pick the best Sonos speakers.
The best Sonos speakers: our top picks
If you're in the market for a cleanly designed connected speaker with exceptional sound, you'll find none better than the Sonos One. Offering the best of both Sonos' multi-room speaker platform and both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant's smart home prowess, the Sonos One is the pinnacle of audio connectivity.
Want to hear your favorite song from Spotify? All you need to do is ask. Want every speaker in your upstairs rooms to play the same song? Group them together via the Sonos app and you'll have a house party in minutes.
While there are more powerful speakers in our list below, like the fantastic Sonos Era 300, the Sonos One is more than capable of filling your room with sound. And, like all Sonos speakers, you can easily hook it up to a wider, multi-room audio system.
Read our full Sonos One review
The Sonos Era 300 is the first speaker from the company with Dolby Atmos support (although not the first soundbar, we’re looking at you Sonos Arc). It has up- and side firing speakers, which create spatial audio.
This is a premium speaker through and through. At $449 / £449 / AU$749 it isn’t cheap, but during our testing we commented that we’ve tested more expensive wireless speakers, making the Era 300 good value in our books. This is largely down to the fact you get an array of drivers and processing skills.
In our Sonos Era 300 review we wrote: “it delivers more expansive sound than any one-box speaker I've heard to date – even with just stereo music, there's such a clear sense of left and right channels feeling separate and distinct.” This is why the Sonos Era 300 is our top pick if you’re look for immersive, spatial audio in a Sonos speaker design rather than a soundbar. The speaker doesn’t just offer fantastic height and a wide soundstage, but offers a rich, detailed and powerful sound.
Bluetooth works well and makes the Sonos Era 300 more accessible for more of your devices. There’s also Hi-Res support from compatible devices too, which is a welcome addition.
Read our full Sonos Era 300 review
The Sonos Roam is our top pick if you're looking for the best portable Bluetooth speaker, with a powerful sound, rugged design, excellent connectivity features, and smart home control.
Not only that, but it's also priced quite competitively at $179 / £179 / AU$299. It's the cheapest way to buy into the Sonos ecosystem. Of course, that's not cheap for a regular Bluetooth speaker, but the Sonos Roam comes with a few extra tricks up its sleeves.
With both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, the Sonos Roam works as a portable speaker as well as part of your wider multi-room Sonos system – and with Google Assistant and Alexa onboard, it doubles up as a smart speaker too.
In spite of its (relatively) low price, you’re getting a lot for your money here – and it's a great way to delve into the Sonos ecosystem for first-timers.
Read our full Sonos Roam review
When the Sonos Era 300 was first rumored to be coming soon, we assumed it would replace the Sonos Five. Now the Era 300 is out we know that isn't the case. The Sonos Five is still the biggest option from Sonos and one we'd suggest you consider if you're looking for power over precision.
It's a large and bulky speaker as far as Sonos tech goes. It doesn't support spatial audio but is designed for stereo output instead. It has a 3.5mm line-in and supports external devices, like turntables.
There's Apple AirPlay 2 with the Five, but no Bluetooth. You also won't find microphones or voice controls – but you can connect it up to another Sonos speaker with a mic and control it that way.
Sound-wise it gets loud, really loud, without going too bass-heavy. There's an impressive soundstage too and clear, defined vocals.
If you want the best speaker for your home, we'd recommend the newer Sonos Era 300 over the Sonos Five. It has Bluetooth connectivity, spatial audio and is smaller and lighter than the Five. But if spatial audio isn't a deal-breaker for you and you want loud, detailed and powerful sound, it's an older but good option.
Read our full Sonos Five review
The Sonos Era 100 is one of the newest Sonos speakers alongside the Sonos Era 300. Rather than offering the best in spatial audio and immersive sound like the Era 300, the Era 100 is cheaper, smaller and designed to replace the Sonos One at the top of our list.
However, the Sonos One is such a fantastic speaker and the Era 100 has a lot to live up to. That's why it targets everything about the Sonos One that could do with an improvement. The Era 100 has a wider soundstage and more bass, which means a fuller dynamic range. It also adds Bluetooth, allowing you to play music to it from any wireless device and there's an adapter to add 3.5mm line-in, so you can connect to wired music sources.
These improvements are welcome. But considering the Sonos Era 100 is priced higher than the Sonos One and the sound quality hasn't improved considerably, we're inclined to recommend the Sonos One for most people and the Era 100 only for those who need the added features.
Read our full Sonos Era 100 review
Where the Sonos Roam is optimized for using on the go, the Sonos Move is a great Bluetooth speaker to use around the home and in your garden.
With two quality drivers, a solid app that unlocks playback from hundreds of wireless sources, multi-room capabilities and smart audio-tuning tech that tweaks the output based on the speaker's immediate surroundings, the Sonos Move is engineered better than your average Bluetooth speaker. It's a versatile speaker, one that stands solidly alongside the built-for-home Sonos speakers that the company made its name on.
It’s not perfect – it’s heavy as a byproduct of its incredible sound, it’s expensive due to its rich feature set, and it sadly can’t be used as rear channels for a home cinema set-up. But if you’ve got the money, it’s hard to fault the Sonos Move when it comes to hunting down the very best Bluetooth speaker in the world.
Read our full Sonos Move review
The best Sonos soundbars: our top picks
The best Sonos soundbar you can buy is the Sonos Arc - and it's one of the best soundbars we've tested overall.
It comes with support for the Dolby True HD and Dolby Digital Plus sound codes to deliver the best quality lossless audio from your Blu-ray discs and streaming services. It then enhances the 3D soundscape using Dolby Atmos object tracks to bounce certain sounds off the walls around you so they feel like they’re coming at you from all angles.
While all this might sound complicated, the Sonos Arc setup couldn’t be simpler, involving just a couple of steps on the smartphone app. The minimalist cable connections and all-in-one system construction add to this no-fuss feeling and streamlined aesthetic, still making the Arc one of the best soundbars you can buy in 2023.
It's also great for listening to music, so if you want an all-in-one home audio solution, the Sonos Arc is well worth considering.
Read our full Sonos Arc review
If you're tight on space, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is the best soundbar you can buy from Sonos.
Its compact size means it will easily slot beneath your TV, whether you pop it on a TV stand or mount it to your wall, and its sleek design means it won't look out of place with your decor.
It improves on the company’s original Sonos Beam soundbar with virtual Dolby Atmos, HDMI eARC compatibility, and a refreshed design.
While it doesn't have the upfiring tweeters necessary for 'true' Dolby Atmos (resulting in a sonic height less impressive than that of the Sonos Arc), the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) still boasts a wide soundstage and an immersive audio performance.
HDMI eARC compatibility allows for hi-res audio streaming, making it ideal for listening to music, too.
Read our full Sonos Beam (Gen 2) review
The Sonos Ray is the cheapest Sonos soundbar in Sonos' range. Yes, it's lacking a few features to allow the drop in price and it's in an even smaller and more room-friendly frame then the Beam.
Don't expect the Sonos Ray to compete with the best soundbars on the market. Instead, it's for those who want to boost their TV's audio and hear better vocals and more details rather than experience big Dolby Atmos sound in a home theater setup.
In our review we said that we were impressed a device so small could put on "a pretty stunning amount of sound, balancing weighty bass with detail in speech." This was the case whether it was paired with a small TV up to a medium-sized 50-inch display. It doesn't use an HDMI ARC port to get the sound from your TV but an included optical cable instead. This is good in that optical works with basically any TV. It's great with music too, and has Sonos' full multi-room streaming tech built-in.
Although the Sonos Ray is cheap by Sonos standards, you will find soundbars that offer similar quality at lower prices. But many of them are physically bigger and it's the compact size of the Ray that's a draw.
Read our full Sonos Ray review
More Sonos speakers
Other Sonos speakers and devices to look out for
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Sonos isn't limited to connected speakers, and there are some other devices we'd recommend buying for your home hi-fi system.
If you want a pair of rear speakers to pair with a Sonos soundbar, you should consider the Sonos One SL - it has all the specs of the Sonos One sans the inbuilt voice assistant, so you don't have to worry about Alexa or Google Assistant listening in on your conversations. It's also a little cheaper than the Sonos One.
Another great addition to a Sonos home cinema setup is the Sonos Sub, a wireless subwoofer that will boost the bass of the rest of your setup. Inside the glossy cabinet are two force-cancelling speakers positioned face to face to avoid cabinet buzz, dual acoustic ports and two Class-D digital amplifiers specially tuned for the hardware.
Want to create a proper surround sound system? Check out the Sonos Amp, the brand's wireless music streaming amplifier. This versatile device lets you wirelessly connect two Sonos speakers to your TV for stereo sound, or power two standard, passive speakers of your choosing. You can even add in a second Amp for a four-speaker setup.
The latter is actually the better choice, sonically speaking, as it enables you to create a system using four identical speakers, or at least four from the same range. That will make for a far more consistent surround sound presentation than mixing traditional hi-fi speakers and Sonos’s wireless speakers - plus, it means you can use your existing stereo speakers instead of shelling out for a new pair of Sonos One or One SL.
And yes, we really are talking four-speaker systems here: the Amp is designed to work without a dedicated center channel. Instead, it creates a so-called ‘phantom’ center through clever processing.
Best Sonos speakers: FAQ
How much do Sonos speakers cost?
Sonos speakers tend to be fairly priced and good value. However, Sonos does sometimes increase its prices and certainly isn't considered a budget brand. Here's how the prices of its best soundbars and speakers stack up:
- Sonos One: was $199 / £179 / AU$299), now $219 / £199 / AU$319)
- Sonos Era 300: $449 / £449 / AU$749
- Sonos Roam: was $169 / £159 / AU$279, now $179 / £179 / AU$299
- Sonos Five: was $499 / £499 / AU$749, now £499 / $549 / AU$799
- Sonos Era 100: $249 / £249 / AU$399
- Sonos Move: $399 / £399 / AU$649
- Sonos Arc: was $799 / £799 / AU$1,399, now $899 / £899 / AU$1,499 ($899, AU$1499)
- Sonos Beam (Gen 2): $449 / £449 / AU$699
- Sonos Ray: $279 / £279 / AU$399
How do Sonos speakers work?
Sonos speakers all work together within a wider ecosystem, and each device is controllable via the brand’s S2 app. The app lets you add and remove Sonos devices from your setup as you please, while making it easy to adjust your music playback and stream content from your phone.
This means you can make your wireless Sonos setup as big or as small as you want. Pretty much any configuration you can think of is possible, from multiroom audio systems with speakers built into your ceilings to modest home cinema solutions with soundbars and rear stereo speakers.
Which Sonos speaker should I buy?
If you're looking for an easy way to play your music, the Sonos One wireless speaker will do the job, while those will audiophile tendencies may want to try the Sonos Amp with two stereo speakers (Sonos or otherwise) or the newer Sonos Era 300 with spatial audio.
For music on the go, check out the brand's portable Bluetooth speakers, the Sonos Move and the Sonos Roam. Or, if you want to boost your home theater setup, the Sonos Arc, Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and Sonos Ray will sound far more powerful than your TV’s built-in speakers. From there, you could expand your system to include a couple of Sonos One SLs as rear speakers, and a Sonos Sub to emphasize the bass frequencies.
Can I use Sonos speakers with an Android device?
You can, but you'll miss out on one of the Sonos ecosystem's best features: TruePlay. The room calibration feature tunes the sound of Sonos speakers to the dimensions of your room, and right now, it only works with iOS devices. You could always borrow a friend's iPhone to setup your new Sonos speaker, though.
How we test Sonos speakers
We've tested a range of Sonos speakers over the years, so you can be sure that the models in this guide have been thoroughly vetted by the TechRadar team.
Testing how well a Sonos speaker works in the company's ecosystem is just as important as testing how it sounds, which is why we always test Sonos speakers within an existing setup. For instance, alongside a Sonos Arc and a Sonos Sub.
We use a number of audio sources and music genres during the testing process to build a full picture of a speaker's sound profile, from hi-res audio files to streaming Spotify over Bluetooth.
For portable speakers like the Sonos Roam, we also run down the battery to see if they match up to the manufacturer's claims, and use them in a range of environments to make sure they can withstand outdoor conditions.
The best Sonos speaker deals today
