Sonos has made a name for themselves with wireless multi-room audio. Their speakers all deliver great sound, along with fantastic access to all your media, plus make it easy to blanket your whole home in sound. While the audio is fantastic, delivering clear sound throughout the range, some speakers can be lacking in the bass department. Thankfully, that is where the Sonos Sub comes in to make any configuration that much more earth-shattering when needed.
With the release of the Sonos Arc, the need for the Sub is even more apparent, blending the amazing home theatre Dolby Atmos audio of the Arc with the Sub is something that elevates any entertainment area. There is nothing more immersive than integrating great audio, a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S, and a great TV. The Sonos Sub adds to the overall experience.
Unboxing the Sonos Sub, you will find the experience incredibly easy, especially compared to some competing brands. The box has relatively little inside. You will find the Glossy 16 kg Sub, a power cable, Ethernet cable, pads if you decide to lay the Sub flat rather than in the standard upright position, and not much else.
Once all unboxed, the Sonos Sub is a stunning piece of equipment. Sonos has done a great job at delivering a minimal yet elegant piece of audio tech. The gloss surface with a single opening in the centre makes it easy to show off or hide by lying it flat depending on your preference. The Sonos Sub has minimal inputs or buttons, with it only offering a power connector, Ethernet port on the back, and a single connect button on the front. It is a very clean concept that makes it easy to place anywhere.
“The Sonos Sub has minimal inputs or buttons, with it only offering a power connector, Ethernet port on the back, and a single connect button on the front.”
The best part of the Sonos ecosystem is that you can configure your system anyway you like, and that is true of the Sub also. As long as you have another speaker you can link your Sub to, you can enjoy what it has to offer. This is true for the full range of products, from the Sonos One, to the Play: 5 or the Sonos Arc. It makes it very easy to adjust based on your needs, giving you infinite levels of flexibility to adapt the system how you need it at your point in life.
For testing, we linked the Sonos Sub with the Sonos Arc, along with dual rear Sonos One speakers, and the experience was impressive. While the Sonos Arc delivers room filling audio that should be more than enough for most people’s needs, the addition of the Sub takes the system to another level. Games feel much more impactful, especially with the addition of Atmos from the Xbox Series X. It will feel like a much more immersive experience, with the audio crashing against you like a wave, sucking you into the experience.
The levels of adjustment make sure you can configure the Sub to best compliment the experience of the room and the speakers on offer. While the Sub can rattle shelves and make your neighbours hate you, even at lower volumes, it still manages to deliver clear, robust audio that leaves each shot or impact in a game felt by everyone watching the experience.
“The best part of the Sonos ecosystem is that you can configure your system anyway you like, and that is true of the Sub also.”
Moving beyond games, the Sub managed very well when playing Heads Will Roll by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Nothing Else Matters by Metallica. Each baseline hit without drowning out the mids or highs delivered by the other speakers in the mix. Sonos has tuned their speakers well, and each addition to the setup works in tandem to deliver a great, robust experience that few competing brands can boast.
The Sonos Sub is a high-end offering though, and will set you back around $1,000, on top of the other aspects of the Sonos system you may have already purchased. But for someone looking to build a true home theatre experience, the Sonos Sub is an invaluable asset and is something that feels like a must, especially for people that want the most their next gen console has to offer.
Sonos knows how to build audio hardware that sounds good, no matter the level of investment, and the Sonos Sub is no different. It is one of the best wireless subs you can buy and sounds fantastic paired with an array of Sonos options. For people that want to add bass to their current system or flesh out the offering their new Sonos Arc is delivering, the Sonos Sub is a must-buy.
