Sweet sound for your staycation

Sonos Move From €399, sonos.com ★★★★

WITH a staycation on the cards for most of us this summer, it’s worthwhile thinking about the tech and gadgets we’re going pack for the holidays. My list always includes a portable Bluetooth speaker, and this year that’s likely to be a Sonos Move.

Unboxing this battery-powered Sonos reveals a solid, well-engineered device. At 240mm high, it’s not small but it’s discreet for the home. And at 3kgs, it isn’t light but it remains reasonably portable.

Included in the box is the Move’s charging base, which is cleverly designed to sit under the speaker. When fully charged up, Sonos say that you can expect 11 hours of

IT’S NOT CHEAP... BUT IT HAS A LOVELY, DEEP, FULL SOUND

playback on battery. The Move connects via Wi-Fi to your home network and the Sonos app is a joy to use and can cleverly look after its own automatic software updates.

It also has Alexa voice control built-in and also supports Apple’s Airplay 2 for streaming. While it’s comfortable as a living-room speaker, the Sonos Move is a portable speaker, and that requires Bluetooth. Activating the Bluetooth connection is done simply, by pressing the Bluetooth/Wi-Fi mode button. The LED light on the top illuminates and then you use your phone to pair up. While using the speaker in Bluetooth mode, the

Sonos app isn’t used, instead you stream from your device using Spotify or a similar music service.

Regardless of mode, the sound from the Move is spectacular. Inside the Sonos are two class-D digital amplifiers and also a downward-firing tweeter. This tech combines to create the lovely, deep, full sound but also projects the high frequencies so you experience a wide soundstage, filling large areas with great music.

The Sonos Move is not cheap and whilst portable, you can’t really lug it around with you too far. However, with its voice-responsive features and Wi-Fi capability it’s a great addition for wireless music at home.

For those on the move, its 11-hour battery and weatherproofing make it ideal as the entertainment centre for those long summer days.