SONOS PLAY:3 Smart Wireless Speaker, White

Product Information

The Sonos Play:3 is an unassuming little box. 26cm wide and 16cm deep, it’s small enough to fit on a bedside cabinet without poking over the edge. If that foot print is still too large for your liking, this box is also designed to function just fine on its side, making it just 13cm wide. There are little rubber feet on one side as well as the bottom, to avoid scratches, while a built-in accelerometer lets the box know when it’s on its side, and to change the sound processing accordingly.

The key USP behind a subwoofer is to provide deep and sustained bass. The Sonos Sub doesn't disappoint on either front. Using twin, force-cancelling drivers with separate Class D amplifiers, the Sonos Sub provides a bass that is not only deep enough to rattle the windows, but also punchy, agile and dynamic. The bass simply sounds exactly as it should - fast and deep with zero cabinet buzz or rattle. The best news about the Play:3, though, is that it sounds much better than its price and size might suggest. Feed it lossless or uncompressed rips from a computer or network-attached storage device and it really shines.

Overall, the Sonos Playbase is a good-sounding speaker for those who don’t want to fumble with a surround sound system or simply don’t have the room for one. There’s no need for a receiver, making it truly plug-and-play. Sonos’ philosophy of making music enjoyment as frictionless as possible continues with the Playbase – the Sonos app is easy to use and the integrated universal search across music services is something we wished every speaker had. The usual Sonos qualities also continue to shine through, from excellent build, streaming from Spotify, Napster and internet radio, and brilliant format support – although we would like to see high-res studio masters included in a future update. Verdict

In traditional Sonos style, the Five is not interested in a shy, retiring sound – it's here to bring the bass and make you feel it, and we're not complaining. However (and we've said this before) it's important to note that we like it more if you can use TruePlay tuning, and not everyone is granted that privilege. You can also link two Play:3s together to make a stereo pair, and now, thanks to an update, stream music directly from your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. Last but far from least, the company has now added the Sonos Playbar. SoundFor yet another year, the Sonos multi-room system remains the best all-rounder.” ’What Hi-Fi?’ 2023 award-winner. That's not to say it's bass-heavy overall though. Listen to Fontaines D.C.'s Skinty Fia and you'll hear a low-end that, while impactful and unwavering, never bloats or muddies other musical passages such as accordions, drum riffs, angered vocals and keys. The name-plate is positioned so that when you flip it to it's upright orientation, it still reads. (Image credit: TechRadar) Sonos Five review: Design