Sonos Sub Mini review: The low-end finally costs less
MSRP $429.00
“Clear, powerful, and versatile low-end bass is now nearby for more Sonos buyers with the arrival of the Sub Mini.”
Pros
- Elegant design
- Super-simple setup
- Highly versatile
- Satisfying low-end bass
Cons
- Still relatively expensive
- Won’t rock your sofa
Sonos finally has a subwoofer that doesn’t cost as much as its flagship soundbar, and the world is a greater place due to it. Well, a greater place for Sonos fans not less than, who now have the choice of shopping for the $429 Sonos Sub Mini, a wireless subwoofer that might be paired with almost any Sonos speaker or component.
Frankly, it shouldn’t have taken Sonos a decade (the first-gen Sonos Sub debuted in 2012) to take this step. But now that it’s here, the Sub Mini gets a number of points only for existing.
A smaller sub
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Design-wise, this is strictly what I’ve come to expect from Sonos. It’s easy and stylish and available in your selection of matte black or matte white, similar to the remainder of the corporate’s latest wireless speakers and soundbars — but very different from the gloss-white or piano-black finish on the Sonos Sub.
No, this sub doesn’t seek the highlight like its larger sibling. Its cylindrical shape is brief enough and narrow enough to mix into any room. By utilizing the identical dual, horizontally opposed driver design because the Sonos Sub, the Mini’s body exhibits little or no in the best way of vibrations, even when pumping out copious amounts of low-end frequencies. So yes, go ahead and put a vase or another decor item on top — the superbly flat surface practically begs for use as a stand.
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
The central slot gives the Mini some great visual interest, should you ought to call attention to the speaker, but it would work just as well no matter which way you orient it. So in case you think the slot might prove too great of a temptation for the small hands in your household, be at liberty to make it a bit of less accessible (though attempt to avoid sticking the Mini deep in a corner as this might affect the sound).
The low-end produced by this compact speaker continues to be plenty powerful.
The Mini’s size is also the important thing to its biggest strength (apart from price): It’s incredibly versatile. There’s versatility of placement, to make sure, but additionally versatility of sound. The unique Sub is a truck — a heavy and high-powered speaker able to powering larger home theater setups centered across the Sonos Arc or the older Playbar. The Mini is more like a hatchback — the right complement to quite a lot of setups including smaller soundbars just like the Beam and the Ray, but additionally the growing variety of smaller speakers just like the One, One SL, and the Ikea-branded Symfonisk Bookshelf, Table Lamp, and Picture Frame speakers.
Sonos Sub Mini (left) and Sonos One. Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
If you’ve multiple rooms with Sonos speakers, you possibly can even move the Mini from room to room effortlessly. Just go into the Sonos app, pick your room, and select the Connect Sub option. Inside a minute or two, you’re good to go. The one catch? It could possibly’t be paired with either of Sonos’ portable speakers, the Move or the Roam.
Stirred, not shaken
So how does it sound? Pretty improbable, considering its size.
Take into accout, it’s not going to rattle your windows or shake your sofa, however the low-end produced by this compact speaker continues to be plenty powerful. In a small-to-medium-sized room, it could give your favorite Hollywood blockbusters the form of visceral punch they’ve been missing in case you’ve been counting on only a Sonos soundbar.
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Tron: Legacy may not have won many accolades for its storyline, however the soundtrack is an absolute bass-fest, stuffed with constant low-frequency sound effects and music. With no subwoofer, even the Sonos Arc fails to present you the complete experience, but add the Sub Mini and also you’re suddenly right there within the midst of the movie’s light cycles and disc tournaments.
Motion movies and shows all the time do higher with more low-end, but even less dynamic fare — shows reminiscent of Higher Call Saul or Fargo — can profit from the grounding a sub just like the Mini can provide.
I’ve all the time been mightily impressed with how much bass the tiny Sonos Play:1/One/One SL can produce, and never really felt the necessity for a subwoofer while listening to them. But drop the Sub Mini in, whether you’ve got a single speaker in mono mode or a stereo pair, and you may notice the additional presence it gives your tunes, whether your tastes veer toward classical or hip-hop.
Turn it on, tune it in
But here’s a professional tip: Although Sonos makes it laughably easy so as to add the Sub Mini to your system, you’ll intend to make some adjustments to be certain you’re getting essentially the most from this speaker. Subwoofers are improbable add-ons, but they may create some unpleasant sounds in the event that they’re not managed well.
For many Sonos owners, the Sub Mini goes to be the hands down most suitable option.
First up, after you add the Sub Mini to a room, you should definitely use the Sonos Trueplay feature. It routinely balances the Mini and your existing speakers on your room’s acoustics. Which will sound like a “well, whatever” statement, but trust me, it would sound way higher when you do it. Unfortunately, Trueplay continues to be an iPhone-only feature. So in case you’re an Android user, you possibly can either borrow an iPhone from a friend (Trueplay settings stay along with your system once they’re applied) otherwise you’ll have to play with each the position of the Sub Mini and the phase controls within the Sonos app to search out a sound you want.
Second, you’ll need to make the most of the separate EQ and subwoofer level adjustments. Consider it this manner: the subwoofer level controls how much of that low-end sound you ought to hear. Keeping it set to the midpoint means it acts as an accent, giving your audio an additional layer of depth. Push it higher and you may begin to feel that extra bass each in your ears and possibly your chest too.
The EQ, alternatively, helps you to choose the general tonal balance of the entire speaker setup, with an emphasis on roughly bass and treble.
Sonos’ advice, which I feel makes a number of sense, is to first adjust the sub level, after which the EQ.
Value it for some
You could be wondering if the Sub Mini is price its $429 price. It — wait for it — depends. Sorry, I do know that’s probably not what you’re in search of. But here’s the fact. When you already own Sonos speakers and particularly in case you own one among the corporate’s soundbars, you simply have two options if you ought to add a subwoofer (the $749 Sub or the $429 Sub Mini). For many Sonos owners, the Sub Mini goes to be the hands down most suitable option and totally definitely worth the extra investment, unless you occur to have a extremely big space to fill.
This brings us to a small, but annoying downside to the Mini. Unlike the full-size Sub, you possibly can’t run two Minis in a single room. For most people, that is irrelevant, but there are good the explanation why it is advisable to run two subwoofers, which I won’t get into here. But I digress …
You purchase Sonos for the entire package. That package now has extra low-end punch for so much lower than it used to cost.
Then again, in case you aren’t yet steeped within the Sonos ecosystem, let’s take a look at some numbers. The least expensive, sub-equipped Sonos home theater system is the Ray/Sub Mini combo ($279 plus $429 for a complete of $708), and it could’t do Dolby Atmos even in case you add surround speakers. To get into Atmos territory, you’re the Gen 2 Beam/Sub Mini for $878, but take note, it’s a weak type of Atmos when put next to soundbars which have dedicated up-firing height drivers, something the Beam doesn’t possess.
And truthfully, for in regards to the same price, you possibly can get a Dolby Atmos-capable system from Vizio just like the Elevate or M-Series Elevate, that can blow the doors off either of those Sonos systems if it’s purely movie magic you’re in search of.
In other words, simply because Sonos now has the more cost-effective Sub Mini, it doesn’t mean that a Sonos home theater system is now a more sensible choice — it just means it’s a more cost-effective selection than it was once.
But Sonos has never been a system you purchase since it’s going to compete purely on sound for the cash. With its elegant and straightforward, yet very powerful software, its painless setup, its incredible versatility for all types of audio listening, and its nearly infinitely expandable architecture, you purchase Sonos for the entire package. And that package now has a terrific solution to add extra low-end punch to any room in the home, for so much lower than it used to cost. Finally.
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