സോനോസ് പ്ലേ സ്പീക്കർ റിവ്യൂ: കരുത്തുറ്റതും മികച്ച ശബ്ദാനുഭവവും നൽകുന്ന പോർട്ടബിൾ ബുക്ക്ഷെൽഫ് സ്പീക്കർ

Summary

The Sonos Play is an excellent bookshelf speaker that is rugged enough to take to the beach. However, it seems to sound the best when paired with another Play as a stereo system

Just before I began writing this review, I was sat in my TV room with my setup of the Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar and two Sonos Play speakers, watching Tenzing, Jennifer Peedom's moving and breathtaking new movie on Apple TV.

It was the whooshing sounds of the wind and snow blowing that had me sit upright in my seat. Yes, the Dolby Atmos mix on Apple TV was perfect for a movie like this, which at times, felt like a NatGeo production.

It was the Sonos trio that really elevated the experience. While I've reviewed the Arc Ultra before, the Play speakers are what I'm here to talk about. The Play speakers can act as independent speakers, or when brought into the same room as the soundbar, double up as rear surrounds.

The Play speaker comes with a two-fold advantage. It can slot in seamlessly to your existing home network and connect with other Sonos speakers, and it's also rugged enough to be a great outdoor speaker.

The cheaper Roam 2 costs ₹17,999, while the Play comes in at ₹35,999.

What I Liked

The Play is a bookshelf speaker that punches above its weight. It's a typical oval-shaped speaker with the top and bottom rubberised to absorb the impact. It comes with an IP67 water resistance rating. It's got a hook at the top, so you can easily hang this anywhere. It comes in at 7.57-inch tall and 1.3kg in weight. It isn't exactly light, but it is very much portable.

Where the Play shines is with the integration into the Sonos ecosystem. It connects via Wi-Fi and thanks to all the app updates, is now a seamless connection. It supports multi-room audio and almost all music services. Two Plays linked make it a stereo pair.

The best part is that when you're away from your home Wi-Fi setup, you can connect via Bluetooth 5.3 for use and stream from your phone or any other device. You can connect up to four units to play from the same source.

The Play comes with a 35Wh battery and can easily last a couple of days on a single charge. There's a charging base included or it can be juiced up via the USB-C port.

What matters the most is how it sounds. It's got one woofer and two tweeters that combine for a wide soundstage. It's got solid mids, clear treble and even some bass. Vocals shine, but the speakers lack a little bit of oomph. And in jazz songs, at times, you just can't make out the finer tunes. Thankfully, with the bass not booming, and the recessed treble, your ears won't hate you if you crank up the volume. The Play will easily fill most medium-size rooms, but just don't set the volume to anything over 80 percent because then it gets distorted.

When paired as rear speakers and connected with the soundbar, the Play shines bright. Just pick it up, take it to another room, and you can play music on it independently. It's seamless, and it always recognizes where it has been positioned, a feature I truly loved.

Two downsides

The first, and most obvious downside is that you need two Play speakers for it to truly work as rear speakers in your TV room. One rear speaker, connected to the soundbar, will not do the trick.

The other is the price. For it to truly work as rear speakers and create a truly surround sound experience, you'll need three devices from Sonos. The Sonos Arc Ultra (or their other soundbar) and two Play speakers at the minimum. That pushes the price up to almost ₹1,70,000. Add in the subwoofer and the price is well over ₹2,00,000.

Verdict

It is now easy to wholeheartedly recommend a Sonos speaker. It's got everything you'd need from a portable speaker. It can act as rear speakers, it can be easily and seamlessly moved, and it can be taken out to the park or beach and be your rugged companion.

It's just the pricing that stops it short of being the one-speaker-does-it-all recommendation. If you aren't already embedded in the Sonos ecosystem, then the Play speakers are a much harder sell. If you are to get one, I'd recommend waiting for a discount.

Sahil Bhalla is a Delhi-based writer. He posts @IMSahilBhalla.