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Sonos has focused on all-in-one streaming speakers for so long that it's easy to forget that it started creating devices designed to work with other hi-fi kits. In fact, for as long as the company's Connect products (Connect and Connect:Amp) have been lavished with special care, we were pretty sure that this chapter in the company's history was destined to stay in the past, with the present and the future. future. dedicated to super simple and practical all-in-one solutions. Well, they fool us even more, because not only did Sonos finally see fit to revisit its roots, it did so with the most hi-fi product it's ever produced, and one that even spans the market. Sonos itself was originally designed to prevent this. So does that make the Sonos Amp a throwback to the company's roots, or a shift in focus? Honestly, it doesn't really matter. What matters is that this is the best performing, most serious, and most flexible Sonos product yet.
- Sonos Amp (black) on Amazon for €924
Prices and availability
The Sonos Amp is available to buy right now for $699 / £699 / AU$1,099, and yes, that price has increased since it launched in 2019, when it cost $699 / £599 / AU$999. Of course, if you still You don't have a pair of speakers that can be hooked up to them, you'll need to budget for those as well. We recommend you set aside at least $200 / £200 / AU$250 for the speakers, but the price of the best stereo speakers can vary wildly, from around £100 / £100 / AU$150 to well over £1,000 / 1,000 / AU€1,350.
Image credit: LaComparacion
Integrated
The amp's appearance is more serious and slimmer than the Connect:Amp. In terms of volume, it's slightly the smaller of the two, but their proportions are markedly different, with its shorter, deeper and slightly wider design making it better suited for placing in a hi-fi rack or hiding outside. of sight. . The new dimensions are apparently the result of conversations Sonos has had with custom installers, who have long used the Connect:Amp in client setups, though that was never really its intended use. Those same conversations led to the amp being stackable, so you could create a tower of them and hide them in a central location, with speaker wires making their way into different rooms of the house. We can't imagine many non-audiophile buyers finding themselves with the need or desire to stack amps, but it's an option nonetheless. Sonos products have always been intentionally discreet in their design, but the Amp is the stealthiest yet. Only available in matte black, and with just three tactile "buttons" on the front (play/pause and two that are pop-up, but normally used to change the volume), it blends in incredibly well. You won't hear it in action either, thanks to a chimney-shaped design that passively keeps the densely packed innards cool and quiet.
Image Credit: Sonos
Features
Unsurprisingly, the back of the amp is where you'll find its connections, which are almost identical to the Connect:Amp. Of course, you get a pair of speaker terminals, two Ethernet jacks (the amp can act as an Ethernet bridge to other devices, if you need it), a stereo analog input, and a subwoofer output. Perhaps the latter is the most interesting, as it means you can add a subwoofer to an amp-based system without shelling out for expensive Sonos wireless sub. But even more interesting and useful is the addition of an HDMI connector that gives the amp all the TV pairing features of the small Sonos Beam soundbar. Branchez l'Amp sur votre televiseur and HDMI-CEC sera utilisé pour que les deux deviennent interoperables: l'Amp passera automatiquement au son du televiseur chaque fois que vous allumerez votre televiseur, et la télécommande de votre télé changera le volume de l'Amp , For example. Almost no configuration is required and the result is a seamlessly integrated AV system. Like the Beam, the amp is designed for fairly simple systems with just a few sources connected directly to the TV, the sound is then removed and sent to the amp via HDMI ARC. This will make it too restrictive for experienced users with lots of fonts, but that's the point.
Image credit: TechRadar That said, "decent" surround sound is an option, if you want it. Vous pouvez soit, comme vous le pouvez avec les barres de sonos de Sonos, ajouter deux des haut-parleurs de l'entreprise (Play:1s est le plus logique), ou vous pouvez ajouter un deuxième amp et deux haut-parleurs passifs standard of your choice. The latter is actually the better option, sound-wise, because it allows you to create a system using four identical speakers, or at least four of the same range. This will provide a much more cohesive surround sound presentation than traditional hi-fi speakers and Sonos wireless speakers combined. And yes, we're really talking about four-speaker systems here - the amp is designed to work without a dedicated center channel. Instead, it creates a center called a "ghost" through clever processing. Surround back and Dolby Atmos setups aren't predictably supported either. 4.0 or 4.1 (with a subwoofer) is the maximum system possible, and we think it will be a perfect fit for the intended audience. At the other end of the audio spectrum, the amplifier can also be set to output dual mono so that each of the two connected speakers receives the full stereo signal. This can be useful if you are using the amplifier to drive overhead or outdoor speakers from which you do not intend to create a proper stereo image. When it comes to in-ceiling and outdoor speakers, Sonos has partnered with Sonance to create a range of speakers under the banner of Sonos Architectural by Sonance. It's important to note that these are not your typical Sonos speakers, they are just passive speakers designed to work well with Sonos components from an audio and aesthetic standpoint. By connecting the amplifier to a pair of Sonance speakers, you can use the Trueplay feature to fine-tune the sound in your room. With other speakers, this is not possible.
Image credit: TechRadar Generally speaking though, the amp is designed to be very flexible when it comes to associated speakers. The biggest improvement in this regard over the Connect:Amp is an increase in power from a very respectable 55W to a true 125W. This makes it much more capable of powering larger, more demanding speakers. So it's got the proper hi-fi credentials, but the amp also has all the music streaming chops of its siblings in the Sonos family. This means it can play just about any music under the sun, from just about any streaming music service you've ever heard of (and a load you haven't heard of), and can work in tandem with other Sonos devices to fill your whole house with melodies. The Sonos app is as fluid and intuitive as ever, and it's still a step ahead of the oceans of imitators, but the company is increasingly moving toward a hands-free future. The amp doesn't have built-in microphones, but it will respond to commands issued through devices powered by Alexa or Siri. Spotify Connect and AirPlay 2 are also on board, so you never have to open Sonos's own app if that's your choice. Overall, Sonos is simply the best for streaming music across multiple rooms, and the amp doesn't change that. The only potential oversight in the eyes of the larger hi-fi crowd will be the persistent lack of hi-res music support, but we don't imagine many people in Sonos's target market will be too put off.
Image credit: LaComparacion
After doing the work so you don't have to, we can confirm that the Sonos Amp is capable of driving a wide variety of speakers. Even a pair of fairly large ATC SCM50s at €9.00 don't seem to be underpowered. That said, the amp doesn't really have the subtlety or nuance to do a speaker like this justice, and a quality pair of speakers in the $200-$400 range makes the most sense. The $5.2 Elac B200 (£199 / approx AU$370) is a good option, or, if you can stretch the budget a bit, the small black and white 607 mounting brackets (£600 / £400 / approx AU$750) or the similarly priced Fyne The F302 audio columns work wonderfully. Once you've connected your chosen speakers, it's worth experimenting with the Loudness feature, which you'll find in the Room Settings section of the app and which is on by default. In our experience, turning it off gives a bit more subtle and nuanced transmission, but with your specific speakers in your specific room, the amp may sound better with Loudness on. Once that's fixed, you can get down to the real business of enjoying your music, and enjoy it however you want. The Sonos Amp specializes in entertainment, delivering whatever you send out with an exciting thump and attack. It's not like the presentation is made of bark and no bite: there's detail behind the initial stroke of each note and an overall tonal balance, from the deep, textured lows to the sparkling, never-bright highs that make the note. Amp be fun and fun. faithful friend of all musical genres.
Image Credit: TechRadar It's also an impressive movie machine. This phantom center speaker works well, offering more focus than typical two-channel systems can handle, especially when it comes to dialogue. But the overall soundstage is also fabulously wide and spacious, providing atmosphere in spades, but with individual effects that are precisely placed in three-dimensional space. That said, the amp isn't perfect, and compared to the best streaming components (the Bluesound Powernode 2i, for example), it's a bit on the subtle side. That low-key dynamic nuance that truly conveys the emotion of a track is missing, and the result is a presentation that doesn't satisfactorily reward repeated analytical listening. It can also get a little confused with the more elaborate sections of a song, like the chorus to Alt-J's "Every Other Freckle",...