Bold Bass: Introducing Sonos Sub Mini | Review

9.8

Sonos Sub Mini

Within the Sonos cosmos, the Sonos Sub Mini is a practical companion for small and medium-sized spaces. Thanks to its discreet design and calibration with TruePlay, it fits well into your Sonos system and home.

This budget speaker offers bass with bite. You can't go wrong here if you appreciate the Sonos system and want a stronger and deeper bass. The large Sonos Sub does come a corner deeper into the basement, but it also costs significantly more and takes up more space.

Advantages

• Great sound in small to medium-sized rooms.
• Easy to use via Sonos app.
• Room Measurement TruePlay.

Disadvantages

• Bass could use a little more control in music.
• High price.

Within the Sonos cosmos, the Sonos Sub Mini is a practical companion for small and medium-sized spaces. Thanks to its discreet design and calibration with TruePlay, it fits well into your Sonos system and home.

The Baltic Review

The Sonos Sub Mini expands Sonos’ multi-room world with a smaller alternative to the large Sonos Sub. You can read how the small bass box fares in our listening test here.

First there were conjectures, then leaked photos and finally patent specifications. It has been known for a long time that Sonos is developing a smaller subwoofer to match the two soundbars Ray and Beam. Now, finally, the Sonos Sub Mini is available for testing in our listening studio and can prove itself in combination with various Sonos speakers. How the little one does and what else you need to know about him, you can read here.

The Sonos Sub Mini in a nutshell

Despite its small volume, the Sonos Sub Mini can turn up the volume. Just 30 centimeters high and 23 centimeters wide, its cabinet hides two bass drivers in Sonos’ version of a force-cancelling construction. The two drivers are opposite each other and move towards or away from each other at the same time. Thanks to this design, the Sub Mini should be able to play with particularly low vibrations and put as much energy as possible into sound generation. Exactly the other way around, we know it from subwoofers, for example KEF KC62 or the Devialet Phantom I 103 dB– here the drivers are mounted on the back and point outwards.

As a real Sonos Speakers Of course, the Sonos Sub Mini can be integrated into your Sonos universe and in this way support almost every Sonos speaker in the bass range. Thanks to the Sonos app, operation is child’s play and via Trueplayit adapts sonically to your room. Compared to other subwoofers, however, it has the disadvantage that you have to rely on more Sonos speakers. You won’t find any inputs for TVs or amplifiers on it.

Connections and Settings

Comparing the Sonos Sub Mini to other subwoofers can quickly take on unfair traits. After all, it’s part of the Sonos world and tuned for wireless operation to match. So to get started with the Sonos Sub Mini, you’ll need at least one other Sonos speaker.

Accordingly, the only connectors you’ll find on the subwoofer are the ones for the power and LAN cables. For the same reason, you won’t find any adjustment options on the subwoofer itself. All of this is neatly arranged in the Sonos app. In our guide, we explain how to connect your subwoofer correctly.

Setup and operation of the Sonos Sub Mini

As befits Sonos, the setup couldn’t be easier. Once it’s in place and powered, a window pops up in the Sonos app, notifying you of a new device within range. Alternatively, the Sub Mini and new smartphones can also be used via NFC. To confirm that the sub is really in your possession, press the big button on the front once and you’re good to go.

You can now add the Sonos Sub Mini to a room via the app. As with  a hi-fi system or a home theater system, a subwoofer only makes sense if you have other speakers that cover the other frequency ranges. In our review, we connected the Sub Mini to the Sonos Beam Gen. 2, among other things  . As a soundbar with a subwoofer, the set was so much fun. But it can also be used as a reinforcement for your Sonos One stereo pair, for example.

Trueplay ensures the perfect sound

Instead of a series of controls for phase correction, crossover frequencies and volume, Sonos relies on a calibration program. Trueplay is available as part of the Sonos app on iOS devices. Once launched, your Sonos set emits sounds that bounce off walls and furniture and are picked up by your iPhone or iPad’s microphone. From this, Trueplay then calculates the best possible sound. To make sure the sound doesn’t just sound good in the sweet spot in front of your speakers, Trueplay also prompts you to walk around the room and move your iPad up and down. In this way, the whole room is to be captured.

However, Trueplay only works with selected Apple products, as they are the only ones that provide sufficiently reliable microphone data. Android devices come from a wide variety of manufacturers, with hundreds of microphones. In this way, no reliable data could be obtained. In our review of the Sonos Sub Mini, the effect is clearly audible. The bass doesn’t rock up anymore, it is crisp and powerful without drowning out the other parts of the music. So you should consider borrowing an iPhone from a friend for calibration.

The Sonos Sub Mini sound test

From the first scene of the film, it’s clear that Sonos has taken everything out of the low volume here. Explosions seem to travel up your legs, while the Sonos Beam spreads voices and bright tones well around the room. Doctor Strange in the Universe of Madness,  with its big drums and loud action scenes, is the perfect test movie. Here, the little sub shows what he’s made of and provides every scene with the necessary foundation.

In combination with the Sonos Beam, this resulted in a very round and harmonious sound, from which you could not easily hear the transition between sub and soundbar. Always included: a good portion of depth. It not only helps with movies, but also with North by Prince, for example.

For great hi-fi virtues, the small one lacked the last bit of control, as can be seen in Deeply Disturbedby Infected Mushroom. However, the sub can always provide a good atmosphere at parties.

Sonos Sub Mini vs Sonos Sub: Which Sub for Your Space?

Compared to its big – and much heavier – brother Sonos Sub, the Sub Mini looks almost puny. And in terms of sound, the Sonos Sub can also come up with more punch and precision. It also only reaches its limits at higher levels. In many rooms, however, it is simply too large and cannot exploit its full potential. Similar to the search for the right speaker So here, too, “more” is often not the same as “better”. A compact Bookshelf Speaker soften sounds better in small rooms than a large one Floorstanding boxand the Sonos Sub Mini didn’t disappoint us with its performance even in our rather large listening room.

In addition, the Sonos Sub Mini costs 350 euros less than its big brother. For large rooms and the ultimate movie sound, you’ll want to go for the Sonos Sub. Especially since it’s a perfect match for the Sonos Arc. For medium to small rooms, or one-room apartments, the Sonos Sub Mini is certainly the better alternative. Here, it pairs perfectly with Sonos’ two smaller soundbars: the Sonos  Beam or the Sonos Ray.

Review conclusion Sonos Mini Sub: Great sub with steep price

If you already own Sonos speakers that you want to add more contour to in the bass, the Sonos Sub Mini is definitely a recommendation from us. A lot smaller than its big brother, the Sonos Sub, it sounds full even in small rooms without overdoing it. The Trueplay calibration system gets the last bit of sound out of your Sonos system and the little one is very easy to use via app. The only downside, however, is the price. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done about it: Sonos charges 500 euros for the Sonos Sub Mini. Exactly as much as for the designated partner Sonos Beam.

Whether the extra sound is worth this sum to you, you have to decide for yourself. After all, what applies to all Sonos products applies: you can expand them at any time and you don’t have to buy anything together. This way you can make sure that they really need a subwoofer before you invest in the Sub Mini. But you probably won’t regret it.

Video: Introducing Sonos Sub Mini | Bold Bass

Conclusion

This budget speaker offers bass with bite. At the same time, the Sonos Sub Mini is still cheap for an active brand subwoofer with a list price of just under 500 euros. You can’t go wrong here if you appreciate the Sonos system and want a stronger and deeper bass. The large Sonos Sub does come a corner deeper into the basement, but it also costs significantly more and takes up more space.
The operation as well as the installation is uncomplicated; the vertically mounted speakers do not gather dust and are protected from prying fingers by their arrangement even without a cover. Due to the design as closed speakers with speakers directed against each other, their sound is neutral and there is no noticeable rattling or rattling in addition to the desired low bass to be feared even at high levels. In addition, it can be adjusted according to personal taste