- Sonos / Pocket-lint
Sonos Move 2
The Sonos Move 2 offers plenty of promise as a great new portable Bluetooth speaker from the company. It might have increased in price compared to the original but you get a 24-hour battery, improved audio and a refined design, plus many of the same features as the Era 300.
- Sonos / Pocket-lint
Sonos Era 300
The Sonos Era 300 is a superb sounding speaker that is perfect if you don't need a speaker to move around your home. There's Dolby Atmos support, Spatial Audio support and plenty of other bells and whistles too, including Bluetooth capabilities and USB-C line in.
Sonos has announced the Move 2, which succeeds the original Move, bringing a number of improvements to the company's first portable Bluetooth speaker. Since the launch of the original Move in 2019 compared to the launch of the Move 2 however, Sonos has made quite a few significant changes to some of its other speakers. The Era 100 and Era 300 were announced earlier this year and both come with Bluetooth connectivity - a first for the company's wired speakers. The Era 300 has a number of other bells and whistles too - like Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio support, so it's certainly worth your consideration. Should you buy it over the Move 2 or should you buy the Move 2 over the Era 300? Let us help you figure that out, as that will very much depend on what you want from your medium-sized Sonos speaker. Here is how the Sonos Move 2 and the Sonos Era 300 compare.
Price, availability and specs
The Sonos Move 2 was announced on 6 September but it will be available to buy on 20 September. Whilst the original Move cost $399 in the US and £399 in the UK, the Move 2 sees a price increase to $449 in the US and £449 in the UK. There are three colour options available comprising Black, White and Olive.
The Sonos Era 300 meanwhile, was announced on 7 March and made available to buy on 28 March 2023. It too is priced at $449 in the US and £449 in the UK so there is no difference in price between it and the Move 2. It only comes in two colours though, which are the standard colours offered by most Sonos speakers of Black and White.
We've run up a spec table below so you can see a quick glance of how these two speakers compare in terms of their numbers, but many of the differences are separate to the numbers, so keep that in mind.
Sonos Move 2 Sonos Era 300 Dimensions 241 x 160 x 127mm, 3kg 160 x 260 x 185mm, 4.47kg Audio Three class-D amplifiers, mid-woofer, two dual-angled tweeters, far-field mics Six class-D amplifiers, two woofers, four tweeters, far-field mics Connectivity Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 Colors Black, White, Olive Black, White Buttons Volume trough slider, capacitive touch controls, Bluetooth button, microphone on/off switch Volume trough slider, capacitive touch controls, Bluetooth button, microphone on/off switch SMART ASSISTANTS Amazon Alexa, Sonos Voice Control Amazon Alexa, Sonos Voice Control OTHERS Sonos features, Auto Trueplay tuning, AirPlay 2, USB-C line-in Sonos features, advanced Trueplay tuning, AirPlay 2, USB-C line-in
Design
There are a few differences elsewhere, but it's the Sonos Move 2 and Sonos Era 300's designs that you will see the most obvious differences. They aren't designed for the same use case and their designs very much reflect that. The Sonos Move 2 is a speaker that is destined for both outdoor and indoor use and to be carried between them. It's not necessarily the portable speaker you would bring to the park, but it is the portable speaker you would take from your living room into your garden/yard and vice versa. There's an integrated handle on the rear and the Move 2 offers an IP56 water and dust resistance so it can handle a few splashes, as well as being knocked around a bit no problem. Its rubber base and top make it pretty sturdy, helped by its pretty substantial weight. On the base is where you'll find a USB-C port for charging the speaker, as well as charging other devices if you want to, or connecting other audio sources like a turntable. Meanwhile at the top, the controls have been redesigned compared to the original Move, offering a volume slider trough, along with a play/pause, forward, rewind and microphone on/off capacitive buttons. On the rear of the Move 2, there is a power button, Bluetooth pairing button and a microphone on/off hardware switch, all of which aren't too dissimilar to the Era 300.
The Era 300 is has a much more striking design - though it won't be to everyone's taste. Where the Move 2 is cylindrical in shape and not too out there, the Era 300 has a more unique shape. It's oval with a pinched in waist - think of it a little like a figure of eight. The speaker grille covers most of the speaker, though you will find a smooth finish on the top of the front section - which is where you will find the same controls as the Move 2 - and the back plate where you'll find a Bluetooth button, microphone on/off hardware switch and a USB-C line in port. As the Era 300 is wired and not portable, the power lead also can be found in the middle of the back. It also doesn't have an official IP rating - it's only humidity resistant - so while you might be able to pop it outside if a plug socket inside is close enough to the door, we wouldn't recommend it. The Era 300 is very much designed to be an inside speaker, while the Move 2 is designed to be both.
Features
When it comes to features, the Sonos Move 2 and Era 300 are both Sonos speakers at heart and with that means they bring many of the features we have come to know and expect from the company. Some of those include compatibility with over 100 music streaming services, seamless multi-room audio, the ability to group speakers together to play the same music in multiple rooms, or different music in different rooms simultaneously. You can adjust the EQ levels, you can stereo pair two of the same Sonos speakers together for a wider soundstage, and you can set alarms, listen to the radio and pretty much anything else you would expect to be able to do on a speaker. There are a few tricks too, like pressing and holding the play/pause button to group a speaker with other Sonos speakers that are already playing. We've got a full Sonos tips and tricks feature you can read that will give you a rundown of everything Sonos speakers can do.
When it comes to the Sonos Move 2 and the Era 300 specifically, both speakers support Amazon Alexa and Sonos Voice Control, though neither have Google Assistant like the original Move. Alexa support means you can use your Sonos speaker like an Amazon Echo however, like finding out the weather or turning smart lights off in the kitchen. Sonos Voice Control meanwhile, is designed for the voice control of the speaker itself and any others connected to it.
Both the Era 300 and Move 2 have Bluetooth on board too, so you can pair any Bluetooth device to them and play music directly without having to go through the Sonos app. They also both support Apple AirPlay 2 so you can stream music directly from an Apple device to them.
It's possible to stereo pair two Sonos Move 2's together, or two Sonos Era 300's together, but the Era 300 speakers can also be used as rear surrounds with a Sonos soundbar, which is something the Sonos Move 2 can't do. If you pair two Era 300 speakers with a Sonos Arc and Sonos Sub, you'll get a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos experience when watching compatible content too, as the Era 300 offers Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio support - something the Move 2 doesn't. Both support Sonos Trueplay tuning technology, though it is slightly different. The Sonos Move 2 has automatic Trueplay tuning on board so it will automatically adjust to its environment, while the Sonos Era 300 allows you to use the microphones on board to perform Trueplay tuning with an Android device, or you can use an iOS device to perform advanced Trueplay tuning.
Sound and hardware
When it comes to hardware, both the Sonos Move 2 and the Era 300 have Bluetooth on board, as mentioned, and they also both offer Wi-Fi 6 support. Their sound architecture is different though. The Sonos Era 300 is a standalone Dolby Atmos speaker and it delivers exceptional sound performance, filling a room and surrounding you as it blares out. The Move 2 - if it's anything like the original - should sound excellent too and also deliver room-filling and garden-filling sound. It also offers stereo sound now over mono thanks to the additional tweeter, so there should be an improvement on the Move.
Breaking it down though, there are six Class-D drivers on board the Era 300, supported by four tweeters, one of which is positioned in the directional horn at the top to allow sound to reflect off the ceiling for a more immersive experience when listening to Dolby Atmos. There are also two woofers within the Era 300 and several custom waveguides.
The Move 2 meanwhile, has three Class-D drivers and two angled tweeters along with one mid-woofer. It too has custom waveguides and both have far-field microphones. In terms of specs, the Era 300 offers more, but we fully expect the Move 2 to deliver in abundance.
Sonos Move 2 vs Era 300: Which should you buy?
Whether you should buy the Sonos Move 2 or Era 300 very much depends on what you want from your speaker. The Move 2 is more versatile than the Era 300 in that you can bring it anywhere you want with you and it will give you a day of life before you need to charge it. It also should offer great sound (we still need to test it) and it offers many of the same features as the Era 300 including USB-C line-in, Bluetooth and all the Sonos features you would expect. It's for this reason we would say the Move 2 has the edge on these two speakers if we had to pick between them.
Sonos Move 2
The Sonos Move 2 offers plenty of promise as a great new portable Bluetooth speaker from the company. It might have increased in price compared to the original but you get a 24-hour battery, improved audio and a refined design, plus many of the same features as the Era 300.
The Era 300 is a fantastic speaker for those after an indoor speaker only though. It is perfect for a living room - especially if you have two and pair it with an Arc and Sub - and the sound output it delivers, even as a standalone speaker is excellent. You also get Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio support, plus the ability to add two as rear surrounds as we mentioned, so if you're after a truly great sounding speaker and you only want it for inside your home, the Era 300 is the one to pick.
Sonos Era 300
The Sonos Era 300 is a superb sounding speaker that is perfect if you don't need a speaker to move around your home. There's Dolby Atmos support, Spatial Audio support and plenty of other bells and whistles too, including Bluetooth capabilities and USB-C line in.