Knowledgeable’s Score
The Sub Mini is a type of splendidly easy merchandise: it’s a Sonos subwoofer, however smaller than their different one. It’s cheaper too, and is a superb method so as to add bass on a finances.
The caveat is that the Mini is designed to pair with Sonos’s less complicated audio system in smaller rooms, and the higher your present sound setup the much less you’ll get out of including a Sub Mini.
I’ve examined the Sub Mini with three completely different Sonos soundbars although, and suppose Sonos Ray and Beam house owners, specifically, will discover loads of further punch right here.
Design and construct
- Accessible in black or white
- Not all that ‘mini’
The Sub Mini is a straightforward sufficient wanting piece of equipment, although the very first thing you discover is that it doesn’t fairly earn its title.
This can be smaller than the prevailing Sonos Sub, however at 12in tall and 9in throughout, this isn’t a small speaker by any means – in truth it’s precisely the identical peak as a footlong sub, unusually sufficient.
It matches neatly into my sq. Ikea bookshelves, however if you happen to’re not so fortunate then it’s possible you’ll be compelled to simply accept a reasonably squat cylinder sitting subsequent to your TV for the foreseeable future.
Dominic Preston / Foundry
Accessible in black or white, it’s an unassuming design no less than, the entrance of which is damaged solely by a single small LED and the speaker’s single bodily management. The ports are discovered on the underside, and the one actual aptitude to the design is its hole centre, with the dual woofers going through each other inside, which is barely seen from a side-on view.
Given the dimensions you gained’t be shocked that it’s fairly heavy too, however you’re unlikely to be transferring it round a lot.
Connectivity
- Wi-Fi or Ethernet
- Connects on to different Sonos audio system
Connections listed below are easy: there’s Wi-Fi and Ethernet.
Dominic Preston / Foundry
The Sub Mini doesn’t really join on to any of your sound sources, however as an alternative solely connects to your present Sonos community by way of Wi-Fi, with the additional choice to make use of a wired connection to your community.
Including the Sub Mini into your community is fast and straightforward – you simply must have the Sonos app able to go in your telephone, and a easy NFC-powered faucet of your telephone on the speaker connects it as much as every thing else.
The one draw back is that the Sub Mini can solely be related to different Sonos merchandise – so you possibly can’t choose this as much as function the subwoofer with another sound system or soundbar.
Sensible options
- Quantity auto-adjusts with a particular speaker
- Devoted EQ controls
- Trueplay
The sensible aspect of the Sub Mini largely comes right down to how neatly it integrates into the remainder of your Sonos set-up.
As soon as it’s related, you pair the Sub Mini to a particular speaker or room in your system – almost certainly to a soundbar, although it ought to pair with any of Sonos’s static audio system (i.e. every thing besides the moveable Transfer and Roam).
The Sub Mini’s quantity will then robotically elevate and decrease with the primary speaker. If you wish to tweak issues that’s straightforward too – you possibly can flip the Sub off at any time with out unpairing it, and might increase or decrease bass ranges independently of the core speaker’s EQ.
Dominic Preston / Foundry
The opposite helpful contact is help for Trueplay, Sonos’s tech for tuning its audio system for the rooms they’re in. This could assist optimise the Sub Mini’s sound wherever you place it within the room, making it a bit extra forgiving to place – although to take benefit, you’ll want an iPhone or iPad to set Trueplay up. You solely want it as soon as although (or everytime you transfer the speaker), so it’s straightforward sufficient to borrow a good friend’s.
Sound high quality
- Provides spectacular oomph
- Greatest paired with smaller Sonos audio system
In order that’s how the Sub Mini works – however how nicely does it do it?
The reply, maybe annoyingly, will rely quite a bit on what speaker you wish to pair it with. Sonos recommends the Sub Mini for “small to medium sized areas,” and says it’s greatest suited to the Ray and Beam soundbars, together with the One and Symfonisk audio system.
The Sub Mini makes use of a pair of 6in woofers, which face inwards in direction of each other in a force-cancelling association that helps to neutralise vibrations and distortion. Basically, which means it provides clear, tight bass with none unwelcome noise.
Dominic Preston / Foundry
Paired with the Beam, or particularly the compact Ray, the distinction is appreciable. The Sub Mini provides all types of oomph, driving basslines in music and including room-filling sound to explosions and different filmic thuds. The Ray has by no means sounded thinner than instantly after switching the Sub Mini off, and it actually takes these cheaper Sonos soundbars to the following degree.
This gained’t create room-shaking bass until you actually crank the quantity up, but it surely rounds out the sound profile of the corporate’s smaller audio system, including depth on the low finish and liberating up these different audio system to ship crisper excessive notes on the similar time. Meaning it provides extra than simply bass, elevating your audio throughout the spectrum.
My traditional TV speaker is the older (and discontinued) Sonos Playbase although, and related to this the Sub Mini doesn’t add all that a lot. I believe you’d discover related if you happen to wished to pair it with the Arc – the beefiest soundbar within the present Sonos lineup – or any of the corporate’s different bigger audio system. For these you’ll really want the full-size Sonos Sub to note the additional bass, until you’re in a very small room.
Worth and availability
If there’s a query mark across the Sub Mini, it’s the worth: $429/£429/€499. That’s greater than both the Ray or Beam, so Sonos’s imagined Sub Mini is no less than doubling the worth of their sound set-up by shopping for this.
I believe that most individuals prepared to spend that a lot on their sound system would have simply purchased the $899/£899/€999 Sonos Arc within the first place.
Nonetheless, the Sub Mini is markedly cheaper than the $749/£749/€849 Sub (Gen 3), and if you happen to’re a Ray or Beam proprietor in search of the following step up, or have a pair of even smaller Sonos audio system, including a Sub Mini makes much more sense than scrapping your entire system and swapping it for the Arc.
Is it price dropping lots of simply so as to add some further bass to the combination? Perhaps. Perhaps not. However you’ll solely be this if you happen to’re on the hook with Sonos already, and in that case that is the most suitable choice you’ve acquired.
Verdict
The Sub Mini is an effective way so as to add extra boss to a Sonos sound system for a bit lower than the exorbitant value of the unique Sub.
It’s nonetheless not low-cost, and is barely suited to these with smaller Sonos techniques – in case your equipment is already high-end, the Sub Mini gained’t be a gamechanger.
However Ray and Beam house owners will discover this transforms their present soundbar, and is an effective way to enhance your Sonos sound with out having to start out once more from scratch.