Sonos Sub Mini – add big bass to Sonos soundbars
The Sonos Sub Mini joins the venerable Sonos Sub Gen 3 as a second way to add sub-woofer low-and-mid-bass to the Sonos Ray, Beam (Gen 2), a pair of One/SL of IKEA SYMFONISK speakers.
We spoke to Chris Davies – Sr Director, Audio Engineering at Sonos, about the new Sub Mini, where it differs from the Sub, and its best use.
Q: What are the best products to pair the Sub Mini with?
A: It reinforces from 25Hz to a variable 70-100Hz crossover (depending on the paired speaker). It is ideal for the Ray and Beam Gen 2 soundbars and One/SL speakers.
Q: How easy is it to add to a Sonos soundbar or speakers?
We assume you own Sonos products and know the S2 App for Android or iOS. It is straightforward. Open the App, tap the smartphone on the top NFC pad, and it will find the Sub-Mini and add it to whatever Sonos setup you have. You can then adjust the EQ and sub volume in the App.
Q: Why not the Arc soundbar or Five speakers?
A: It will pair with any Sonos speakers/soundbars, but the Arc and Five have higher performance specs that pair better with the larger Sub.
Q: What does it add to the Ray or Beam?
A: It is smaller at 230 (H) x 305 mm (Round) x 6.35kg, so it is ideal for smaller rooms. The Sub by comparison is 389 (H) x 402 (W) x 158mm (W) x 16kg. It allows the Ray/Beam to focus on 100Hz to 20kHz (the Sonos App and Trueplay adjust this) while providing lower-bass (the Ray starts at 43Hz, and with the Beam, it brings out stronger low-bass).
Where the Sub also starts at 25Hz, it is capable of more volume and more of the low bass you feel and mid-bass ‘oomph’.
Q: Price and availability?
A: The Sub Mini is A$699 and will be available from Sonos Online, retailers (JB Hi-Fi, Good Guys, Harvey Norman, Videopro and select audio outlets. The Sub costs $1099.
Q: At $699, would you buy this for a Ray soundbar at $399?
Sure, it will add appreciably more bass to the Ray 3.0, but we see it as the sweet spot for the Beam Gen 2 5.0 at A$699, where you are not questioning spending more on the sub-woofer than the soundbar. And don’t forget the One/SL doesn’t have a lot of low-mid-bass, so it’s a perfect add-on for music.
Base Specs (Sonos does not publish watts RMS etc.)
- Amps: Two Class-D
- Dual 6” woofers face inwards for a force cancelling effect
- A sealed cabinet means all speaker force is projected outwards
- Frequency 25Hz to 70/100 depending on paired soundbar or speakers
- 230 (H) x 305 mm (Round) x 6.35kg
- Wi-Fi N 2.4 and 5GHz (preferred for soundbar use and lower latency)
- Ethernet Port
- Matte Black or White
- Trueplay room tuning
- Sonos S2 App EQ and NFC setup
- Internal transformer
