An enormous and powerful wireless subwoofer that costs a staggering $749 has been a component of Sonos’ home theatre system for a long time. It was a little difficult for those with smaller spaces or tighter budgets. Bass enthusiasts now have a new alternative thanks to Sonos: the reported Sub Mini is genuine and, at $429, is far less expensive than its larger sister.
A “central tunnel” cutout helps the Sub Mini’s cylindrical speaker circulate air. It weighs 14 pounds, which is not very light but is more than 20 pounds less than the Sonos Sub. It is around 9 inches in diameter and a foot tall. It can be paired with any amplified Sonos speaker, except portable items like the Move and Roam, so you can use it with both home theatre soundbars like the Beam and Ray and audio speakers like the Sonos One or Five. (Sonos suggests using the premium Arc soundbar in conjunction with the full-sized Sub, but there isn’t a technical reason why you couldn’t use it with the Sub Mini.)
The Sub Mini also has a central tunnel, two 6-inch force-cancelling woofers, and two class-D digital amplifiers. It also has a 5GHz wireless connection and a 10/100 ethernet connector if you’d rather hardwire your speakers. The Sonos mobile app is used to set up the Sub Mini, as it does with all other Sonos devices. From there, you tell the app which room the sub is in and link it with a soundbar or speaker system.
Once the Sub Mini is configured, you can use Trueplay to fine-tune it so that it appropriately balances the sound of your system. To use Trueplay, you’ll need an iOS smartphone that is compatible with it since it utilises the device’s microphone to listen to the room and adjust music quality based on the acoustics of your space. This is a step worth taking if you have an iPhone or iPad because my experiences with Trueplay have always been great.
Preorders for the black or white Sonos Sub may be made right now; it will go on general release on October 6th. It’s excellent that Sonos has finally developed a more cheap alternative for enhancing bass from its devices, however we’ll need to hear this speaker first before we can endorse it. It should also be welcomed by those who have a smaller space or setup; for instance, I’ve needed a bit more bass from my Sonos One speakers for a while, but the larger Sub would be much too much. The Sub Mini, though, could be the ideal choice.
