Sonos Sub Mini Review: A Pricey, Impressive Wireless Subwoofer

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Sonos's newest wireless subwoofer, the Sub Mini, is an easy buy for a lot of Sonos enthusiasts.

As somebody who owns quite a few Sonos speakers and soundbars, I've never really felt compelled to buy its wireless subwoofer, the Sub (3rd Gen) — which is a bit odd, considering my love for movies and shows (like Dune, Interstellar and Lord of the Rings) that seem to have been directed by somebody with a bass fetish. But the pivotal factor has always been price. The Sub costs $749 —and that's tough to justify on a speaker that can't play dialogue and you don't absolutely need.

Sonos's newest wireless subwoofer, the Sub Mini, is a significantly easier pill to swallow. At $429, it's $320 cheaper than its larger sibling. It's not as big, powerful or loud, obviously, but the Sub Mini is a more affordable way to add more bass to your Sonos system — especially if you have one of its smaller soundbars, like the Ray ($279) or Beam 2 ($449).

The Sonos Sub Mini is be available in matte black or white finishes. It is available for preorder now and will hit stores globally on October 6.

I have two of Sonos's Dolby Atmos soundbars — an Arc in my main TV room and a Beam (2nd-generation) in my office — and over the last week I've was able to test the Sub Mini with both of them. And there was definitely a difference between the two.

Sonos recommends that you use the Sub Mini with either one of its smaller soundbars, the entry-level Ray or the midrange Beam 2, because of its size and the larger Arc's natural ability to deliver decent bass on its own. When I had the Sub Mini paired with my Arc, I was able to tell a difference in the sound quality of the systsem — but it wasn't as much to do with the bass. Since the Sub Mini allowed the Arc to focus more on the midrange and highs, I though dialogue sounded better and even though the Arc sounds great one of its own, it sounded even grander with with the Sub Mini. It was a subtle but nice improvement.

Adding the Sub Mini to my Beam 2 soundbar was an altogether different story, however. It really improved it and made me feel like I was in the movie. For The Fellowship of the Ring, for example, as they are in Mines of Moria running from the Balrog, the extra bass really made me feel like the caves were falling in on me. It sounded deep, immersive and just wonderful — even when the volume of the soundbar wasn't pumped to the max. It really is immersive what this subwoofer can do in a small-to-medium-sized room.

The Sub Mini is designed in very much the same way as the larger Sub. Hidden within it are two opposing and inward-firing wards (each powered by its own class-D amplifier) that deliver low frequencies (down to 25Hz) with very little vibrations or distortion. It's very much a clean-sounding bass.

There are just a few subtle differences between the Sub Mini and Sub other than size and loudness. The Sub Mini doesn't have a ported design and can't be rested on its side; it needs to stand up straight at all times. The biggest thing, however, is that you can only have one Sub Mini in any Sonos system. This means if you buy a Sub Mini for your soundbar and decide you still want more bass, you can't get another Sub Mini and add it to your system. On the flip side, you can have two Subs grouped in the same Sonos system.

And no, you can't have a Sub Mini and Sub paired in the same system either.

The Sub Mini isn't just for those who have a Sonos soundbar. It's a great addition for those who listen to just use their Sonos speakers for listening to music, as well. At night, I moved the Sub Mini to my kitchen where I have a stereo pair of two Ones (you could also use One SL speakers) and it really does make a big difference. The stereo-paired set of speakers sounded livelier and crisper, and the bass was obviously bigger and louder.

Just like with its soundbars, however, Sonos recommends only pairing the Sub Mini with its smaller speakers. If you have a Five or Play:5 speaker (or two of each), which naturally deliver more bass, you'll notice a difference but not the night-and-day difference like you would if you had Sonos's larger Sub.

The Sub Mini has the same magic as pretty much every other Sonos speaker or component. You plug it in, you group it with an existing speaker or speaker group, you then tune it with TruePlay and then after that it just works. The app walks you through the whole process. It's quick and easy. It's wonderful.

Also, if you're somebody like me who wants to experiment with the Sub Mini in different Sonos setups, the app makes it really easy to ungroup it and then regroup it with another soundbar or speaker system.

The Sub Mini is still, like pretty much every wireless subwoofer, a luxury product. It only does one thing — add more bass to your system — and you don't absolutely need it. So it really comes down to how much you like bass and/or how committed you are to making your existing Sonos home theater (or sound system) sound better.

If you have an Arc, the Sub Mini will help it sound better, but it's not a "holy cow" difference that you might hope for when dropping $429 (which still isn't exactly cheap). That said, if you have the Beam 2 and it's set up in a small-to-medium-sized room, it's pretty amazing what this "little" subwoofer can do. You'll notice a difference immediately. And it's wonderful.