Sonos vs Bose : Which one is the best speaker?

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If you are a music enthusiast, you will have heard of Sonos vs Bose. They are two of the best-known audio brands in the world – from sound quality to design. Over the last several years with the rapid growth of virtual assistants and smart home control, both brands have been working to become the best to integrate their excellent reputation for sound quality with the technology. The idea is to fill an entire home with high-quality sound that is smart, wireless, portable and voice controlled. Both companies were founded in the early 1980s and have a long history of designing great audio products. This is supported by many industry awards.



This blog post will compare Sonos and Bose speakers – from sound quality to design, we will aim to cover it all. Ultimately, our goal is not just to tell you which speaker system you should buy but also give you all the information before deciding. You deserve good quality gear too!

Sonos vs Bose – Sound Quality

When you approach the Sonos vs Bose question sound quality is the primary decision factor for any customer looking at both brands. Both companies try to focus on a clean, clear quality throughout the entire range and especially when it comes to the bass. This ensures crisp clear audio for every single song across all genres. Both are known for their pristine audio quality in the ‘premium audio’ space but there are noticeable differences in audio quality from a listening perspective.

If you are unaware, Sonos was founded in 2002 by John MacFarlane, Trung Mai, Thomas Cullen, and Craig Shelburne in Santa Barbara, California. Bose was founded by Amar Bose in 1964. Sonos focuses on providing great sound quality that is smart, wireless, portable and voice controlled. It was a revolutionary concept when they first started, and a lot of brands followed – now there are many smart speaker choices for the consumer! Bose is known for its excellent design but has also tried to diversify into the smart home speaker space.

They have some great products such as their Wave products. Both companies produce a wide range of multi-room Wireless Speakers, soundbars and smart Speakers so how do you know which one to buy? Well, let us compare two of their most current popular products – outdoor speakers that you can enjoy outdoor entertainment on the patio or your garden; The Sonos Move Smart Speaker and Bose Portable Home Speaker.

Sonos vs Bose

The Sonos Move Durable, Battery-Powered Smart Speaker ($399.00) is a great sounding Bluetooth speaker that offers true stereo if you own a pair. Offering a rich, clear, surprisingly deep bass with automatic Trueplay™ tuning and a wide soundscape that balances the sound perfectly no matter the volume, where you are of what you are listening to.

The Bose Portable Home Speaker ($349.00) is a lot cheaper than the Sonos Move and for its money offers an incredibly powerful bass with a deep, clear 360-Degree Sound in all directions that feels like it is all around you.

Sonos vs Bose – Design & Connectivity

Both Sonos and Bose are exceptionally designed audio brands. The design is meant to complement the home or office – not take away from it. They also work well when they need to blend into the background during a party or other social gatherings. Sonos and Bose both offer sound systems that connect with Bluetooth, Airplay, Google Assistant, Siri, and Amazon Alexa from a connectivity perspective.

An easy way to compare the connectivity of the smart speakers is to look at which ones integrate with your other devices. Sonos Connect supports Spotify, Pandora, Deezer, iHeartRadio, TuneIn and more using your existing speaker’s Bluetooth connection. It can also pair over WIFI or wired Ethernet. It also offers multi-room capability, multi-user control and multi-room audio – which is based on proprietary technology.

The Bose SoundTouch 30 ($349.00) works over Bluetooth or with an optional Airplay 2 hub and has Alexa built-in for the voice command features you know and love. You can play Apple Music from your phone, tablet or computer through your external Wireless Speakers or wireless headphones using the Bose Connect app to stream music. It also connects with other Bose speakers through Bluetooth or Airplay 2.

Sonos vs Bose – Which speaker is better to invest your money in?

As we mentioned the best way to compare Sonos vs Bose is to check the sound quality. At a high level, you really can’t go wrong buying one of either just based on this metric alone. When it comes to smart speakers, Sonos and Bose do have some overlap for features such as multi-room and Airplay (which is only available on Bose). However, the Sonos system is inherently more flexible – which makes it versatile and a great addition to any home. The Sonos vs Bose question really comes down to what you are looking for. Do you want a multi-room system? Do you want Alexa? Do you just want an external speaker to play Apple Music? Amazon Music? Do you want Voice Assistant? What kind of audio quality are you looking for? Each of these factors should play a part in your decision.

Sonos vs Bose

Taking everything into account, Sonos is a great option for people who want better sound quality than what is provided by Echo/Google Home devices such as Google Assistant. If you are looking to enjoy music from a variety of sources, Sonos has great technology and they have worked hard to make sure it will play nice with your existing speaker system. If you are looking for features that go beyond just music, a Portable Speaker such as the Bose Portable Home Speaker is a great choice. It is easy to set up and use – it felt very familiar to me as an iPhone user because I used my iPhone for so many things already. And the sound is incredible from a pure listening experience perspective.

Sonos vs Bose – Verdict

Ultimately, it comes down to what you are looking for with your smart speaker models and the price range you can afford. If you want excellent sound quality at very low costs or if you are willing to pay for that premium quality sound in a portable design, the Sonos vs Bose question really comes down to your needs and where you want the system to be located – outdoors or indoors. If you are looking for a multi-room system, Sonos is a great option as they work with any speaker. And they play nice with any music service such as Spotify and Pandora.

If you are looking for an Alexa smart speaker that has all the features you know and love, the Bose Portable Home Speaker is an excellent choice for your household. The sound quality is superb, and it can fill a room with its bass – which I think can’t be said about any other smart speaker on the market right now.

As well as with any other choice, you really need to think about your needs when you are deciding which smart speaker is best. Do you have major preferences in terms of sound quality or Alexa functionality? What does your budget allow for? Are you looking for an outdoor or indoor speaker? I hope this article has helped! Let me know what you decide on in the comments below and thank you for reading!

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