Sound Quality

The Sub Mini has two 6-inch woofers, which are positioned towards each other inside the oval "tunnel." They're placed in the so-called force-canceling configuration, where the speaker units mutually try to cancel the distortions they create, with the aim of obtaining a clean and powerful bass, which is not camouflaged by the rattling of the case and related anomalies.

In this sense, Sonos has done an excellent job with the Sub Mini because the subwoofer enclosure is completely deadened, regardless of the listening volume and the adjusted bass level. Thanks to this, as well as various unspecified low-frequency processing techniques, the Sub Mini produces a meaty, pleasantly rumbly bass, which brings a lot of life and warmth to the sound of all the Sonos speakers I tested it with: the Beam Gen 2 and Ray soundbars, as well as two One SL speakers, wirelessly connected in a stereo pair.

In its "factory" state, when the Sub Level slider is in the neutral position, the Sub Mini is surprisingly reserved. In order for it to come to life, the aforementioned Sub Level should be raised between +5 to +8, according to personal preferences. After doing so, the bass becomes noticeably more substantial, with a more energetic impact and a more concrete rumble in the part of the spectrum below 60 Hz. According to the technical specification sheet, the Sub Mini rolls off at 25 Hz. It's difficult to say whether it really digs that deep, but it's certainly capable of producing bass that we perceive as background rumble, regularly present in movies and TV shows.


Regardless of the adjusted Sub Level, the bass coming out of the Sub Mini isn't particularly detailed or texturally rich, so you can't really expect it to reproduce the smallest finesse on a bass guitar successfully. On the other hand, I wouldn't expect such a sound from Sonos anyway, nor would it match the sonic character of the company's speakers and soundbars. Sonos doesn't manufacture hi-fi equipment, but rather audio systems for the masses. The Sub Mini entirely fits into this philosophy.

In addition to adjusting the Sub Level in the settings related to the Sub Mini, its activity can be controlled to some extent through the equalizer of the speaker or soundbar with which the Sub Mini is paired. If you increase the bass level in the settings of, for example, the Beam Gen 2, the amount of bass that the Beam Gen 2 hands over to the subwoofer will automatically increase. With that in mind, be careful what you do with the bass controls in the equalizer, as you need to find a balance between it and the Sub Mini's Sub Level for the best performance.

Pairing with Sonos Ray, Beam Gen 2, and One/One SL

In the case of the Ray, the company's smallest and cheapest soundbar, the Sub Mini doesn't feel like a neat addition but rather an absolutely mandatory accessory, as it solves the problem of Ray's depressingly anemic bass. However, when considering such a pairing, you'll inevitably have to face the unsolvable problem of a considerable discrepancy in their prices. The Ray costs $280/€300 euros, while the Sub Mini will set you back $429/€500. With that in mind, not many will splurge for the Sub Mini to improve the Ray since you can get a much better soundbar, the Sonos Beam Gen 2, for only a small jump in price on the US market, where the Beam Gen 2 goes for $450, and the same price as the Sub Mini in Europe.


The Beam Gen 2 sounds multitudes better than the Ray and integrates better with the Sub Mini, although I should point out that even with the Ray, I didn't hear a glaring separation between the bass and the rest of the frequency spectrum, which is commendable. The factory-tuned crossover, which changes depending on the speaker the Sub Mini is paired to, seems to be doing its job properly. Let's not forget that the Beam Gen 2 has an HDMI eARC input, and the ability to play Dolby Atmos content; Ray offers neither.


If you're not looking to pair the speakers with your TV, but need them to listen to music and internet radio stations, an even better pairing than the Beam Gen 2 is two Sonos One ($220/€230 per unit) or One SL speakers ($200/€199 per unit). When the Sub Mini is paired with them, you get a very interesting, acoustically pleasant, and completely wireless audio system, where all three speakers only need to be connected to a power outlet.

Trueplay Tuning

If you have any of the supported Apple mobile devices (check out the full list here), you'll be able to perform additional tuning of the Sub Mini's sound using Trueplay technology. Trueplay is intended to adapt the output characteristics of Sonos speakers to the space in which they are positioned.

Unfortunately, Trueplay on Android isn't supported, and there are no indications that it ever will be, so users of that ecosystem have two options: invite a friend with an iPhone or iPad, or take comfort in the fact that the difference in the behavior of the subwoofer with or without Trueplay calibration is not drastic - at least it wasn't in my case. However, if you have a particularly problematic room prone to creating standing waves and similar mishaps, Trueplay could be of great use to you.