Building on the existing design of the Sonos Sub, the new Sub Mini is a cylindrical design that delivers rich, clear low end that Sonos says sets a new standard in its category for powerful, balanced bass in a compact enclosure. Available in matte black and white to match other Sonos products, the new Sub Mini will start shipping October 6 with a price of $429 - substantially less than the Sub (Gen 3) that retails for $749 and is recommended for larger rooms and homes (and can even be paired, while the Sub Mini only works standalone).
On the heels of introducing two new soundbars - Beam and Ray - Sonos is expanding its home theater lineup even further with Sub Mini. As Sonos details, the new Sub Mini is a perfect complement also for the Arc premium smart soundbar for home theater in a smaller room and at low-moderate volume levels. Those users who have a larger space or intend to listen at higher volume levels, will get a better experience with the existing Sonos Sub. But the new subwoofer is not also for pairing with soundbars. It can be combined with the smaller Sonos One, One SL, or even the Ikea Symfonisk speaker, to create a convincing music or gaming system.
"We’ve entered a more thoughtful era of streaming that prioritizes quality over quantity, with creators and platforms investing in immersive entertainment experiences that put premium sound at the forefront," says Maxime Bouvat-Merlin, SVP for Hardware and Operations at Sonos. "Sub Mini is a welcome addition to the Sonos family, rounding out our home theater product line-up so listeners can experience cinema quality sound that makes them feel like the main character - or player - in their favorite content."
For the compact design of the Sub Mini, Sonos applied dual custom 6" woofers facing inward for a force-canceling effect, complemented with two dedicated Class-D channels and advanced processing to generate the deep, dynamic low end, all the way down to 25Hz. The acoustically sealed cabinet helps neutralize distortion, and avoid buzz or rattle at stronger volumes. The cylindrical shape of the cabinet is 9.1 inches (230mm) in diameter, and the inner opening reduces the maximum depth available for each woofer to approximately 3.5 inches (77mm), which is not much, but still doesn't require the Heartmotion thin-driver technology that Sonos now owns since the Mayht acquisition.
The advanced digital signal processing not only maximizes bass response but also handles the correct equalization for the paired speakers. Audio settings automatically equalize to balance the Sub Mini and the crossover to paired Sonos products, while users can adjust bass, treble, and loudness with the Sonos app. The subwoofer connects to Sonos speakers or soundbars over Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n, 2.4 or 5 GHz) but still requires AC power.
Adding a Sub Mini to an existing Sonos system just requires a few taps on the Sonos app, mixing and matching with different Sonos speakers. Users can also fine tune the Sub Mini’s sound with Trueplay, which detects and adapts the speaker’s sound for reflections off of walls and furniture, giving users the best listening experience for any room and setup. The Trueplay app is available for iOS devices only because of the consistency of Apple's hardware which is use to measure the acoustics in the room.
www.sonos.com
