It’s not just about size.
Sonos’ new Sound Motion™ technology isn’t just another audio upgrade. By radically shrinking speaker components without sacrificing quality, Sonos is changing what we can expect from small audio devices.
And, if the initial results are anything to go by, this new tech could change more than just Sonos soundbars but also every other portable audio device.
How Sound Motion Works
Imagine trying to fit an elephant into a shoebox. That’s essentially what Sonos is doing with sound.
Sound Motion is all about a radically reimagined woofer design that challenges a century-old convention.
Traditional speakers rely on a single cone-shaped membrane to produce sound waves, much like a drum.
Sound Motion, however, turns this idea on its head with a four-motor, dual-membrane woofer that works in a much smaller form factor.
But what does this mean for our ears?
Simply put, it gives more bass, clearer sound, and a wider range of sounds, all from a smaller, sleeker design.
It’s like getting the sound quality of a high-end stereo system from something that could sit on your bookshelf.
But here’s where it gets really interesting: Sound Motion isn’t just about squeezing big sound into small spaces. It’s also about eliminating the vibrations that typically plague single-membrane systems.
In traditional speakers, these vibrations can lead to distortion, especially when you crank up the volume.
The dual-membrane setup in Sound Motion, however, counteracts these vibrations. So, you can expect a cleaner, more accurate audio across all frequencies.
Let’s consider Sonos’ new Arc Ultra soundbar, for example.
With Sound Motion technology, this compact device can support a 9.1.4 Dolby Atmos setup.
The compact yet high-output design also reportedly allows sound to be placed with more precision. Add in better bass and upward-firing drivers, and you’ve got a recipe for an all-around audio experience that surrounds the listener, even in smaller rooms.
The Development of Sound Motion
While Sound Motion might seem like it came out of nowhere, it actually started with Mayht, a small Dutch startup that tried to shake things up.
In 2022, Sonos acquired Mayht for a cool $100 million.
Why pay so much for a relatively unknown company, you ask? The answer is in Mayht’s groundbreaking approach to speaker design, dubbed “HeartMotion.”
HeartMotion had already shown that you could pack a serious punch from smaller speakers, thanks to its dual-membrane transducer system. (Yes, that’s the same idea Sonos used for the Sound Motion.)
The similarities between HeartMotion and Sound Motion are clear: both focus on reducing size while boosting output.
But Sonos didn’t just buy the technology. They made it their own.
By integrating HeartMotion’s principles into its proprietary ecosystem, Sonos developed Sound Motion to specifically work with products like the Arc Ultra. They also added their own tech, like Trueplay, which adjusts the speaker’s output based on the room’s acoustics.
This integration, which took almost two years, has led to one of the biggest changes in home audio since the first moving-coil speaker was invented.
How Sound Motion Could Change the Industry
The ripple effects of Sound Motion technology could extend far beyond your living room.
Take wireless speakers, for instance. Current models have long faced a trade-off between portability and power. They have to be either portable or powerful, but rarely both.
Sound Motion’s ability to deliver powerful audio in smaller devices could close this gap. Just imagine a Bluetooth speaker that fits in your bag but sounds like a full home audio system!
The automotive industry might benefit from this too.
Car manufacturers constantly struggle with balancing audio quality and space efficiency. Sound Motion could potentially offer improved in-car audio experiences without sacrificing valuable interior space.
Plus, there’s also an eco-friendly angle to think about.
Smaller speakers mean fewer raw materials and potentially lower transportation costs. This could lead to a reduced carbon footprint for audio equipment.
And, since sustainability is increasingly on consumers’ minds, Sonos could be tapping into a trend that’s here to stay.
From an industry perspective, if Sound Motion works as well as early tests show, we might see more companies jumping into this challenge.
Other companies might feel they need to make similar tech, which could lead to more innovation in how speakers are made.
People already want high-quality sound from smaller devices. Sound Motion and tech like it could speed up this trend, maybe changing the whole market for audio devices.
But while all this sounds exciting, we still need to see how it works in the real world.
Independent testing and consumer adoption will ultimately determine Sound Motion’s industry impact.
However, the audio industry has relied on tried-and-true designs, improving incrementally without truly revolutionizing the core technology for years. Sonos’ Sound Motion might just be the catalyst that forces the whole sector to make a big leap forward.