Are Sonos speakers good? Yes, and for most households they remain the easiest way to stream music and TV sound around a home. Sound is strong for the size and the system works with Control4 and Lutron. The weak spots are an app that suffered a damaging redesign in 2024 and a heavy reliance on the home network.
Last reviewed: 24 October 2026
Plenty of people already own a Sonos speaker, so the real question is often whether to build a whole-house system on it. Here is my answer, with the company’s recent wobble included. For how we install and integrate it, see our Sonos installation and integration page.
How did Sonos start, and who owns it now?
Sonos was founded in 2002 in Santa Barbara, California, as Rincon Audio, by John MacFarlane, Craig Shelburne, Tom Cullen and Trung Mai. Its first products reached the market in 2005, and in August 2018 it floated on the Nasdaq under the ticker SONO, according to Wikipedia’s company history. So the short answer to who owns Sonos is its shareholders: it is a listed company, still headquartered in Santa Barbara.
The last two years have been the bumpiest in its history. A rebuilt app rolled out in May 2024 with missing features and bugs, and in July the then chief executive Patrick Spence apologised publicly to customers. Spence stepped down in January 2025, and on 23 July 2025 Sonos appointed Tom Conrad as chief executive, having run the company on an interim basis since January. By June 2026 What Hi-Fi was reporting a major refresh of the Sonos app and said the company was at last making real progress.
What is Sonos known for?
Sonos describes itself in its press releases as the company that invented wireless multi-room home audio, and whatever you think of the claim, that is the reputation. One app runs every speaker in the house, rooms can be grouped or played separately, and almost every streaming service is available inside it.
The range has grown well beyond the original players. On Sonos’s UK site I found the Era 100 and Era 300 speakers, the Arc Ultra soundbar, the Sub 4 subwoofer and the Amp streaming amplifier (all checked 14 October 2026). That amplifier drives passive speakers, including the in-ceiling and in-wall models Sonos designed with Sonance, which is how Sonos ends up hidden in a ceiling rather than sitting on a shelf.
Why do families keep choosing Sonos?
The app is the draw. Once a family uses it in one room, carrying it into the next is straightforward. Our Thames Ditton garden room is a good example. The building is over 70 metres down the garden and holds a lounge, a bar and a gym. The lounge and the gym each have an LG OLED TV and a Sonos Arc soundbar, a model still on Sonos’s UK site (checked 14 October 2026), so TV sound and music in both run from the same app.
The hard part was not the Sonos. It was getting a reliable connection that far from the house, which took external groundwork for a fibre link from the house and a Ubiquiti network inside the building. That is typical: when Sonos misbehaves, the network is usually the cause. We have also upgraded Wi-Fi and Sonos systems for homes in Chobham and Wimbledon Village, and most of our multi-room AV systems combine Sonos with Control4.
What are the main pros and cons of Sonos?
Pros
- Strong sound for the size. What Hi-Fi’s Arc Ultra review calls it a huge upgrade on the original Arc, with deep, well-controlled bass (checked 14 October 2026).
- Broad streaming support. What Hi-Fi’s Era 100 review lists vast streaming features and the addition of Bluetooth among its strengths (checked 14 October 2026).
- Easy to grow. You can add a room at a time, from a single speaker to an amplifier driving ceiling speakers.
- It works with the systems our clients already use, including Control4 and Lutron.
Cons
- The app has been the weak link. The 2024 redesign removed features and introduced bugs, and What Hi-Fi still listed some app issues as a drawback of the Arc Ultra in its review update of October 2025 (checked 14 October 2026).
- Gaps for serious cinema use. The same review lists no HDMI passthrough and no DTS support.
- Not aimed at hi-res purists. What Hi-Fi’s Sonos Amp review lists no hi-res support and a slight lack of subtlety (checked 14 October 2026).
- Network sensitive. Sonos’s own system requirements rule out common shortcuts such as wireless range extenders and powerline adaptors.
- Small extras add up: What Hi-Fi notes that the Era 100 needs a separate adaptor for a wired network connection (checked 14 October 2026).
Who is Sonos right for, and who should look elsewhere?
Sonos suits households that want music and TV sound in several rooms without learning anything new, and families where everyone streams from their own phone. It suits kitchens, family rooms, gyms and garden rooms, and it is a sensible way to start small and add rooms over time.
It is the wrong tool for a dedicated cinema. The missing DTS support and HDMI passthrough on the flagship soundbar point the same way: a dedicated room deserves a proper AV processor and a speaker layout planned around the seats, as on our home cinema design and installation page. It will also frustrate anyone who wants hi-res playback, or who is not prepared to put a proper network underneath it.
How does Sonos fit a Control4 and Lutron home?
Better than most consumer audio. Control4 has a Sonos driver, and a Lutron application note (Revision C, April 2025) explains how its RadioRA 3 and HomeWorks QSX systems bring Sonos into keypad scenes (checked 14 October 2026). Our Sonos integration page sets out what each one can control.
In daily use that means one button for an evening scene, with the lights down and the kitchen playing. As a Platinum Control4 dealer we set that up as part of a Control4 smart home installation, and our guide to Control4 network requirements covers the network side.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Sonos?
Sonos is a publicly listed company, traded on the Nasdaq as SONO since August 2018, so it is owned by its shareholders. Tom Conrad has been chief executive since July 2025, and the company is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California.
Has Sonos fixed its app?
Largely. The 2024 redesign caused real problems, and Sonos spent much of the following year on fixes. A major refresh in June 2026 made the app easier to use, according to What Hi-Fi, though reviews still mention occasional issues.
Is Sonos good enough for a home cinema?
For a media room or family TV room, a Sonos soundbar and subwoofer can be very good. For a dedicated cinema, no: the lack of DTS support and HDMI passthrough on Sonos’s flagship soundbar are real limits, and a cinema deserves its own processor and speakers.
How do I get advice on an existing Sonos system?
Tell us what you have and what is going wrong. Most problems trace back to the network, and we can survey the house and recommend changes. Contact us to arrange a visit.
