Sonos’s new Amp isn’t for you—but it could spark a much-needed comeback
Image: Sonos
Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- PCWorld reports that Sonos launched the Amp Multi, an 8-channel professional audio device designed for installers rather than general consumers.
- This release signals CEO Tom Conrad’s strategy to refocus Sonos on its audio-first roots following recent struggles with app redesigns and product missteps.
- The Amp Multi handles four audio zones with pro-level calibration, representing Sonos’s effort to rebuild credibility through specialized audio expertise.
Sonos’s first new product since 2024’s Arc Ultra soundbar has finally arrived, but it’s not something you’ll ever find in Best Buy.
Slated to arrive “soon,” the Sonos Amp Multi is like a super-changed version of the Sonos Amp, a wireless device that lets you connect traditional home audio components like turntables, wired speakers, and other devices to your Sonos setup.
While the $800 Sonos Amp can only handle a single zone of audio, the 8-channel Amp Multi can juggle up to four zones, and it also boasts pro-level room calibration technology plus a 2U rack mount for installation in an A/V closet.
No question, the “bespoke” Amp Multi is a serious piece of hardware—so serious that it’s intended only for the professional installer market. Indeed, the usual “buy now” button on the Sonos website has been replaced by a “find an installer” button.
Sonos
Even if the Sonos Amp Multi isn’t for you, the arrival of the new—and very much “audio-first” — device signals that Sonos may be back on track after 15 months of turmoil.
The last big hardware release for Sonos was in October 2024, when the Arc Ultra arrived. A follow-up to the Sonos Arc, the newer soundbar packs 14 drivers, 9.1.4 channels of audio, and a special ingredient dubbed Sound Motion, a component that allows the Arc Ultra to deliver impressive low-frequency performance without a separate subwoofer.
The Arc Ultra received warm reviews, in stark contrast to the drubbing Sonos endure following the disastrous reception to the revamped Sonos app in mid 2024, a debacle that left the company reeling and spurred the resignation of its longtime CEO Patrick Spense.
Riddled with bugs and bereft of such basic features as an editable music queue or support for local music sources, the redesigned Sonos app was greeted with near universal derision, with longtime Sonos users threatening to bail on the once-acclaimed wireless speaker platform.
At the same time, Sonos launched the Ace, and pair of wireless headphones that could connect directly to Sonos soundbars but lacked Wi-Fi support, a feature that many eager Sonos fans had expected to ship with the cans. Reviews were middling, and sales figures were said to be disappointing.
The sinking Sonos ship slowly began to right itself with the arrival of interim—and now permanent—CEO Tom Conrad, who oversaw the much needed revisions to the new Sonos app while reportedly shooting down what could have been yet another debacle for the company: a rumored $400 streaming video player that would have potentially seen Sonos jumping into an unfamilar and oversaturated market with a wildly overpriced device.
Instead, the Amp Multi shows Sonos returning to its roots as an audio-first wireless speaker company. Hopefully Sonos’s next product—made for everyday consumers, one would hope—will follow the same path.
This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart speakers.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer, TechHive
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he has covered everything from smart speakers and soundbars to smart lights and security cameras. Ben’s articles have also appeared in PC Magazine, TIME, Wired, CNET, Men’s Fitness, Mobile Magazine, and more. Ben holds a master’s degree in English literature.
