Just taken delivery of a Move and am disappointed to find that the charger socket, charger base and cable are all hard wired together. I want to position the Move on some built-in desk furniture, where all the power sockets are located underneath, accessible through cutouts in the desk top. Problem is neither the charger socket nor the base will fit through the cutout, so I am going to have to run the cable across the desk. I realise I could probably use the USB-C charging point instead but then I’d lose the convenience of just being to pick up the Move and go when I want to take the music outside.
Normal way round this sort of problem would be to cut off the moulded power plug and fit another one back after running the cable through the cutout, but the plug on the Move is integral with the charger. Since the charger base only has a two pin spring-loaded connection point to connect to the Move battery, my assumption is that the cable is ordinary twin core low voltage cable. Is there any reason why I shouldn’t cut the cable and rejoin using ordinary cable jointing block, once cable has been passed through the desk cutout?
Seems like a simple solution, but don’t want to risk screwing up a fairly expensive new purchase. Anyone got any reasons why it wouldn’t be ok?
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Hi bjw10, maybe the community will chime in with some thoughts, I can’t recommend any modification of Sonos charging cables and will advice against it. I will pass on the feedback to the team that you wish the cable were able to be disconnected though.
nevermind
Any chance the cutout can be widened to fit the socket piece? I agree with you that cutting and reconnecting the wires should work in theory. I don’t have experience with this myself, so can’t advice more than that.
I honestly would probably look for a better spot in the room if possible. If using the desk, I would not want the speaker right there anyway. If the desk has a hutch, perhaps the Move can be placed on top of the hutch?
Hi Ryan S, thanks for taking the time to respond. I do think it is rather surprising that the Move cable is so inflexible. When I consider the numerous other bits of Sonos kit I have, I struggle to think of any that don’t have some sort of relatively small plug/connector at one end or the other.
Whilst I hoped you might pick up on the topic, I didn’t expect you to recommend what I am proposing to do. But I sure would like to know (from anyone) if there is any fundamental reason why I shouldn’t do it….. at my risk, of course.
I go out of my way to minimise surface mounted cables etc running around the house, which is why Sonos was such a revelation when it first appeared with wireless speakers, requiring only a power socket. I really would like to keep as many cables hidden as possible.
As for Melvimbe’s suggestions, I wouldn’t have posted this topic, if I hadn’t considered pretty much every other option. Without going into massive amounts of detail, if he could see the situation here, it would be clear that enlarging the cutout is not an option. And the Move is intended to replace an existing Play3 in that spot, which is the ideal location for many reasons.
The alternative is to send back the Move and retain the Play3, without the option to take it outside. Since I’ve been waiting for a Move type speaker from Sonos for quite some years, I’m not really losing anything by carrying on as before.
When I modified the power cords for my PLAY:1s that I hung in my kitchen, I actually purchased Flexson power cables, and cut them up, rather than chancing messing up my Sonos cables. Now I have spare PLAY:1 cables in a drawer somewhere.
Airgetiam, I don’t think that buying alternative cable is possible with the Move. The power end comprises a small power brick with an integral uk plug and the whole thing measures approx 3.5 x 2.25 x 1.25 inches. The other end of the cable is integral with the Move charging stand, which is broadly oval in shape measuring approx 6.5 x 5.5 inches at its widest/longest. No real scope there for using any non-standard cables.
@bjw10 curious what you ended up doing here. I, too, am dealing with the same issue, but hesitate to do something which may permanently damage the base (which costs $80 for a replacement). One would think that the power brick would fit through a standard cord grommet, but no dice.
Hi gb13,
The short answer is I have done nothing and have deferred the decision for now. I wanted to make sure I am happy with the Move before making any permanent alteration to it. So at the moment it sits in the same room, but in a location (that I don’t particularly like) where it can plug direct into a power outlet.
Assuming I keep it, I think I have two options: It is the size of the UK plug that prevents it going through my desk cutout. It is only slightly too large and I reckon I could trim off the ears of the plug faceplate in order to let it pass through, without compromising either safety or the functioning of the plug supply. The second option is my original thought of cutting and splicing/joining the cable. I still can see no reason whatsoever for not doing this, but understand that Sonos are never going to recommend it as an approach.
At the moment, whilst I like the Move, I am a bit wary of the actual v claimed battery life. Mine doesn’t seem to run anywhere near 10 hours on levels well below 50%, which I think is the claimed life of one charge. However, I am not sure that will prevent me keeping it, at which time I will decide on one of the above options.
Hope this helps.
@bjw10 sincerely appreciate your reply! Sounds as though we are in very similar positions. I have a USB-C cable charging the Move while I evaluate options. Please do let me know if you end up making cable modifications, and I’ll do the same. Hoping some product folks are paying attention here - some relatively minor modifications to the power cable/base would make a world of difference for folks like us.
@gb13 I couldn't agree more. The design of the power supply is pretty poor. I can't imagine why anyone would do it like that, especially given the other products in the Sonos range. Will let you know what I do in the end and hope you will do likewise.
@gb13 you asked to be kept informed about what I did re the cable issue. Well, I finally got round to making a decision and having considered all the other possible locations, it seemed that the only viable option was to cut and re-join the cable after passing it through the desk cutout.
Initially I cut through just the outer protection and was a bit surprised to see what looked a fine braided metal sheath inside. This didn't worry me unduly, since there appeared to be 2 further cables within. However, when I finally cut through the entire cable, it transpired that there was only a single cable inside. It was coloured black and white so had given the appearance of two separate cables.
Anyway, I just used a standard cable jointing block to join both the braided sheath, which I assume to be an earth as well as protection for the cable, and the black/white cable. Now all works well with the Move positioned exactly where I want it and no visible cables trailing across the desk. Job done!
@bjw10 Amazing to hear- thank you so much for the update. I would love to do this as well.
Do you mind linking to the block you used (or something similar)? I’ve never messed around with something like this before, so imagine I will be watching many YouTube videos and trying not to ruin the cable.
PLEASE change this unacceptable design - it is not really handy not being able to unplug the cable of the charger or the socket to put the cable through smaller holes in tables or other furniture!!!
If somebody has the same Problem as @bjw10 and don’t want to cut the power cord, I managed to open the charger base. I pulled up the rubber and the clear plastic then there were 4 screws, two holding the plastic and two fixing the metal contacts. The two wires were soldered to the contacts, so if you need more than this space you have to unsolder those - but for me it was now slim enough! I made me a picture of the contacts and also wrote down on which side there must be mounted again - for safety reasons!
After putting everything together again, it works like a charm and it fits well on the console!
Hi mborko,
Thanks for adding your comments to this topic. I did look to see if there was any way into either the charger or the base, but clearly didn’t have you confidence to pull it apart. Well done, I think your solution is more elegant, but as you say, we shouldn’t have to do this, especially given almost every other bit of Sonos kit I can think of has a separate power cable!
Thank you for posting this. I love my brand new Move. But yes the cradle cord is super inconvenient. I was hoping to thread the power supply through a grommet in my built in bookcase, but I will have to be brave and attempt one of the methods you both have suggested. I also think the volume up and down indicators are not very intuitive for everyone, and the set up prompt to press the button making the chime was weird. The top of my speaker was chiming and lighting up...thankfully I knew to press the link button from other setups. Maybe they didn’t get enough feedback when they were testing this speaker: inconvenient power supply, strange setup prompts, top buttons aren’t differentiated one from another… but it sure does have great sound where I want it!
Add me to the list of frustrated customers with the big, bulky and hard connected power cord. Love the move, hate the power cord.
Add me to the that same list. It’s amazing that it is so inflexible when it costs £400. Avoiding ugly black wires seems the point of Sonos. I also “Love the move, hate the power cord.”
