At first glance, Škoda, the Beastie Boys, and an IKEA lamp don't seem to have much in common. One belongs to the automotive world, the other to New York hip hop, and the third to popular home design. However, they all intersect in one place: Sonos, a brand that has been demonstrating for years that sound is not only heard, but also integrated into the way we live, drive, decorate or remember a song.
The most recent collaboration comes from Damage. Sonos will be the audio partner for the new Peaq, The brand's electric vehicle features a sound experience designed from the ground up for the car's interior. It's not simply about placing powerful speakers in the cabin, but about rethinking how music, voice, and entertainment are experienced in a moving space. The promise includes controlled bass, a forward-focused soundstage, balanced sound in all seats, and spatial audio to transform the car into something akin to a listening room.
This alliance didn't appear out of nowhere. Sonos had already made the leap into the automotive industry in 2021 with Audi and the Q4 e-tron, Reinforcing an increasingly obvious idea: the car is also a room. We spend hours in it, listening to music, podcasts, calls, and navigation, and sound quality matters more than it seems when it's part of our daily routine.
But Sonos's journey beyond the home extends far beyond the motor. In 2015, the brand launched a limited edition PLAY:1 in collaboration with Blue Note Records, a tribute to jazz with handcrafted finishes and a design inspired by the classic aesthetic of its album covers. In 2018 it was the Beastie Boys' turn, with a collector's edition PLAY:5 designed by Barry McGee and linked to the band's book launch.
That same year, Sonos also ventured into interior design with HAY, reinterpreting the Sonos One in bolder, more decorative colors. And perhaps its best-known collaboration was with IKEA, with the Symfonisk range: speakers disguised as lamps, shelves, and paintings that brought connected sound to homes where a traditional speaker might not have fit.
All these collaborations tell a similar story. Sonos has not wanted to limit itself to manufacturing speakers, but to place sound in contexts where it makes sense. At home, in the car, next to a jazz album cover or inside a lamp, the idea is the same: that listening well is not an addition, but a natural part of the space.