Sonos One

The Sonos One is a robust and neat audio participant that slots neatly into an present Sonos setup, supplying you with the total multi-room capabilities. At launch, it had Amazon Alexa in-built, however now you can alternate and select to have the Google Assistant as a substitute, opening up the choices and satisfying those who purchased Google Residence units slightly than Echo audio system. As such, this isn’t only a nice music participant however essentially the most versatile good speaker, too.

Introduction

The good speaker market is getting ever extra crowded with every passing month – however the Sonos One affords an excellent steadiness of audio efficiency, worth and smarts.

That’s as a result of Sonos takes an agnostic method to dwelling automation and music streaming. It’s suitable with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, so you possibly can select from a collection of voice assistants. Regardless of which good system you’ve gone for, you’ll have the ability to add Sonos’ multi-room goodness and management it by way of your voice.

Within the Sonos One, the corporate primarily added a mind to the wonderful Sonos Play:1. If audio high quality is of significance, and also you’re within the hands-free help of the Amazon Echo, the Sonos One is a match made in silicon heaven. Its closest rival is the Apple Homepod 2, which sounds higher – however that prices much more.

And as of 2023 Sonos has launched the Period 100 that can finally substitute the One as the corporate’s most reasonably priced wi-fi speaker for the house.

Design

• Sufficiently small to suit on a bookshelf or bedside desk
• Contact-sensitive interface slightly than bodily buttons
• Out there in black, white, crimson, inexperienced, or yellow

The Sonos One is a tweaked model of the now discontinued Sonos Play:1, a 16cm tall speaker that can match on a bookshelf or bedside desk. The one actual distinction is the highest panel, the place bodily keys have been changed by very responsive touch-sensitive controls.

You faucet to vary quantity, play or pause, and swipe to vary tracks. You can even faucet to mute the voice assistant. The speaker has an array of six microphones, which make use of echo-cancellation know-how to ensure the voice assistant can hear you name even when music is taking part in.

On the again is an Ethernet socket, and a button for setup replaces the Play:1’s screw thread (designed for mounting). That’s your lot – Sonos sticks to its usually minimalist method and isn’t excited by offline auxiliary sources.

The One was initially launched in black or white, though since launch it’s been made accessible in crimson, inexperienced and yellow choices – good for the style-conscious. Sonos says it’s meant to mix in together with your décor, not stick out as a design assertion. The Sonos One even removes the gunmetal grille of the Play:1 – I really feel like we may have stored that and nonetheless have the minimalist really feel.

Options

• Helps each Alexa and Google Assistant
• Appropriate with a number of streaming companies

The headline characteristic of the One is assist for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Basically, you possibly can deal with this system as an Amazon Echo/Google Residence speaker, albeit one with severe audio parts.

Alexa can do the whole lot she will do on Amazon’s official Echo units on the Sonos One. She will be able to set alarms, modify your thermostat, flip your lights on and off, let you know dangerous jokes and play music, in fact.

The Sonos One works with all the important thing streaming companies that Sonos already helps, similar to Spotify, Tidal, Pandora, TuneIn Radio and Amazon Music. Load them manually with the Sonos app, and Alexa will have the ability to management these companies with fundamental instructions, similar to pausing and skipping tracks. I used Tidal, Spotify and Amazon music, and the One responded flawlessly.

Out of the field, the Sonos One had full Alexa assist with Amazon Music, however since then Spotify has been added and works seamlessly.

Not an Amazon Alexa person? That’s wonderful, as a result of Google Assistant assist is offered so you possibly can deal with the Sonos One like a Google Residence and by saying, “Hey Google” or “Okay Google”. You are able to do just about the whole lot on the Sonos One which you are able to do on a Google Residence, together with getting a calendar replace, discovering out what the climate is like and controlling your good dwelling units. The one characteristic that’s nonetheless lacking is the power to make free voice calls to mobiles and landlines, with the Sonos One saying it could’t accomplish that in the meanwhile.

Set your default music service in Google Assistant, and you may ask the speaker to play a observe and it’ll accomplish that it out of your chosen service. Once you say “Hey, Google”, the Sonos One geese its sound down in order that the Google Assistant can hear. This solely works should you converse to the Sonos One: discuss to a different Google system, such because the Google Residence, and your Sonos gamers will keep on the similar quantity even should you’ve put them in the identical room within the Google Residence app.

The Amazon Alexa integration is a bit neater on this respect and whenever you discuss to an Echo speaker it geese the sound on any Sonos audio system that you just’ve put in the identical group.

There’s a second solution to management the Sonos One, through the use of a Google Nest Hub or different good show. Both by asking Google to play music in your Sonos system, or by deciding on it within the Media menu utilizing the touchscreen, you should utilize the on-screen controls to play/pause, skip tracks and modify quantity. There’s no related characteristic for the Amazon Echo Present.

Neatly, you possibly can run totally different good assistants on totally different Sonos One audio system. For instance, you would have Google Assistant within the bed room and Alexa in the lounge. Why you’d need to do that I’m unsure, however there’s the choice of doing so should you fancy making an attempt out each good assistants.

The Sonos One additionally performs good with Apple. There’s no Siri integration as such, nevertheless it does assist Apple AirPlay 2. You’ll be able to watch a movie in your iPad or Apple TV 4K, and stream the audio to the Sonos One.

That’s on prime of Sonos’ well-known multiroom system. You’ll be able to play totally different music by totally different Sonos audio system, or play the identical factor by all of them. The app allows you to group or deselect audio system very simply.

You can also pair two Sonos One models and use them in stereo configuration, or use them as surrounds in a house cinema setup with a Sonos Arc or Beam Gen 2 soundbar.

Sound High quality

• Nice efficiency throughout frequency vary
• Good options are very well-implemented
• Apple HomePod produces higher sound

Good audio system typically don’t sound significantly good. That’s as a result of they had been conceived as assistants first, audio system second. Sonos has taken a unique method to this drawback, taking an already they good-sounding speaker and making it smarter. A sensible speaker with correct audio efficiency was the large concept behind the Apple Homepod, however Sonos beat Apple to the punch.

Sonos tuned the Sonos One to be acoustically much like the Play:1. You get the identical twin Class D amplifiers. You additionally get the identical two-driver setup – a mid/bass driver and a tweeter, which is identical association present in most conventional bookshelf audio system.

I used to be despatched a Sonos One and a Sonos Play:1, they usually sound just about the identical. That’s, the Sonos One affords class-leading audio efficiency for its dimension.

This One sounds so much greater than it appears. The sound is large and tall – the Sonos One appears like a bedside system, however I had it because the centrepiece of an open-plan kitchen/lounge, and it didn’t have issues filling that.

Regardless of its dimension, it affords a full-range sound, and also you received’t be lacking any of the treble, midrange or bass. The treble could be a little smooth, however that’s preferable to hissy sibilance. The bass is impressively deep and properly managed.

It’s additionally a lot loud – I normally hearken to the Sonos One set to half quantity, possibly 70% if I’m feeling boisterous. Full quantity will get your neighbours knocking. The Period 100 produces a good greater bass efficiency, and in that context it’s an enchancment over the One, particularly should you hearken to plenty of bassy tracks.

Total it’s an excellent sound, though the Apple Homepod sounds higher, with a clearer and extra spacious presentation, to not point out a magical potential to re-calibrate itself relying on its environment – the Sonos One requires the TruePlay characteristic on the app every time it’s moved. If you wish to tinker with the sound, the app allows you to manually modify the EQ with treble and bass settings.

Pair two One models collectively and it’s a correct stereo efficiency, with wonderful left-right separation, and a good wider soundstage. Sadly, this seems to be restricted to units of the identical sort – every Sonos One needs to be paired with one other – it wouldn’t do the stereo handshake with my Play:1.

As for the good aspect, Alexa could be very nicely applied. It’s essential to undergo each Sonos and Alexa apps to be sure you’ve ticked all the best packing containers, however that’s sorted in minutes. I had a few days the place she was gradual to reply, and alarms didn’t work. However that was shortly mounted and now the Sonos One does the whole lot my Amazon Echo does, on prime of taking part in music higher. She’s additionally higher at choosing up my voice whereas the music is taking part in.

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