Sonos One (2019) - White

I'm a big fan of the Amazon Alexa system, and for a while now I've had several recent generation Echo speakers scattered throughout my house. However, although the Echo has decent sound quality, I wanted to upgrade and take things to the next level. I did a lot of research and ended up buying several of these Sonos One (gen 2) speakers. They're pricey but it was worth it. The sound quality is a *noticeable* improvement from the Echo speakers. Much smoother and crisper music, better range, etc. It's just a higher end speaker. I did have some initial frustrations authorizing my first Sonos speaker to work with Alexa. Amazon kept wanting me to authenticate my new device with a One Time Password (OTP) it was sending to my e-mail, but that I wasn't finding those e-mails in my inbox. I'm still not sure what was happening (they weren't going to my spam folder either, that I could tell), but I finally found those authenticator messages hiding somehow in the "All Mail" gmail folder on my iphone. It was weird and frustrating, but once I got past that, everything has been smooth sailing. Some of the negative comments from older reviews really don't seem to apply anymore. You can easily group speakers into sets when you want to play music in multiple rooms at once. The Sonos app integrates with Amazon Music, Spotify, Sirius XM, etc. It's also not true that you have to plug at least one speaker directly into your router or Ethernet anymore. The entire set can be fully wireless. Other Pro's: Other than much higher sound quality, the Sonos are much better at knowing which speaker to activate when you want to chat with Alexa. With my old Echo speakers, if I said "Alexa," I would often get a speaker answering me from two rooms down the hall for some reason. I ended up using four different wake words to try to prevent that from happening (which was annoying). Now, even though I have a Sonos device in my kitchen and one only ten feet away in my living room, it's 100% accurate in always activating the closest device, and not trying to respond to my voice commands from a speaker on the other side of the house. I was also having problems with the Echo speakers (five of them grouped together throughout the house) where they would often have one or two speakers drop out of the group when I played music for more than a few minutes. I also was getting music that would crackle or hiss on the Echo speakers between songs, or would suddenly stop playing (and that was all streaming from the Amazon app, which you think would have had the least amount of those kind of issues with their own company's devices). None of that happens anymore with my Sonos. Cons: The Sonos aren't bluetooth compatible, if that's important to you. Also, they're at least twice the size and weight of an Echo speaker, which could be a consideration depending on where you intend to put them. And finally, as I'd mentioned earlier, they're not cheap. But there's a reason you end up paying more than twice what an Echo speaker costs -- you're definitely buying a much higher quality sound.

I bought this Sonos speaker and my whole system fully expecting to spend the afternoon arguing with cables, instructions, and possibly my own sanity. Spoiler: none of that happened. Setup was so easy, I thought I did it wrong. I plugged it in, tapped a few buttons, and suddenly my living room sounded like a VIP section I’m definitely not cool enough to be in. Even my WiFi behaved, which never happens. Sonos must use wizard magic or something. The sound? Incredible. Crisp highs, deep bass, and just loud enough that my neighbors now know my entire playlist, including the songs I pretend not to like and dont even get me started on how Top Gun: Maverick sounds!!. My favorite part is how it connects every room. I can walk from the kitchen to the bathroom like I’m doing my own stadium tour. My dog didn’t sign up for this concert, but he’s fully committed now. If you want a stereo system that sounds amazing and makes you feel smarter than you actually are, Sonos is it. 10/10 would recommend — even if you only buy it to flex on guests when they ask, “Wait… how’d you set this up so fast?”

I believe it is necessary to mention that I am a gamer. I play games A LOT and I tend to listen to music ALL the time. When I read online that this speaker is great for music they were NOT kidding. The sound and the bass on it is so perfect it's better than a lot of speakers that I have heard and owned. The volume on my speaker is not even in the middle of the volume bar and it is already loud enough (To where I actually feel like my neighbors can hear it next door), but my bass was too good to where I had to turn down -5 (Bass is still loud enough to notice in the music) [Bass goes to max +10 and to -10 as well as the other (2 fuctions). You can mess with Bass, Treble, and Balance in app. I have (2) of these Sonos synched to each other and the sound quality of it is so perfect that my buddies online ask me to play music for them while we play zombies (since it goes through the Mic flawlessly and the sound quality is that crisp). They have said that it sounds like they are listening to it in person. Now I am picky when it comes to speakers and I can't say anything negative about the sound quality and bass. Now I will let you all know a few things that you may have been wondering. The setup was SUPER EASY. When I finished it I literally said out loud, "Was that it?" The steps: 1) Download app. 2)Make account and verify. 3)Connect to speaker. 4)Connect speaker to Internet. 5) Download update. *Done. That was all. App is SUPER EASY to use it's very simple which makes it a great app. Now like I have mentioned I listen to music A LOT, so I added Pandora, Amazon Music, etc and even getting those on it were easy. They guide you to it when you go into the settings of the app and it asks you if you want to add them. This next subject may be negative for you depending on your area and perspective. You have to add your own voice control system to it if your area has one. I have been using Alexa since I started owning one roughly about 4yrs ago, so I use the Alexa voice, but there are ways to get other voices. For me getting the Alexa voice was super easy. You can add it in the settings as well and it's under *Voice* in bold print. Now another possible negative thing depending on your standpoint and what your trying to use it for. It doesn't have as many functions as Alexa. Which is fine for me since I have the current newest Alexa coming in on Friday. I will be using the Alexa as the control tower for it since it has the most functions. You can apparently connect your Alexa to these speakers by using the Alexa app. I will let you know if it is true once I receive my Alexa come this Friday the 8th. If you have any questions ask away. I'll respond the best I can.

These speakers are the bomb! I had one in my bathroom and just bought two more for the kitchen and living room. They sync up easily and perfectly. The ability to control your music from your phone/iPad is extremely easy as well. You can select from your playlist, SiriusXM, Pandora, etc. You can choose music right from the app or from the actual subscription app too. The speaker itself is very well built and looks slick. It does not take up a lot of space but the sound is impactful. One of these speakers can fill up a very large room with good sounding tunes. I would compare it to a nice Bose speaker. The price is a little more then some of the cheaper Bluetooth speakers but that is because you are paying for years of technology and speaker sound. Sonos has been around for a long time and this product proves it. The addition of Alexa to this speaker is just a nice bonus. It works as well as the speaker you get from Amazon but the sound is way better. I doesn’t have all the things that the speaker you get from Amazon, like drop in or calling, but I don’t use that very much. It would be nice to add that feature if possible as a update. All in all, the price is expensive but well worth it for the sound and ease of use. You can easily get one to start and once you see the power easily add additional speakers.

SONOS is a synonym for wireless multi-room speaker ecosystem. Amongst the broad line up of devices in the ecosystem, SONOS One is the paradigm. If anyone is thinking of starting SONOS ecosystem, this is the one to start. Quick summary for pros of the SONOS ONE and SONOS Ecosystem. ***** Pros ***** +Airplay 2 support +Built in voice control (Alexa or Google Assistant) with limited features +SONOS Wireless multiroom +Most extensive stream site line up including Apple Music, Amazon HD, Spotify, Tidal +Network storage and Plex support +Extensive line of products +Useful iOS app +Strong company and community support +Great sound quality for the price If this is one’s first SONOS device, one must make sure considering following points before purchasing as multiroom, wireless speaker world now have wider than ever, high quality alternatives. Primary considerations include Bluesound, Denon/HEOS, Naim and B&W Formation series. +-+-+- Voice Control +-+-+- Despite built in voice control with choice of Alexa vs. Google assistant sound best of all, these voice control features are limited version when compared to native Alexa or Google Assistant devices. For instance, there is no drop in, routine support on Alexa. Although it works fairly well, voice activation is still inferior to dedicated Echo. I had Echo Plus and SONOS One standing next to each other and tested activation, Echo Plus is far more sensitive as even while playing music it still recognized my regular ton of voice; whereas, SONOS One needed me to almost yell to get initiating command activation. Even though SONOS One lacks bluetooth or AUX in connectivity, it is recognized as speaker device on Alexa. So one can still make SONOS as default speaker for the room and still set up device like Echo Dot as input if it is the route one decide to take. At this point however, built in Alexa voice control feature becomes irrelevant and this is no longer strength of the product. Alternative consideration here is Denon’s upcoming Denon Home series, which will have built in microphone arrays. If using Echo device as input is an option, Bluesound, Naim, and soon B&W Formation series are also options. +-+-+- Sound Quality +-+-+- Although SONOS are favorably reviewed for its sound quality, if you are willing to pay more, there are options that can provide even better sound quality. For pure sound quality, most would agree the best to least in following orders: B&W Formation > Naim > Bluesound > SONOS >= HEOS. However, the quality comes with price. For example, SONOS Play 5 is $499. Even with stereo setup, it will be under $1000. Naim Muso 2 is over $1500. B&W Formation Duo is $4000. So ceilings are certainly higher in other lines, the gain of quality may not be worth the difference in price for majority. ---- No Hi-Res ---- Whether one believes in Hi-Res audio or not, they are now prevalent. With Amazon HD service, Hi-Res may finally be reaching to general public. If this is something you are looking for SONOS is not way to go. No-one can predict future, but SONOS said no plan for Hi-Res a while back. So if this is important feature, you need to consider Bluesound, Naim, Denon/HEOS and B&W Formation. +-+-+- Roon Tested/Not Ready +-+-+- SONOS speakers works with Roon but not “ready” labeled. This is not only because lack of Hi-Res support but also Sonos Zones can only group with other Sonos zones and not with other Roon compatible devices. If this is important feature, Bluesound, Naim, Denon Home and B&W Formation are alternatives. +-+-+- Airplay 2 Support +-+-+- For Apple product owners, Airplay 2 may to make mixing various wireless speakers from different brands without any limitation; hence, one can start SONOS One and later add B&W Formation Duo. This setup for multi-room music works; however, there are limitations. For example, Airplay 2 works by streaming music from Apple device to speaker(s). So if you disconnect the device from whatever reason e.g. taking phone outside of house, start playing something else on the phone, those musics will stop playin on the speaker(s). Also, if one is using Hi-Res music, Airplay 2 won’t allow this and therefore will be down-sampled. In contrast, native streaming on speaker like playing music on SONOS using SONOS app on iPhone, the phone acts as remote control and sends command to the speaker(s) and speaker(s) will directly connect to the internet. So it won’t matter if you use the phone for entirely something else e.g. playing Youtube or even play music on the phone itself, it won’t stop those speaker(s). So it is still better to go with single brand if you can. *****Conclusion***** For the price, Sonos One is a great wireless speaker. However, there are some limitations. If this is your first entry into Sonos ecosystem i.e. multi-room wireless speaker world, you should carefully consider alternative options before committing. As multi-room wireless speaker setup can be addictive and sticking with single brand provides the best performance. Once you have done your home work, Sonos One still may be the best option for majority of music lovers.

Sonos is famous for their high quality and this speaker shows it. The main difference between Sonos ONE and ONE SL is that ONE comes with Alexa built in. Right out of the box, the sound is pretty good, but depending of the room and place you put the speaker, the acoustic of that area can make the sound to be "not optimal". Don't worry, the sound can be fine-tuned for wherever you place the speaker. For that you need to download the SONOS app in you iPhone or iPad and use TRUEPLAY (not available in the SONOS app for Android). In my case, the sound improved even more after I used trueplay. Overall, I'm impressed with the sound and the quality. I end up buying another speaker to pair them for stereo sound. I'm considering now to convert my home surround sound to SONOS. It is far superior to the one I have. This speaker uses the Wifi at home. I recommend to have a good Mesh system. As with any wireless speaker, the prefered method for transferring sound is via WiFi The difference between Bluetooth and Wifi is that sound sent via WiFi is not compressed. When using bluetooth in any speaker you will lose some fidelity. I recommend this product to everybody. I cannot express how happy I am with them. Solid product, Great value, Amazing sound.

I put one of these in my kitchen, and one in my living room, and it's really nice having great sound that is so easily accessible. I listen to several Spotify playlists, and it's very nice to be able to say "Alexa, shuffle <playlist>" and have instant music. I often use them when cooking, and it's nice to have the pair going so I have music in both rooms -- I had tried adding an Echo Dot in both rooms, and was never able to get them to synchronize the sound successfully (which is odd, since Alexa supports multi-room playback). The Sonos speakers use their own multi-room setup, and it works perfectly. Alexa support is OK, with a couple of weak spots. It doesn't seem to hear as well as an Echo Dot, so sometimes I have to turn around, look at the Sonos, and speak clearly in order for it to catch my command. It also appears to not adjust speaker volume for things like alarms and timers (which I use when cooking), so if volume is low, the alarm will be almost inaudible, especially if there's music playing. Finally, there's no indicator for alerts. Overall it's still a solid B or B+ on this score, so really fine in most cases.

Update: I’ve loved this speaker since I purchased it. I haven’t experienced connection issues like others. My experience has improved ten fold with Google Assistant. Alexa sometimes needed a reboot after voice went offline. Not once with GA. I have both Alexa and GA powering my setup. Best of both worlds. I can't compare this to the 1st generation Sonos One, but I know it now has BLE and a faster processor. The sound is clear. I also have multiple Play One speakers... Not a big difference in sound. My purpose in buying was the ability to use AirPlay. Playing music from a wider collection. Not locked into a specific app when playing from multiple libraries. Then the ability to group my nom AirPlay speakers. The biggest plus for me... Not only can I group all my Sonos speakers. I can also play through my sound bar that is connected to my Apple TV 4k. This has given me the ability to play the same music throughout the entire house. Extremely easy to setup. I haven't experienced any dropouts. Strong signal from all access points. I love Sonos for producing quality speakers. Easy to setup and use. For a blind individual like myself, this is appreciated. I love tech, and gadgets.... It's refreshing when a manufacturer produces a product that does what it says it will. I can definitely recommend this product.