Table of Contents
The Sonos One was the company’s first smart speaker. It came out in 2017 and joined a lot of other smart wireless speakers from Apple, Amazon, and Google. These companies were getting into the streaming and voice-controlled market with their HomePod, Echo, and Home products, respectively. All of these speakers were made by smart companies that are not audio experts first and foremost. So, the current trend of audio companies licencing smart technology like Google Cast, AirPlay 2, and voice control for Alexa and Assistant has become much more interesting for fans of high-fidelity sound.
Still, the Sonos One came into this growing field of smart speakers as a strong competitor and the best choice at this low level. When it came, it was most like a Play:1 (remember that little five-star speaker from 2013?) with built-in Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice control, which we thought was a great combo.
Sonos One Specifications
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Sonos |
| Dimensions | 4.69 x 4.69 x 6.36 inches |
| Weight | 4.08 pounds |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
| Bluetooth | No |
| Voice control | Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant |
| Microphone | Far-field microphone array |
| Audio quality | Rich and detailed sound with deep bass |
| Compatibility | iOS, Android, Windows |
Design and Use
The Sonos One is a tweaked form of the Sonos Play:1, which has been taken off the market. It is a 16cm-tall speaker that can fit on a bookshelf or bedside table. The only real change is that the top panel used to have physical buttons, but now it has touch-sensitive controls that work much better.
You can change the volume, play, or pause by tapping, and you can switch songs by swiping. The voice helper can also be turned off by tapping. The speaker has six microphones that use echo-cancelling technology to make sure the voice helper can hear you even when music is playing. You can buy this speaker from its official website
Sonos One: Features
The One’s biggest selling point is that it works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Basically, you can think of this device as a speaker like Amazon Echo or Google Home, though it has better audio components. Alexa on the Sonos One can do everything she can do on Amazon’s Echo devices. She can, of course, set timers, change your thermostat, turn off and on your lights, tell you bad jokes, and play music.
The Sonos One works with all the major streaming services that Sonos already offers, like Spotify, Tidal, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and Amazon Music. Load them directly with the Sonos app, and Alexa will be able to control them with simple commands like pausing and skipping tracks.
Sonos One: Sound Quality
The Sonos One speakers sound great for how small they are, living up to their name. Just one of them was enough to fill my living room with full, balanced sound, but adding a second one made it even better. One great thing about Sonos speakers is that you can adjust them to fit the sound of the place you are in. We listened to “we are a Cuckoo” by Belle and Sebastian before we tuned the speaker. The song was clear, but the singers were very loud and the bass was hard to hear. After the speakers were tuned, the bass was much stronger and the singers weren’t as bright but had a warmer tone.
Sonos One: Performance
Sonos’ TruePlay setting is a big reason why the One has such a powerful sound. If you move your iPhone around in the same room as the One while it’s playing precisely tuned ambient noise, the speaker will adjust itself to your environment. This feature doesn’t work with Android devices. All Sonos systems now have the same thing, and it works just as well as it did before. Want to go back to the original sound.
Price and availability
The latest Sonos One used to cost £199, $199, or AU$299, but you can now find it for a little less than that. As of March 2023, the best price in the UK is £169. As the speaker is taken out over the next few months, the price will only go down. This is true even if stocks last until Black Friday in November.
It’s pretty much the only big smart speaker around that price now. It’s between the cheaper Amazon Echo and Google Nest, which both cost less than half as much, and the more expensive HomePod 2 (£299/€299/AU$579) and Sonos Era 100 (£249/€249/AU$399), which are at the top of the price ladder for smart speakers.
Final Words
Even if you didn’t have Alexa, the Sonos speakers would still be a great way to get music to every room in your house. Not only do they sound great, but you can also adjust their sound to fit the room they are in and play music from dozens of sources, including Spotify. It’s a great bonus that you can control all of this with Amazon’s voice helper. It now also works with the Google Assistant.
Sonos One review: The good and The bad
The Good
- Excellent audio quality
- Comprehensive Sonos app
The Bad
- Now succeeded by Sonos Era 100
FAQS
When not actively playing music, Sonos products are meant to remain powered on while consuming a small amount of electricity.
As soon as you’ve finished setting up your system, you can dive into a vast library of content using any Sonos speaker, soundbar, or component.