SONOS PLAY:1 Smart Wireless Speaker, Black

Product Information

Elevate your home theater experience with special settings like Speech Enhancement and Night Sound.⁴ The third reason is, of course, replication. If you’ve already got plenty of voice-activated speakers and suchlike, the arrival of yet another is needlessly confusing. That goes double if you already have a Sonos One in your home. All in all, the Play:1 is a seriously tempting proposition, particularly since it works seamlessly with the rest of Sonos’ portfolio as well, allowing users to expand their sound systems to improve sound quality or combine them with the Sonos Playbar for a full surround-sound system. This gives it plenty of flexibility, and its gorgeous looks makes it stand out in your living room. However, we do have one question that no-one seems to be able to answer; what does the SL stand for?

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Still, that leaves the Sonos One SL looking like a thoroughly sensible, if slightly unexpected, product that ought to do very well since it should appeal to a wide cross-section of people. You no longer need to have one of your Sonos units wired into your router, although we’d still recommend using cables for the most stable and reliable connection. Sonos’s wireless network is one of the best around, so you are unlikely to encounter too many issues with the wi-fi route. These were all speakers made by companies that are smart, but not first and foremost experts in audio. That’s why, for hi-fi fans, the more recent trend for audio companies licensing smart technology – like Google Cast, AirPlay 2 and Alexa and Assistant voice control – has become much more interesting. If you don't value the voice assistant, you may be perfectly happy with the One SL. There are also the Sonos Move and Roam portable Bluetooth/wi-fi speakers to consider, of course. And the new Era 100 is a very decent option if you have a bit more cash to splash and would benefit from its extra Bluetooth and USB-C connectivity options and bigger, more insightful sound. Unsurprisingly, you can also use the One as a surround speaker for a Sonos Beam, Arc, PlayBase or PlayBar-based system, with or without a subwoofer. The Sonos Amp also allows you to create a 4.1 system, with a phantom centre channel, from a pair of wired front speakers and a pair of Ones acting as surrounds.The One’s weight makes for deep, solid bass for a speaker this size, and there’s enough rhythm to just about keep up with Trivium’s Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr, and enough tonal shading to make the most of Flea’s finest Red Hot Chili Peppers basslines. Despite the obvious draw for Star Wars fans, the Trueplay feature is worth doing; when the performance is complete and our One SL notifies us with a pleasing musical power chord, the sound has been optimised to our room. As with our Sonos One, we also recommend keeping the Loudness feature on to maximise the breadth and depth that such a speaker can offer.

Sonos Play:1 review | TechRadar Sonos Play:1 review | TechRadar

The additions of SoundCloud and Google Play Music have perhaps been the biggest wins, while the support for multiple Spotify accounts is another welcome addition. There are still limitations - it doesn't officially support iTunes Radio or AirPlay streaming - but the list of supported services is much more comprehensive than it was in 2013. Cue the Sonos One SL, a Sonos One (Gen 2) without an always-on microphone, and so without Alexa, or any other voice-activated helper. In effect, it’s a direct replacement for the Sonos Play:1. The Sonos app will show a “not connected” status for Sonos products that are experiencing network or connection issues. Learn how to reconnect your Play:1 and prevent connection problems in the future. When the Play:1 launched, the accompanying app was one of our main criticisms. It was clunky and limited in functionality, but Sonos has made some big improvements since. Sonos was created upon the belief you should never have to choose between quality sound and an easy way to access all your music at home," said John MacFarlane, CEO, Sonos, Inc. "The PLAY:1 makes getting started with Sonos even more accessible to music lovers than ever before."

PLAY:1 comes with all the unique benefits that can only be found in a Sonos Wireless HiFi System including Sonos PLAY:3™, Sonos PLAY:5™, Sonos PLAYBAR™ and more: One thing not mentioned is that Sonos One supports 24bit from Qobuz, but Play:1 apparently doesn't. We’d recommend going to the effort of TruePlay tuning the One with a compatible iPhone or iPad if you have one, as it opens the sound up. Unfortunately for Google users, TruePlay via Android devices isn't supported for the One – only for the Era 100 and Era 300 speakers. Inside, Sonos has fitted a tweeter and a brand-new 3.5in mid-range driver (each has its own amp), which has more cone movement than a speaker that size usually does. So, while a speaker that size would normally have cone movement of 6mm, this one moves 14mm. More cone movement means more air movement, which means bigger sound. On top of that, the crossover between the tweeter and driver has been customised, so it’s much lower than normal. Sonos says that this means that you lose the directionality of the speaker, so your music should fill the room no matter where you put it. Add more PLAY:1s or combine with other Sonos wireless speakers or components around the home for the ultimate, multi-room HiFi system.

Sonos OS and Controller App | Sonos S2: The Sonos OS and Controller App | Sonos

Control your system from any room. Start the music, adjust the volume, and group or ungroup speakers. The quality of the microphones makes the One less likely to mishear your requests and instructions – we find it makes fewer mistakes than our third-generation Echo Dot. Correctly hearing the request is only half the battle, though, and Alexa is still capable of misunderstanding. Pair two PLAY:1 units for amazing stereo sound, or use two PLAY:1s as rear speakers with PLAYBAR and a Sonos SUB™ to create 5.1 home theater sound for your TV.Although it assuages those that hate voice control, this microphone-less smart speaker can actually receive music from an iPhone that itself is being controlled via Siri. It’s really about avoiding replication. Able to be stereo-paired with a One and also used as home cinema rears if you’ve got a Sonos Playbar, Playbase or Beam, the One SL avoids you having to pay for features you just don’t need. Although you can switch Alexa and the Google Assistant off entirely, it’s often worth having them listening, particularly as they're more deeply integrated here than with many rivals. What Hi-Fi?, founded in 1976, is the world's leading independent guide to buying and owning hi-fi and home entertainment products. Our comprehensive tests help you buy the very best for your money, with our advice sections giving you step-by-step information on how to get even more from your music and movies. Everything is tested by our dedicated team of in-house reviewers in our custom-built test rooms in London, Reading and Bath. Our coveted five-star rating and Awards are recognised all over the world as the ultimate seal of approval, so you can buy with absolute confidence. The Sonos Play:1, Sonos One and Sonos One SL all feature two Class-D digital amplifiers, one tweeter for high-frequency response and one mid-woofer for mid-range vocal frequencies and bass so the sound performance offered between these devices is solid across the board.

Sonos One SL: The Ultimate Wireless Bookshelf Speaker | Sonos

PLAY:1 lets you stream all the music on earth and access it all using a single, easy to use app. Play millions of songs and playlists from the most popular music services like Pandora, Spotify, Hype Machine and Rdio; listen to your personal music library, whether it’s stored on your computer, in the cloud, on your smartphone or on your tablet; or tune in to more than 100,000 free Internet radio stations, podcasts, and shows from around the world. Control your favorite music sources and listening experience with the free, intuitive Sonos Controller apps for iPad® iPhone®, Android™, Mac and PC. There have been no changes to the features or functionality of the Sonos One SL, though the new model will only work with the S2 Sonos app.] Price and availability For more information on Sonos PLAY:1 including where to buy, technical specifications and more, please visit sonos.com/PLAY1. The Sonos One SL is a justified update on the Play:1, a definitive, malleable companion to the Sonos One, and a musical, punchy, pleasing piece of kit when used completely alone.

We prefer the sound with the Loudness setting left on, but experiment to discover which combination works best for you and your room. We set it up the way we like, and get a delivery that’s weighty, full-bodied and loud – not traits you’d generally expect from a wireless speaker of this size. The soundstage is spacious and impressively organised, with vocals given plenty of breathing room, making them instantly more engaging. READ NEXT: Best Bluetooth speakers 2017: Portable, indoor waterproof and budget Bluetooth speakers Sonos Play:1 review: Sound quality Despite its age and the fact that it has a successor in the Era 100, the Sonos One remains one of the best smart speakers on the market. The One isn’t the only way to add voice Alexa to a Sonos system either – you can add an Echo or Echo Dot to your multi-room system, which brings with it the ability to send music to your Sonos speakers. That’s not as neat, though, as you need to specify which room or speaker you want to listen on. A system comprised of Sonos Ones, on the other hand, will respond based on proximity – unless you instruct otherwise. Verdict When we first heard the One we suspected it was a slight sonic upgrade on the Play:1 but, having listened to both in our testing rooms, the two speakers sound pretty much identical.