Sonos is one of many earliest pioneers of multi-room audio setups and wi-fi residence audio streaming. Though the corporate’s product vary now covers even moveable audio merchandise, it is nonetheless finest identified for its linked good audio system, such because the Sonos One, which I am reviewing immediately. Now formally out there in India by a distributor, Sonos hopes to tackle present good speaker manufacturers similar to Amazon and Google with a significant differentiator – a give attention to sound high quality.
Priced at Rs. 21,999 in India, the Sonos One (Gen 2) is a Wi-Fi speaker with help for Apple AirPlay 2, and has the power to stream music immediately off the Web. Though it’s dearer than choices such because the Google Nest Audio and Amazon Echo series, the Sonos One guarantees higher sound high quality. Does this good speaker stay as much as the hype? Discover out on this overview.
The Sonos One (2nd Gen) works with the Sonos app, which is obtainable on Android and iOS
Sonos One (Gen 2) design and specs
Sonos is finest identified for its high-end audio system and residential audio options, however a number of the firm’s more moderen merchandise are positioned as extra reasonably priced one-box options which are simpler to put in and use. The Sonos One (Gen 2) is like most of the different good audio system presently available on the market, within the sense that it is a single system that have to be linked to an influence socket and is meant to stay in a single place.
The Sonos One (Gen 2) speaker has an oblong block-like form, with a metallic grille on round it, and a plastic base and high. The underside of the speaker has a socket for the included energy adapter. The again has an Ethernet port for wired connectivity and a single button that controls some pairing-related capabilities. The speaker weighs 1.85kg, and is sort of heavy for a product of its dimension.
The highest of the Sonos One (Gen 2) has a touch-sensitive zone, which is used to regulate playback and the amount. There’s additionally a microphone button if you want to mute the mic. The play/pause button and quantity controls work with single faucets, whereas swiping from left to proper or proper to left on this space will skip to the following or earlier monitor respectively. You may also management these capabilities out of your smartphone.
The audio drivers on the Sonos One (Gen 2) consist of 1 tweeter and one mid-woofer. The speaker is powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core processor and has 1GB of RAM. The Sonos One (Gen 2) doesn’t have Bluetooth connectivity, and makes use of solely Wi-Fi to stream music off the Web by linked providers. Google’s Chromecast protocol shouldn’t be supported on the Sonos One (Gen 2) both, so you will not be capable to solid music to the speaker from an Android telephone, even with supported apps.
Though the corporate mentions that each 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi are supported, I had varied connectivity points with 5GHz Wi-Fi and had to make use of a 2.4GHz connection to make use of the Sonos One (Gen 2) correctly. Sonos’ well-known multi-room implementation could be arrange by the app if in case you have a number of audio system in your house, and you too can arrange a stereo pair with two Sonos One audio system in the identical room.
For the reason that Sonos One (Gen 2) is a Wi-Fi-enabled speaker, you want the Sonos app to set it up (out there on iOS and Android). The method took round 10 minutes in complete, together with connecting the speaker to my Wi-Fi router and linking my streaming providers to it. You may also undergo the ‘TruePlay’ tuning course of which is alleged to optimise sound primarily based on the acoustics of your room.
The app is sort of easy to make use of as soon as absolutely arrange, with tabs for fast entry to just lately performed tracks, playlists and curations in your linked streaming providers, and settings for the Sonos One itself. There’s additionally a helpful Search tab that allows you to search throughout all linked providers and your individual playlists with key phrases.
The Sonos One (2nd Gen) helps varied streaming providers, together with Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music
Companies that may be linked with the Sonos One (Gen 2) embrace Apple Music, YouTube Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible, Gaana, and JioSaavn. You additionally get free, pre-authenticated entry to Sonos Radio, which helps you to stream curated Web radio stations and playlists on the speaker.
In case you’re utilizing the Sonos One (Gen 2) with any AirPlay-compatible system similar to an iPhone or iPad, you’ll be able to play audio immediately on the speaker utilizing any of the supported apps on the system itself, due to AirPlay 2 help. This naturally makes the Sonos One significantly well-suited to be used with Apple gadgets. The Sonos One helps linking Google Assistant or Alexa for hands-free voice instructions in some nations, however disappointingly, this characteristic was not supported in India on the time of this overview.
Sonos One (Gen 2) efficiency
The Sonos One (Gen 2) is a brilliant speaker for all intents and functions, however the incapacity to arrange a voice assistant in India is a substantial downside. As of now, it is not potential to only ask the speaker for the content material you need. It is a very primary and elementary characteristic for any good speaker such because the Amazon Echo vary or the Apple HomePod mini. Nonetheless, the Sonos One remains to be very usable even with out this characteristic, albeit with a couple of extra steps wanted to play what you need.
You would possibly surprise why patrons ought to even think about this system over competing good audio system, given this vital downside and its excessive value, however I believe this may be answered with one very robust level – sound high quality. The Sonos One could be very spectacular relating to sound high quality, delivering loud, pleasurable, and refined sound that’s comfortably superior to what I’ve heard on some other mainstream good speaker, together with the equally priced Amazon Echo Studio.
You possibly can join an Ethernet cable to the Sonos One, as a substitute for Wi-Fi
I used the Sonos One (Gen 2) with an Apple iPhone because the controlling system. I discovered that utilizing AirPlay from inside apps similar to Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Audible was rather a lot simpler than utilizing the Sonos app. The latter works decently nicely for fetching content material, and this can be your solely choice in the event you’re utilizing an Android telephone. There have been a few events on which the apps weren’t in a position to detect the speaker by AirPlay, however this was simply mounted by rebooting both the speaker or my router.
As soon as linked utilizing AirPlay, streaming was steady and lag-free, sound high quality was pretty much as good because it might be, and playback and quantity controls had been fast and responsive. Whereas all of this may have been rather a lot simpler with a voice assistant, not one of the different performance of the speaker is crippled so it isn’t a complete loss.
Apple’s Siri voice assistant is often in a position to hand music off from one system to a different utilizing AirPlay protocols, however all of my makes an attempt to do that with audio from my AirPods Pro to the Sonos One utilizing voice instructions had been met with errors. This did work correctly when utilizing AirPlay throughout the Apple Music app; the music paused on my earphones and resumed on the Sonos speaker after a second. As soon as once more, voice instructions do not appear to work with the Sonos One (Gen 2) in any respect.
The controls of the Sonos One (2nd Gen) are on the high, as is the microphone
Sound high quality on the Sonos One (Gen 2) is, as acknowledged above, distinctive for a wise speaker of this value and dimension. The speaker is loud, refined, cohesive, and detailed with all genres, and the sonic signature is versatile sufficient to adapt nicely to only about any form of audio content material being performed. Even at excessive volumes, there wasn’t a lot distortion or wrestle to be heard from the speaker, and it fairly simply delivered highly effective sound that might be heard clearly even from completely different rooms in my residence.
Listening to Let’s Groove by Earth, Wind & Hearth, the Sonos One provided up tight, refined bass, whereas permitting for loads of sparkle within the highs and definition within the mid-range of this disco monitor. The sound was full of life and pleasurable, with rather more vitality being delivered than what I anticipated from a speaker of this dimension. The flexibleness of the sound was noticeable even with various kinds of music, together with the punchy and aggressive Increase by Tiesto, with the speaker delivering precisely what was wanted.
Even with gentler tracks similar to Fact by Kamasi Washington, the Sonos One allowed element to shine by. With audio books, I used to be in a position to hear Ray Porter’s glorious narration of Heaven’s River by Dennis E. Taylor clearly and attentively even from about 10 toes away. The Sonos One is a well-tuned good speaker that simply outperforms all of its opponents relating to sound high quality.
TruePlay tuning on the Sonos One (Gen 2) is sort of a tedious course of, because it requires you to maneuver across the room along with your telephone for round 10-Quarter-hour to measure sound utilizing its microphone, all whereas retaining issues quiet. The method failed and wanted to be began over a few instances after I tried this, due to even the slightest disturbance similar to somebody talking in a unique room, or a doorbell ringing. Nonetheless, as soon as accomplished, I discovered the sound a bit extra full of life and open with TruePlay lively, and would advocate going by these steps for finest outcomes.
Verdict
Good audio system usually have to examine some containers relating to options similar to Web connectivity, the power to hyperlink with common streaming providers, and entry to voice assistants. As of now, the Sonos One (Gen 2) solely fulfills two of the above necessities, though it’s potential that the corporate might roll out help for voice assistants in India sooner or later. Nonetheless, on all different counts similar to connectivity, usability, and sound high quality, the Sonos One is a superb good speaker.
Though costly at Rs. 21,999, the Sonos One (Gen 2) sounds significantly higher than some other good speaker I’ve heard, and this alone makes it price contemplating if in case you have the price range. It may additionally be price contemplating the Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen), which though not pretty much as good when it comes to sound high quality, does have a superb 10-inch display screen and full-fledged entry to Alexa, for a extra full good expertise.
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