Sonos One (Gen 2) - The powerful Smart Speaker with Alexa built-in, White

Product Information

While at launch the functionality seemed a little more limited than we were expecting due to the absence of its integration with Spotify, this has now been rectified via a software update. The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) also sounds great when playing music. Listening to Little Simz' Woman, the bass sounds deep and well-controlled, while synth strings are warm and rich. Simz's rap vocal comes through with clarity, while Cleo Soul's avant-soul melodies float sumptuously above the mix. The Sonos One was first released in 2018. However, it's worth pointing out that since then Sonos speakers have had several updates. At 2.72 x 25.63 x 3.94 inches (H x W x D), it’s much smaller than the company’s flagship soundbar, the Sonos Arc, making it ideal for smaller spaces.

On the top of the device you’ve also got a power-indicating LED alongside a small light to let you know when Alexa is listening. This second LED is hardwired to the microphones, and Sonos promises that the microphones cannot listen to you if it’s not illuminated. Sonos One review: set-up Sonos One seamlessly syncs voice, app, and touch commands, enabling you to manage music with a single word, tap of the app, or swipe of the speaker. Combine voice with the Sonos app to manage all your music in one place. If your TV doesn’t have an HDMI port, you can connect the Beam via the optical port; Sonos provides all the cables you need in the box.

Sonos Speakers

The most important parts are the quad-core processor and six-mic array letting it serve as an AI assistant as well as a multi-room wireless speaker. The boosted processing power has enabled it to be updated and adapted over time – Google Assistant support was added more recently than its original Alexa support, for example. It is a true 'platform' rather than just a Wi-Fi speaker with knobs on, as Sonoses (Soni?) had previously been. It's worth remembering that, while voice control is obviously the big headline for the One, you can of course still use it as you would any other Sonos speaker. Sonos's own app remains the best in the business for its usability and for bringing practically every streaming service (and your own stored tunes) together under one roof, and the addition of AirPlay 2 means Apple device users can send audio from almost any app they use. Spotify Connect is onboard, too, though Bluetooth connectivity and physical connections (USB-C) are the reserves of the new Era 100.

With the Sonos Alexa skill, you can also use voice commands to get music playing on other Sonos speakers throughout your home. The skill is still in beta and is hence a little buggy (it refused to play the radio on “kitchen speaker”, but was fine with “kitchen”), but when this sees a full launch it will be another helpful feature. Conclusion 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. Featuring BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), increased memory and an updated processor, the Sonos One is more capable than ever. BLE simplifies first-time set-up by temporarily communicating with your smartphone or tablet (note, BLE does not support audio streaming). The new processor and increased memory give the latest version of the Sonos One greater potential for exciting future updates. One new connectivity feature for the Sonos Beam is HDMI eARC compatibility, which the company says will bring a “richer, more immersive, and higher definition sound experience”. Compared to the HDMI ARC connectivity found on the original Beam, eARC can handle more advanced audio formats and deliver superior audio quality. Still, the new Beam can cope with 32 channels of audio and even eight-channel 24-bit/192kHz uncompressed 38Mbps data streams. In other words, as well as supporting Atmos, it can play hi-res audio files of your favorite songs.There isn't a huge amount of bass, but it's no worse in this regard than other speakers of its size – you have to step up a bit to something like the Naim Mu-so Qb 2nd Gen (which is three times the price and notably larger) for a real improvement in this area. To facilitate this voice control, Sonos has equipped the speaker with six internal microphones to allow it to hear you drunkenly ask to play ‘Hey, Jude’ just one more time, and these are joined by more or less the same guts as the Sonos Play:1; namely its pair of Class-D amplifiers and a tweeter / mid-woofer driver combo. The most common issue is when you say, for example, “play Ladytron”, and she instead starts playing a song with those words in the title. That can be annoying at first, but you can avoid that by saying “play some music by Ladytron” instead.

Pair with another Sonos One (Gen 2) in the same room for stereo separation and more detailed sound. And you can use a pair as rear home theatre surround speakers with the Sonos Playbar, Playbase, or Beam (sold separately).

Gen 2: The second generation of the Sonos One has been upgraded with increased memory and an updated processor.

As you might expect, the Sonos One SL can fit straight into an existing Sonos configuration, adding even more sound to your mix of PLAYBARS and smart speakers. Enjoy clear, richly-detailed sound that fills the room at all volumes, with the superb audio quality that Sonos are renowned for. That’s not to say that instruments are left out – they emerge in an impressively stereo-like way from either side of the singer. It’s rather sophisticated and natural in that regard. It felt like the virtual height channels cut out around the top of our ears. While this did feel more immersive than a non-Atmos soundbar, the effect wasn't as impressive as you get with the Sonos Arc, which features up-firing drivers.

Essentially, we think the Sonos One is the best smart speaker on the planet. And, despite mounting competition, the fact it's held onto that top spot for years now is really saying something. Despite that, it has now spruced up its own app, which now promises to offer easier access to your music and less head-bangingly irritating control of multi-room.