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Sonos Play:1
I've owned the Sonos Play:1 for a several months now so felt it high time to write a review on this impressive piece of audio kit.
I'd long been comparing the Play:1 against the Bose Soundtouch 10 and department store display areas just didn't do them justice. I listed to the Bose at a friends house and was impressed but didn't have the Sonos to compare to.. I therefore decided to bite the bullet and just order a Play:1 on the pretence that if it didn't stand up I'd return it.
Straight out of the box you can tell the Sonos Play:1 is a quality product. I chose white to match my living room and the design is simply stunning with nice curves and discreet volume toggle buttons on the top. Set up is very, very "slick & quick" using the iOS app (Android also available) and there is an immediate choice of 100,000 internet radio stations as well as all the popular streaming services such as Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music, Google Play Music, Tidal, Soundcloud plus many more.
I connected to my WiFi (unit also has an Ethernet port), linked my Apple Music subscription and minutes later was listening to Foo Fighters with a huge grin on my face! The idea is that you use the mobile app like a remote control and the content streams directly to the speaker from there on.. I then quickly setup the family iPad so as to have a "coffee table Sonos remote" and also my wife's iPhone..
The speaker itself only measures 6.36 x 4.69 x 4.69 (in) and weighs in a 1.86kg and boy does it pack an audio surprise! Good punchy bass alongside tight and refined treble means this will output excellent balanced audio regardless of your preferred genre.. The trueplay tuning facility links with your phone to measure the acoustics and optimise itself for the room.
The Play1 is excellent standalone or can be combined with a second to make a stereo pair or go further and link to Play:3's, 5's, Soundbars and Bass for the total home audio experience.. The speakers can operate standalone playing a different tune in every room or you can strike that favourite across all rooms in your house just using the Sonos app!
An important point to note is that the Play:1 is a WiFi driven unit and doesn't have direct connectivity to your sources via either Bluetooth or a line in connection. The Sonos Play:5 does offer line in if that's your requirement..
Reigning my excitement back a bit, the Play:1 is my tech buy of the year and fantastic value at £169, the fact my wife who is generally not interested in tech bought into it immediately and now uses it daily is testament to the simplicity and quality of the Sonos experience.
Author
Chris Campion