I recently read a Which review of the Sonos One (https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/wireless-and-bluetooth-speakers/sonos-one/review), which was damning.
I was quite surprised as the forums and other reviews I have seen are quite positive. For those that have both, I would like to know what is your overall impression of the Sonos One sounds quality vs. the Amazon Echo 2nd Gen?
To quote Which:
"Should I buy this speaker? No."
"[It's] mediocre. Music sounds very processed, rough and harsh rather than natural, with a heavy bass that is not well blended with the rest of the sound."
"Amazon's own Eco Second Generation sounds significantly better at a far cheaper price."
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Userlevel 7
I can't comment on the review as I'm not going to pay to read it. However, I'd be curious to know what the reviewer thought of the Play: 1 as the Sonos One is mainly the same speaker only with Alexa. All reviews I've read have said that one would be very hard pressed to categorically say the the Sonos One sounds better than the Play: 1. Not knowing what return policies are like in the UK (in the USA most offer 15 days min) I'd suggest you buy both and decide for yourself. Also here's another review from the UK that you may or may not have read (BTW it's free to read :8) Cheers!
https://www.pocket-lint.com/speakers/buyers-guides/142617-sonos-one-vs-amazon-echo-what-s-the-difference
https://www.pocket-lint.com/speakers/buyers-guides/142617-sonos-one-vs-amazon-echo-what-s-the-difference
Based on my extensive use of Echo 2nd gen and a play 1, I'd say the conclusion is rubbish. The Sonos One used for comparison may have been defective. The Echo sounds decent, far better than the Dot and you can live with it, but don't then make the mistake of listening to a 1/One.
I wouldn't worry about a Which review. I once did subscribe but found all of their tech reviews to be lightweight and I disagreed with their findings for the items I had personal experience of. I think they use all the subscription money to pay the over-inflated salary of their chief executive and other board members.
Userlevel 7
+20
'Which?' is just wrong on this one, period.
Don't forget the Sonos One is a directional speaker where the Echo2 is Omnidirectional. This makes it hard to do a straight quality comparison because the different acoustic characteristics will influence your perception depending on the listening environment. I would say the Sonos One is a much higher fidelity speaker than any Echo speaker currently available though I prefer the Sonos in pairs rather than in Mono. An Echo can sound pretty good when placed near a wall for some low end reinforcement but that would be very dependent on the environment it is playing in. I also think the original Echo sounded a bit better than the Echo2 despite the claims of improved sound so there is always going to be an element of subjectivity in any listening test.
Just for completeness, the Sonos One is not a Play:1 with Alexa. All the relevant comment from Sonos employees that I have seen on this forum has said that the components are largely different, despite the similar outward appearances.
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