Skip Sonos: One and buy a Play:1 and Echo

You are assuming that the components within a Play:1 and the Sonos One are the same but Sonos have confirmed they are different, so it isn't just aesthetics. In my opinion, the mistake Sonos made was with the name of the Sonos One which has made people draw the conclusion that they are same.

I’m not sure what “different” means - has there been an improvement in the sound quality? Because, I haven’t read that anywhere. Also, after speaking with a Sonos rep via chat, she acknowledged that the Sonos One and Echo are functionally the same. For instance, neither one can group rooms together via voice command. So, why not buy two Play:1 units and an echo for $330 total, as opposed to two Sonos One units at $400?

There is a difference between grouping Alexa devices under Alexa Groups and Pairing two Sonos players to create a Stereo pair - the latter requires the decoding of a stereo signal. Don't get me wrong though, I would love to be able to pair a Play:1 and a Sonos One in to a stereo pair!

Right. I’m just saying there is no difference between a Play:1 plus an Echo, and a Sonos One, and the Sonos One costs more. The Sonos One is a joke, and it reflects poorly on Sonos.

DMSG82 wrote:

Right. I’m just saying there is no difference between a Play:1 plus an Echo, and a Sonos One, and the Sonos One costs more. The Sonos One is a joke, and it reflects poorly on Sonos.

Um, i guess you haven't read the professional reviews, every one of which is overwhelmingly positive.

“Um,” unlike the “professional reviewers,” I’m an actual consumer who plugged the unit into my existing group of Sonos speakers within my home, and found it to be subpar for the reasons stated above. Also, if you look at the message boards, there are hundreds of other people who have the same complaint that I posted here. If Sonos is happy with some positive “professional reviews” that’s great, but it doesn’t change the fact that loyal Sonos users like myself are returning their newest product because it doesn’t do what it was expected to do, and there’s a way to make things work for less money, and I plan to tell all of my friends, as I’m sure other actual consumers are doing as well. Also, I’m starting to think that Sonos just pays people to troll its boards and shut down constructive criticism about how their products could be better, as opposed to actually addressing problems. It’s funny that no one responding to my post has been able to offer a single difference between the Sonos Play:1 plus an Echo option as an alternative to the Sonos One.

Well, thanks for returning yours, I was able to pick up an open box One in perfect condition at a great discount. 😃 Completed a stereo pair in my dining/kitchen area, without the extra wires and ugly power block of a Dot. Also, the Google ecosystem will soon be added to the One. The Play:1s will need yet another Dot-like device, and yet another power cord, outlet and ugly power block. Ugh.

Oh, did I mention I don't need to tell the One to play "in the kitchen" every time. That got old pretty quickly when I was using a Dot.

You're welcome to your opinion, but those of us who prefer the Ones are just as entitled to ours. Don't quote me, but I suspect the Play:1s will be discontinued within a year or two.

I have noticed a great many Sonos One open box deals. I think they are definitely confusing the previous Sonos customers with expectations of how these speakers would work with the name. If the speaker is technically different at the Sonos sound reproduction and performance level, they should have named it something more distinct in lineage(like a "Voice 1") given it's strikingly similar appearances to a Play 1. Mind you being a new buyer of Sonos One I just unboxed today, I knew this was an issue before I bought it. A number of reviews pointed it out. However, the Alexa integration is missing some features so that's an unpleasant surprise as well that's putting off people that really wanted an echo replacement. Just seems to be a compromise on a number of fronts which is why you get a lot of unhappy buyers and high returns.

Still, I will appreciate the eventual integration with Google. Simply having access to Google AI and Alexa on one device will be phenomenal. Google AI is so far and away superior in terms of understanding voice, it makes Alexa look downright pathetic at times. On the flip side of that though, Alexa is huge on number of supported "skills" and integrations for smart home use which I've built up quite a bit. Having best of both is truly a wonderful option that Sonos is offering us.

I'd urge the original poster to reconsider just how important Stereo now is vs. AI voice integration. I'd say this is all really exciting stuff in general even while its bound to have some bugs and limitations along the way.

For now I will likely pick up a another One to pair in my kitchen and stop at that. I look forward to the rumored potential multi-room audio improvements in the Alexa API that will hopefully solve some issues as well as other AI platforms arriving on the One. I also hope they advance the integration with Alexa so calling and drop-in are available. My family really just started using it and it's pretty convenient at times. I'm sure that last ask is a tall order for now. Until I see some announcement though, I will mostly leave Echo's Dots connected to my always on portable speakers with line-ins around my house. It's hard to justify dropping real money on the Sonos ecosystem with the uncertainty that is looming.

DMSG82 I agree with you completely. In fact I think the Sonos One is worst than a Echo+Play:1 combo by far.

The professional reviews out there on the Sonos One are more like advertisements. Or at least the reviewers are not people that have heavy automation and multiple Alexa's. The first ten minutes I started using the Sonos One in my house I knew there was going to be issues.

Note: I just purchased a Sonos One recently. So I have the newest code upgrades as of today 9/12/18.

It's true that in terms of basic features they are the same. However there are some advantages to the Echo+Play:1 combo and disadvantages to the Sonos One.

Both speakers sound about the same.

The biggest decision maker for me returning my Sonos One (it's going in the mail today) and getting the Echo+Play:1 is the Alexa integration on the Sonos One. It's simply very bad.

Points:
1) It has a Much shorter hearing range than the Echo

2) Even when it can hear you, it has a harder time understanding you. (It's wakes up when you say Alexa but then does not execute your command. An issue I rarely ever have with Echo's)

3) It makes a loud noise every time it starts listening. Which is either when you say the wake word or if "Follow-Up" mode is enabled it happens when you say the wake work AND after it finishes executing your command. (I just got brief mode on my Echo's for less noise....).

3a) No other Alexa device does this, making for a very inconsistent and potentially confusing experience in a multi-Alexa household. You never 100% know which Alexa device will respond so each devices voice interface should be the same.

3b) This noise is tied to the speaker volume. If you were listening to music loudly earlier in the day and now your kids are asleep and you want to use Alexa. Better hope that it's not the Sonos One that responds (assuming multi-Alexa household).

3) Echo actually supports more streaming music services than Sonos One

So buying the Echo+Play:1 you get the same sound but a better implementation of Alexa. Also since the Echo has a longer range, you can place it in a more central location. Meaning that you can buy a single Echo and multiple Play:1's to cover several rooms. Instead of buying several Sonos Ones to cover several rooms (Alexa only ever worked reliably on my Sonos One when I was in the same room).

I own six Sonos Ones, an Echo, and three dots. I've had at least a couple of the Sonos One since the initial release. I'm very happy with my choice and will be adding more later this year.

In response to your points:

(1) and (2) This has not been my experience. The Ones were terrible in the beginning, but multiple firmware upgrades have improved performance to the point where the mic sensitivity is nearly equal to my Echo devices.

(3) and (3a) I agree, although it should be noted this is there because the Sonos One does not have the large rotating light to let users know that Alexa is listening. (BTW, this is the same sound that Amazon employs on all of its echo devices, although on those devices it is disabled by default). Of course, many users have requested the option to disable the wake sound and hopefully that is forthcoming. It is annoying and, for my use, unnecessary.

(3b) There are simple ways to address this. I have my Sonos incorporated into my SmartThings, and the volume of the speakers is automatically adjusted up or down (i) based on time of day, and/or (ii) whenever the speakers have been paused or stopped for a period of time. Even without something like SmartThings, It is now possible to schedule volume adjustments via IFTTT to accomplish much the same thing. However, to your point, some users have asked that Alexa's volume be controlled separately from normal audio. It's not an issue for me, but I understand the logic behind the request.

(4) The number of streaming services also isn't an issue for me. Sonos already has more than I can use. To each his or her own on that one.

Although the Sonos One is more expensive than the Play:1, you can use the One with the Echo just as you do a Play:1. That, IMO, provides the user some additional flexibility as Sonos continues to improve the Alexa implementation on the Sonos One, and also gives them the option to add or switch to Google Assistant later this year.

This is, of course, an individual choice and I'm not at all suggesting you made the wrong decision. The Echo/Play:1 combo is definitely going to be the right choice for some. I'm just providing the perspective of someone who has used the Sonos One over a longer period of time.