Help me choose please;) Sonos play 1 or new play one?

Confused even more now but thanks for all your help;) I just want to get the best i can for my needs and having waited this long the extra 35 for a one isnt as much of an issue as is the need to get something moat suited to my needs and home

Hi Heatherhoward

Sorry that you feel confused….but you shouldn't be.

The Sonos One is built on the same basic platform as the venerable Play 1 that has proven to be one of the best speakers in the Sonos line-up. Now that statement will probably raise a lot of eyebrows. However, I challenge anyone to prove to me that the Sonos One is sonically superior to the Play 1. In fact Sonos by their own admission doesn't make any specific claims of improved sonic resonance of the Sonos One over the Play 1.

Read the following statement and more at the link below it:
Built on the mini-but-mighty blueprints of PLAY:1, Sonos One is backed by a pair of Class-D amplifiers and custom-built drivers, meticulously tuned to the speaker's unique acoustic architecture.

https://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/one.html

The Sonos One is set apart from the Play 1 by the integration of Alexa and the internal components to support it along with the cosmetic exterior changes. Bottom-line IMO you'd be happy with either one regarding music reproduction. In fact if you turn off the Alexa listening mics of the Sonos One there's no overt difference in basic functionality_it's a Sonos speaker. Albeit that the Sonos One is future proofed for Apple Airplay 2 to accept it natively vs the Play 1.

You mentioned negative reviews regarding Alexa and the Sonos One. Let's put that into perspective. This is a Community Help forum where the majority of what's written is in response to questions like yours; but more often than not problems and/or complaints. Therefore, one really has to sift through the rhetoric (layers) to fully understand what is being conveyed. However, many like myself when asked will most likely give a honest answer although it may lean toward the positive for Sonos :8. Truth…I've seen recommendations in this forum where it was suggested that the poster look elsewhere. Imagine that!

Another factor contributing to negative responses about the Sonos One with Alexa IMO can be attributed to over-expectations by the user. Many who complain about the Sonos One Alexa integration only heard Alexa is coming to Sonos and immediately assumed the experience would be the same as using a dedicated Echo, Tap, Dot and now the Echo Show.

The Sonos One is a Sonos speaker first and foremost. If Alexa where completely native to the Sonos One you probably wouldn't have to install both the Sonos Controller and the Alexa App. Both Apps have to be properly setup to get the best performance and seamless integration between the Sonos One and the Alexa assistant. That IMO is where most failed to understand and therefore had less than a stellar initial experience. The Sonos One is still evolving with better performance and more skills coming in future updates relating to Alexa.

I'm going to do something I try not to do and strongly recommend one Sonos speaker over another and encourage you to buy the Sonos One. As I said earlier you can turn off the listening mics at anytime.

Best success with your decision and Cheers!

https://en.community.sonos.com/wireless-speakers-228992/airplay-2-on-sonos-6797748/index1.html

Thanks for clarifying. Personally I prefer to have my speakers placed in the room for best position for sound. The mic should be placed at best position for picking up commands. Therefore for me the two device solution is best at minimum. I'd also recommend a couple more dots or Google mini placed listening area for best results.

Hi
Im hoping to go with the new version with alexa. I love my echo for playing music(its lousy answering questions!!) and my playlists but as i work for a tight company i cant afford it just yet so am hoping for it as a 40th presssie for my birthday as dropped lots of hints!!!;)Let us know what you get

Thanks!!;) Do you know if you can initiate playback through alexa or is it only good for increasing volume, skipping songs etc? I also want to play my playlists on spotify and initiate through alexa

Hi Heatherhoward

First know that you must have the Sonos App and the Alexa App installed on your phone or tablet to use Alexa with the Sonos One.

That said...if you are part of the Amazon ecosystem you'll be able to command Alexa on the Sonos One to play whatever music genre Amazon Music has to offer. Additionally, you'll be able to command Alexa via the Sonos One to play compatible music services such as Sirius XM and others. For instance for Amazon Music the command would be "Alexa...play smooth jazz". For a music service the command would be "Alexa...play Watercolors on Sirius XM. If you have a smart home you can even control your lights with a Philips Hue hub and other smart devices.

If you have additonal Sonos speakers (i.e. Play 1, Play 3 or Play 5 ) named to other rooms you can command Alexa via the Sonos One to play music on them. Such as "Alexa...play smooth jazz on Bedroom". The music will only play on the Bedroom speaker not the Sonos One given the previous command. If you have grouped rooms together beforehand the command would be "Alexa...play smooth jazz". You'll notice that the command did not spceify a particular room when speakers are grouped. Music will play on all speakers until you de-group them.

If you still want to use your Dot I recommend changing the "wake command" on the Dot if it is in close proximity to the Sonos One. You cannot change the wake command on the Sonos One. Also, if you decide to really pump-up your music by creating a stereo pair you must use another Sonos One as the Sonos One and Play: 1 are not compatible as such. If you do create a stereo pair with Sonos One's I recommend turning off the "listening mic" of one speaker.

Below are two links you'll find useful. The first link is actually a subset of the second. However, I feel viewing them in the order listed is the most beneficial. Welcome to Sonos. Cheers!

https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3046?_ga=2.54127342.736737393.1518309673-124729981.1509230493

https://www.sonos.com/en-us/support/setting-up-sonos

Wow thanks so much;:) What are peoples experiences of the new play one witb alexa as ive read mixed reviews vs the old play 1 which has pretty much excellent reviews

The sound quality on both is fantastic and I personally can't tell the difference between a Play 1 and a Sonos One. Alexa support is good with a few exceptions:

1/ Not all Alexa skills are supported. Audible and audio skills are in the group that aren't supported;
2/ The Sonos One, although getting better, is still not as good as an Echo Dot at hearing the wake word;
3/ As AjTrek1 says, there is no ability to group players via voice control but I would expect that to come soon.

Personally, I would go for the Sonos One.

This is all so helpful and informative;) Set on a sonos one now, just have to decide if 1 or 2 (due to the deal) although i think ill stick with one as, whilst ive put up with a tinny bluetooth from tesco for years and dont mind paying a bit, im not a flush with money sadly;( Does anyone know if the flexson stands are any good(&the length of their cables?)

My wifi is excellent and i only live in a very small house with just me and wont be using other devices at the same time as id switch my dot off. Theres a limit on what i can afford as im on my own, this is a push

You won't regret getting 2 of them.

I'm not sure the negative reviews you have seen as the Sonos One is pretty universally praised.

The Sonos One does sound pretty identical to the Play:1 with the advantage of the Alexa built in. It is nice having the Sonos One instead of using the Alexa skill because with the Alexa skill you have to currently name the room. Such as to the Dot you have to say "Play Bruno Mars in Living Room" where Living Room is your name of Sonos unit. When using the Alexa built in the Sonos One you just tell it "Play Bruno Mars".

Also the Sonos One doesn't behave any different then other Play speakers from Sonos in that you can fully use the Sonos app and group it with other Sonos units (it really is a Play:1 with Alexa built in). You don't loose anything Sonos wise.

You do loose a few things it can't do that the dot can do (like calling features) that Amazon currently doesn't support on third party devices.

Sonos One is a better experience then play1 and dot

Sonos One is a better experience then play1 and dot

I respect your opinion, but in my opinion the dot and play 1 is a better experience.
Having the dot, gives you access to skills that the Sonos does not support and some that it probably will never support.
But that aside the op of this thread has stated that money is an issue. Do you really think that the Sonos one is worth 80 stg more when user already owns dot and has stated that he is just interested in listening to music and radio.
With the dot he/she just needs to say play "artist" upstairs or play "artist" downstairs.
Job done. 2 Sonos for price of one "one" and one Sonos one wall stand.

Sonos One is nice not having to speak the room name and more reliable in commands. It is a much more fluid experience then using dot and play:1. Also the ducking issue doesn’t effect it in that alexa kno s to only lower its volume not other speakers in the house as current play:1 dot integration would do.