SONOS PLAY:1 Compact Smart Speaker for Streaming Music (White)
I recently shopped for some quality WiFi speakers to use in our newly remodeled master bathroom. It’s a large space (15x15 ft) with a high ceiling. I intend to operate them as a pair with stereo left and right channel functionality.
Primary considerations were quality of sound, stereo pairing, wireless stability, and application functionality. After looking at Raumfeld, Bose, Yamaha, Harmon Kardon and Samsung, I decided it was a choice between the Sonos Play 1 and Yamaha Music Cast WX030, which have similar price points.
Background:
Sonos-A year ago, I set up a pair of Sonos Play 5’s at the office in a recreation room and a Sonos Connect with a (surprise) Yamaha receiver and Bose bookshelf speakers in our Fitness Center. The Play 5’s in the Rec Room are placed on shelves and never require any touch of the actual device once they are set up. Just open the app. They power up immediately and are linked as a stereo pair. For this reason, I felt a high placement was possible in my bathroom on a ledge above the closet.
Yamaha-I’ve been a Yamaha fan my entire adult life. I rode a Yamaha XS750 Special motorcycle over 100K miles in 6 years. My first stereo system was a Yamaha (CR-620) and my current AV receiver is also a Yamaha. The CR-620 in particular is still alive in my garage and playing vinyl records on the same turntable I bought with that receiver in the 70’s. It’s attached to a set of Bose 301’s from the same era and a pair of Pioneer 3-way tower speakers with dual 8” woofers. With the advancement of wireless speakers, I anticipate my next AV receiver will be wireless too. The MusicCAST system looks like it may fit the bill some day.
Setup-I placed these speakers side by side in stereo pairs in each room of the house. Placed in corners of the same wall on tables at shoulder level with a clear line of sight. They landed in my bedroom for a few days after an evening of moving them about the house. Using their individual apps enabled me to toggle between brands with various music genres and sources all from my iPhone.
Sonos Play 1…
• Technology
o Initial setup of these units and connecting them as stereo pairs was just plain simple. They connected to my iPhone 6, then the house WiFi, and finally paired when I was ready.
o TruePlay is an interesting feature. It sends a loud note from the speakers while you wave your mobile device around the room for a minute. (I felt like I was clearing the bad spirits away with burning sage) It really did the trick. I could hear it chasing the bad sound spirits away. Running the TruePlay setup in each room tuned them for the best stereo image possible.
o The equalizer in the app is limited to Balance, Bass and High only, but I really didn’t care.
o The Sonos app connected to my Pandora and Sirius accounts and played directly from the phone itself with no skips or delays of any kind.
o A wonderful feature when paired as L-R speakers is, you can turn them on and adjust volume using the controls on either speaker without the app. Either, controls both!
o Over the days I tested the Play 1’s, I never had to mess with settings or even touch the buttons on the speakers. It just worked on demand through the Sonos app.
• Audio:
o These little speakers really surprised me. Fabulous mid range and highs, which made vocals jump out at you. Bass was ok but not pretentious. It’s like Sonos knew the limitations of a small package like this and didn’t try to fake it.
o Play 1’s sound just fine individually but they really come into their own as a stereo pair. The sum of the parts was better than imagined.
o When I listened to these, the term “bright” (in a good way) seemed to fit. At high and low volume levels, the sound transitioned nicely across the frequency range. At high volume I wondered what a small subwoofer would add to a pair of these speakers. Placed on wooden night stands, the Play 1’s bass improved noticeably.
o With the dial at max noise, these speakers strained too much with some loss of quality.
o The Play 1 speaker has high fidelity sound from the pre-subwoofer era. Sonos has recreated that sound with two small drivers and packed it all in an acoustically enhanced housing. I wish my old Advent Loudspeakers put out this kind of midrange.
o Perfect for smaller rooms and I bet, as surrounds on a larger system.
Yamaha WX-030…
• Technology:
o Powering these on, installing the app and performing the firmware update was straightforward. The app is intuitive to use although it’s not “fluid” in the way you move around. I felt it took more clicks than the Sonos to perform the same function.
o They connected to my house WiFi just fine and reconnected on demand.
o Connecting the WX’s as a stereo pair and linking for use in one room, took some time with multiple button gymnastics required on each speaker. Over time, I noticed I had to relink these speakers in the app when turning them on after they’ve been sitting on standby for a while.
o The equalizer has midrange in addition to high and bass adjustment, which was good. I wish adjusting one speaker would have adjusted the other but you had to do each speaker separately. When adjusting volume in the app, a slider for both speakers pops up to show you they are moving in unison. You can adjust them individually in the app too.
o Making adjustments using the controls on the speaker itself was awkward at best. One doesn’t control the other so you have to adjust both speakers separately. The problem is, there is no indication that you are on “volume 7” or “Pause” since the controls don’t have lights. Nor do the (elegantly executed) buttons have anything resembling a tactile feel. I found it easier to just use the app.
o The app has some delay in response to adjustments. The slider controls lag our finger movement by a split second you can see.
o I have a very robust wireless system in the house and stream HD movies with no trouble to the TV and mobile devices simultaneously. The audio connection of the WX’s skipped a few times making me wonder about the file size of the source running over WiFi. It seems to be worse when using airplay, which is a much-desired feature to have regardless.
• Audio
o Now here’s where the Yamaha shines the most, as it should. Very full sound with great bass. Whether used as a pair or individually, the Yamahas had fantastic acoustics.
o At lower volumes, the bass seemed to overwhelm the midrange frequencies but it wasn’t annoying. It gave the sound a relaxed quality.
o At high volumes, bass makes an impact. They still can’t move enough air for exceptional lows when pushed to the max but they do a fine imitation. Like a sports car, these speakers just want to run fast and much louder than the Sonos with little strain or distortion. Medium to loud volume puts these speakers in their sweet spot.
o Sound-wise, these speakers are first consideration for medium and open plan rooms or as a supplemental pair to a larger system in a huge room.
Summary
• Sonos Play 1-This turned out to be the best choice for my intended use and as a system I would want to expand on in the future. Sonos has owned this part of the market and for good reason. Their products have a definite “Apple Feel”. They work seamlessly, exude quality and the packaging is elegant in that “Apple Way”.
• Yamaha WX-030-I really wanted to love these speakers. It is a great disappointment to see Yamaha release a product that isn’t quite ready for prime time. The sound is really good but the app is wonky. And the connectivity needs massaging. These drawbacks give this product a “Symbian or Windows feel”.
• Conclusion-If I was to choose, just for myself, I would deal with the technical challenges of the Yamaha just for that sound. Considering my wife and other family members who will also operate this speaker system, the Sonos hits it out of the park for me.
o Sonos Play 1 Bon Jovi, Hendrix and Supertramp
o Yamaha WX-030 Guns & Roses, AC/DC and Bowie.
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This Item  Sonos Play:1 - Compact Wireless Smart Speaker - White (Discontinued by manufacturer) |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $219.92 | $447.50 | $236.99 | $427.99 | $219.99 | -6% $464.00 Typical: $494.00 |
| Delivery | Get it as soon as Thursday, Apr 11 | Get it as soon as Thursday, Apr 11 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Apr 10 | Get it as soon as Thursday, Apr 11 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Apr 10 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Apr 10 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Sound quality | ||||||
| Value for money | ||||||
| Bluetooth connectivity | ||||||
| Quality of material | ||||||
| Sold By | Renovar Tech | Trends Goods | Esquared Trading | Trends Goods | TRENDY-TECH (We Record Serial Numbers) | Group Usa |
| power source | AC | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | AC |
| connectivity tech | Wi-Fi | wireless | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi | Wi Fi |
| speaker type | Wireless | Multi Room | Multi Room | Subwoofer | Smart Speaker | Outdoor |
| mounting type | Play | Tabletop | Shelf Mount | Floor Standing | Tabletop | Table Top |
| weight | 4.08 pounds | 4.5 kilograms | 3 kilograms | 6.3 kilograms | 4.79 pounds | 8 pounds |
| control method | voice | application, voice, touch | voice | application | application | voice |
| model name | Play:1 | Sonos Era 300 - White | Sonos Era 100 - White | Sonos Sub Mini - White | Sonos One SL | Sonos One(Gen2) |
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Reviews with images
Sonos > Bluetooth Speaker
Originally purchased just one Sonos speaker, it sounded great. I've never really been an audiophile, so what sounds good to me may not be the case for other people. After listening too a lot of music on the Play 1, i wondered if they were worth it... Let me just say I recently went too a friends house and he was playing music on his pretty expensive Bose Bluetooth speaker and that's when I realized the Sonos speakers are incredible and very well worth it. I remember sitting there wondering why the Bose sounded so awful, it's because the Play 1 sounds so much better. Until you compare a Bluetooth speaker to Sonos you won't realize just how much better they sound.I purchased a Play 1 because after reading a lot of reviews it seemed two Play 1's were better than one Play 3.. Figured I'd try out one Play 1 before purchasing two but I finally made the next step and purchased 2 Play 1's and they really do sound incredible. Together they really create a beautiful sound.I have not tried the speakers in a larger setup, not sure how they sound in a bigger room. I use them in a home office and the room is 11x10 and they really fill the room perfectly. You can see the setup I use in the pictures.Pros-Sound excellent-Beautifully designed-Controls on the speaker itself-Ability to have just one plugged into Ethernet and create a seamless connection between both speakers wirelessly-A very nice UI on the Sonos appCons-Limited to using just the Sonos app-Having to add everything to a que, which I've become so accustomed to now it doesn't bother me but at first it's kind of annoying-Obviously pricey but well worth it with the quality-Bass could be better, but for such a small speaker they really produce a clean sound
Top reviews from other countries
Hex Flux
La reseña que debes leer antes de comprar una PLAY-1
Reviewed in Mexico on May 17, 2018
Luis Marín
Quiero todos los productos de Sonos!!!
Reviewed in Mexico on February 8, 2018
