Sonos Play: 1 we analyze this speaker only suitable for the most demanding

Sonos has become over time and thanks to the quality of its products in a benchmark in terms of sound for the home, it is clear that we are facing a democratization device, this is designed for those who are only willing to have the best at home.

We have in our hands the Sonos Play: 1, one of the oldest and still attractive Sonos alternatives to get you started in this quality sound. We are going to analyze in all kinds of detail everything that makes this small but powerful speaker so attractive, stay with us and find out.

As always, we will have an index and we will categorize those sections that we think deserve attention in detail. We are facing a device that is not cheap (although its price has dropped over time) but that is still attractive since its design and sound quality have not gone out of fashion, let's go there.

Materials and design: one word, premium

This section is always relevant in a device with these characteristics. It may seem like a not very decisive section, especially if we are looking for sound quality, but Sonos has thought of everything. To begin we are going to detail the device, we have a rubber base with four studs that makes the Sonos Play: 1 stay in place without the slightest fear. The middle part, where the speakers are distributed, It is constructed of a resistant aluminum mesh and that at the same time gives us a design plus, quality feel and of course durability.

Meanwhile, in the upper part we have the corrugated base also in plastic. To control the Sonos, only three buttons have been placed on this top, a double one that represents the volume controls and the one for Play / Pause, between which the status information LED interposes. On the back we find the slit for the wall mount, the RJ41 (Ethernet) community and the cable. For the cable they have opted for a standard adapter, yes, with a shape that allows us to integrate it into the body of the speaker.

The design is simple, but successful. In fact, it will remind us a lot in its two possible colors (black and white) of an Apple product. It is designed to go unnoticed in any room in the house, without neglecting that it is pretty enough to accompany the decoration. A total weight of 1,85 Kg which is not little, accompanied by a reduced size of 12 x 12 x 16,2 cm.

Technical characteristics: quality by flag

In the Sonos Play: 1 we find to start with a 3,5-inch woofer along with a tweeter. With this they intend to give us great audio quality thanks to the emission of all kinds of tones and a much greater range. Unlike other similar products, the Sonos Play: 1 is not omnidirectional, nor does it offer 360º sound, in this case the front of the speaker is the key to the audio output. SYour Class "D" digital amplifiers will take care of the rest.

Wi-Fi connectivity will offer us Multiroom possibilities, but for those who do not want to saturate their network, they can take advantage of the 10/100 Mbps Ethernet connection (it is little, yes, but you will not need more to transmit audio). It is a real shame that we do not have Bluetooth connectivity, and even more so if we take into account that we only have Wi-Fi 802.11b / g at 2,4 GHz, at a time when 5 GHz Wi-Fi is increasingly attracting attention from manufacturers.

Also note that according to Sonos, this device is resistant to moisture, With this we want to say and reaffirm the above, this device is designed for any room in the house, literally, whether it be a bathroom, kitchen or bedroom, you can enjoy your multiroom system wherever you want without any fear, its construction with proven quality materials they will allow us to avoid certain cares.

The Sonos app, perfect companion

It is everything, and it is nothing. Actually Without the Sonos app you won't have anything to talk about, because the Sonos Play: 1 is practically useless. Sorry, but we remind you again that it is not a Bluetooth speaker. I honestly do not think that Sonos would have had a hard time integrating a Bluetooth receiver into it, although the quality of the broadcast audio was notoriously lower, this much pigeonholes a product of a fairly high quality, a shame.

However, after using the application and its subsequent configuration, the result is exceptional. Of course, forget about reaching, plugging in and enjoying. You will have to carry out the previous steps of the application, among other things you must have your tedious password for the Wi-Fi key well at hand. Once you are done, you will enjoy the consequent update of your Sonos, a section to keep in mind, Sonos does not forget its product, it updates and improves it even years after its launch. Once we've added the playback media, like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Google Play Music, Deezer, Tidal ... etc, we will have a totally independent speaker, being linked just by hitting Play we will continue to reproduce the content without complications.

The editor's opinion on the Sonos Play: 1

We continue to enjoy the deviceIn fact, we enjoyed it in the hands of another colleague, the Sonos One, a device that makes us have a multiroom system of proven quality whose review we can see throughout the week.

The reality is that in terms of materials, design and quality we cannot say anything that you cannot expect. Sound is what should be in a sound device for € 179, which you can buy at THIS LINK, although its size has pleasantly surprised us, obtaining better results than with Sony and Samsung sound bars with 2.1 characteristics, which gives good faith that we are facing a product designed for the most demanding, If you are looking for the best for your home audio, Sonos is the perfect alternative and this Play: 1 is the cheapest of all.

Not everything is good, we have been frustrated more than once by its application, it is not that it is bad, quite the opposite, it's good and we're almost going to forget about it once the Sonos is set up, but it's too decisive, we lack Bluetooth or AirPlay connectivity, and in the plug & play era we did not like that much.