I’ve tested every major Sonos product, from the ancient Play:1 and Play:5 to the latest Era 100, Era 300 speakers, and flagship Arc Ultra soundbar. Apart from their recent app troubles, my experience over the years has always been overwhelmingly positive. Here are my favorite aspects of Sonos:
Simple setup, loads of options: The Sonos app guides you through setting up a new system or adding speakers to an existing one. Some Google Assistant speakers offer similar setup and features, but it’s not as seamless to group them. My favorite Sonos competitor is Wiim, which offers similarly intuitive products, but only two standalone speakers (testing to come). Wiim focuses more on streaming amplifiers like the Wiim Amp Pro for connecting traditional speakers. Sonos has many more product models for different use cases, from soundbars to headphones.
Easy streaming: The Sonos app supports almost every major streaming service, and Sonos gear supports in-app services like Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect for direct streaming. Sonos soundbars like the Arc Ultra provide impressive home theater support, while also letting you stream TV audio to other speakers throughout the home, or as part of a surround sound system.
In-house Voice Control: Sonos once provided support for both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, but the brand dropped Google support in newer speakers like the Era 100, Era 300, and Sonos Arc Ultra. In its place, Sonos added its own in-house voice assistant, Sonos Voice Control (SVC), voiced by actor Ginacarlo Esposito. Apart from solid perfomance, SVC provides better privacy protection. SVC touts multiple measures to protect your privacy, including using AI data instead of customer data and local processing that doesn’t reach the cloud.
Top-tier sound and build quality: Every Sonos speaker I’ve tested rises above average, and most sound truly excellent. This is no accident, as the brand has always been deeply focused on sound quality, and things have only improved with the latest Era speakers. I toured Sonos’ Santa Barbara, CA, facility ahead of the Eras release, and was struck by the company’s commitment to improving the audio architecture, as well as using more replaceable parts (like screws in place of glue) so its speakers are more repareable than most rivals. Sonos speakers are built to last and sound good doing it.
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