Sonos One (Gen 1) - Voice Controlled Smart Speaker (White) (Discontinued by manufacturer)

I am a 70-year-old woman who is struggling to keep up with technology because it is so important. My ability to try out new technology with the systems administrator or a Millennial coworker, like many others, came to an end with my last paycheck. Because I believe it is critical to understand the perspective from which a review is written, let me quickly explain what this Sonos One was supposed to replace. br>A 10-year-old Sony "shelf system" sufficed for our basic music needs; a radio that was only tuned to the local classical music station and a broken CD player We have Amazon Music and recently purchased a small Bluetooth speaker that has been very useful. My wife, on the other hand, has no idea how to use the app to get Amazon music to work. We have Sirius XM in our car and enjoy the variety of programming. We often wish we could get it at home. br>According to the specs and reviews, the Sonos One appeared to have the potential to become our new best music companion. br>Setup was incredibly simple right out of the box. I dread the day when I purchase new technology and am unable to figure out how to use it. This guy didn't seem to mind. To use the app, simply download it and follow the on-screen instructions. The only time this is not true is when you're tuning your iPhone while walking around the room. It kept failing, telling me I was making too much noise; my wife has the same complaint, and the app eventually suggested we just move on, just as it had suggested in my marriage. br>Amazon Music and the Sonos app worked together seamlessly. We'd discovered that Sirius XM now had an app-based streaming version of their service, which we were able to connect to with a little switching back and forth between the apps. Our local classical music station is one of the many radio stations that can be added, which is an added bonus. br>The sound is incredible. Remember to keep things in perspective. We're not audiophiles, but the Sonos is a huge improvement over what we had and fills our room with deep, rich sound, which our aging ears appreciate. br>Our biggest surprise was Alexa, as both my wife and I were skeptical and had written Alexa off as one of those "things we'll never have. "br>Alexa's default play for us will be something from Amazon Music. It's best if you can be as specific as possible with your request. Finding out what makes Alexa's motor go is a bit of a learning curve. After a few failed attempts, we checked the app and discovered that our local classical music station was called Classical Public Radio. That worked, and now my wife can listen to her old friend at 6 a. m. without having to use any apps. To be fair, Alexa does not appear to recognize Sirius XM and even claims it is not installed. Naturally, the app allows you to listen to all of the music without difficulty. br>I asked Alexa for the time, an alarm clock, and a joke. I even confessed to her my feelings for her. Her response was, "That's sweet. " The Sonos One with Alexa gets the Double Senior Discount Seal of Approval from this household. I've read that the Alexa function on the Sonos isn't great, but that depends on your needs and perspective. br>The Sonos One with Alexa gets the Double Senior Discount Seal of Approval from this household.

Victor McKnight

| Jun 09, 2021

Music skips and/or completely stops on a regular basis. My Internet connection is the fastest available, my router is brand new (2017), and my router is in the same room as two of the speakers that frequently cut out (though they all do). br>br>Occasionally, speakers vanish entirely from my account, and I must re-add them one by one. add them. br>br>These are well-known problems for which Sonos will blame your router, which is either too old or too new.

Waylon Maynard

| May 21, 2021

Putting it all together The Sonos One is plugged into the wall and found and set up using the Sonos app. That is a simple task. The voice control is the part that irritates me the most. If you've never used Alexa before (like me), you'll need to complete four steps. It's pretty simple, but you'll have to switch back and forth between the Sonos app and whatever they tell you to do. Sonos will ask you to sign into Amazon and give Alexa permission to access your account. Then they tell you to get the Alexa app (note: this is a free app). After you've installed the app, sign in with your Amazon account. I didn't, and Sonos' third step will fail because it won't be able to properly redirect you. (Perhaps "Install Alexa and login" would be a better phrase. ) They then ask you to enable Sonos in Alexa. Finally, you check that Alexa is operational.

- Using Alexa as a Personal Assistant - br>br>At this point, the Sonos One and Alexa are both functioning properly. I'm able to ask it questions and add items to my shopping list, which is fantastic. Alexa has a range of about 15 feet where she can clearly hear you. A 20-foot radius around a corner and a 25-foot radius around a corner. If you're not obstructed, 30 feet is the maximum distance you can travel. You'll run into problems if you go beyond that. br>br>I have a pair of Play: There are one's in both the kitchen and the bedroom. The Sonos One is in a separate room that I've designated as "Nook. " The plan was for it to play music from Spotify. "Alexa, play Foo Fighters radio from Spotify in the kitchen," you say, and Alexa confirms your request, but it only works occasionally. Other commands, such as "Alexa, turn off the music in the kitchen," would also be unsuccessful.

- So, what's the story here? br>br>I believe it has something to do with a long-term relationship. Spotify and Sonos have had a long-running feud. It won't always work if the Sonos app is in charge and you try to take control with the Spotify app (or vice versa). They've gotten the integration down pat now, but every now and then I'll hit a snag. You've now added Alexa to the mix with the Sonos One, which adds to the complexity. Alexa will default to playing music from Amazon Music if you don't say "from Spotify" in your voice request. I believe the various music services are having some difficulty taking control from one another, so it isn't entirely Alexa's fault. br>br>- First Impressions - br>br>During the first hour of testing, the system performed poorly, only working 10-percent of the time. Alexa commands like "tell me a joke" would always work, but getting anything to play on my speakers via voice commands would fail 80 of the time. A list of all your requests is available within the Alexa app. I informed Alexa of the ones that were failing. br>br>I took a break from it and returned to it after all of the Sonos speakers had gone silent for a while (maybe an hour or two). Alexa began working 90 of the time. My crazy theory is that I kept throwing requests at it over and over and that some process was clogging the queue and needed to time out br>br>The only failures after that were due to Alexa's inability to understand my playlist titles. Non-English words are difficult for the Sonos One and Alexa to comprehend. Querying using the alphabet My advice is to say only the parts of the playlist that it can understand, such as "10/10 headphone testing Mk II" on Spotify. Don't say the numbers, abbreviations, or special characters. "Alexa, play the Spotify headphone testing playlist," for example.

- Sound - br>br>As far as I can tell, the Sonos One is almost certainly going to be Play: Voice controls have been added to 1 piece of hardware. This is an excellent speaker. The most common gripe I hear is that a Sonos One and a Play:1 can't be used together. As a result, keep that in mind as you plan your setup. A pair of Sonos One speakers will almost certainly outperform a Play: In my opinion, the number five is appropriate.

- Verdict - br>br>At first, it was a little frustrating, and I gave it a one-star rating, but things have steadily improved. I'm pretty pleased with the fact that Spotify is now supported and (mostly) functional. There are a few bugs left, but they'll be worked out with time. br>br>Score: br>br>Setup with Sonos: br>br>7/10br>br> Version 8 of Sonos is now available. 1 br>Pair of Games: 1's in the Bedroombr>Pair of Play: 1's in the Bedroombr> 1 speaker in the kitchenbr>Sonos 1 speaker in the nook.

Luella Ellison

| Jul 11, 2021