Tech review: Sonos Play 1 brings price down, keeps sound quality up

I’m on a years-long quest to have music piped all over my house.

There are several technologies that can be used to stream music wirelessly. I’ve been using Apple’s Airplay, but it cuts out more than I consider acceptable.

The gold standard of wireless music streaming comes from a company named Sonos, which as always been a solid, if expensive, performer.

When I last reviewed Sonos, I loved the $299 Play 3 speaker but thought it was too expensive.

Sonos has introduced a lower-priced speaker, the Play 1, which at $199 is the cheapest speaker it has ever released and one with surprisingly strong sound.

Specs

The Play 1 comes in black or white. The body is plastic and metal, it measures 6.36 inches by 4.69 inches by 4.69 inches, and it weighs just over 4 pounds.

Inside are one tweeter and one mid-woofer that spread the sound 360 degrees.

I have one Play 1 at home, and it sounds great. A few more are in my future.

The speaker sounds great by itself, but two Play 1s can be grouped as a stereo pair for even better sound.

A pair of Play 1s can also be the rear speakers for a 5.1 surround-sound system for your TV along with the Sonos Playbar and Subwoofer.

Sonos speakers have traditionally needed a small transmitter called a Bridge, which is connected to the home network by Ethernet.

The Sonos Bridge costs $50, but it’s frequently offered free with a speaker purchase. The Bridge creates a separate, stand-alone wireless network for the speakers to use.

Sonos has introduced firmware to let its speakers use your existing Wi-Fi network, without the Bridge, but that adds another layer of complexity to the setup.

If your Play 1 is connected wirelessly to your Wi-Fi or a Bridge, the Ethernet port on the back of the speaker can be used to provide Internet connectivity to a set-top box or game console.

There are three buttons on top of the Play 1, two for volume and one to pause or play the music.

The power cord connects up through the bottom of the speaker with a 90-degree plug.

The controller

You send music to the Sonos speakers through a Sonos app from your computer, smartphone or tablet. Apps are available for Mac, Windows, Android or iOS.

You can send music ripped in your personal collection that’s available on local devices or shared libraries. You can also stream from online services like Pandora, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, Rdio, Rhapsody, SiriusXM, Slacker, Spotify and others.

I linked my Pandora account quickly and easily, and it sounds great.

You use the controller to initiate the streaming, and the speaker talks to the source directly. I started a Pandora channel from the Sonos app on my phone.

After the music starts, the phone or computer isn’t needed until you want to change the music.

My favorite Pandora station plays on, even if the phone leaves the house or the computer turns off. A week after I started the Pandora stream, all I need to do to start the music is press the play button on the speaker.

In Use

I’m really impressed with the ease of setup and use with Sonos speakers.

The Play 1 and Bridge were up and playing in my network in less than 10 minutes.

Configuring the music services is straightforward, and song information and album art are viewable on the app.

I can even give Pandora songs thumbs up or down through the app.

If I have three Sonos speakers in the house, they can all play the same music, or I can play different music to each one.

I can also add more Sonos speakers of any model, in just a few minutes, but that can get expensive in a hurry.

I’m saving my money for another Play 1 in a few months.

Pros: Great sound, solid wireless connectivity, easy setup and control.

Cons: Sonos gets expensive, but the Play 1 is the most affordable model.

Bottom line: If you want rock-solid wireless sound, get Sonos.