---
product_id: 1143464
title: "Sonos Play:1 (2013) - Black"
brand: "sonos"
price: "C$26008"
currency: NIO
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.ni/products/1143464-sonos-play-1-2013-black
store_origin: NI
region: Nicaragua
---

# App control & streaming WiFi multiroom sync 10W rich sound output Sonos Play:1 (2013) - Black

**Brand:** sonos
**Price:** C$26008
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> 🎶 Small Speaker, Big Sound, Zero Compromise.

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Sonos Play:1 (2013) - Black by sonos
- **How much does it cost?** C$26008 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ni](https://www.desertcart.ni/products/1143464-sonos-play-1-2013-black)

## Best For

- sonos enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted sonos brand quality
- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Key Features

- • **Compact Powerhouse:** Fits seamlessly on any shelf or countertop without sacrificing booming sound.
- • **Stereo Sound Upgrade:** Pair two Play:1s in the same room for crystal-clear stereo separation and richer detail.
- • **Intuitive App Control:** Manage your entire sound system and stream from all your favorite services with the sleek Sonos app.
- • **Plug & Play Simplicity:** Get from unboxing to music in minutes with straightforward setup and a single power cord.
- • **Effortless Multiroom Setup:** Connect multiple Play:1 speakers over WiFi for immersive, synchronized audio throughout your home.

## Overview

The Sonos Play:1 (2013) is a compact, wireless speaker delivering powerful 10W stereo sound with seamless WiFi multiroom capabilities. Designed for easy setup and app control, it fits effortlessly into any space and can be paired with additional Play:1 units for enhanced stereo sound. Ideal for professionals seeking a stylish, reliable home audio solution that integrates with all major streaming services and smart home ecosystems.

## Description

PLAY:1 is our compact, surprisingly powerful speaker. It’s a perfect fit for bookshelves, counters, and other snug places. So now you can enjoy great-sounding music wherever you want to listen.Sonos is the wireless Home Sound System that fills as many rooms as you want with great-sounding tunes. Sonos speakers set up easy. Stream via WiFi. Play whatever you’re craving. And amp up every moment with intense, pulse-pounding sound. It’s a new, better way to fill each day with the sounds you love. One that will make that place you live feel even more like home.

Review: The best solution for home audio. Simple set up and expansion, great audio quality, and ROCK SOLID. - Let me join the chorus of positive reviews here. I had previously suffered with various Bluetooth and AirPlay speaker systems. They were all unreliable, and frequently dropped the signal. Pairing the devices was also a hit or miss affair, and the sound quality was dubious. Enter Sonos. Lots of people at work have been raving about Sonos, so I finally took (a modest) plunge into their ecosystem. I bought the Bridge (even though I technically didn't need to for my initial system) but I wanted it for future expansion capability. I also bought the lowest-priced Play 1. The Play 1 is HEAVY, and very nicely designed. It has a relatively small footprint and seems very at home in our modernist living room. The hardware setup was very easy. Comprehensive QuickStart instructions were well illustrated and clear. It was mostly about the sequence of plugging in cables. One VERY nice touch is the additional pass-through Ethernet port on the Bridge. I had run out of ports on my two routers, and needed on for my new NAS (that I was setting up as a media streamer.) Plugged it straight into the Bridge and it works flawlessly on my network. I then downloaded the Sonos app from the App Store, launched it, and followed very simple on-screen instructions. The instructions included clear illustrations showing which buttons to press on which devices to complete the pairing, and what the illuminated light sequences on those devices meant. Within a few minutes, everything was connected and working. I added my Spotify and Pandora accounts quickly, and within a few minutes I was streaming music to the Play 1. My expectations for sound quality were a little tempered by the fact that I had the smallest Sonos speaker, and it was in mono. But I was not at all disappointed when I started playing music from my Spotify playlists. I have Spotify set up to stream higher quality bit rates. This probably helps. The sound can be turned up VERY loud. We have it in a living room which is easily filled with rich, separated highs and lows. I do notice on some tracks, however, the bass end can get a little muddy, but only on certain songs (Beyone's Halo, for example, is one of those.) This might be a factor of the mono sound, as sometimes tracks are not mixed and engineered that well for mono; they rely on a greater stereo spectrum for better listening. The beauty of being able to expand this system to other speakers and rooms, and the fact this is operating on a rock-solid wi-fi network, only adds to appeal of the Sonos system. I was so impressed by it all, that I immediately ordered a second Play 1 to add to the first so that I could set up stereo sound (it hasn't arrived yet.) Again, this seems easy to do (based on reading a thorough explanation on the Sonos Web site.) It's just a matter of a few clicks in the App, and pressing one button on the speakers to indicate which is left and which is right. By the way, the Sonos support Web site is superb - clear and helpful instructions and troubleshooting. One additional thing I love is having every Mac / iOS device in the house loaded with the Sonos App, each of which can control the system. That includes four iPads, four MacBooks, two iPhones, and an iPod touch. All the apps control the system flawlessly. You can pickup the currently playing track if you move from one device to another. Spotify integration is OK, but not great. Your playlists are visible, and you can search for any track in Spotify via the Sonos app (and make it a favorite in Sonos, or add it to a Spotify playlist), but it does not show all the artists and albums that you have stored to "My Music" within Spotify. My answer has been to create separate playlists for each member of our family. I am in the process of setting up a NAS server with around 60GB of music. Giving Sonos access to it was as easy as entering the (fixed) IP address of the server and the music share volume. It found it immediately. My server is a Synology 1-bay drive. I have just finished copying all the music to it, the Sonos system can see, but I am waiting for the Synology system to finish indexing all the files before I call them up on the Sonos system. I don't expect any problems, but if there are any, I will update my review. Altogether I am extremely pleased with the system, and am looking forward to expanding it throughout our home in the future. I recommend abandoning sketchy Bluetooth and Airplay speaker systems, and go for the best; especially as the entry level Sonos system is now highly competitive price wise.
Review: Expensive but worth every penny and more. - If you're reading this review, you're probably where I was a few months ago. I had two burning questions in my mind: (1) how good is the SONOS system (is it worth it?), (2) which speakers should I get (what does my initial/total investment need to be)? SHORT ANSWER: IT IS WORTH IT. As to the first question: it is fantastic. Yes, it is expensive. But there's absolutely no doubt that SONOS delivers exactly what it promises. You can play music wirelessly anywhere that your wireless reaches. It just works. It took about two minutes to set up and it was incredibly easy. (See below) A PAIR OF PLAY-1s SOUND FAN-F-ING-TASTIC Two Play 1s, in stereo sound great. (Turn loudness off, set treble up to 70-80%.) I stressed this so hard. Initially I thought, man, can I even get two Play 3s or do I have to get two Play 5s? Play 1 did not enter my initial considerations at all. I read too much from serious audiophile folks. So here's what I did: I bought two Play 1s and 1 Play 5. After listening for about ten minutes, I returned the Play 5. The Play 5 sounds fantastic, don't get me wrong. But unless you have a big space to fill, two Play 5s would just be overkill. Meanwhile, the two Play 1s in stereo arguably outclass the Play 5 for the same price. (You'll see debate on this point on the SONOS forums.) If you want to get started, a single Play 1 still sounds better than almost any bluetooth speaker you care to mention. So your initial investment can be simply a single Play 1 and a bridge. You will be hooked, I'm afraid. I now have four play 1s and a PlayBar. (A separate review may follow for the Playbar or be amended to this--suffice it say for now that my only complaint is that it would be nice to be able to set separate volume levels for tv and music playback, otherwise it works amazingly well. I do not use a sub and don't think it is necessary, though I may add it at some point when the pocket book allows.) APPLE HARDWARE, MICROSOFT SOFTWARE SONOS is all Apple on the hardware end and all Microsoft on the software side. If you're the literary sort, you could say that the hardware is the fox and the software is the hedgehog--the fox knows many things but the hardware knows one big thing. The speakers are elegant looking and everything just works. On the flipside, tech geeks will point out that you pay a style and performance premium. Yes, there are other solutions that are cheaper and I'm sure deliver better sound. And much harder to set up, much buggier, and more frustrating. On the software side, things are not quite as elegant. Are the software guys the big dummies or Achilles' heel of the SONOS operation? No. The software actually has amazing challenges and does some amazing stuff. It's just ugly. The SONOS software integrates every conceivable music source. SONOS supports desertcart Music (formerly desertcart Cloud Player), Spotify, Pandora, Rdio, Rhapsody, pretty much anything you can think of, including, now, Google Play. Better: it allows you to create playlists from multiple sources.So, I can pull tracks from desertcart Music, Google Play, my iphone, any networked drive, and have it all play together. Great stuff. SONOS also has sleep and alarm/wake functionality and a few other little bells and whistles. The problem is that by stuffing so much stuff under the hood and trying to be jack of all trades, the SONOS controller is almost unavoidably clunky. SONOS recently updated the software controller, preserving all the functionality, but attempting to streamline and make the controller less ugly. It didn't really work. It's a little annoying, but still works fine. I hope further updates will be coming because intuitiveness has taken a step backwards, unfortunately. INTERFACE AND OPTIONS Would be nice if you could set volume levels and other specs for each music source. For instance, Sirius plays at a level lower than desertcart Cloud Player. SETUP Initial problems trying to use one component but once I connected bridge the setup took 30 seconds. It was not obvious to me from instructions that you need to press BOTH volume + and play/pause together, either. CONCLUSION You will not regret this purchase. My wife thought I was nuts to spend all this money, but she now agrees that the SONOS system is the most life changing and awesome piece of tech we own. Highly recommended. (I usually don't make this plea, but: please vote helpful if you found this helpful. And if you're an audiophile who is thinks Sonos is not up to snuff, keep in mind this review is aimed at ordinary folks and don't downvote me on that basis, please. THANKS!)

## Features

- Small yet powerful speaker for streaming music and more. Get rich, room-filling sound with Play:1, and control it with the Sonos app.
- The compact design fits just about any space. Put it on your kitchen countertop or tuck it away on your office bookshelf.
- Go from unboxing to listening in minutes with just one cord and step-by-step guidance in the Sonos app.
- Pair two Play:1s in the same room for stereo separation and more detailed sound.
- Easily connect Sonos speakers in different rooms over WiFi to create a home sound system that brings every room and everyone together.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| ASIN | B00EWCUK1Q |
| Additional Features | Multiroom digital music systems, speaker systems |
| Age Range Description | Adult |
| Antenna Location | For Indoor Use |
| Audio Driver Type | Dynamic Driver |
| Audio Output Mode | Stereo |
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,883 in Portable Bluetooth Speakers |
| Brand | Sonos |
| Built-In Media | Power Cord |
| Color | Black |
| Compatible Devices | Laptop, Personal Computer, Smartphone, Tablet |
| Connectivity Protocol | Wi-Fi |
| Connectivity Technology | Wireless |
| Control Method | Voice |
| Controller Type | Amazon Alexa, vera |
| Customer Reviews | 3.7 out of 5 stars 4,869 Reviews |
| Enclosure Material | Plastic |
| Global Trade Identification Number | 00737989665912, 00878269000327 |
| Impedance | 4 Ohms |
| Is Waterproof | FALSE |
| Item Dimensions D x W x H | 4.69"D x 4.69"W x 6.36"H |
| Item Height | 6.36 inches |
| Item Weight | 4.08 Pounds |
| MP3 player | No |
| Manufacturer | Sonos |
| Material | Plastic |
| Model Name | Play:1 |
| Model Number | PLAY1US1BLK |
| Mounting Type | Play,Tabletop |
| Number of Audio Channels | 1.0 |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Number of Power Levels | 1 |
| Power Source | AC |
| Processor Count | 4 |
| Series Number | 1 |
| Speaker Maximum Output Power | 10 Watts |
| Speaker Size | 6.36 Inches |
| Speaker Type | Surround |
| Subwoofer Connectivity Technology | Wireless |
| UPC | 878269000327 737989665912 |
| Unit Count | 1.0 Count |
| Warranty Description | 2 yr warranty on parts & labor |
| Warranty Type | 12 |
| Water Resistance Level | Not Water Resistant |
| Wireless Technology | Wi-Fi |

## Product Details

- **Audio Output Mode:** Stereo
- **Brand:** Sonos
- **Connectivity Technology:** Wireless
- **Mounting Type:** Play,Tabletop
- **Speaker Maximum Output Power:** 10 Watts

## Images

![Sonos Play:1 (2013) - Black - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61CIZei0OZL.jpg)
![Sonos Play:1 (2013) - Black - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/710nWOgr-tL.jpg)
![Sonos Play:1 (2013) - Black - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71F9Uv5YAAL.jpg)
![Sonos Play:1 (2013) - Black - Image 4](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71cMajeCNDL.jpg)
![Sonos Play:1 (2013) - Black - Image 5](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71iVj-m5tUL.jpg)

## Questions & Answers

**Q: I want a bookshelf system for a large living/kitchen/dining room with enough volume for a party of 40-50 guests.  Should I get 2 Play:1s or 2 Play:3s?**
A: In short, either get 2 Play1s or 2 Play5s.  I wouldn't recommend the Play3s at all.  They are too similar to the 1s in sound quality and priced too close to the 5s.  Your issue is NOT the size of the room, but the number of guests.  40-50 people is a lot!  You will definitely be more pleased with the 5s.  Also, what you'll want to do is "pair" them so you get stereo playback and the volumes will be matched.  That means if you change the volume on one, the other will match.I run 2 Play1s in a 14x20 space and another 2 Play1s in a 24x30 space.  In my kitch/living/dining space I run 2 Play5s and a sub.  The system ROCKS.

**Q: How does this speaker compares to the Bose Sounlink Mini?**
A: I bought a sonos Play 1 and regret it. The speaker itself is very high quality but the app leaves much to be desired. Unlike a Bluetooth speaker everything in Sonos get filtered through its app, and clearly Sonos has more in mind than producing speakers. For example, when using Spotify you ability to search music is limited. Also, my >100 gig music library that resides in iTunes is useless unless I want to download all music to my devise, which is clearly impossible. 
I will make use of it somewhere, but will keep looking for a whole house WiFi system.

**Q: Would a pair of Play1s used for rear speakers in a 5.1 set up be much different from Play3s?**
A: I'm getting another Play:1 to explore this very question. I have two Play:3 right now in a pair in a room and they sound pretty darn good. The Play:3, to be clear, has a better sound that Play:1. I too wondered if in the rear speaker role if Play:1 would be more than acceptable. In essence, is Play:3 overkill for rear speakers? Will test and answer ASAP.

**Q: DOES SONOS HAVE A LINE IN?**
A: Only two of their products have a line in: Sonos 5 has an analog line in for connecting a phone/tablet/laptop; and the Playbar has an optical audio input (AppleTV; Roku etc.). I use the analog line in for my laptop only and the app for all mobile/wifi devices.

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The best solution for home audio. Simple set up and expansion, great audio quality, and ROCK SOLID.
*by B***3 on January 24, 2015*

Let me join the chorus of positive reviews here. I had previously suffered with various Bluetooth and AirPlay speaker systems. They were all unreliable, and frequently dropped the signal. Pairing the devices was also a hit or miss affair, and the sound quality was dubious. Enter Sonos. Lots of people at work have been raving about Sonos, so I finally took (a modest) plunge into their ecosystem. I bought the Bridge (even though I technically didn't need to for my initial system) but I wanted it for future expansion capability. I also bought the lowest-priced Play 1. The Play 1 is HEAVY, and very nicely designed. It has a relatively small footprint and seems very at home in our modernist living room. The hardware setup was very easy. Comprehensive QuickStart instructions were well illustrated and clear. It was mostly about the sequence of plugging in cables. One VERY nice touch is the additional pass-through Ethernet port on the Bridge. I had run out of ports on my two routers, and needed on for my new NAS (that I was setting up as a media streamer.) Plugged it straight into the Bridge and it works flawlessly on my network. I then downloaded the Sonos app from the App Store, launched it, and followed very simple on-screen instructions. The instructions included clear illustrations showing which buttons to press on which devices to complete the pairing, and what the illuminated light sequences on those devices meant. Within a few minutes, everything was connected and working. I added my Spotify and Pandora accounts quickly, and within a few minutes I was streaming music to the Play 1. My expectations for sound quality were a little tempered by the fact that I had the smallest Sonos speaker, and it was in mono. But I was not at all disappointed when I started playing music from my Spotify playlists. I have Spotify set up to stream higher quality bit rates. This probably helps. The sound can be turned up VERY loud. We have it in a living room which is easily filled with rich, separated highs and lows. I do notice on some tracks, however, the bass end can get a little muddy, but only on certain songs (Beyone's Halo, for example, is one of those.) This might be a factor of the mono sound, as sometimes tracks are not mixed and engineered that well for mono; they rely on a greater stereo spectrum for better listening. The beauty of being able to expand this system to other speakers and rooms, and the fact this is operating on a rock-solid wi-fi network, only adds to appeal of the Sonos system. I was so impressed by it all, that I immediately ordered a second Play 1 to add to the first so that I could set up stereo sound (it hasn't arrived yet.) Again, this seems easy to do (based on reading a thorough explanation on the Sonos Web site.) It's just a matter of a few clicks in the App, and pressing one button on the speakers to indicate which is left and which is right. By the way, the Sonos support Web site is superb - clear and helpful instructions and troubleshooting. One additional thing I love is having every Mac / iOS device in the house loaded with the Sonos App, each of which can control the system. That includes four iPads, four MacBooks, two iPhones, and an iPod touch. All the apps control the system flawlessly. You can pickup the currently playing track if you move from one device to another. Spotify integration is OK, but not great. Your playlists are visible, and you can search for any track in Spotify via the Sonos app (and make it a favorite in Sonos, or add it to a Spotify playlist), but it does not show all the artists and albums that you have stored to "My Music" within Spotify. My answer has been to create separate playlists for each member of our family. I am in the process of setting up a NAS server with around 60GB of music. Giving Sonos access to it was as easy as entering the (fixed) IP address of the server and the music share volume. It found it immediately. My server is a Synology 1-bay drive. I have just finished copying all the music to it, the Sonos system can see, but I am waiting for the Synology system to finish indexing all the files before I call them up on the Sonos system. I don't expect any problems, but if there are any, I will update my review. Altogether I am extremely pleased with the system, and am looking forward to expanding it throughout our home in the future. I recommend abandoning sketchy Bluetooth and Airplay speaker systems, and go for the best; especially as the entry level Sonos system is now highly competitive price wise.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Expensive but worth every penny and more.
*by B***S on July 7, 2014*

If you're reading this review, you're probably where I was a few months ago. I had two burning questions in my mind: (1) how good is the SONOS system (is it worth it?), (2) which speakers should I get (what does my initial/total investment need to be)? SHORT ANSWER: IT IS WORTH IT. As to the first question: it is fantastic. Yes, it is expensive. But there's absolutely no doubt that SONOS delivers exactly what it promises. You can play music wirelessly anywhere that your wireless reaches. It just works. It took about two minutes to set up and it was incredibly easy. (See below) A PAIR OF PLAY-1s SOUND FAN-F-ING-TASTIC Two Play 1s, in stereo sound great. (Turn loudness off, set treble up to 70-80%.) I stressed this so hard. Initially I thought, man, can I even get two Play 3s or do I have to get two Play 5s? Play 1 did not enter my initial considerations at all. I read too much from serious audiophile folks. So here's what I did: I bought two Play 1s and 1 Play 5. After listening for about ten minutes, I returned the Play 5. The Play 5 sounds fantastic, don't get me wrong. But unless you have a big space to fill, two Play 5s would just be overkill. Meanwhile, the two Play 1s in stereo arguably outclass the Play 5 for the same price. (You'll see debate on this point on the SONOS forums.) If you want to get started, a single Play 1 still sounds better than almost any bluetooth speaker you care to mention. So your initial investment can be simply a single Play 1 and a bridge. You will be hooked, I'm afraid. I now have four play 1s and a PlayBar. (A separate review may follow for the Playbar or be amended to this--suffice it say for now that my only complaint is that it would be nice to be able to set separate volume levels for tv and music playback, otherwise it works amazingly well. I do not use a sub and don't think it is necessary, though I may add it at some point when the pocket book allows.) APPLE HARDWARE, MICROSOFT SOFTWARE SONOS is all Apple on the hardware end and all Microsoft on the software side. If you're the literary sort, you could say that the hardware is the fox and the software is the hedgehog--the fox knows many things but the hardware knows one big thing. The speakers are elegant looking and everything just works. On the flipside, tech geeks will point out that you pay a style and performance premium. Yes, there are other solutions that are cheaper and I'm sure deliver better sound. And much harder to set up, much buggier, and more frustrating. On the software side, things are not quite as elegant. Are the software guys the big dummies or Achilles' heel of the SONOS operation? No. The software actually has amazing challenges and does some amazing stuff. It's just ugly. The SONOS software integrates every conceivable music source. SONOS supports Amazon Music (formerly Amazon Cloud Player), Spotify, Pandora, Rdio, Rhapsody, pretty much anything you can think of, including, now, Google Play. Better: it allows you to create playlists from multiple sources.So, I can pull tracks from Amazon Music, Google Play, my iphone, any networked drive, and have it all play together. Great stuff. SONOS also has sleep and alarm/wake functionality and a few other little bells and whistles. The problem is that by stuffing so much stuff under the hood and trying to be jack of all trades, the SONOS controller is almost unavoidably clunky. SONOS recently updated the software controller, preserving all the functionality, but attempting to streamline and make the controller less ugly. It didn't really work. It's a little annoying, but still works fine. I hope further updates will be coming because intuitiveness has taken a step backwards, unfortunately. INTERFACE AND OPTIONS Would be nice if you could set volume levels and other specs for each music source. For instance, Sirius plays at a level lower than Amazon Cloud Player. SETUP Initial problems trying to use one component but once I connected bridge the setup took 30 seconds. It was not obvious to me from instructions that you need to press BOTH volume + and play/pause together, either. CONCLUSION You will not regret this purchase. My wife thought I was nuts to spend all this money, but she now agrees that the SONOS system is the most life changing and awesome piece of tech we own. Highly recommended. (I usually don't make this plea, but: please vote helpful if you found this helpful. And if you're an audiophile who is thinks Sonos is not up to snuff, keep in mind this review is aimed at ordinary folks and don't downvote me on that basis, please. THANKS!)

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ SONOS PLAY 1 vs. DENON HEOS 3
*by M***E on August 5, 2014*

Full disclosure, I am a Sonos user and have fully adopted into their wireless speaker ecosystem. I currently have two Play 5s (Dining Room & Great Room), two Play 3s (Living Room, Guest Bedroom), and a Sonos Home Theater setup in my Media Room (one Sonos Playbar, one Sonos Sub, and two Play 1s). After hearing all of the pre-release hype about the Denon HEOS Wireless speaker system, I want to compare it to my Sonos system. So I picked two HEOS 3s up this weekend and tried them out. In my opinion, the Sonos Play system provides a slightly better overall experience and value for the money you spend. However, the Denon HEOS system has a distinct edge over Sonos - not requiring the $99 Denon HEOS Extend Wireless Range Extender just to use the system. News reports have leaked that Sonos is working on a solution to remove the requirement of their $40 SONOS BRIDGE Instant Set-up Solution for SONOS Wireless Network, but until that software/firmware release comes, I can definitely see why the HEOS system will be a serious contender and solid alternative for some households. MUSIC SOURCES: Both Sonos and Denon work with the following music service providers: - Pandora - Spotify - Rhapsody - Tune-In However, Sonos is able to work with the following additional music services: - Amazon Cloud Player, - Google Play Music - Beats Music - SiriusXM Internet Radio - Slacker - Stitcher SmartRadio - Songza - Rdio - Last.fm - iHeartRadio - SoundCloud - Audible - and many more lesser known digital music sources As of the date of this review, Denon has only been able to gain partnerships with Pandora, Spotify, Rhapsody, and Tune-In. That's nothing to sneeze at, however if you are a subscriber to any other music service, you may want to wait before giving the HEOS system a try. In my opinion, just having access to Google Play Music is a deal maker for me with Sonos. And the ability to control what plays through my Sonos speakers with the native Google Play Music app (versus having to be in the Sonos app) is a serious step in the right direction to satisfy my needs as a customer. ** Point Goes to Sonos ** THE LOOKS: Cosmetically, the look of the Sonos Play 1 is considerably more traditional versus the HEOS 3. The HEOS 3, measuring 10.7" x 5.1" x 6.5" is taller, sleeker, and stylish than the 6.36" x 4.69" x 4.69" cylindrical Sonos Play 1. However, in my opinion, the Sonos Play 1 has a more solid feel with its metal mesh front plate and and smooth lines with no major edges. It also has a denser feel than the HEOS 3, packing in just over 4lbs of audio hardware in such a small casing. Depending on your personal style and if you want your speakers to blend in to your room, the winner of the looks category is totally up to you. While I like the minimalist look of the Sonos, the clean edges and sleek design of the Denon is very eye catching. And if you like to have cool lines in design to draw attention to an exceptional piece of audio equipment, the Denon is a clear winner. So for being different by blending elegance with a touch a touch of flash, the winner for this category is Denon. ** Point Goes to Denon ** UNDER THE HOOD: Both speakers house two class D digital amplifiers pushing a tweeter and mid-woofer that generates a crisp, clean sound for both higher frequency vocals and mid level bass tones. There is no doubt that both Sonos and Denon installed great amplifiers and speakers into their systems as they both generate a solid range for all genres of music - equally. The HEOS 3 does have a ported designed enclosure, which the Sonos Play 1 does not. I found that the ported enclosure was a nice touch to add a little more depth to the bass, but for certain music tracks played through the device, it seemed the sound was muddier than the Play 1. Nothing horrible, but very noticeable depending on where you have the Play 3 placed in the room. ** Point Goes to Sonos ** THE APP: Sonos recently changes their app's user interface for iOS, Android, Mac, and PC. This was another big development for Sonos as the old user interface for their controller looked like it was stuck in the early 2000s. And while it still leaves mush to be desired, the Denon HEOS controller app is not much better. It adds features like grouping rooms by dragging widgets together within the app and other functions that seem to be geared towards easier control. However, depending on the phone you are using, pinching and dragging are more cumbersome than tapping to select. Again, this is not a big issue, but something I found slightly clunky and annoying with my smaller iPhone screen. Again, this is a personal preference. I like the new Sonos controller app, but can definitely understand why Denon went a different direction. Denon seems more built for a tablet experience, in my opinion as some of the key actions call for pinching, dragging, and precision dropping. ** Sonos & Denon Tie ** THE SETUP: Both Denon and Sonos are extremely easy to setup and both customer service teams are OUTSTANDING. However, given the fact that Sonos currently requires more steps in their setup process (connect a Sonos Bridge), the point goes to Denon for sure. During the initial setup of your first Sonos speaker, you must either connect it directly to your network router or purchase a Sonos Bridge, connect the bridge to the router, then wirelessly connect the speaker to the SONOSNet network created by the Sonos Bridge. Did that sound confusing? Well, it may be for the first time user of novice electronics buyer. The really nice people at Sonos customer service had to hold my mother's hand in setting up her first Play 1 and it took almost an hour as she was not familiar or comfortable with making changes to the router the cable company had installed in her home - true story. On the other hand, once you have a bridge set up, adding additional Sonos components is extremely easy. Denon, on the other hand, has an extremely easy setup from the beginning. Plug the speaker in the wall, download the app, use the supplied cable to connect the speaker's AUX jack into your phone's headphone jack, follow the in-app directions to connect to your network, unplug the speaker from the phone, place the speaker in any room, blast music from the app. Simple! ** Point Goes to Denon ** EXPANDABILITY: Both the Sonos and Denon systems allow for multiple speakers to be added. Additional speaker may be played independently, paired as a group, or paired as a stereo pair. In my test, I only purchased two HEOS 3s. So, I cannot speak for pairing different size HEOS speakers together. The biggest advantage regarding expandability goes to Sonos. With a playbar and subwoofer in their arsenal of components, Sonos has a huge advantage for users who also want to bring the wireless music technology to home entertainment. The Sonos Playbar and Sonos Sub can run as a 2.1 home theater or 5.1 home theater system when paired with two Play 1s. And believe me the sound is amazing. So, with Denon only building an ecosystem for music based consumption, I think it leaves room for growth to catch up with Sonos' expandability into home entertainment. Again, this is not a deal breaker for getting into the HEOS ecosystem, but should definitely be considered before going too far down the Denon rabbit hole. ** Point Goes to Sonos ** THE RESULTS: The Sonos Play 1 is a great, compact speaker that will definitely bring attention to your home's sound system. It has a bigger sound than you would expect from such a small speaker and having two play 1s paired together can fill most rooms with a crisp, clean sound. The Sonos Play system does require a Sonos Bridge (for now) and that is the biggest negative that I would give it in my book. But that is not a deal breaker as the Play ecosystem as a whole is much more powerful than the Denon HEOS ecosystem is currently. At a $199 price makes me give the Sonos Play 1, 5 out of 5 stars. I definitely don't think you will be disappointed with the performance or functionality of the HEOS system. I just believe that you can get more for your money with Sonos.

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