Best Sonos Play 1 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020:

Sonos has just discovered a major competitor in the person of Bose … just that. And the West Coast David, Sonos, has a hell of an argument against the East Coast Goliath: unbeatable value for money. The Play: 1 which arrives for example just under 200 €, in an ultra compact format “but powerful” according to the manufacturer.

Best Sonos Play 1 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020

1. Sonos Play:1 Wi-Fi Speaker 2-Pack – Black

2. SONOS Play 1 Wall Mount, Twin Pack, (NOT Compatible with SONOS ONE) Adjustable Swivel & Tilt Mechanism. 2 Brackets for Play:1 Speaker with Mounting Accessories, Black

3. Single (1) Black Heavy Duty Outdoor Sonos Speaker Cover – Dust, Water & UV Protection for Your Sonos Play:1. Sonos One & Sonos One SL Speakers – Fits Wall Mounted Speakers

4. 1home Speaker Wall Mount Bracket for SONOS Play 1 and Play 3 Pivot Tilt Swivel Hold up to 22 lbs Black

Ergonomics

If we could find the Play: 3 frankly massive, even complicated to integrate and a bit of plastic, things have evolved. Sonos has therefore reviewed the design initiated with the PlayBar and the  Sub , which required good integration into the living room.

Whether it is the black or white version, it is in fact predominantly silver, the same color as that of the metal grid which frames the enclosure and protects the speakers. Only the base and the upper side are of high quality colored plastic.

The sleek style is always in order: at the back, there remains only the thread for a wall fixing, just above the Ethernet connector. Too bad, this is the end of the mini-jack auxiliary connector which allowed both to broadcast live on the speaker, but also to stream the signal throughout the installation. A real lack if you want to enjoy the music of a friend in transit for example (even if the installation of the smartphone application is not very complicated).

Slight modification on the upper side, where the volume controls are still there, but no longer the “mute” button, replaced by a much more useful function. There is now a play control button (pause, resume play, next song in the playlist by double pressing …). This is clearly not at the level of control offered by Bose, but there has been progress, even if we still regret the lack of screen integrated into the enclosure.

Audio

The Play: 1 is the second mono speaker from Sonos. If the Play: 3 could seem quite unbalanced with its unique tweeter, its two mid-range speakers and its passive radiator for the bass, the smallest of the concept speakers uses a more classic assembly based on a single bass / mid-range speaker. 9 cm (3.5 “) coupled to a tweeter . Inevitably, the power decreases but the quality is back.

Unsurprisingly, the Play: 1 is devoid of real bass. The level rises quite late in the spectrum, but that’s not bad. Seeking to obtain a substantial volume at low frequency would have required larger loudspeakers and / or heavy DSP processing; otherwise the enclosure would have turned into a distortion machine. The built-in bass equalizer does not really affect the sound.

The low-mids are however very correct, without exaggeration, just like the mediums. Once the time to adapt to mono listening has passed, there is a beautiful rendering of voices, with no telephone effect. The junction with the treble is well designed. On the other hand, do not hesitate to push the equalizer to unblock the rendering of the top of the spectrum a little.

More

Obviously, in terms of dissemination, this is not extraordinary. The Sonos Play 1 is mono and does not deliver extremely wide coverage. In “alarm clock”, for a bathroom or for a kitchen, this will be enough. In a larger room, it is recommended to switch to a pair of Play: 1. This return to stereo offers a more pleasant reproduction. Not to mention the possibility of associating the pair of speakers with a PlayBar and a Sub to obtain a 5.1 installation – only with Dolby spatial processing – at a more contained price than with a pair of Play: 3.

The distortion is kept at a low level and allows listening at high level without unpleasant feeling. Be careful in the last 10% of the volume scale, however, especially if the speaker is placed on furniture sensitive to vibrations.

STRONG POINTS

  • Quality construction.
  • Very good sound rendering.
  • Neat design.
  • Ease of use.
  • Limited price.

WEAK POINTS

  • Limited physical controls.
  • Lack of serious.
  • Mono only.

CONCLUSION

It is in stereo pair that the Sonos Play 1 reveals its full potential at a very contained price. Solo, it will be very suitable for use in a bedroom, bathroom or kitchen.

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