![]() If you don’t need or want smart speaker functionality, the similar-sounding Sonos One SL is essentially a Sonos One without a mic.Īpple has reintroduced the HomePod smart speaker and the new version represents a significant upgrade. (Commands to “Hey, Sonos” are processed locally on the device.) Sonos recently introduced Sonos Voice Control, which allows you to choose selections without using a digital assistant like Alexa or Google Assistant that records your commands and sends them to the company’s servers. If you’re into Apple, you can also stream music to the speaker using an iPad or iPhone with Apple’s AirPlay 2. The One is platform-agnostic: It has built-in support for Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant. It streams through WiFi, and you control it with the company’s smartphone app. Like other Sonos home speakers, the One doesn’t have Bluetooth capability. ![]() The Sonos One can also integrate with the company’s wireless models, adding smart speaker functionality to an existing Sonos system. It also costs less than some rivals, so you can start your system with a couple of Ones-say, one in the kitchen and the other in a bedroom-and expand to other rooms (or stereo pairs with better sound) as your budget permits. And though it doesn’t offer the sheer bass response of larger speakers, it does deliver impressively detailed sound on vocals and instrumentals. The Sonos One smart speaker has two features that make it a great choice for a wireless multiroom system: its small size and its relatively low price. Our trained testers put each model through a battery of lab tests for ease of use, versatility, and especially sound quality, which gets extra weight in our ratings. Like everything we rate, from printers to pickup trucks, CR buys speakers anonymously through regular retail channels. The following are some of the top multiroom speakers in CR’s ratings. If your goals are more modest-streaming the 99% Invisible podcast quietly in the kitchen while the kids crank “Encanto” in the family room, all controlled by your smartphone-that’s also an option. If your aim is to execute an epic Rickroll and play “ Never Gonna Give You Up” perfectly synced through 16 speakers on four different levels of your house, go right ahead. Our top-rated multiroom speakers offer not only solid sound but also impressive flexibility. And if you own a smart speaker from one of the major brands- Amazon Echo, Apple HomePod, or Google Nest-you can add other speakers from that company’s line to form a multiroom system that can deliver voice-controlled music throughout your home. Sonos has led the way when it comes to multiroom systems, but other companies have joined in, giving music lovers a variety of choices for modestly priced wireless speakers. Even better, you can set it up yourself in a matter of minutes, right from your smartphone. You can buy a wireless multiroom speaker system with great performance and unprecedented flexibility for surprisingly little money. Today, it’s much easier-and much less of a shock to your budget. You then had to hire a technician to snake wires through the walls, make the connections, and adjust the settings to get all the components playing together nicely. Purchasing thousands of dollars’ worth of speakers, amps, keypads, and switching devices was just the beginning. It wasn’t that long ago that a multiroom audio system could break the bank.
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