There are now enough inexpensive loudspeakers on the market that can be connected wirelessly to a mobile device and thus enable convenient playback of music - but only very few of them actually deliver an impressive sound experience. On the other hand, if you are willing to invest a few euros more in a high-quality loudspeaker, you should definitely take a look at the PLAY:1 wireless speaker throw, which is praised by its US manufacturer Sonos with a "surprisingly rich and powerful sound". Our following test report will tell you whether this is actually true.
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Scope of delivery and first impression of the Sonos PLAY:1 WLAN speaker
Of course, the manufacturers of compact loudspeakers also know that the first impression is often the most important - because many customers not only attach great importance to a flawless sound experience, but also to a design that is as appealing as possible, which turns the new loudspeaker into a real eye-catcher. The Sonos PLAY:1 has definitely succeeded: the WLAN speaker is available in black (with a graphite-colored front) or in white (with an aluminum-colored front). Although the design is anything but revolutionary, it looks simple and appealing at the same time - in combination with a very high-quality workmanship, it is definitely a successful example of a fresh appearance. Also well done: There are very few controls on the top of the speaker (play/pause, volume up/down) and a small status LED - which fortunately looks very clear and tidy. With dimensions of 160 x 70 x 70 mm, the PLAY:1 can be placed almost anywhere in the home, even in the bathroom thanks to its moisture-resistant finish.
In addition to the speaker itself, the scope of delivery also includes a power cable, an Ethernet cable and instructions.
Features of the Sonos PLAY:1 WiFi speaker
If you take a look at the ports on the Sonos PLAY:1, you'll quickly see that there aren't that many of them: Basically, it's just a LAN interface that's used to connect the speaker to the Internet. Alternatively, of course, this can also be done wirelessly via WLAN - but there should definitely be one or the other music fan who prefers the good old cable connection. Inside the speaker, on the other hand, there are two built-in class D amplifiers, which have been combined with a midrange driver and a tweeter.
Both drivers were specially developed for this product and also meet the in-house Sonos Trueplay speaker tuning, which helps ensure that the ejected sound always sounds optimal in every room of the apartment - whether in a small or in a large room.
Handling the Sonos PLAY:1 wireless speaker
As with all other speakers from Sonos, setting up the Sonos PLAY:1 is child's play: all you have to do is connect the speaker to the power supply, then download the free Sonos app to your mobile device and use the same to connect the speaker via WLAN - done. Incidentally, the biggest advantage of a connection via the in-house WLAN is the fact that there are almost no unsightly jerks or interruptions when playing music - very different to many other speakers that are connected via Bluetooth. After setting up, you can immediately access thousands of web radio stations via the app or simply link one of the many well-known music streaming services (Amazon Prime, Deezer, Apple Music, Spotify, etc.). It is a bit of a pity, however, that the manufacturer has not given the PLAY:1 a memory card slot that would enable direct playback from an SD memory card - and unfortunately there is also no alternative USB input for connecting handy USB sticks or external hard drives.
Sound experience of the Sonos PLAY:1 WLAN speaker
To be honest, we didn't expect anything else: the sound of the Sonos PLAY:1 WLAN speaker is impressive across the board. Whether it's rock, pop, jazz, funk or hip hop - the handy mini loudspeaker always impresses with its acoustic top performance. Especially with vocal-heavy songs, the voice of the performing artist is perfectly placed in the foreground, but the extremely powerful basses are definitely a real surprise for a speaker of this size. If you want to improve the sound experience even further, you can simply integrate a second PLAY:1 speaker into your network and assign the right or left sound channel to one of the two devices - the result is a significantly wider and deeper stereo sound that you will quickly fall in love with. On the other hand, if you want to set up a home cinema quickly and easily (but not quite cheaply), you can use two PLAY:1 speakers with a Sonos PLAYBAR and a Sonos subwoofer combine and thus benefit from phenomenal surround sound.
- Sounds bigger than it looks: The small but powerful Sonos...
- The bookshelf speaker lets you play music from a wide range...
- Amazingly big sound even in the smallest corner: The slim...
Conclusion
With the Sonos PLAY:1 WiFi speaker you get a compact WiFi speaker that not only shines with an extremely modern look, but also knows how to convince with an impressive sound experience for its size. It's also a breeze to install and use, so there's nothing (aside from the lack of a USB port/memory card slot) that would speak against buying this speaker. Buy recommendation!
