SONOS Play 1: New all-in-one speaker

SONOS has launched their next innovative speaker. The tiny but mighty little SONOS Play 1. I’m not going to tell you all the specs of the actual speaker. What our customers care about is how does it integrate into their homes? Here’s my take on the value and use of the Play 1…

1. It is now the least expensive all-in-one speaker in their lineup. At only $219 CAD this is now an easy add on in small rooms.
2. Unfortunately it still requires power so there is no really cutting the cord. I would have loved to have seen a recharging base for this but then the price goes up and that’s a really limited use case and value.
3. Like the Play 3 you can mount it so it can be used on the wall or on a speaker stand as a pair of speakers or rear surrounds. Very nice rear surrounds in my opinion.
4. The all new SONOS v 4.2 software release brings some very cool features (which is what I’m personally excited about)

Version 4.2 brings us 2 valuable features

1. My favourite feature is the multi-domicile (home, location, or site). Many of our clients have cottages with a 2nd install of SONOS. Our commercial clients have multiple locations and before, if you wanted to control your system at 2 or more sites, you had to reset your iPhone (or Android) every time you wanted to control that location…pain in the butt if you ask me. Now, there’s a great feature that let’s you simply add a new location and voila you can now control multiple sites.
2. Another hidden gem is that we can now setup a Connect Amp to a pair of in-ceiling speakers and pair that with the Playbar soundbar for a great surround sound setup in the family room.
   Check back and I will post a little how-to video of how to add multiple locations. I personally use 3 locations every day…my home, my office and my portable SONOS demo kit. No more resetting my app.

The SONOS Play 1 starts shipping at the end of the month. Interested in a test drive, let me know and I’ll bring one over.