#SONOS HOME SOUND SYSTEM UPGRADE#
#SONOS HOME SOUND SYSTEM PORTABLE#

Sonos updated its One speaker in early 2019 you’ll see both Sonos One “Gen 2” and Sonos One “Gen 1” speakers when shopping.

#SONOS HOME SOUND SYSTEM UPGRADE#

The other big upgrade is that the One supports AirPlay 2. A smart speaker that can be integrated with either Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant, it has an array of microphones and comes integrated with Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. The backbone of the Sonos lineup, One is smallest and most affordable traditional speaker Sonos offers. The bottom line: Sonos is still the best wireless home audio ecosystem out there and Sonos are worth it in every sense.

#SONOS HOME SOUND SYSTEM PORTABLE#

And now Sonos even has several portable speakers. Its connected receivers and amplifiers have helped Sonos become a solution for people who already have some part of the system, like a vintage receiver or passive speakers - which is most people - and don’t want to start over. Its line of soundbars (as well as its connected amplifiers) have helped it weave its way into the home theater so that now you can integrate your TV into its greater audio system. In 2022, Sonos’s bread-and-butter is still multi-room audio, but the breadth of its entire ecosystem has expanded a lot. Under new leadership - after a decade in charge, CEO John MacFarlane stepped down in 2017 and handed over the reins to Patrick Spence - the company is now in the business of producing smart speakers that work with Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant. Under that pressure, Sonos has introduced smaller and more affordable speakers, like the Play:1, giving more people a gateway into Sonos. Some big companies, most notably Google and Bose, also have their own line of multi-room speakers. New wireless protocols have been introduced, such as DTS Play-Fi, Google’s Chromecast, Bluesound and Apple AirPlay, which emulate what Sonos does. Imitation is the finest form of flattery, so, over the years, a lot of companies have tried to beat Sonos at its own game. And it's all controlled through a smartphone app. Alternatively, they can all be playing different tunes if you'd like.

The magic of Sonos is the ability to group any number of Sonos speakers together, provided they are all connected to the same Wi-Fi network, and have them all playing in sync throughout the house.

Its first amplifier (which became the Connect:Amp) and subsequent speakers were great, but the real beauty of Sonos is its ecosystem of audio products that make listening to music at home really easy. Sonos basically invented the multi-room category of home audio, starting as a software company in the early 2000s before integrating its Wi-Fi-enabled network into hardware a few years later. Welcome to Brand Breakdown, a series of comprehensive yet easy-to-digest guides to your favorite companies, with insights and information you won’t find on the average About page.

Sonos home sound system