At just $219CAN, Sonos Play1 measures a little over six inches tall by a little less than five inches wide, and features two Class D amps to drive its 3.5-inch woofer and tweeter. Of course, ease of control and ease of setup are the key messages from Sonos, and although it certainly features the same app control of its bigger brothers, Sonos touts the fact that Play:1 is easy enough to control without an app. Its Play/Pause button also serves as a track skip button.
Designed in-house by Sonos’ software and audio engineering teams, the Play:1 features the company’s own midrange/woofer and tweeter, and the company says it developed the product to produce full, rich sound and an immersive sound stage. Externally, the Play:1 is available in a choice of finishes and it is highlighted by a minimalist design that incorporates a sealed enclosure as well as a simple array of interface options that includes a play/pause button and volume up/down buttons.
Like other Sonos products, the Play1 can be set up to play music from a local area network (LAN) that includes iTunes, and streaming sources such as Pandora, iHeart Radio, Spotify, Sirius XM and other services within minutes. The company points out that an initial installation with a Play:1 can be as easy as connecting a Sonos Bridge to a network router and plugging in a single Play:1.
Sonos adds that dealers can configure the Play1 to operate as a single enclosure stereo speaker or the speaker can set it up to operate in pairs in a traditional left/right stereo configuration. The Play:1 can also be used as rear surrounds to support the installation of the company’s popular Playbar to form a complete Sonos home theater system that also includes the company’s Sonos SUB powered subwoofer.
