If you are looking for the best smart speaker for your home, you’ve most certainly come across Amazon Echo, Alexa, and Sonos One. While Amazon’s Echo is the most popular smart home device thanks to its Alexa Assistant integration, it is not the only option on the market, especially if you are looking for the best multiroom smart audio functions, which is where the Sonos One smart speaker will come in.
For the longest time, Echo was the most obvious option for most people looking for the latest smart home speakers, but that is not the case anymore.
Sonos One boasts remarkable audio functions ideal for multiroom audio capabilities. Besides the audio capabilities of these two smart devices, how do they compare with each other?
While these two are the best smart speakers for smart homeowners, these speakers have some subtle and big differences which you must take account when you are looking for the speaker that is right for you.
For example, Echo features more finish options, Sonos One has a premium look, and it’s bigger than Echo, and there’s also the fact that Sonos one comes with capacitive controls while Echo features physical controls.
But there is more, which is why in this product comparison, we’ll look at the features of these two speakers by looking at how the two compare in terms of the features.
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Difference in features
Pricing
While your search for the best smart speaker shouldn’t be guided solely by the pricing, the price is a big function that determines the best smart home speaker. At the end of the day, you have to work within your budget, unless you are interested in saving up and waiting longer until you can buy the device of your dreams.
Looking at these two smart speakers, Amazon Echo Plus costs $149.99 while Sonos One is pricier and costs $199.
If you are wondering why these speakers are expensive, you will be happy to note that these two speakers offer excellent features that offer great value for the price charged. For example, the second-generation Echo Plus boasts a sleek, modern design, high-quality audio functions, as well as a built-in smart home hub.
Sonos One, on the other hand, makes up for its high price b with its high-quality Alexa integrations that make the smart speaker and excellent function for audiophiles. The addition of the Google Assistant boosts the credibility of this smart speaker, and you can pair it with your surround system with ease.
Design
Amazon Echo Plus
Amazon Echo Plus looks a lot like the original version of Echo, with the only difference between the original Echo Plus and the second-generation Echo Plus being the fact that the original Amazon Echo Plus is thinner, ganglier, and taller while the newer, second-generation Amazon Echo Plus is shorter and stout.
The new Echo Plus has a fabric used as a cover, and the upgrade looks great. If you’ve used the original Echo Plus, you may miss the mute and unmute buttons, as well as the circular dial.
In the new Echo, the buttons are replaced, and all the new buttons are a lot harder to press, meaning you will struggle a little with the Amazon Echo Plus button.
Sonos One
Sonos One, on the other hand, is designed a lot like the Sonos Play:1 with its speaker wrapped around its metal grille.
The Sonos logo is also displayed subtly at the front’s top-inch. At the top of the speaker are the touch play and pause controls for audio, then there also are functions for changing the volume, muting and unmuting the mic.
If you’ve used other smart speakers, you will agree with us that the volume buttons would have been better with Plus and Minus signs for Up and Down volume functions. There are four dots instead of these buttons, and if you choose Sonos One, these are the features you will be stuck with.
But on the flip side, the function of this speaker is enhanced by the small LED located next to the microphone buttons. These LED lights will light up every time you mention Alexa. So, while it would be hard to see Sonos One across the room, cuing Alexa lights it up, making it easy for you to work the speakers at night.
Sonos One is 6.4×4.7×4.7 inches, which is just about the size of your large coffee can. It only weighs 4.1lbs, and this is a great size for your home. The back of the speaker has a power cord port, and there is also an Ethernet port just above the power ports. One caveat, though; Sonos One leaves damaging white marks on wooden furniture.
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Smart Home Controls
Amazon Echo Plus
Echo Plus doesn’t have integrations for all smart home gadgets yet, but it works with smart devices like locks, lights, bulbs, as well as motion sensors. While most devices lack the battery capacity to connect to different devices over your Wi-Fi network directly, Amazon Echo Plus comes with a built-in Hub, which allows for the easy setting up of different smart devices.
To use Echo Plus, for example, all you need do is to say ‘Alexa, discover new devices’ and you will find and connect different devices. Scanning will take about 3 seconds, and once the first device is discovered, you get to add the new device. You can name your device uniquely to simplify use.
One catch, though, Echo Plus only accommodates a limited number of devices – it supports Zigbee-enabled devices but not the Z-Wave-enabled devices. For the Z-Wave devices, you may need SmartThings V3 or any other hub.
You should also consider the fact that you can pair your devices with Echo Plus easily in your Alexa App. While this means that you can control your smart devices easily from one place, you won’t be able to control the devices on the brand-specific/ proprietary apps.
The other control function of Echo Plus is its inbuilt thermometer, which will allow you to set the temperature right at all times, at the comfort of your bed or couch.
The other control feature you need to consider is that you can only control your smart devices if they are within one area, at a range of 40-50ft from the Echo Plus device. The connection is lost beyond the 50ft mark.
Sonos One
The controls and integrations of Sonos One, on the other hand, also feature excellent control features, and it also boasts excellent Alexa integration. The integration is not 100% seamless, though. Your Sonos One speakers may take a little longer than you’d like to pair with Alexa and the speakers, and you have to be a little patient with the setup.
Once you’ve set it up, you could start playing music and make other connections using either Alexa or Sonos apps. You could further simplify the setup of your Sonos One device by using the Trueplay Tuning process, where you have to walk around the room with the phone as you test the speakers.
The good news is that you will be able to adjust the bass and the treble levels easily from the speaker.
Sonos One comes with an array of six microphones, and though they are not as sensitive as the microphone on the Amazon Echo Plus devices, they still work great. Its touch-sensitive surface is easy to use thanks to its LED power-indicating screen.
Audio Quality
Amazon Echo Plus
Amazon Echo Plus comes with good-quality sound quality, although it is not as great as Sonos One’s. But the sound is not as bad. Echo Plus comes with an omnidirectional Dolby Audio along with a 0.8-inch tweeter, in addition to the 3.0-inch neodymium subwoofer.
All these features ensure that the speaker offers more kick in the bass, which means that even when using a down-firing woofer, the sound still feels great. While this speaker doesn’t guarantee premium-quality audio, you will still enjoy a full and a warm-bodied sound.
The speaker comes with an AUX port as well as the multi-room functionality for Alexa, which makes it easy for you to connect to external speakers easily.
Sonos One
Sonos One takes the win in this category, and its sound is quite impressive with a super balance of richer, high-quality sounds.
One of the great audio features of this speaker is the fact that it allows tuning of the sound to the acoustic version meaning that you can listen to and enjoy sounds of different qualities.
The stereo setup is pretty good, and it sounds great for all music genres.
Smart Functions, App/ Future Developments
Amazon Echo Plus
Echo Plus is more of the refined version of the original Amazon Echo, and although it still has some shortcomings, it features excellent features and functions, which make it an excellent smart home device.
The biggest features of Echo Plus are ZigBee, the smart home interface that connects the speaker to a huge range of home devices from smart cameras and switches to bulbs and thermostats.
But for the best level performance, you may want to avoid cramming too many devices in one room since it could get fiddly trying to figure out the right device to connect to the speaker. On top of all these integrations, you could also use Echo Plus to make phone calls to actual people/ phone numbers.
The other function is Amazon Echo Plus’s potential for linking these speakers with Amazon Fire TV Stick, Fire Cube, or Fire TV – these TV integrations require you to click to the Alexa app’s Setting tab for linking and communication between the devices.
The other impressive feature is that you will not have a hard time accessing Netflix or specific TV shows. The catch is that you cannot pause or skip tracks or shows using your Amazon Echo Plus. You can expect a number of functionalities and features added to the Sonos One smart speaker.
Sonos One
One of the features already integrated into Sonos One is Spotify, thanks to the recently added and updated Spotify software updates. The addition of Spotify is an excellent addon since Spotify is one of the leading streaming services that allows you to request songs at your convenience and from your phone.
The Spotify function allows for the enhanced multi-room speaker functions and the integration of top streaming services. The other feature of Sonos One is the Sonos Alexa Skill, which, as recently released – this function makes use of voice commands to play music on the Sonos speakers throughout the home.
This function is still in its beta version though.
Conclusion- Which Device Wins?
Amazon Echo Plus is easily one of the best Amazon smart home speakers as it carries advanced features absent in the previous versions. Its design is great, and the smart speaker is positioned as the best lifestyle product.
Its broader, refreshed design is very appealing, and it comes with great features, including the newly-added temperature sensor and also the advanced audio drivers that boost the multifunctional design of these smart speakers.
It’s not perfect though since the sound is not as great as you may want. This Echo Plus speaker could be better, but it remains one of the best smart home hubs and also an excellent smart speaker that’s worth its $149 tag.
Sonos One, on the other hand, is an excellent smart home speaker that’s also one of the best Alexa-enabled devices. You can use it with the Sonos app and also with the Alexa app.
Besides this versatility, Sonos One also boasts premium-quality speakers and audio quality, with its most impressive feature being the multi-room sound functions.
Sonos One integrates seamlessly with all the other systems, and the recent addition of Spotify means that you get so much more out of the Sonos One speakers. Besides Alexa, Sonos One works well with the Google Assistant, which means that this smart speaker is worth the $199 price tag.
So, which of these two smart speakers should you buy?
Well, it’s clear that these two smart speakers both boast excellent functions, and you would do well investing in either. However, Echo Plus offers more functions beyond offering good sound for music as it doubles as a smart home hub, and you can connect it with most of your smart home devices with ease. You also get to make phone calls and connect it to Amazon TV Stick and Cube options. It’s also cheaper than Sonos One.
