When building your home audio system, you’ll want to consider not only great sound, but ease of use as well. One of the smarter user experience options currently available is His bone, which offers both high-quality hardware for great sound and also intuitive and smart apps to control sound throughout the home.
Sonos products are premium products, however, which means they can be pricey. But it’s possible to save money by finding the best cheap Sonos deals, like the ones we’ve found to share with you below.
Today’s best Sonos deals
A beginner’s guide to Sonos
Sonos is a home theater equipment manufacturer renowned for its quality speakers with high tech capabilities. You may be familiar with Sonos for its popular standalone speakers, but the company has a much wider range than that. It makes just about every home theater equipment you can think of, from speakers and soundbars to amplifiers, adapters for older stereo systems, and more.
Below, we’ll talk about everything Sonos has to offer and what each device does, as well as which ones we think it’s best suited for. To make it easier to follow, we’ve broken it down into three sections: speakers, home theater, and components.
Loudspeakers
Sonos currently offers four speakers in its lineup. The cheapest of the options is the Sonos One SL, which is a version of its basic speaker without a microphone. While it doesn’t have a microphone, it’s still controllable through Siri with AirPlay 2 support or through Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. It includes two Class-D digital amplifiers, a tweeter and a mid-woofer, which delivers superb sound for a speaker of its size. Although it does include Wi-Fi, the One SL does not have Bluetooth.
The Sonos One has all of the same features as the One SL; however, it does add a microphone for voice control, as well as built-in Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
If you’re looking for portability, consider the Sonos Move. Larger than the One series speakers, the Move has a built-in battery that allows you to use the speaker anywhere, either via battery power (10 hours of playback) or via AC power when sitting on its included desktop charger. Like the One, it packs two Class-D digital amplifiers, a tweeter and a mid-woofer, but it also adds Bluetooth support for use when no Wi-Fi is available.
For the best possible sound quality, upgrade to Sonos Play: 5. The speaker features six Class-D digital amplifiers, three tweeters and three mid-woofers, arranged to direct sound to both left, right and center for truly immersive sound. Although it includes Wi-Fi, it does not include Bluetooth.
With all of these speakers, you can pair two for authentic stereo sound, and all are controllable through the Sonos app, AirPlay, and Amazon Alexa using the Sonos Skill.
Which one should you buy? The Sonos One series is a great entry-level Sonos speaker, and if you don’t need Alexa, you can save a bit by choosing the One SL over the One. The Move is a great option if you plan to use your speaker in multiple locations. If you can afford it, we recommend the Play: 5 because of its impressive sound quality.
Home theater
Sonos offers four different home theater options, all of which can be paired with the speakers above to create a home theater setup. The Sonos Beam is Sonos’ entry-level soundbar and integrates both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. As for the speakers, the Beam includes five Class-D digital amplifiers, a tweeter and four full-range woofers, as well as three passive radiators to enhance bass response. It also includes both an HDMI ARC and an optical audio adapter to connect to your TV
The Sonos Playbar is a mountable soundbar with even more speakers than its cheaper sister. In total, it features nine Class-D digital amplifiers, three tweeters and six midrange woofers, delivering high-quality, cinema-like sound. However, you will need an optical input to use this component with your TV. So only buy the Playbar if you plan to pair it with a high-end TV.
Sonos’ top-of-the-line offering here is the Sonos Playbase. Intended to sit under your TV, the Playbase is a powerhouse. A total of 10 powered speakers – six midrange, three tweeters and a woofer – are arranged around the Playbase. Yet the addition of ten digital amplifiers makes the Playbase one of the best sound bases on the market today.
Any of these soundbars can be combined with speakers we talked about before and with the Sonos Sub, the company’s wireless subwoofer. If you’re looking for great bass sound in your home theater setup, the Sub is a must have for sure. Two Class-D digital amplifiers are tuned to match the two dedicated speakers, and the two acoustic ports are optimized to improve Sub performance.
While you can certainly splurge here and pair the Playbase and Sub with Sonos’ Play: 5 speakers, even the Beam and Sub, combined with the One or One SL speakers, will deliver great sound. It depends on how much you are willing to spend.
Components
In addition to speaker and home theater components, Sonos manufactures a wide variety of components that it may be a good idea to support depending on your home theater plans. The Sonos port allows you to connect your stereo or traditional receiver to your Sonos setup. At the same time, the Sonos Amp will allow you to connect your wired speakers and other components. Sonos Boost is a good option if you need to boost your Wi-Fi to ensure uninterrupted streaming.
Most users will not need these components in their Sonos setups. Still, if you’re a home theater enthusiast with pre-existing home theater equipment, it may be a good idea to consider the port and amp to connect your legacy gear to the Sonos platform. Typically, the Wi-Fi capabilities of Sonos speakers are pretty good, but in larger homes, Boost may be needed to keep streaming working properly.
Sonos One vs. Sonos One SL
The Sonos One and Sonos One SL are identical in their feature set, except for one crucial feature: a microphone. While you get a microphone and also Alexa support with the Sonos One, the Sonos One SL doesn’t include a microphone. However, the Sonos One SL can still be controlled via Alexa, using Siri and AirPlay, or with a separate Alexa device compatible with Alexa Sonos.
Sonos Beam vs. Sonos Playbar
Sonos Beam and Playbar are Sonos soundbar options. The smaller Sonos Beam is less expensive and includes four full-range woofers, a tweeter, and three passive radiators. The Playbar is mountable and more expensive, but includes nine Class-D digital amplifiers, three tweeters and six midrange woofers, and offers much better sound quality overall.
Sonos Playbar vs. Sonos Playbase
Although we described the Playbar soundbar above, the Sonos Playbase is what is called a “soundbase” and sits under your TV. It has many more speakers than the Playbar – a total of 10 powered speakers – six midrange, three tweeters and a woofer, but also ten digital amplifiers, giving the Playbase impressive cinematic sound.
Does Sonos need Wi-Fi?
Yes. Music streams to your speakers over Wi-Fi, so without it you won’t be able to listen to music unless you’re connected to your Sonos speaker through Bluetooth. Wi-Fi connectivity also allows you to use your speaker without having to take out your smartphone, especially models with built-in Alexa support. These work like any Alexa device since you can control everything with your device.
Does Sonos have Bluetooth?
Yes, on some models. On models that include Bluetooth, you can connect your smartphone or other Bluetooth-enabled music device directly to the speaker to stream music. Bluetooth allows you to use the speaker even if no Wi-Fi connection is available.
Do Ikea Sonos speakers work with Sonos components?
Yes. Ikea’s Symfonisk speaker line, while an Ikea brand product, will work with any Sonos component, just like a Sonos brand speaker. One good thing about these speakers is that they are cheaper than Sonos speakers. While the sound quality is not as good as that of the Sonos speakers, we are still impressed with their overall sound quality.
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