Sonos Play:1 review: The best multiroom speaker is now better value than ever

Sonos Play:1 review: Buttons

With the Play:1 comes another big change to the way that Sonos works. Since launch, all Sonos players have had two buttons: a volume rocker and a mute button. With the Play:1 the mute has been replaced with a Play/Pause button instead.

Tap this and the music is automatically paused, so you can continue at your leisure. It also means you can walk in the house, tap the button and within 50ms have music or internet radio playing, without having to fumble around trying to find your smartphone. You can even double-tap the button to skip tracks.

That’s not all, however. Sonos has also updated the software for all other players to reflect this change so that their Mute button now acts as Play/Pause. It’s a brilliant update to the whole portfolio system and the ability to instantly start playing something makes so much sense. As minor as it seems, long-time Sonos users will absolutely love this feature. Sonos has also updated the controller software, so it remembers all of the networks you’ve attached it to. That means you can use the Sonos system at home, at a friend’s house and at work without having to manually join it to the network each time.

Sonos Play:1 Verdict

The Play:1 is a great addition to the Sonos range, as it suddenly gives existing Sonos owners a lot more options. For people that want to get started with Sonos, it’s a superb entry-level device that doesn’t cost an absolute fortune. For those who have already invested, it’s a cheaper way to extend your multiroom audio into extra rooms.

By itself, the Play:1 manages to fill a room, although we think it’s better suited to smaller rooms where it can be tucked out of the way. We think that the Play:3 is the better player when only one is involved. Put two Play:1s into a stereo pair, though, and it’s a completely different story with proper stereo separation and fantastic sound that beats a single Play:3.

Adding a SUB into the mix makes another big difference and you get proper thumping sound that’s up there with, if not better than, a single Play:5. Given its flexibility and that you can add other components to improve its sound, the Play:1 is a clear Best Buy winner, particularly as you no longer need the wireless bridge.