It helps of course that the Echo Dot, meant to connect to an external speaker, costs less than 50.

Competition is only now beginning to heat up, thanks both to the upcoming HomePod and an expanded line of Google Home products.

The standard Echo is certainly good enough for casual listening, but its not meant for audiophiles or home theater integration.

The main hardware changes are six far-field microphones, and new touch-sensitive buttons such as a mic mute.

Sonos App Pro Series Of Pulses

After connecting the One to Wi-Fi youll probably do Trueplay tuning, which involves walking around a room with an iPhone or iPad while the One emits a series of pulses.

Youll also want to connect as many music services as possible, like Apple Music or Spotify, since while the app can play local files its really meant to serve as a kind of universal remote.

Youll have to have an Amazon account and the Alexa iOS app, making sure Alexa likewise recognizes which music services you use.

No Apple Music. And while the speaker supports most other Alexa functions, such as smarthome control and IFTTT integration, some exceptions include calling and messaging, setting reminders, grouping rooms, or moving music to another room.

For the last two youll need the Sonos app once again, though naturally you can always start music fresh anywhere you choose.

There was an instance when it failed to hear us when we were facing the opposite direction, but that didnt repeat.

Its a single-channel speaker, but even on its own its balanced and clear with punchy bass.

You can pair it with a second unit for stereo, and with a Playbase, Playbar andor Sub as part of a home theater setup.

Sonos App Pro Bluetooth Receiver Or

Theres no Bluetooth receiver or 3.5mm jack, which is inconvenient and ultimately feels like a cash grab.

And while Alexa is easily the industrys best-supported voice assistant, it has its quirks.

Its skill system and iOS app are awkward, and unlike Google Assistant, it has trouble with some knowledge-based questions.

Those will make it truly unique but dont hold your breath, since Sonos has only promised those upgrades sometime in 2018.

The One is better than many other mono speakers, but it wont replace any serious audio gear on its own.

During much of our testing we had the speaker sitting on an office desk, and it filled the space with extremely pleasing sound in some ways surpassing a mid-range, 2.1-channel Logitech setup.

Sure, the HomePod will likely sound even better, but a 349, Siri-only speaker thats biased in favor of Apple Music will face an uphill climb.

Alternatively, Best Buy and Amazon have the Sonos One for the same price, although sales tax will be collected in all applicable states.

Set up was slightly more complicated than the usual smooth Sonos ways as it involved switching between both Sonos and Amazon software.

As the price of the One is the same as a Play 1 l did wonder if the sound quality might be lower with the One.

Unless the HomePods sounds much much better l agree that the One could give Apple serious competition.

Sonos App For Mac Pro