I really like it

I was sick of trying to keep my other WiFi speakers on the network (Logitech UE and Boston Accoustics) and decided that I should just go ahead and buy what reviews seem to say is the best: Sonos. Right now, I have just the single PLAY: 1, but I’ll probably add others in the near future. Set-up was easy, though involved. I love that I can add my music services such as SiriusXM, Prime Music, and Pandora to the app to play directly from there instead of fiddling with individual apps and trying to connect them to the speaker. I’m a little disappointed in the sound, hence the four stars instead of five, because its bass is a little weak. The sound is not as full as my Logitech UE — but then again, the Sonos is more compact. I guess I just expected all the raves of my friends and reviews to equal rich sound.

Potential buyers should understand that this is NOT a Bluetooth speaker but rather connects to your home network, either wirelessly or via the included Ethernet cable. This means that your phone doesn’t have to be 33 feet (or whatever) from your speaker. As long as the WiFi signal is strong enough, your Sonos can play anywhere in the house. This also means that if you have a wonky network that fades in and out or an older router not good at handling traffic, you can have issues. Wireless over network is a lot between than Bluetooth, unless your network is crummy.

You do need a smart phone running iOS or Android to set up and control the speaker and any other Sonos players you plan to add to create a system. Although I haven’t done it yet, you can connect two PLAY:1s to create stereo sound, but you can also run only one speaker. The only wires are the power cable — unless you opt to connect it directly to your router.

The build quality is excellent. The canister-sized speaker is heavy and made of mostly metal. The iOS app is intuitive and helpful. Other than the sound in need of a little bass, I can’t think of anything to complain about.