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HomePod HomePod vs 2 Stereo Sonos Ones

zachlegomaniac

zachlegomaniac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 20, 2008
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For those of you who may have the new HomePod and have experience with a stereo pair of Sonos Ones or Play:1s - which sounds better? I ask because I can get them for same price.

I’m not concerned with anything except a sound comparison in this case.

Thank you!
 
zachlegomaniac said:
For those of you who may have the new HomePod and have experience with a stereo pair of Sonos Ones or Play:1s - which sounds better? I ask because I can get them for same price.
Click to expand...
The reviews I've seen have them virtually neck and neck. Some seem to indicate the homePod is slightly better, and others, such as Consumer Reports has the HomePod slightly better.

I think it boils down to which assistant works best for you, i.e., are you fully in the homekit/iOS ecosystem, then get the HomePod, if not, then maybe the Sonos
 
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I feel increasingly claustrophobic the more Apple products I bring into my home @maflynn so, as I've been anticipating buying a Sonos system (but holding out to see actual reviews of the HP), I've been quietly dissuading myself on the HP. That said, I do have all Apple computers and iDevices in my house. Because of this it always 'just makes sense' for me to continue buying Apple products. I'm afraid if I ever decide to try something new I will be tossing out the investment I have made in the ecosystem.

Anyways, that's almost a completely different topic. The best thing, as suggested by others, is to take advantage of the 14 day return policy and give it a try. I fear that once it's in the home it will be a done deal, but maybe that's not a bad thing for me. The indecision is getting old.

Thank you @Donar for linking those threads for me. I just read through both and they were very helpful.
 
I own both a pair of Sonos Ones and the HP and have done the test you talk about. For me it’s about the sweet spot. Yep if I position the ones just so, and sit in the narrow zone I get true stereo sound and its sounds ‘fuller’. But move out of the zone, and the visualization goes away and the ones sound flatter to my year. I find the sweet spot of the HP to be broader. It may not fill the room in quite the same way, but i can be almost anywhere in that room and get great sound. And the HP always sounds crisper to me. So arguably for my office where i am sitting in the same spot, the ones are ok. But almost any other room I want the HP.
 
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G5isAlive said:
I own both a pair of Sonos Ones and the HP and have done the test you talk about. For me it’s about the sweet spot. Yep if I position the ones just so, and sit in the narrow zone I get true stereo sound and its sounds ‘fuller’. But move out of the zone, and the visualization goes away and the ones sound flatter to my year. I find the sweet spot of the HP to be broader. It may not fill the room in quite the same way, but i can be almost anywhere in that room and get great sound. And the HP always sounds crisper to me. So arguably for my office where i am sitting in the same spot, the ones are ok. But almost any other room I want the HP.
Click to expand...

Thank you. Great to hear some personal opinions now that the HP is available.
 
zachlegomaniac said:
For those of you who may have the new HomePod and have experience with a stereo pair of Sonos Ones or Play:1s - which sounds better? I ask because I can get them for same price.

I’m not concerned with anything except a sound comparison in this case.

Thank you!
Click to expand...

I bought the HomePod and used it for a day. Ended up returning it for 2 Sonos Ones. I can say the HomePod has deeper bass, but nowhere near as good as a pair of Sonos speaker. You get true stereo sound from a pair, and fills a room way better. The HomePod seemed flat to my ears. My friends agreed. It’s too bass heavy and mids are drowned out. That’s just in terms of sound. When you compare Alexa to Siri, it’s a no brainer... Siri is still useless. Now for the same price, I have no clue why anyone would prefer the HP...
 
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My HomePod is sitting at home waiting for me to get back but I have a feeling that the clarity of sound is better on the Homepod vs the Sonos Play 1s I have strewn about the house. The reason why I say that is due to the “warm” sound of the Sonos compared to JBLs, Bose, and B&O speakers that I have. JBL, Bose, and B&O seem to have sound signatures that are more “crispy” and/or “bassy”. Just so you guys know, I’ve abandoned JBL, Bose, and B&O for the Sonos because there’s less to tinker with and for the entire house, it’s one system that I can control from the phone. No more going to a remote or command center to do all the music control. I’m not an audiophile and as long as something makes sound, I’m pretty happy it’s just that convenience trumps sound quality for me. I’ll update when I get back and set up my Homepod.
 
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I have both and listened to both extensively. Personally I prefer the Home Pod sound and probably buy another to compliment it when stereo via Air Play 2 is implemented.

Play 1’s in stereo mode still a nice buy and can’t go wrong with all the streaming options it can access. I bought mine to be the back speakers of the Sonos Home theatre setup when I can afford to buy the rest of the set up.

Best to listen which type of sound you like if it’s purley about how the music sounds.

In terms of Siri works great for me but so does Alexa! I find no issues with Siri for my needs.

I do like the Home Pod and you can’t go wrong of in the Apple eco system.
 
Seareys said:
Now for the same price, I have no clue why anyone would prefer the HP...
Click to expand...
Because I think it delievers a great product ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

One size does not fit all, and I really like the output. the output of the Sonos or the homePod is largely subjective. Apple chose to elevate the bass, but I think based on my very limited knowledge, thta was done based on how most averge consumers like their music bass heavy. Yes, the Sonos 1 is cheaper, and it has Alexa which is a superior digital assistant, but overall, I'm very happy with the HomePod, I already subscribed to Apple Music, it offers more then what Amazon does (without paying extra) and it does the job. Of course it doesn't hurt that I was able to use my Christmas present (gift cards) to offset the cost of the HP ;)
 
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I finally got to listen to the HomePod yesterday in an Apple Store. It is an incredible speaker. I am however already invested in the Sonos system and don't have the desire or finances to redo my house in HomePod's. I am not an audiophile but I know what I like. I don't have a stereo pair of Sonos 1's as they are spread throughout my home but I can say that HomePod sounds better than a single Sonos 1. That isn't to say that the Sonos 1 sounds bad by any means, just that the HomePod is better. I think the review comparisons I have read which put the Sonos 1 at about 80% - 85% as good as the HomePod are about correct. However (unfair comparison) my Sonos Playbar and Sub sounds better than the HomePod.

Interestingly enough, the Apple Store I was in had the Devialet $3000.00 Bluetooth speaker, though it was very loud and impressive, I actually would prefer a HomePod to that, though got to say, it was impressive and when listening to Hip Hop on the Devialet, the bass would thump right through your chest lol.
 
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maflynn said:
Because I think it delievers a great product ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

One size does not fit all, and I really like the output. the output of the Sonos or the homePod is largely subjective. Apple chose to elevate the bass, but I think based on my very limited knowledge, thta was done based on how most averge consumers like their music bass heavy. Yes, the Sonos 1 is cheaper, and it has Alexa which is a superior digital assistant, but overall, I'm very happy with the HomePod, I already subscribed to Apple Music, it offers more then what Amazon does (without paying extra) and it does the job. Of course it doesn't hurt that I was able to use my Christmas present (gift cards) to offset the cost of the HP ;)
Click to expand...

Have you listened to anything else? Bose SoundTouch 20, Sonos Play 3 (which is now $100 cheaper), etc.

I see way to many “this thing sounds great” descriptions and people have not listened to anything else.

Time for a new thread on this.
 
AppleRobert said:
Have you listened to anything else? Bose SoundTouch 20, Sonos Play 3 (which is now $100 cheaper), etc.

I see way to many “this thing sounds great” descriptions and people have not listened to anything else.

Time for a new thread on this.
Click to expand...
Other then the echo no.
 
Seareys said:
I bought the HomePod and used it for a day. Ended up returning it for 2 Sonos Ones. I can say the HomePod has deeper bass, but nowhere near as good as a pair of Sonos speaker. You get true stereo sound from a pair, and fills a room way better. The HomePod seemed flat to my ears. My friends agreed. It’s too bass heavy and mids are drowned out. That’s just in terms of sound. When you compare Alexa to Siri, it’s a no brainer... Siri is still useless. Now for the same price, I have no clue why anyone would prefer the HP...
Click to expand...

I am going to try two Sonos 1s with Apple’s return policy. No risk and I am very curious.
 
I've tried both, so can give my thoughts if it's any help.

A while back I replaced my five year old Play with two Sonos ones and paired them up. They sounded really good: I was surprised. Then I went a bit crazy and bought a Sub. This is because I had future plays for a 5.1 sound system, and also because I was mad curious on how they sounded with the stereo pair.

The answer is awesome. I had the Sonos 1s on a bookshelf, about 8 foot apart, slightly above ear level (when I am sitting on the sofa). The sub delivers lush, immense bass. My god it's beautiful. That said, I felt the Ones were lacking in range; the highs felt strained and the mids a little fuzzy.

After reading a lot about the HomePod, and as I'm only Apple Music, and also because I'm 100% committed to Apple kit AND after reading about HomePod and stereo pairing after iOS 11.4, I thought I'd give them a try.

And so, from my purely subjective opinion, the HPs sound significantly better. It's the verticality of the sound. The music feels like it is being beamed into the centre of the room. As I'm sitting now, facing the speakers, the music is coming at me right from the middle. It's great. Even if I sit on my other sofa on the side I feel like I'm hearing so much more from the music. The science of it all eludes me but I've had a lot of fun listening to music with it.

The Ones, on reflection, felt much narrower, like I was listening to a horizontal gap of music (sorry, best way I can explain it) and I had to sit in the right position to get the full effect. The HPs by comparison just fill the room. The bass obviously won't be as lush as the Sonos Sub, but it is surprisingly good, even if a little overpowering at times. But hey, I like my bass. It definitely isn't a neutral sound. Given the price I would expect a much better sound - which they deliver.

The Sonos ones will become the rears when I eventually get a Sonos Beam.

(anecdotally I've found Siri much better than Alexa, and seems to do the simple things much better. I love the fact I can tell Siri to play in my lounge and in the bedroom - where I have an Airplay 2'd Sonos One - and it works really well)

Hope this helps!
 
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blaizefm said:
I've tried both, so can give my thoughts if it's any help.

A while back I replaced my five year old Play with two Sonos ones and paired them up. They sounded really good: I was surprised. Then I went a bit crazy and bought a Sub. This is because I had future plays for a 5.1 sound system, and also because I was mad curious on how they sounded with the stereo pair.

The answer is awesome. I had the Sonos 1s on a bookshelf, about 8 foot apart, slightly above ear level (when I am sitting on the sofa). The sub delivers lush, immense bass. My god it's beautiful. That said, I felt the Ones were lacking in range; the highs felt strained and the mids a little fuzzy.

After reading a lot about the HomePod, and as I'm only Apple Music, and also because I'm 100% committed to Apple kit AND after reading about HomePod and stereo pairing after iOS 11.4, I thought I'd give them a try.

And so, from my purely subjective opinion, the HPs sound significantly better. It's the verticality of the sound. The music feels like it is being beamed into the centre of the room. As I'm sitting now, facing the speakers, the music is coming at me right from the middle. It's great. Even if I sit on my other sofa on the side I feel like I'm hearing so much more from the music. The science of it all eludes me but I've had a lot of fun listening to music with it.

The Ones, on reflection, felt much narrower, like I was listening to a horizontal gap of music (sorry, best way I can explain it) and I had to sit in the right position to get the full effect. The HPs by comparison just fill the room. The bass obviously won't be as lush as the Sonos Sub, but it is surprisingly good, even if a little overpowering at times. But hey, I like my bass. It definitely isn't a neutral sound. Given the price I would expect a much better sound - which they deliver.

The Sonos ones will become the rears when I eventually get a Sonos Beam.

(anecdotally I've found Siri much better than Alexa, and seems to do the simple things much better. I love the fact I can tell Siri to play in my lounge and in the bedroom - where I have an Airplay 2'd Sonos One - and it works really well)

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

YES! you sir are awesome
 
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