The Sonos Five: A Refurbished Music Speaker with Bluetooth and Face-to-Face Audio Support for Rooms or Parties

The Sonos Arc is a powerful Dolby Atmos speaker that also integrates with the company’s multiroom audio platform. With extra capabilities like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple’s AirPlay 2, it’s a feature-rich soundbar that sounds just as good when playing music.

Best Buy and Sonos test their certified refurbished products before they sell them. The original accessories and cables are included along with a one-year warranty and a 45-day money-back guarantee. There is a 90-day warranty on Geek Squad certified refurbished products from Best Buy. You have 15 days to return or exchange them, if you are a Best Buy Elite or Totaltech member.

Note, however, Sonos won’t let you pair two in stereo when listening over Bluetooth, unlike similar speakers, though you can play Bluetooth audio over your entire Sonos system. The Roam also only offers around 10 hours of battery life, which isn’t that great, and it can be challenging to use the speaker’s Wi-Fi features outside of your home.

The sound of the One is rich but lacks a microphone. The smart speaker supports a wide range of music services, it has good voice mics, and it integrates with existing Sonos systems.

The Sonos One typically sells for $219 new, but unfortunately, there are no deals available if you want to buy one by itself. You can buy a two-room set for $419 instead of $438 from B&H Photo.

You can save a little on the cost of the Sonos Arc if you purchase it from Costco, but it does not come with a microphone. Be aware, though, you’ll have to be a member to buy it.

The Sonos Five replaced the Play:5 music speaker in 2020 but is actually nearly identical to its excellent-sounding predecessor. It shares the same six custom-designed drivers inside, so it should offer the same high-quality listening experience as the Play:5, which was ideal for large rooms or parties. Other than that, however, there aren’t many noticeable differences. Compared to the Play:5, Sonos says its successor offers increased memory and processing power, as well as a new wireless radio. There are also all-black or all-white options. The lack of a built- in microphone and support for Amazon’s voice assistant distinguishes the Sonos Five from other speakers.

However, it’s important to note that as an older model, it lacks features the second-generation Beam offers. The second-gen model does not have support for the eARC HDMI port and/or the sound quality of Dolby Atmos. When it was new and more widely available, it was sold for $299 but now it is $239, which is the same price it sold for when it was new.

The Sonos Move offers a loud, powerful sound similar to the Sonos One, but with slightly more volume. It’s better toDistribute sound throughout a Room than it is to find a spot in your home for it to hear it. It sounds good even when you’re at the park or in the living room.

It was once upon a time when Apple made a great smart speaker called the HomePod. A midsized speaker that plugged into the wall, it delivered better sound than most smart speakers and looked more elegant, too.

The first generation of the HomePod sounded less vibrant and muddy than the original. There’s no comparison between the HomePod Mini and the HomePod; the larger speaker sounds much bigger and better.

Inside, the second generation HomePod has fewer drivers than the first generation model — five on the new one versus seven on the original — and yet it actually improves on the overall sound. The new HomePod has a more balanced sound, as the previous one was very bass heavy.

Towards a Smart Home: The Sound of the First and Second-Generation Bossa Nova Electrovised by Lacy

That makes a listening experience enjoyable. The bossa nova rhythms on Steve Lacy’s “Mercury” were resonant but didn’t overwhelm the vocals; when listening to Jon Batiste’s “Freedom,” the bass thumped powerfully, while the horns were warm and realistic.

It features room correction software that will adjust the audio to sound best in the space you put it in, and it has a design which allows for sound toproject into any room you choose.

The second-generation model adds support for Matter, the new smart home standard. That means you can use it as a hub for controlling non-Apple devices and it should be ready for new smart products as they arrive. Matter is open source and meant to promote interoperability; compatible devices work with Alexa and Google Assistant as well as Siri. I was able to use Siri to turn on an Eve Energy smart plug that uses the Thread standard, which will be upgraded to support Matter.

The speaker also includes temperature and humidity sensors, which can be used to trigger actions based on conditions in your house, such as adjusting a smart thermostat.

If you buy a HomePod, you can make a left-right stereo pair. The sound improvement is significant when you use two speakers — it creates a very wide sound, and, if you’re listening to audio mixed for Dolby Atmos, makes the music feel like it’s all around you. (Unfortunately, you can’t create a stereo pair with a first-generation and second-generation speaker.)

In a very un-2023 move, the HomePod’s price dropped from $349 to $299. The original HomePod was critiqued for its price. It is a more competitive option with options such as the $219 Sonos One.

There is no way you can use an iPad or iPhone to set up the HomePod. The Home app is needed to get software updates. The Home app is also where you can adjust Siri’s settings on the HomePod, set up automations, and create a stereo pair with another second-generation HomePod. So if you don’t own an iPhone or iPad, skip the HomePod.

The only possible way to get connected to the device is with the internet. There’s no Bluetooth option and it lacks an auxiliary input. An auxiliary input would be especially welcome when using two HomePods as a stereo pair; that setup begs to have a turntable connected to it.

The good thing about using Wi-Fii is that the audio quality is higher than you’d get over Bluetooth, but more input options would increase the usefulness of the speaker.

You can’t change the sound. It doesn’t have an EQ, but it has room correction software. You can only reduce bass if you download the Home app.

Siri works just fine most of the time for typical smart speaker commands: asking it to play songs, adjust the volume or set a timer. But it did struggle sometimes to act on my request, and it doesn’t quite have the range of Alexa or Google Assistant. For example, you can get Siri to play music from some services other than Apple Music, such as Pandora and Deezer, but Spotify isn’t one of them (Siri can control Spotify on the iPhone, but Spotify hasn’t enabled that feature on the HomePod).

It is not for everyone. If you don’t have an iPhone or iPad, or you mainly use Spotify, you’re better off with a Sonos One or Move. The appeal to you will be limited by the fact that the HomePod isn’t portable.