If you need greater bandwidth and use Apple's AirPlay 2, choose Sonos Gen 2. Otherwise, Sonos Gen 1 is fine. Regarding the speaker itself, both models have identical audio quality.
#Note: Find full Sonos review list at the bottom.
Unlike some Sonos speakers, One is a smart speaker that integrates virtual assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
Both One Gen 1 and Gen 2 are the same speakers. The differences between the two?
The latter has greater memory and a faster processor. Also, Gen 2 comes with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to facilitate the initial setup of the speaker, allowing a quick and convenient (and temporary) interface between Gen 2 and the provisioning mobile device.
Sonos discontinued Gen 1 upon the release of Gen 2 in March 2019 but both models are supported.
If you need greater bandwidth and use Apple's AirPlay 2, choose One Gen 2. Otherwise, Gen 1 is fine.
In summary, if you're an iOS devotee, choose Gen 2. Android, PC and Mac users can suffice with Gen 1. Those who place a heavy load on One (using the virtual assistant, streaming music from multiple services, podcasts) may have peace of mind by going with Gen 2.
Just like refurbished Gen 1, refurbished Gen 2 is also available on sonos.com:
- Refurbished One Gen 1: sonos.com/en/shop/one-gen1-b-stock
- Refurbished One Gen 2: sonos.com/en/shop/one-b-stock
Sound Quality
Let me tell you something right off the bat.
The sound quality performance you'll end up getting from a speaker will always depend on your room acoustics - particularly room dimensions and speaker positions.
The impact of the combination of these two is actually so strong that in most cases, it doesn't even make sense to utter a single word on sound quality without speaking of them.
This is also why it's not unusual to see completely different reviews of the same speaker.
In one case the speaker might be placed in a sweet spot inside the room and hence the user might be satisfied. In other cases the same speaker might be ill placed and hence user might even have returned it.
The point most people miss here is that it mostly isn't even about the engineering behind the speaker itself. It's about where you place the speaker inside which room.
So, in order to solve this problem, I've partnered with Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD Andrea Cicero from AC Acustica and created Soundton - a simple, 2D, browser accessible online speaker placement calculator.
With Soundton, now there's a way to figure the sound quality of most speakers before you buy them.
Read more about its working principles at soundton.com/documentation/.
The end colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) acoustics.