Credit: Fergus Halliday | IDG
Round Three - Multiplied [Updated]
Since you can buy two Sonos One speakers for close to the asking price of the Apple HomePod ($600 vs $500), it makes a weird sort of sense to see what two linked Sonos One speakers sound like compared to the Apple HomePod.
In terms of the amount of setup involved on Sonos’ part here, connecting two Sonos One speakers together was really minimal. We just plugged our second speaker in, went to the "Room Setup" section of the app and hit the "Stereo Pair" button. A short software update later, we were ready to go.
Credit: Sonos Once we had the two speakers set up, we threw them and the HomePod against one another for another head-to-head comparison. However, this time, we shook things up a little. Rather than play the same four songs. We opted for the the theme song to to Guillermo Del Toro’s robots-vs-Kaiju film Pacific Rim. Yes, I'm very excited for the soon-to-be-release Pacific Rim: Uprising. No, I won't apologize for it. Giant robots are great.
Credit: Ramin Djwadi Anyway, on the HomePod, the guitar riffs and brash horns of the main theme (composed by Ramin Djawadi and featuring Tom Morello) came across with a really compelling sense of energy. Like the buzz you get from the main Avengers melody at the end of the most recent trailer for Infinity War, it sounded just real slick and evocative.
However, by contrast, listening to the same track on a matching set of Sonos One speakers was something else entirely. It made me want to track down a Sonos Playbase and rewatch the whole movie again. You could really pick out every detail that the (awesome) song has to offer. Finally, it felt like the delicious guitar theme behind one of my favorite movies sounded as good just as it does in my head.
Credit: Apple
[Updated 23rd August] Now, since this article was first published, Apple have added a proper stereo-mode to the HomePod. They've also added support for synchronized audio via Airplay 2. In practice, this all works really well and the list of compatible audio brands hits all the right notes. B&O, Denon, Morantz and Naim. Even Sonos itself is included here. Still, your mileage is going here based on what, if any, speakers you already own and how much you're willing to spend. If you're starting from scratch, a matching set of HomePods is an expensive proposition. But if you're looking to bring an existing speaker ecosystem into line, it's definitely more palatable.
After all, two HomePods paired in stereo do make for a richer soundscape than one. On this front, Apple's speakers produce results that are phenomenal to behold. The sound quality doesn't come across as quite as sharp as that of the Sonos One - but the bass does drive things forward with unparalleled momentum. There's a lot to like here, even if the appeal is saddled by a significant asking price.
Winner: Sonos One
Again, as incredible a piece of audio engineering as the HomePod is, it flat-out does not stack up against the sheer value and fidelity offered by the One. Sonos know their stuff - and you really can hear the difference.
Next Page: The Verdict
