The Best Sonos Alternative for a Wireless Home Sound System
Sonos is a brand name that does not really require any introductions, but just in case you have not heard it, Sonos is an audio-dedicated company that has been producing speakers for more than a decade. More recently, however, Sonos’ multi-room audio systems have really brought it to the limelight. These wireless home sound systems allow users wirelessly monitor and adjust music from different speakers via an application. Sonos provides three of these multi-room wireless home sound systems known as Play:1, Play:3, and Play:5, alongside home theater setups that come with its sound bar called Playbar, a system to stream music dubbed Connect, and a lot more. Sonos wireless home sound systems are becoming increasingly popular owing to their superior sound, provision for over 60 music streaming services, ease of setup and overall wonderful environment.
All of this said, some people cannot afford the high-priced Sonos speakers and their setups. Also, key features such as Airplay and Bluetooth are lacking in Sonos speakers, and their hardware are not compatible with products from other manufacturers. Thus, we are giving you the best Sonos alternative for Play:1, Play:3, and Play:5 wireless home sound systems.
SONOS PLAY:1 ALTERNATIVES
Denon HEOS 1
The HEOS line of wireless home sound systems is akin to the Sonos offer. HEOS 1 is to Denon what Play:1 is to Sonos. This speaker is portable and modestly priced at $199. It features WiFi, USB and Ethernet jacks, a LAN port and analog input to allow the direct connection of devices. Compactness, high resolution sound, a rechargeable battery that lasts six straight hours when fully charged, and Bluetooth integration make this a great Sonos alternative. However, the HEOS app only comes in Android and iOS versions, and so you cannot control music from your computer. It allows a lot of music streaming services, but does not support Apple Music, Google Play Music, and some others that Sonos supports.
Bose SoundTouch 10
SoundTouch 10 is Bose’s Play:1 Sonos alternative. Bluetooth integration, remote control, customized button presets to play specific music offerings or radio stations using the app, and robust audio regardless of its compact size owing to a full-range driver are some of the great features of this wireless home sound system. However, this system is a bit lacking in terms of music streaming support. The SoundTouch app comes in Android, iOS, Windows and Mac versions.
Philips Izzy BM5B/37
Affordability and simplicity are some words to describe the Izzy BM5B/37 wireless home sound system. You can stream music via Bluetooth for a 100-meter range in open space. No app is required to pair two or more speakers. Simply use the speaker’s “group” button, and you can pair as many as five Izzy speakers for the full wireless home sound system experience. You get quality sound owing to its pair of 2.5” drivers, and all this at about half the price of a Play:1.
LG Music Flow H3
Music Flow is another family of wireless home sound systems that is a great Sonos alternative. H3 is a good-looking speaker with quality sound and high resolution audio support. Bass is however a bit lacking, and you will need to get LG Music Flow bridge to set the wireless home sound system up. The Music flow app comes in Android, iOS and Windows versions. The speaker also supports Google Cast so a lot of music streaming options can be used.
SONOS PLAY:3 ALTERNATIVES
Bluesound Pulse Flex
This wireless home sound system comes with several connection choices including Bluetooth, Ethernet, USB, a headphone output and a 3.5 mm analog input. It is portable, has awesome sound due to its two-way setup, dual full-range custom drivers and digital amplifiers. It can also play for about 6 hours. The BluOs app allows music streaming from several services, and you can also stream CD-quality music via Bluetooth using aptX.
Samsung Radiant360 R3
The Radiant360 R3 is a great Play:3 Sonos alternative with omnidirectional audio, Bluetooth support, great bass, tap-and-swipe control, high resolution audio support, a 1″ tweeter and a 4.2″ woofer, all for a reasonably less price than the Sonos offering. Samsung’s Multiroom 2.0 app in Android, iOS, Windows and Mac variants can be used to control the speakers. It is a bit lacking, however, in terms of music streaming options, but it supports some of the main ones.
Bose SoundTouch 20
SoundTouch 20 is to Bose what Play:3 is to Sonos. Here is a system aimed at filling your room with its sound, which it achieves nicely. Its casing design is responsible for its wonderful bass and quality sound. It is a tad pricey too, but it beats Play:3 in terms of Bluetooth support, pre-set button option for six music services, bundled remote control, and OLED display for music details.
Denon HEOS 3
Here is the HEOS Play:3 Sonos alternative at about the same price. Two wide-range drivers and two class D amplification channels give you quality sound. Some reviews online even claim that the HEOS 3 beats the Play:3, but this is arguable. Both systems are very similar, but of course, Denon integrated Bluetooth and lacks in terms of music streaming options. You should also recall that HEOS lacks a computer app.
SONOS PLAY:5 ALTERNATIVES
Samsung Radiant360 R7
Some say it looks like the egg of a dinosaur, but the beautifully designed Radiant360 R7 is one robust speaker. Featuring the same Ring Radiator technology that produces the omnidirectional sound that the Radiant360 family is known for, this speaker gives a very powerful audio, alongside all the great features of the Radiant360 line previously mentioned for the R3. The 5″ woofer and 1″ dome tweeter of the R7 also contribute to the brilliance of its sound. This is one beautiful Sonos alternative.
Bose SoundTouch 30
SoundTouch 30 is Bose’s response to Sonos’ Play:5 speaker. Packed with wonderful features, this one great-looking, premium-performance speaker that truly lives up to its price tag. The waveguide speaker technology of Bose is beautifully on display here, producing a clear and rich sound. Dual drivers and a strong inbuilt woofer also enhance the sound experience. This speaker features similar traits to those of the other SoundTouch products previously discussed.
Bluesound Pulse Mini
The Bluesound Pulse Mini is one other great speaker featuring a dual-acoustic chamber to enhance the loudness and clarity of the sound produced. This speaker produces bi-amplified stereo audio rated at 50 watts. The Pulse Mini also has 4″ woofers to ensure that you can enjoy that party-level music anytime. With an ARM Cortex A9 multi-core processor rated 1 GHz, the performance of this speaker is guaranteed. This speaker also works with the BluOS app for configuring and managing the wireless home sound system experience and features quite some music streaming services.
Definitive Technology W7
Definitive Technology W7 is a wireless home sound system that is audiophile-grade and very hi-tech. featuring a Tri-Polar configuration for radiating sound off walls and give a broader and more resounding feel to the music. With four 1″ tweeters, a 4″ bass driver, and two side-mounted bass radiators, this is one speaker to reckon with. The Play-Fi app (an unrestricted platform open to all manufacturers), accessible in Android, iOS and Windows versions, will give you the full wireless home sound system experience on your Definitive Technology W7 speaker. It features Airplay and lossless audio support, as well as support for several services for streaming music. All of these great features, and it is less expensive than the Play:5.
Feel free to try out any of these Sonos alternatives for that brilliant and powerful multi-room wireless home sound system experience that you crave.
If we are being honest, Sonos wireless home sound systems are the top-rated in the market in terms of audio quality, third-party service support and application features, however, if for any reason you need an alternative, then we are certain that you will not be disappointed by any of these Sonos alternatives that we have outlined for you. They may lack the bounty of music streaming services that the Sonos app sports, but then, do you really need them all? If the music streaming services that you favor are supported with any of these speakers, then there should be no issue there. As for the supplementary products such as Connect and Playbar that come with the Sonos application, you could also check for their alternatives based on the wireless home sound system that you are buying, and get them, because that is the only way that you will be able to control all the speakers with one app.
And that is our list of the finest Sonos alternatives for Play:1, Play:3 and Play:5. We really hope that this list helps you decide what multi-room wireless home sound system speakers to get. Perhaps you think that there is a speaker we have left out, could you please let us know by commenting below?
