Nest Audio vs Sonos One

In this video we compare the Sonos One vs New Nest Audio smart speaker. The Sonos One and Nest Audio are smart speakers that allow you to control smart home devices with your voice. You can also play music on both or ask them both questions like "what's the weather" that the devices will then answer.

The Nest Audio was released in 2020 and the Sonos One has been out for a few years. The Sonos One works on the Sonos app but can use either the Google Home Voice assistant app for voice control or the Alexa voice assistant app for voice control. Sonos is also Homekit and Airplay compatible while the Nest Audio is not.

With the Sonos One you can choose which voice assistant you would like to have installed on the Sonos One speaker while the Nest Audio only works with the the Google Home App.

Both the Sonos One and Nest Audio have two built in speakers a sub/midwoofer and a tweeter speaker. The Sonos One has a larger speaker box which is about 2x the size of the Nest Audio.

The Sonos One has 55w of power which is more than the Nest Audio's 30w of power.

The Nest Audio is typically less expensive than the Sonos One and can be half the price of the Sonos One.

* some of the links included maybe affiliate links which help support this channel.

[michielpeeters]

Just my two cents here:

Currently I have a pair of Nest audio’s and a pair of Sonos one/SL side by side (one one and one SL paired together). I eally wanted to believe that the Sonos is much better in sound quality than the Nest Audio. Over the last 2 days I’ve been going back and forth and played with all the settings. Here’s my personal view on the comparison between the 2.

The Sonos one/SL is a good speaker with better sub bass (less muddy) and it sounds clearer, crisper than the Nest Audio. Although not by much. I can see that for large rooms and for movies that need that sub bass oomph, one would favor the Sonos. Certainly if you want to pair it with a soundbar. For me the sound profile of the Nest needed less tuning than the Sonos, and the nest sounds just nice. I can see the appeal of the signature to many people. It has a nice warm sound profile, which can get a bit wooly. But you can turn down the bass and turn the treble up to correct that. It’s a REALLY nice speaker for background and small to medium rooms. It doesn’t have the same firepower that the Sonos packs. I will say that the Sonos gets better in sound signature if you push it past the 30% volume mark, the it shines more. I tried Trueplay and to me it squeezes the voices away, emphasizes the highs and the lows (which I dislike). At times I can hear the Sonos actively tuning the sound when playing. In terms of soundstage I was disappointed in the Sonos, the separation is a bit better, because it plays less mid tone voices. Which makes it sound clearer and a bit crisper. Sonos turns on loudness standard. I turn it off, because I like a more neutral, but still warmish sound for voices, strings, piano, etc.

All in all, and yet again, this is just my own opinion and my personal taste: the Sonos can be made to sound 10-15% better than the Nest Audio, with heavy tuning (Trueplay off, and bass and treble turned up). But for the price, and for a smaller room, bookshelf, study, you can’t beat the value for money of the Nest audio. Sonos costs more than twice the price and plays 10-15% better to my ears at best. It can play louder and give more oomph at higher volumes. It fills the room better than the Nest. Your neighbours will complain sooner with the Sonos. ;-)

If you are going to listen to them, make sure to turn off the loudness and play with the settings. If you can take the time, compare them side by side and see what works for your taste and your own ears. Me, I'm returning the Sonos speakers. I wanted to believe they were going to be a lot better than The Nest Audio. But the difference is not enough. I’m keeping the Google Nest speakers. And that’s just for the sound, I don’t really care for the smart speaker capabilities. I use a Nest home or Home Mini or the phone to send music to my speakers or give voice commands. I hope this helps people who are trying to decide between the two speakers.

[bbjsykes]

When comparing sound quality it's ESSENTIAL that you set the audio levels / volume to be precisely the same. People will always prefer the louder sample if the audio quality is actually identical

[Ralferator]

If you want to compare speakers you will have to play them at the same volume. You played the Sonos speaker more than double as loud.

[karthiksivasiva]

I bought sonos one for CAD $179 during the cyber Monday. Oh boy its beautiful and sounds beautiful!

[jasonw]

Thanks for the review! Learned a couple new things about Sonos today!

[TimeIdle]

My opinion: Since it's half the price, can't you buy two Audio Nest and pair them (as one pair) to have true stereo sound? And wouldn't the combined power of two Nest Audio outdo the Sonos One?

[ashkanrmp]

I got sonos one years ago when it came and i fucken love it! Im in love with the clarity that sonos provides! Smooth and clear sound! I just wish i could add sonos one to group speaker of google home😢

[chaoticbrakepad]

Nice review, I do think it’s important to mention how little the app experience on either one really matters for music though. When you play music through either one you can do so through the music app of your choice by just selecting the speaker.

[aroiania]

Sonos is double the price of Nest audio, so what exactly did you expect ?

[miccheung]

Good review and thanks for the sound test.

[exilefoo]

buy the discontinued google home max on the used market. Better than both and at the price of the Sonos One.. By far the best listening experience ive had so i bought two and have them in stereo... and then i connected my record player to them.... really amazing...

[gangstamoocrew]

Thanks for the review. Really clear delivery!

[drjag]

It's hard to describe how much better the Sonos is than the Nest

[PDSOUNDS]

I've bought a Sonos One, the Google Assistant on it works really bad. 5% of the commands work (commands as noted on the Sonos website). The audio is good.

[RWAquariumPages]

What a great review! Love this channel new sub for sure

[GOLFADDICT]

hi nice Sonos....have the ARC / 2 subs / pair of ONE SL's...the sound is awesome...cheers from Canada be safe

[peterdaviduk]

The Nest Audio has "built in" room correction. For half of the price of a Sonos, the Nest is a great little speaker. Neither of these speakers will ever replace stand alone stereo speakers. They are both ideal for the den, or your reading room. I own both, and am happy with both. I use both in stereo pair, not solo.

[brucehall]

I have to say this isn't really a fair comparison because one speaker is a 100.00 speaker (the Nest) while the other retails for 199.00 normally (Sonos one). Not in the same speaker class.

[quatie]

I just sold my Sonos Play 1s to get Nest Audio.

[kenntks]

Dude, you played the Sonos during sound test at a higher volume, therefore listener will automatically perceive it as sounding better (even though it is). But it's unfair to Nest audio as it could not get the similar sonic impact at a lower volume.