Google Nest Audio review: Who needs Sonos?

The Google Nest Audio fits right in the middle of the Nest Mini and the Home Max, but because of the $99 price point I think it's the multiroom audio option that will be most appealing for people.

Editor's note: In the review I mention that Ambient IQ only works with podcasts but it actually works with all spoken word content including audiobooks and even the Google Assistant responses.

0:00 Intro
0:32 Build quality and design
1:53 What can it do?
2:27 Media EQ & Ambient IQ
3:20 Cast and Bluetooth
3:46 Privacy
4:52 How to delete your audio recordings
5:50 Sound quality
7:14 Should you buy it?




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[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.

[guyuemuziye]

I bought one simply out of curiosity, and I am now owning three of them. I think you are right on point by saying that this is perfect for multiroom set-up. It's small, versatile, fully loaded with smart features and sounds reasonably good for its size and price. Also, I need to emphasize that this looks much better, imo, than some of its competitors like Sonos One, Yamaha MusicCast 20 and any of the Amazon speakers. It just fits right in my home where ever I put it.

[EspenX]

I think this review missed one essential detail. One Nest Audio sounds okay, but if you have two, they not only can be grouped to play the same on both speakers, they can be used as stereo speakers with left and right output. Just set my two speakers up playing in stereo in the living room this week and it kind of blew my mind how much better the sound experience is.

[leonardofreddd]

Man, these guys nail it every time. 👍🏼

[juriosz]

You can put it the bathroom, I’ve had one in my master bath for years and it’s still working just fine.

[ZachAttacksTech]

"don't use near water" 5min later 6:20 lmao

[aaronharstine]

@8:15 you say sonos is the way to go to build out a home theater, But there are Googleified alternatives. For example the Harman Kardon Citation Bar W/surround speakers and sub has google assistant built it

[clintbuchner]

got two minis in the hottub room - so maybe not water resistant but the speakers have worked, no issues in a humid environment for over two years

[jvpsurf]

Thanks! Been waiting patiently for a new video.

[slumpedblossom]

I usedddd to be a fan of Sonos till I heard the vocals on this thing man I'm in love

[rymsu]

Could you review the IKEA x Sonos SYMFONISK? It's also at $99 and sounded pretty good in the ikea and at that price point would love a comparison with Google Nest Audio for sound quality

[danielf]

how does it compare sound quality wise to the sonos one? and does it get as loud?

[WarpedTrekker]

It's on sale now half off. Unfortunately due to a Sonos lawsuit, features have been removed once again. When grouping pairs of speakers, you cant control the volume of the pair, without telling it what speaker you want to control. This becomes a no-buy. Without ability to tell it to turn down all speakers in a group at once, it's ridiculous.

[SimonAZ]

For 99 you can also buy the IKEA Symfonisk speaker that has the Sonos logo so a comparison would be interesting.

[warhead]

Haven't watched a sound guys vid in awhile

[omarjimenez]

I'd like to see a review on the Marshall Uxbridge

[BrianPreis]

Happy you guys are back, I thought you closed up shop last year

[PrincessYonna]

Mine came today and I love it so much ❤️

[izeberg]

one thing google hasn't said is that there are latency issues when pairing the audio nest to a tv via bluetooth (even as all the promotional material mentions bluetooth connectivity with TV as a feature). I've tried with mine and the lag of more than 1s makes it not viable at all. The tech support admits that these latency issues are NORMAL. Reviews might want to update their articles that suggest using nest audio speakers with the TV Bluetooth function.

if you are looking to use them as tv speakers, DONT DO IT

[FatherDeoSGalang]

I owned this smart speaker, super happy with the sound of it. highly recommended. =)