You don't get any built-in voice assistant here, unlike the Sonos Beam or Sonos Arc. No Alexa, no Google Assistant, and no Sonos Voice Control. That is because there's no mic at all, which seems a little bizarre given Sonos' recent focus on its proprietary Sonos Voice rollout, but there we are. For yet another year, the Sonos multi-room system remains the best all-rounder.” ’What Hi-Fi?’ 2023 award-winner.

Sonos One seamlessly syncs voice, app, and touch commands, enabling you to manage music with a single word, tap of the app, or swipe on the speaker touch panel. Combine voice control with the Sonos app to manage all your music in one place. The hissing/white noise starts as soon as audio starts playing. It continues when you pause whatever is playing for 15 seconds (every time as I have timed it). This hissing/white noise remains at the same level no matter the level of volume from the speakers. The quieter the audio, the more you notice it when audio is playing. I am aware active/powered speakers hiss. I’ve had the pleasure of owning other makes of active speakers.

With its smooth good looks, the Sonos One is designed to look every bit as good in years to come as it does now. Yet Sonos have taken the idea of design longevity further by engineering in the ability to update the electronics through future software updates. With its increased memory and updated processor, the One has more potential for future upgrades than ever.

For sound quality, the Sonos Five actually isn't just good value, it's absolutely great value. But it's a case of different strokes for different folks; if Bluetooth streaming is important to you and you own an Android phone, you should look elsewhere. The Sonos wireless sound system is simply one of the best-sounding, most reliable and flexible there is. With the latest Sonos components, you don't even require a BRIDGE or BOOST, as they are capable of linking via your home Wi-Fi system. For the very best results, though, linking one component to an Ethernet connection will allow you to take advantage of the famous Sonos 'Mesh' system. My issue of hissing/white noise was first noticed with my Beam. It was replaced under warranty for a different reason but the hissing remained. All of my previous and also current Sonos equipment experience the same issue. I don’t recall the Play:5 being as bad though. You can also use two of them (in the upright position) as rear surrounds for a home theater set-up with a Sonos Arc–though, to partner the smaller Sonos Rayor Sonos Beam 2nd Gen, we'd suggest a pair Sonos One SLunits instead. One more consideration and we'll move on, we promise. It's just that if you were looking to buy a second Sonos Five to create a stereo pair, the KEF LSX stereo speaker system (and brand new LSX II) is closely priced and boasts a more comprehensive connectivity spec-sheet and hi-res capabilities out the box.In traditional Sonos style, the Five is not interested in a shy, retiring sound – it's here to bring the bass and make you feel it, and we're not complaining. However (and we've said this before) it's important to note that we like it more if you can use TruePlay tuning, and not everyone is granted that privilege. Lights on the product indicate connection, charge status, mute status, microphone activation and errors. Use the included USB A-C charging cable with any 5V/1.5A (7.5W) or higher USB power adapter. You can also use the Sonos Roam Wireless Charger or any Qi-certified wireless charger. Although it's about the size of a large shoe-box (and heavier than it looks, at 6.36kg) the Sonos Five isn't quite a cuboid since its grille portion is slightly bigger than its rear end and the baffle is slightly bowed out and angled upwards too, to aid with sound dispersal. Under the hood, the speaker array remains exactly the same as its Play:5 predecessor –and Sonos actually makes no bones about this. You're getting the same six custom-designed drivers driven by six class D amplifiers for a combined power output of 120W: three high excursion 10cm mid-woofers across the bottom of the unit and three tweeters above them, two of which are angled outwards.