Sonos One review: the best smart speaker for audiophiles

The company's first foray into smart tech adds Amazon's Alexa to a great wireless speaker to create a formidable combo

Having practically invented the multi-room wireless speaker category in 2005, Sonos has lagged behind in the race to become smart. Now the Sonos One is here, packing Alexa in the top and premium audio in the bottom.

The Sonos One is very deliberately designed to look, feel and sound like the company's successful Play: 1 - a compact wireless speaker launched in 2013 at about 150 that was arguably the best for the money for years. Side-by-side they look identical apart from the top of the speaker, which is flat on the One, perforated by holes for the microphones that enable the voice assistant to hear you.