Sonos One vs One SL: Key Differences Explained

The Sonos One (Gen 2) and the Sonos One SL are relatively similar speakers and deliver almost the same level of sound performance, with the Sonos One (Gen 2) slightly edging out the Sonos One SL in terms of sound performance (although the differences are minimal). The main difference between the Sonos One (Gen 2) and the Sonos One SL is that the Sonos One comes with a built-in microphone and supports smart assistants such as Alexa, which can be a huge advantage if you want support voice assistants to be integrated in your home audio setup.

One of the advantages that the Sonos One (Gen 2) has over the Sonos One SL is that it supports both AirPlay 2 and Wi-Fi, while the Sonos One SL only supports AirPlay 2. This means that the Sonos One (Gen 2) has more connectivity options and allows you to stream music directly to the speakers using smart assistants such as Alexa on Wi-Fi connectivity. In terms of design, both speakers are virtually identical with a dimension of 4.7 x 6.4 x 4.7” (Sonos One SL) and 4.7 x 6.4 x 4.7” (Sonos One Gen 2). Both the Sonos One and the Sonos One SL have a power output of around 10W per speaker and delivers up to 20Ws of sound per pair, and each speaker comes with 2 built-in drivers (one mid-woofer and one tweeter) to deliver clean highs and decent bass response.

Comparing the Specs

Both the Sonos One (Gen 2) and Sonos One SL are designed for indoor home use and support wireless multi-room audio. The key differences is that the Sonos One (Gen 2) has a built-in microphone and support voice assistants (Alexa and Google Assistant), while the Sonos One SL does not.

Sound Performance

We really liked the sound performance of both the Sonos One (Gen 2) and the Sonos One SL speakers. Both speakers deliver really smooth and crips highs with really good frequency ranges, and the bass performance on both speakers is surprisingly deep and punchy. Both speakers will deliver really clean sound performance at maximum volume and you can push both speakers to max volume without hearing any distortion, which is a nice added plus.

Comparing the Sonos One (Gen 2) side by side wih the Sonos One SL, we felt that although both speakers deliver the same sound signature, the Sonos One (Gen 2) was able to capture movie sound effects better with more level of detail. The Sonos One (Gen 2) speakers get a lot of the deeper bass notes right with more depth and punchy, and they sound slightly more fine-tuned than the Sonos One SL. We watched a couple of movies using the Sonos One (Gen 2) and the Sonos One SL including Mission Impossible 7 and the sound on the Sonos One (Gen 2) speakers just sounds much more deeper with more punch than the Sonos One SL. In other words, the Sonos One (Gen 2) is better able to articulate the details in the movie soundtrack with 3D spatial imaging and delivers better depth than the Sonos One SL.

Having said that, both the Sonos One (Gen 2) and the Sonos One SL deliver really nice music sound performances with really clean highs and vocals. We played a couple of live jazz performances such as Tony Bennett’s “Fly Me To The Moon” and both speakers were able to deliver crisp vocals with really nice warmth and timbre ranges; they sound exceedingly clear and well-defined, and they also deliver really nice separation in stereo mode with a good distinction between the left and right speaker channels. The Sonos One SL performs equally well with the Sonos One Gen 2 speakers in this respect when it comes to pure music listening.

We highly recommend pairing the Sonos One (Gen 2) or the Sonos One SL speakers together with a dedicated home theater subwoofer such as the Sonos Sub (Gen 3) to enhance the lower-end bass response, especially if you are linking up these speakers to a home theater system.

Overall, both the Sonos One (Gen 2) and the Sonos One SL deliver really good sound performance but the Sonos One (Gen 2) slightly edges out the Sonos One SL when it comes to sound effects and bass depth.

Specifications

Both the Sonos One (Gen 2) and the Sonos One SL speakers support Apple AirPlay 2 and are fully wall mountable, so you can place them on the walls of your living room for a surround sound listening experience. Both speakers do not support Bluetooth and you will have to use AirPlay 2 to setup both speakers, however the Sonos One (Gen 2) has the advantage of being compatible with Alexa and allows you to give voice commands conveniently to play music or access the news.

We like the fact that both speakers can be controlled using the Sonos S2 which allows you to play music, radio, podcasts and audiobooks – all you have to do is to connect your smartphone services and you can also use Sonos radio for free. You also have the option of pairing another Sonos One or Sonos One SL speaker together in the same room using stereo mode for left or right speaker channels, or you can pair them as rear speakers in your Sonos home theater system for a surround sound experience when connected to the Sonos Playbar, Playbase or Sonos Beam.

We did find that the Sonos S2 app provides a tonne of customization options where you can customize the bass, treble and balance ranges in the app (the bass goes from +10 to -10 and you can select any range that you want to adjust the bass). In terms of setup, the Sonos S2 app is very easy to setup and use, and all you have to do is to download the app and connect it to the speaker (while the speaker is connected to the internet) and the setup is seamless.

The Verdict?

We definitely prefer the Sonos One (Gen 2) speakers over the Sonos One SL. The Sonos One (Gen 2) delivers slightly deeper bass and more pronounced sound effects, making it a better speaker to get for home theater. It also comes with Alexa support which we found to be very convenient especially if you want to use voice commands to get the latest news or play music on the go. The voice control feature alone would make the Sonos One (Gen 2) a more versatile speaker as compared to the Sonos One SL.

Having said that, both speakers deliver really good sound performance and are especially good for vocals and podcasts. They work great when used within a Sonos home theater system and we highly recommend pairing them with the Sonos Sub (Gen 3) for extra bass performance. Although both speakers deliver relatively good bass (with the Sonos One Gen 2 delivering slightly punchier notes), they don’t really have the kind of bass for a full-blown home theater experience and the Sonos Sub Gen 3 will add the low-end thumping bass that really complements the sound performance of both speakers.

We especially liked the Sonos S2 app which allows you to adjust the EQ and bass output, as well as to connect the Sonos speakers to streaming services. Both speakers also support stereo sound pairing which allows you to pair two Sonos One speakers together for stereo separation and use it within a Sonos home theater system. Having said that, we felt that the Sonos One (Gen 2)’s compatibility with Alexa was a big advantage and allows you to check news and set alarms using voice commands, which makes it a really handy home speaker.

Overall, we would recommend the Sonos One (Gen 2) speakers over the Sonos One SL for its voice assistant capabilities and Wi-Fi compatibility in addition to AirPlay 2, which can be a significant advantage over the Sonos One SL when it comes to smart home speakers.