Sonos One SL (White), The powerful microphone-free speaker for music and more

Product Information

For yet another year, the Sonos multi-room system remains the best all-rounder.” ’What Hi-Fi?’ 2023 award-winner. Find the right music for every moment on Spotify. Search any artist or song, create and share playlists, and get personalized recommendations. Listen on Sonos and control the music with your voice, the Spotify app or the Sonos app. (Requires Spotify Premium account for full features).

A soft self-generated hissing noise is so common on active speakers that some manufacturers publish the level of self-generated noise for their products. This hissing/white noise happens with HDMI inputs, line-in inputs and streaming via the S2 app, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and Roon (Roon to Five, with Five Stereo as an endpoint and also a endpoint via line-in). I have adjusted various settings. Disconnected line-ins and HDMI’s and tried different power cables and also power conditioner extension cables. The issue remains. 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. 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 Sonos Five is a hefty beast with a smart, slightly curved grille on the front. (Image credit: TechRadar)

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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. To some extent all electronics will have some level of hiss. From my chair I cannot evaluate if your hiss level is abnormal or not. I tend to be abnormally sensitive to this sort of noise (‘buzz’ -- get it) and I’m not annoyed by the SONOS hiss levels. Hiss is usually masked by normal room noises, but if your rooms are very quiet and you sit very close to a speaker, you are more likely to notice the hiss. Unfortunately, once you are sensitized to the hiss, it never goes away and becomes a “ The Princess and the Pea” drama. The hiss is emitted from the speaker drivers, both woofers and tweeters. There is a potential for another type of noise that is generated by the power supply. I don’t consider this noise as being normal. It is not emitted by the speakers and typically emits from the rear of the unit when there is a problem. Normally this noise is above the frequency range of humans, but if, due to a defect the frequency slips down, it may be audible to some listeners. Since high frequency hearing capability varies from person to person and the high frequency limit of humans diminishes with age, there can be some arguments between listeners over this “obvious” noise. Early ultrasonic alarm systems used in schools operated at a frequency that was easily heard by kids, but not audible to adults. There would be running arguments between the distressed kids and the adults about this noise. (‘What noise!!’) When I was younger you’d observe me take a step into a retail store, then abruptly turn and leave. I was repelled by their “ultrasonic” alarm system that had not been turned OFF during business hours.

I’m not sure how your tinnitus factors into this issue. It might be possible that the tinnitus results in you being more sensitive to this hiss. However, for similar size, stature and features, the Braun LE01, Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin or Sonus Faber Omnia are considerably pricier – so depending on your priorities, the Sonos Five does still represent value. I can only imagine that once you can hear these things though, that it’s then difficult to not notice them often, as I too would always be listening out for such unwanted sounds. Anyhow I am personally not noticing such sounds, thankfully🙏 I am a current Sonos product user. I have two Five’s in stereo. I’ve previously had a 1st Gen Beam, two One SL’s and a 1st Gen Play:5.Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 2nd November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.)