Engadget Names Google Home Best Affordable Sonos Alternative

According to Engadget, the cheapest Sonos speakers are the $179 Roam 2 and the $189 Era 100 SL. The Roam 2 is a fine portable speaker but probably not the best choice for loud, high-quality playback around the home. The Era 100 SL is smarter for stationary use, but it lacks a microphone, so it cannot use a voice assistant, including the new AI-powered one Sonos announced earlier this month. Buyers need the $219 Era 100 for that feature. Most Sonos competitors play in a similar mid- to high-end space, the guide says, though a handful of more affordable options exist for building a multi-room setup.

Engadget calls the Google Home speaker the best of those affordable options. It sells for $99 and does not match an Era 100 in volume or audio quality, but at less than half the cost, a buyer can set up three Google Home speakers before hitting the price of two Era 100s. Google's main pitch is getting Gemini off the phone and into the house as a voice-enabled assistant, with smart home controls as a major part of the product. Google sells several subscriptions that add features such as sound detection or voice-search of video history, but for multi-room music no subscription is needed beyond a music service. The speaker works with Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music and a few others.

Setup is handled in the recently redesigned Google Home app, which is also where users get the speaker online and pick preferred music services. A Google account is required. Once set up, users can ask Gemini to play songs, albums and playlists by voice, or cast music from a phone if the app supports it. The Google Home app can create speaker groups or move whatever is playing to different rooms.

The guide notes that the Google Home speaker is not nearly as loud or clear as a Sonos speaker. It uses a single 58mm full-range driver, while the Era 100 has two tweeters and a midrange woofer. More components in a larger enclosure generally mean better sound. For a $99 speaker, Engadget says, Google Home sounds good enough for casual music listening. Two speakers can be paired for stereo in a single room for more volume, and that stereo pair appears in the Google Home app like any other speaker.

Apple households may prefer the HomePod mini, according to the guide. Engadget's main concerns are its price and age. The HomePod mini is nearly six years old, and Apple raised its price to $129 earlier this year. At its original $99, it would be a better choice for Apple fans than the Google Home because it can receive AirPlay streams from other Apple devices. At $129, it is harder to accept, and there have been rumors for months that Apple is ready to release new home-focused products. Its audio quality is solid for a small speaker, and setting up multiple HomePod speakers and controlling music with voice or an iPhone is simple. The biggest downside is that only a few music services work with Siri, including Apple Music and YouTube Music. Spotify users are better off with another option.

Amazon's $119 Echo Dot Max is another option. It is less than a year old and supports the AI-powered Alexa+ voice assistant. From a size and audio perspective, Engadget places it in the same ballpark as the Google Home and HomePod mini. Engadget also states that it may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Editor's Summary

Engadget's Sept. 29 guide picks the $99 Google Home as the best affordable Sonos alternative for multi-room audio, while noting Apple HomePod mini and Amazon Echo Dot Max for users tied to those ecosystems. The article says Sonos remains the leading multi-room option but its entry price starts at $179 for the Roam 2 and $189 for the Era 100 SL. Google Home costs less than half an Era 100 but uses a single full-range driver, while Apple and Amazon alternatives carry their own ecosystem and price trade-offs.