HomePod or pair of Sonos Ones

[afd]

My First MacRumors poll, apologies if someone posted similar. In the UK you can get a HomePod for £300 a Sonos One costs £199, there was an offer for 2 Ones for £360 but couldn’t find that offer any more. No way I can afford £600 for a stereo and if I’m honest I can’t afford £400.
If cost wasn’t a consideration I’d choose 2 HomePods but I’m nowhere near being rich so it is a major consideration. Wouldn’t have bought an Sonos before Airplay 2 as it was dependant on a separate app.
I’m voting for 2 Sonos, not keen on voice control (Siri still not brilliant with Scottish accents), like choosing music by visually browsing a list of albums and like listening in stereo.
What would everyone else pick?
[doublepost=1538946809][/doublepost]...and why?

 

[afd]

Changed my mind, a Sonos Beam would make more sense for me.

 

[ggibson913]

No doubt the Homepod is nice but if there is an Android user in your home or you use literally any other Music Streaming Service than Apple Music, Sonos is the better buy.

 

[tehStickMan]

...Why not any modern bookshelf speaker set or soundbar set? They support BT.

 

[stillcrazyman]

Apple Music and AppleTV work great with my Sonos setup - Beam, 2x Play 1's and Sub

 

[willentrekin]

I have two Sonos Play:1s, two Ones, and a Three. I really like the set up and the sound, and I do find I prefer the One if only for the Airplay feature. Neat trick is pairing a One with another.

The HomePod looks nice and by most accounts sounds a tad better, but I'm not sure the "tad" justifies (at least for me) the tradeoffs in terms of functionality and services. Plus, from what I've seen it when it comes to Sonos the HomePod only really sounds a tad better than the One, not the Three or Five or Beam or PlayBar or other such products. And $349 should be able to purchase a Three.

 

[an-other]

Another consideration: Is this for listening to music only? The HomePod can also be a HomeKit hub and a surprisingly good conference call speaker.

 

[bstpierre]

I have two Sonos:1 speakers (had them in separate rooms) and then bought a HomePod. The Songs speakers are now paired in the bedroom and the HomePod is in the family room. I use the HomePod as my homekit hub.

I don't have Airplay 2 but the separate app works well, especially now that there is AppleMusic integration. I no longer have to sync my music with the app. I can access it all through the AppleMusic integration, including my playlists.

 

[iObama]

I'd go Sonos. The fact that there's no EQ on the HomePod is a non-starter for me. In addition, the HomePod always sounded like it was "over there," even when I was close to it. The Sonos does a great job of filling up the room after you tune it with your phone.

 

[afd]

I have a denon dm38 attached via optical to my tv with Apple TV 4K. It sounds pretty good but needs a fair bit of pressing buttons before I can listen to music. It was much easier with my Apple TV 3, all I needed to do was AirPlay to the it and turn on the Hifi. Didn’t need to turn on the telly as Apple TV had an optical out.
Whatever speaker I end up getting I think the voice control thing will be redundant, I’d really rather control it via screen, I don’t understand the current obsession with voice control.

 

[G5isAlive]

I have a denon dm38 attached via optical to my tv with Apple TV 4K. It sounds pretty good but needs a fair bit of pressing buttons before I can listen to music. It was much easier with my Apple TV 3, all I needed to do was AirPlay to the it and turn on the Hifi. Didn’t need to turn on the telly as Apple TV had an optical out.
Whatever speaker I end up getting I think the voice control thing will be redundant, I’d really rather control it via screen, I don’t understand the current obsession with voice control.

Then you are right, you want the beam. I literally have them all in my house, 3 homepods, a handful of sonos 1s, two 3’s, a five, a playbar, a sonos sub, and a beam. If what you want is something hooked to your tv, along with your ATV 4, the beam is it. Click on with my Apple remote, sound up or down with the remote, click off. I can stream to the beam for music. It sounds fine in my bedroom. Its a bit on the soft side so it wont fill a large room, even when compared to a HomePod, but ease of use its great.

 

[afd]

How do you have the Beam connected? TV only has 3 HDMI ports, so would probably have to use optical. Does TV remote still control the volume that way?

 

[stillcrazyman]

The Beam can use either an HDMI-Arc connector or optical. Remote control might only work with the Arc connection.

Have you browsed through the support community on Sonos.com ? They’re very helpful.

 

[OllyW]

Out of the two I'd go for the Sonos. I prefer a proper stereo setup and the Sonos is compatible will a lot more sources than the AiPod.

In reality I'd go for a more traditional hi-fi setup which I find much more flexible for my needs.