Bluesound or Sonos? Mercedes or BMW? Both are subjective choices, representing premium brands that offer a delightful ownership experience and long-term reliability. Your preference between the two may simply come down to personal taste.
An easy separator is if you are looking for audiophile products then, while Sonos is excellent, The Bluesound is just that bit better when it comes to accurate sound reproduction.
If you are blessed with the luxury of having time to listen to music undisturbed, in a quiet location then Bluesound is the way to go. If on the other-hand music is just a background to your busy life then Sonos may be the answer.
Bluesound have the feature that keeps the younger generation happy (Bluetooth) but in response to this, Sonos has the convenience of Alexa and its own Sonos Voice Control (Cool Fact: Sonos used the voice of Giancarlo Esposito who played Gus in Breaking Bad. Memory jogging clip here).
Both Sonos and Bluesound have great Soundbars both featuring Dolby Atmos. The Sonos’ Arc might have the more convincing Atmos effect with sound bouncing of the ceiling thanks to upward facing speakers and Sonos have the edge over Bluesound’s PULSE Soundbar+ in the looks department. Sonos have a range of three different sizes of Soundbar with the budget conscious Beam and Ray for smaller rooms or smaller TVs.
The Bluesound also has 5 pre-set buttons on the speakers for radio stations or playlists. These are a handy feature reminiscent of the Roberts Radio your grandmother had in the kitchen.
If you are looking for a music streamer to integrate with existing (or conventional) hi-fi, then the advantage tips in Bluesound’s favour. The Bluesound NODE trumps the Sonos Port for audio quality. Better still is the Bluesound NODE X with an even better DAC. The NODE X’s internal Sabre DAC has been fettled by Bluesound and is superb, I’d stick with the internal engineering and only consider an external DAC if you have a serious Hi-fi setup. The Node X also benefits a THX AAA Headphone amplifier allowing you the best of 24 Bit streaming quality from your preferred music streaming service controlling the BluOS App from your smartphone or tablet
If you have existing speakers, Bluesound amplifiers have NAD’s heritage. All of NAD’s years of amplifier experience has been passed down to Bluesound. The Bluesound POWERNODE, despite its compact size, is a serious amplifier. Digital amplifiers don’t produce the heat of old analogue amplifiers and are physically much smaller. The (true) 80 watts RMS per channel of the Bluesound POWERNODE would comfortably do justice to a pair of £1000+ Floorstanding speakers like our elegant B&W 603s. For smaller speakers the Bluesound POWERNODE EDGE comes in at a lower price of £599 (inc VAT)
If your CD collection is the ‘story of your life’ then Bluesound’s Vault is the product for you. Preserving your collection on its internal CD Ripper and hard drive for convenient playback of the music you love.
Both brands have user-friendly apps for controlling their speakers. Sonos has a more intuitive and polished app, while Bluesound’s app offers more customization options.
In conclusion, It’s a subjective choice. If you prioritize high-resolution audio and customization options, then Bluesound may be the better choice for you. However, if you value a more established multi-room system and a user-friendly app, Sonos may be the better option. The team at Simply Sound and Vision are on hand to discuss any specific questions or discuss your needs on 0208 977 8633. If it’s 2:00am or you are a little shy drop us a line at [email protected]
Have a look at the comparison table below to confuse you just a little more:
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| Maximum Bitrate: | 24 Bit /196kHz | 24 Bit /44kHz |
| Compatible Music Streaming Services: | Amazon Music, Deezer, IDAGIO, Napster, Presto, Qobuz, Spotify, Tidal and more | 24 Bit: Amazon Music and Qobuz Dolby Atmos: Amazon Music and Apple Music Deezer, Napster, Spotify, Tidal and numerous others listed here. |
| Bluetooth compatible? | Yes – Bluetooth and aptX HD on all products apart from: Bluesound POWERNODE (Gen1) Bluesound PULSE (Gen1) Bluesound VAULT (Gen1) | Kind of – Only the portable Roam and Move products support Bluetooth. External Bluetooth receivers can be added. |
| Apple AirPlay 2 compatible? | Yes – but only models launched after 2018 | Yes – but not the older generation products |
| Alexa compatible? | Kind of – Via Alexa devices such as an Amazon Echo | Yes – Built in |
| Siri compatible? | Yes | Yes |
| Google Assistant compatible? | No | Kind of – Google Assistant is available on all voice-enabled Sonos products except for Era 100, Era 300, and Move 2. |
| Google Chromecast? | No | No |
| Spotify Connect compatible? | Yes | Yes |
| Compatible Smart Home systems: | All Require the BluOS Driver: Control 4 Crestron ELAN Lutron Push Roon RTI URC | Control4 Crestron ELAN Lutron Roon RTI and many others, click here for the full list. |
| Is the system backwards compatible with older products | Yes – Across all three generations | Kind of – Some older Sonos products are compatible with the current range with S2 control and others are not. Check here for the full list |
| Physical inputs: | Numerous options, see individual products | Numerous options, see individual products |
| Compatible with 192kHz 24 Bit (Ultra HD Music)? | Yes – Streaming from Qobuz, Amazon Music HD and Tidal Masters or MQA, FLAC and ALAC from your personal library. | Yes – streaming from Qobuz, Amazon Music HD and FLAC and ALAC from your personal library |