If I were to build an outdoor stereo in 2024 , I ’d do it with a pair of portable Beats Pills instead of Sonos speakers . Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends
In 2017 , after more than a decade in our home , my married woman and I add up a pool . With it came a covered deck , get what essentially was a new out-of-door way . Not uncommon at all in Florida , but new to us .
And one of my favourite additions to that space was a dyad of OGSonos Play:1 speakers . They ’ve lived outside — in the elements , but covered — since I primitively put them up the better part of a decade ago . That ’s perhaps not quite how Sonos mean for them to be used , butthey’ve survived just hunky-dory so far . ( I did bring them inside for Hurricane Sally in 2020 . )
If I were to build an outdoor stereo in 2024, I’d do it with a pair of portable Beats Pills instead of Sonos speakers.Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends
There are any turn of reasons why allowing Sonos speaker unit to endure alfresco is not the best idea . Florida humidity is no joke . ( Same for the episodic deep halt , too . ) And that ’s why if I were building an out-of-door infinite today , I ’d opt for a pair of thenew Beats Pill loudspeaker system . In fact , I ’m out on the porch listening to them as I publish this .
There are a few reasonableness for this , all of them fairly obvious .
First , there ’s the Leontyne Price . The fresh Beats Pill retail for $ 149 — and that ’s before any sales damage . That ’s a far battle cry from whatever I paid for a double scene of the Sonos:1 all those years ago — credibly about $ 50 more each . ( Today ’s tantamount speaker is the Sonos Era 100 , which costs $ 448 for a pair . )
Then there ’s the matter of portability . My Sonos Play:1 speakers have to be plug in all the time . I had to add electrical to the back porch anyway and maintain that in idea . But that might not be an option for everyone . Beats says the new Pill is good for 24 hour , which should be more than good enough . I ’m in suburban Pensacola , not Ibiza . The company do n’t go on all dark . But a picayune USB - C juice can extend things , if require . That ’s a winner .
Plus , that portability entail the speakers can exist inside more often than not , as they should . That ’s good for longevity , and for utility . speak of longevity , the Beats Pill is right rate IP67 against dust and water .
I have n’t worried all that much about how tight the pair of Beats Pills sound to the pair of Play:1s . It ’s close enough for my purposes , which is background euphony outdoors . They vocalize good enough — and it ’s really the ability to mate them in stereo that makes it puzzle out . ( And as an supply bonus , I could take a phone call through them . Not that I plan on doing so , though . Do n’t bother me while I ’m in the pool . )
Why go with the Beats Pill and not a new Sonos Roam 2 ? For one , the Beats Pill is $ 30 less expensive , so there ’s that . Then there ’s the current state of Sonos , which is n’t great . There ’s something to be enunciate for a full Bluetooth verbalizer that does n’t have the added complication of a larger ecosystem . That ’s been a huge frustration this summertime when we strip down and hit the syndicate , only to have towrestle the struggling Sonos appto get euphony to actually play where we want .
The Beats Pill does n’t get quite as loud ( or sound quite as good crank up ) , but I can live with that . And my neighbors sure as shooting can live with that . And having to take two speakers alfresco is , yes , more piece of work than having a pair that inhabit out there . But that ’s a comparatively pocket-sized worriment , especially given the concern of Sonos of late .
The Bluetooth - based Beats Pill ? It does its job the first clip , every time . Just as it should .
