The Sonos One SL Is A Great Way To Stream Music And Cut Down On Screen Time

Listen to your tunes in any room (even the water closet).

While there's certainly been no better time to binge-watch your favorite shows and movies, both new and old, I've been challenging myself to cut down on screen time. It's tricky, so I figured listening to more music would help me do just that while also allowing me to multitask a bit more.

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But I don't want to wear earbuds or headphones all day long, I want to hear the music around me, no matter what room I'm in. And as much as I'd like to watch Purple Rain yet again, I can make do with listening to the "Deluxe Expanded Edition." That means I'm going to need another wireless speaker.

So I decided to update what had already been working great for my apartment audio needs by adding a new Sonos One SL ($129; originally $179) wireless speaker for streaming music.

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I've had an older model Sonos speaker in my bedroom for years and the living room was way overdue for an audio update.

There's a lot to like about Sonos speakers, and that starts with their overall sleek and compact design and minimal packaging.

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The unboxing is a pleasing experience surpassed only by how easy it is to set up a new speaker on an existing network (took all of five minutes). If this is your first Sonos speaker, then you're going to need to download the app (easy enough) and the set-up process will take longer (but we're talking maybe another ten minutes tops from start to finish).

OK, so once you're all set up on your network, you can stream your music (or podcasts for that matter) either via the Sonos app or your preferred streaming service.

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That includes Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Google Play Music, YouTube Music and more. In fact, you can use AirPlay 2 to stream directly from your iPhone or iPad and ask Siri to cue up your favorite tunes. Bet "Computer Blue" is her favorite track from Purple Rain.

Because of its size, the Sonos One SL can fit in just about any space in any room including the bathroom because it's humidity resistant.

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No, Prince. We could never lie to you. Just don't bring it anywhere near Lake Minnetonka.

What I'm really digging on the newer SL models are the super-easy-to-use "capacitive touch controls."

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Quick taps for volume up, volume down, pause, and play. Right and left swipes for next or previous tracks.

And this just in, Sonos Radio, "a free, ad-supported streaming radio service, available to Sonos customers" just launched.

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Listeners will be able to Stream music, news, sports, and original Sonos programming from a "growing list of 60,000+ radio stations from around the world." Also ad-free artist stations (from the likes of Thom Yorke and David Byrne) as well as 30+ stations of handpicked music "inspired by Sonos customers."

See how well the speaker fits in with all your tchotchkes and bric-a-brac? Even a small lamp towers over it.

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The One SL isn't some dust-gathering piece of stereo equipment. It can easily be tucked away but still fill the room with sound. While it won't rattle the windows but you don't want you probably don't want your speakers doing that anyway.

Get it from Sonos for $129 (originally $179; available in black or white).

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