The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.As a gift a few months ago, I received the Sonos Play:1 mini home speaker. For the last three and a half months since, I've used it every single day multiple times.The Play:1 is the smallest Speaker Sonos makes, and that's an advantage for anyone who doesn't want a clunky sound system. Mine sits on my bedside table and works both as my favorite sound system and my preferred alarm clock.I've slept through fire drills in my college dorm and habitually sleep through my iPhone alarm when I'm truly tired. So having a speaker that wakes me up in a more insistent way, with either a loud, building default sound or by preferred playlist, is really very, very useful.I've been trying to kick the habit of listening to music with headphones while I fall asleep for at least the last seven years. External speakers never seemed as rich and inclusive, and I liked the isolation of the sound allowed by headphones. But, if the alarm went off and my headphones had fallen out, I would be late. And if I kept listening to loud music so close to my ears, I'd probably have trouble hearing down the road. For the last three months, though, I've used my Play:1 before sleep and to wake me up, setting a timer for it to shut off an hour after I lay down and a couple alarms of different volumes for the morning. I wouldn't have been able to make the switch from headphones to speaker, however, if the sound was any less satisfying.And it's not. The sound is richer, louder, and more deftly delivered than you'd ever think to expect from such a small speaker.Perhaps my favorite part of owning it, truthfully, is the fact that it's self-tuned to play in one room or another, specifically.When you set up the Play:1, you'll wall mount it or place it on the bookshelf, counter, or nightstand on which you want it to live and use your phone to do the rest. There are detailed instructions in the box, but basically, you'll connect to the speaker via Wi-Fiand complete a few tests in the room you're keeping the speaker. In my room, I walked around in silence moving my phone up and down the walls and furniture while a beep was emitted to measure the acoustics of the space, so the Sonos could tune itself to play exactly to the environment it had been placed in.For this reason, the Sonos app will have you name the space, so you can opt for one specialized setting for the kitchen and one for the bedroom. Remembering the unique obstacles and dimensions of the room it's in, the Play:1 will sound the same. Plus, there are over 30 streaming services available in the control app,so all your music can exist in one place.If you want, you can buy two and use the Play:1s as a home theater's rear speakers.And thoughI use my little Altec speaker for the shower, if I could buy two or didn't mind lugging this in for thirty minutes and then back to my room, I'm sure this would sound phenomenal. It's humidity-resistant so you won't mess up the machinery by exposing it to the wet heat either there or in the backyard.I love my mini Sonos, as much for its tiny size as itsimpressively deep, rich sound customized to my rooms specifically. And with overwhelmingly positive reviews on all the websites it's sold on, it's really not just me wholoves it.Buy the Sonos Play:1 speaker for $199 on Amazon, Best Buy, or the Sonos site.DON'T MISS:I've written about a lot of great tech, but these are the gadgets I use every daySEE ALSO:Buying these 9 gadgets will save you money this yearJoin the conversation about this story
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