How an enthusiast transformed his Sonos Play:1 into a much more efficient connected speaker

Do you have an old Sonos Play:1 speaker that is broken at home? Don’t throw it away! An enthusiast found a solution to transform it into an even more efficient audio system using Raspberry Pi.

Are you a Sonos fan but your Play:1 is starting to show signs of weakness? No need to replace it, it can be improved with Raspberry Pi.

Personally, I have two. And this product is old. As proof, I bought them in 2014, 10 years ago. And they still work. This is not the case for all Play:1s in circulation. Now is a good time to upcycle.

Upcycling: what is it?

Upcycling consists of reusing objects or materials at the end of their life to give them a second life, by creating something new and more valuable.

In the case of our Sonos Play:1, this means that we will transform our old connected speaker into an even more efficient audio system thanks to Raspberry Pi.

How to upcycle your Sonos Play:1 with Raspberry Pi?

To upcycle your Sonos Play:1 with Raspberry Pi, you will need a Raspberry Pi 3 model A+ or Pi Zero 2, a DAC (digital-to-analog converter), a 20 watt power supply, and of course, a a Sonos Play:1 speaker. It is important to note that you should not use a Raspberry Pi newer than the RPi 3A or Zero 2, as the space inside the Play:1 is very limited.

Once you have all the necessary components, simply follow the detailed instructions provided by an enthusiast on the Raspberry Pi website. He will walk you through how to remove the original motherboard and all cables from the Sonos Play:1, then how to rewire the Raspberry Pi inside the enclosure. The DAC power supply will power the entire system.

It is recommended to use Raspberry Pi OS Lite as the operating system. The image is quickly written to a microSD card, then you can easily connect your speaker to your WLAN network and control it via SSH over the network. The description also includes introductions on how to approach the DAC and a first test of the speaker

The benefits of upcycling your Sonos Play:1

Upcycling your Sonos Play:1 with Raspberry Pi has many benefits. First of all, it allows you to continue using your favorite smart speaker. No need to throw it away and replace it.

Then, it allows you to improve the performance of your speaker using a more powerful Raspberry Pi and a higher quality DAC.

But as you have understood, this requires a certain level of technical skill and DIY. Then it can be expensive, especially if you have to buy all the components.