JBL Portable Link Smart Speakers (2017) vs Sonos Play: (2013)

The JBL Link 10 (2017) was loved by reviewers at CNET, a highly trusted source that performs reliable in-depth testing. It did great in its "Best Christmas gifts for under $100: Bose and JBL wireless speakers, SNES Classic and more" roundup where it was named its "Ranked 2 out of 13", which, in itself, makes it a product worth considering.

As for our analysis of the Sonos Play:1 (2013) - it's considered to be a great product by two reliable sources that do their own hands-on testing - it earned the "Ranked 2 out of 10" award from Gear Patrol and "Ranked 3 out of 4" from nextpit.com, which is no small feat.

We analyzed all of the review data that we could find on these two Smart Speakers. First, we examined sources that tested and scored both of these products - Expert Reviews, TrustedReviews, and CNET favored the Sonos Play:1 (2013) over the JBL Link 10 (2017), whereas reviewers at PCmag haven't shown a preference for either.

Then we took a look at which sources liked them the most - we found that the JBL Link 10 (2017) was best received by Technically Well - it gave it a score of 9.5, whereas the Sonos Play:1 (2013) got its highest score of 10 from reviewers at Expert Reviews.

Lastly, we averaged out all of the reviews scores that we could find on these two products and compared them to other Smart Speakers on the market. We learned that both of them performed far better than most of their competitors - the overall review average earned by Smart Speakers being 7.4 out of 10, whereas the JBL Link 10 (2017) and Sonos Play:1 (2013) managed averages of 8.2 and 8.6 points, respectively.

Due to the difference in their prices, however, it's important to keep in mind that a direct JBL Link 10 (2017) vs. Sonos Play:1 (2013) comparison might not be entirely fair - some sources don't take value for money into account when assigning their scores and therefore have a tendency to rate more premium products better.