Sonos is a well-known brand known for creating some of the best multi-room home speaker setups, and in late 2015, the company debuted its latest product, a second-generation Play:5. The original Play:5 (once called the S5) was released in 2009, so the new Play:5 marks a long overdue update that brings a new design and better sound.
As someone new to the Sonos ecosystem, the Play:5 (paired with a set of Play:1 speakers) was the first Sonos speaker I tested in my home. After a month off, I finally understand why Sonos is such a popular brand and considered the best system for whole house audio compatible with the iPhone.
Priced at $499, the new Play:5 isn’t cheap, but that price point includes a hassle-free user experience and impressive audio. As covered in the review below, there are some downsides to buying into the Sonos line, but its ease of use, sound and multi-speaker pairing capabilities make it a win for those ready to shell out the cash for a quality sound system. .
Design
The second-generation Sonos Play:5 has a more modern look than the original Play:5, and is compatible with the Sonos Play:1 and Sonos Play:3. It’s less boxy, wider, and designed in a way that allows it to be positioned horizontally or vertically. There is no integrated stand.
It’s available with a black or white outer shell, both of which come with a black mesh front panel that hides the components inside. Design-wise, the Play:5 is unobtrusive enough to blend well into any room or decor style, but it can be more difficult to arrange around the white version, which stands out even more.
Visually, the Play:5 is the same as the Play:3, only slightly larger. I have a decent-sized two-bedroom apartment with a large living room, and I felt the Sonos Play:5 was too many speakers for the room, based on its size alone. It is only 14 inches wide, eight inches long and six inches wide and weighs about 14 pounds.
This is a heavy speaker that you want to place in one place and not move around too much. It is not easy to carry and there is no handle or anything to transport it. There is also no battery, so it always needs a power source
At the top of the Play:5, there are capacitive LED-lit buttons that respond to various gestures to perform functions such as increasing the volume, pausing a song and switching to the next song, so no access to a device is needed to quickly change music.
The back of the Play:5 has a port for the cable that powers it, a 3.5mm jack, an optional Ethernet port that can be used if you have a room without strong Wi-Fi, and a button to sync the speaker to the Sonos app. .
Sonos setup and apps
Sonos’ line of speakers connect to your devices via your home Wi-Fi network rather than Bluetooth, and because of that, you’ll need to use the Sonos apps to listen to music instead of playing music directly from your device. There are apps for Mac, Windows, Android and iOS.
Being limited to the Sonos app for music playback is a downside because you’re locked into the Sonos ecosystem and can’t use your favorite music apps. This makes it more difficult for guests to connect to your home music system because connecting via Bluetooth isn’t an option (but there is an audio line-in).
On the plus side, Sonos apps and Wi-Fi connectivity are convenient. Setup was very easy – about five minutes passed from the time I unboxed the Play:5 to the time I turned it on – and I never had to reconnect or deal with connection issues.
The Play:5 is always ready to play music as long as it’s turned on and there’s suitable Wi-Fi available, plus it can play different songs from the same music service in different rooms (or the same song in multiple rooms) if you have multiple speakers. remains Ease of use was one of my favorite things about the Play:5 — it just worked and did everything I wanted it to do.
Since it is a Wi-Fi system, it is expandable. You can start with one speaker and then add additional speakers in other rooms for a complete home audio system that’s all connected.
I’ve tried the Sonos apps for Mac and iOS, but I primarily use my iPhone for music playback. All Sonos apps support playback from over 40 streaming music services such as Spotify and Apple Music, or directly from music stored on a device. A wide range of file formats can be played.
The Sonos apps aren’t the most intuitive and I ran into a few annoyances, like not being able to shuffle directly from my Apple Music playlists without adding them to Sonos playlists, and not being able to pause music for an incoming phone call, but for the most part, using the Sonos app to manage my music Kara (from Apple Music) was OK.
If I could choose, I’d probably use Apple Music, but the Sonos app wasn’t a deal breaker. It can also be a preferred control method if you subscribe to multiple music services.
sound
Sound wise, the Sonos Play:5 is fantastic. I live in an apartment so I don’t have much experience with professional audio equipment or speakers of this size (I mostly use headphones) and listening to music on the Play:5 was a revelation – with some songs, there was a level of detail and crispness I’d never heard before. . Vocals are always prominent and bass is deep and rich.
The Play:5 is a speaker that costs $499, so I expect nothing less than amazing sound, and it lived up to my expectations. Behind the grill, there are six drivers (three tweeters and three mid-woofers) with dedicated amplifiers, and let me tell you, this speaker makes some serious sound. This is a speaker you can feel. It’s more than loud enough to fill a large room, and even playing songs with lots of bass at high volume levels, there was never any distortion.
I never had issues with the connection, which I sometimes run into with Bluetooth speakers, and there was never a point where the sound dropped out or was interrupted. The Play:5 and the Sonos app always offer smooth playback.
The Play:5 comes with a built-in Trueplay dynamic tuning system designed to calibrate the speakers for room shape and objects in the room based on the speaker’s position. I expected it to be little more than a gimmick, but the adjustments made to the TruePlay seemed to slightly improve the sound of the Play:5, which I positioned on a desk.
In addition to dynamic tuning, there are settings to adjust bass, treble and balance to your taste, which you may need to do after tuning with Trueplay to reach the ideal sound.
bottom line
The Sonos Play:5 is too many speakers for my apartment, but if you have a house or a large space and want to start shopping for a whole home audio system, Sonos is the way to go and the Play:5 is the best sounding speaker the company offers.
At $499, the Play:5 is a serious investment (and you could argue it’s overpriced), but it’s incredibly easy to use, sounds amazing, and supports nearly every audio service in existence. On the downside, you’ll be locked into the Sonos app and the Sonos ecosystem once you make a purchase, but the tradeoff seems worth it for those looking for the best multi-room audio experience.
After using the Sonos Play:5 and Sonos system for a few weeks, I’m hooked. A WiFi audio system that doesn’t allow the flexibility of a Bluetooth connection won’t be for everyone, but I was a fan of the simplicity and sound quality. This is a review product that I regret sending back.
As a side note, I don’t own the original Play:5 and so I can’t compare this new version to the original. I highly recommend anyone considering a Sonos system to read through multiple reviews to get a clear picture from both those new to the Sonos system and those who have used it for years.
Benefits:
- nice word
- Connects via WiFi
- Almost all music services are available in the Sonos app
- Multiple speakers can be grouped together
- Different songs can be played on different speakers through the same device
- Easy to set up and control
- Expanded system for whole home audio
- Can use horizontally or vertically
Disadvantages:
- Wi-Fi is required
- Locked into the Sonos ecosystem
- Must use the Sonos app
- No Bluetooth
- expensive
How to buy
The Sonos Play:5 can be purchased from the Sonos website for $499 with a 45-day return policy. It is also available from Amazon.com at the same price point.
Note: Sonos provided MacRumors with a Sonos Play:5 and a Sonos Play:1 for testing purposes, which were returned to Sonos at the end of the review. No other compensation was received.
