Play 5 with Alexa?

  • 4 December 2017
  • 14 replies
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Any timeline on if the Play 5 is coming with Alexa built in? I just got the One and I'm pretty hooked.

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14 replies

I’m definitely looking for a PLAY:5 with Alexa and Google. No need to have an echo or google device in each room you place a Sonos speaker. Sonos is a year ahead of competitors regarding multiplatform voice control support (adding google by the end of the year) and sound quality in a single device. At this moment Beam can also play a big roll as multifunctional speaker to place in each room, but not reaching the sound quality level of a play:5. I personally think that adding voice control to PLAY:5 will be a great win for customer
I would guess that there will be an update on the Alexa side to allow you to assiciate a so so zone with an echo to resolve that ducking issue before we'll see a play:5 with built on voice control.
The lack of Alexa voice control in the 3 & 5 is whats holding me back from purchasing! I have a Play:1 in the kitchen and a bunch of Echo Dots around the house, and the ducking of the Sonos is instantly irritating when the kids start messing with Alexa in another room...
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I am also eagerly awaiting a new Alexa enabled gen 3 and 5. I have to say I have been very pleased with how my Sonos One pair went from a buggy mess to being very stable with recent updates. Definitely has me eyeing more Sonos products in the future. The sound quality is, of course, superb compared to other smart speakers of similar size. That said, I feel the stereo pairing is definitely where it is at. Definitely gives the music life. Almost forget the power of stereo in the world of giant mono wireless speakers anymore! This is why I wouldn't mix a Sonos One with a Play anything, there's no stereo support. Finally, hearing Alexa's voice response being much warmer and louder than a dot is a plus. I hear all connected sonos speakers duck, regardless of what source they are playing from, which would be annoying. My ultimate set up would be Sonos pairs of varying size in four or five rooms of my house, but I don't want to buy into something last gen. All these speakers, while located in a sensible place, would still be easily reachable by far field voice.
Doesn't the 2nd gen play 5 already have microphones integrated?

Not the right kind. Voice control needs a far field array of microphones, the Play:5 just has two standard mics.
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Doesn't the 2nd gen play 5 already have microphones integrated?
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I'm also waiting, for the sonos play:5 to be updated with Alexa, to get one for my leaving room, and move the Sonos one to the kitchen.
That's not very useful in more than one room though is it? If your setup spans different rooms it's not very good to have to walk to another room to use voice control and then go back to see if it worked.

I agree. Having all of them with built in voice control would be nice. But it all comes down to opinions. I would just really like to see Sonos come out with an updated Play 5.
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Personally I think dots are a better bet. They can be hidden under shelves etc an placed near where you sit rather than where the speaker is.
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That's not very useful in more than one room though is it? If your setup spans different rooms it's not very good to have to walk to another room to use voice control and then go back to see if it worked.
You don't need to get an echo dot. You already have a Sonos One, it will control any PLAY:5 you add to your system. There's no requirement for each device to be "enabled", once you have a single device that handles voice control, it will serve as an interface to all of your Sonos devices.
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Why do you need to have Alexa built in? You've already got the Sonos One, it will control any and all attached Sonos speakers using voice.

I just think it'd be really cool to have Alexa with a higher power speaker, without having to get an Echo Dot. And I kind of assume the rest of the lineup will be updated.

This is an obvious product development route, the only issue that I can see is the available space to install the mics and the shape of the different speakers but I haven't seen any confirmation or dates from Sonos.
Why do you need to have Alexa built in? You've already got the Sonos One, it will control any and all attached Sonos speakers using voice.

I just think it'd be really cool to have Alexa with a higher power speaker, without having to get an Echo Dot. And I kind of assume the rest of the lineup will be updated.
Why do you need to have Alexa built in? You've already got the Sonos One, it will control any and all attached Sonos speakers using voice.