Best speakers for surround sound home theater.

For the price of two Play:5, you can get two Play:1 and a Sub. That will be an outstanding system with lower bass than just the 5s.

But for a home theater experience, don't you want the extra bass? I heard the play:1's are pretty much for background voices. But I want more than that, like the explosions and everything.

That's what the dedicated Sub is for. The Sub will put out more bass than the Play:5s, because it is actually dedicated to the subwoofer channel (the '.1' in '5.1') whereas the surrounds only carry surround info, which is very light on bass.

The most common setup for the Sonos home theater system is Playbar + Sub + 2 Play:1s. You can use Play:3s or Play:5s for surrounds, but since surrounds are mainly for ambient sounds, the benefits of more expensive speakers is very insignificant.

Now, if you want to also use those surround speakers for music, then you might want to consider the added benefits of the larger speakers.

The most common setup for the Sonos home theater system is Playbar + Sub + 2 Play:1s.
Now, if you want to also use those surround speakers for music, then you might want to consider the added benefits of the larger speakers.
Even in the above set up, when used for music, is there enough content being piped to the surrounds to justify a weightier speaker than the 1? There is actually no ambient/surround content on 2 channel music files, so what is it that the speakers get to put out?
For the OP, the full theatre experience usually calls for a dedicated set up consisting of an AVR with the required wired speakers/Sub. Unlike music where a Sonos set up can be as good as any other, Sonos set ups for video are a compromise compared to the full AVR solution. Wiring a Connect to that can allow the use of the solution for music as well.

The most common setup for the Sonos home theater system is Playbar + Sub + 2 Play:1s.
Now, if you want to also use those surround speakers for music, then you might want to consider the added benefits of the larger speakers.
Even in the above set up, when used for music, is there enough content being piped to the surrounds to justify a weightier speaker than the 1? There is actually no ambient/surround content on 2 channel music files, so what is it that the speakers get to put out?
For the OP, the full theatre experience usually calls for a dedicated set up consisting of an AVR with the required wired speakers/Sub. Unlike music where a Sonos set up can be as good as any other, Sonos set ups for video are a compromise compared to the full AVR solution. Wiring a Connect to that can allow the use of the solution for music as well.

There is absolutely enough sound produced using the surround speakers. In fact, there is an option to set them to "Full" for music playback. Not to mention that they can be ungrouped from the Playbar and made into a stand-alone zone (especially useful if using Play:5s and wanting a more traditional stereo stage).

As for being a compromise compared to a full AVR solution, that is very debatable. Compromise in what way? Sound quality? AVR capability (mainly DTS)? Sure there could be with certain AVR/speaker combos. But the Sonos Playbar+Sub+Play:1 setup sounds very very good for TV and movies, and is a major step up for many AVR/speaker combos.

Further, Sonos is just so much simpler to install, setup, and operate than an AVR solution. So I would definitely consider an AVR as a "compromise" from the standpoint of ease.

Not to mention that they can be ungrouped from the Playbar and made into a stand-alone zone (especially useful if using Play:5s and wanting a more traditional stereo stage).

How does that work with the speakers behind you? Will this not also call for moving them such that they fire at you from the front?

Not to mention that they can be ungrouped from the Playbar and made into a stand-alone zone (especially useful if using Play:5s and wanting a more traditional stereo stage).

How does that work with the speakers behind you? Will this not also call for moving them such that they fire at you from the front?

Depends on the room layout. In my house, they sound great where they are relative to that particular room. If I am in my kitchen I could turn them toward that room, but generally don't. Either way, Sonos does a great job, and this is coming from someone that had a comparably priced AVR/speaker setup in that exact location in the past.

Thank you guys for the input. Do any of you guys know why Sonos doesn't list what the wattage output is for speakers? Someone told me that it doesn't really matter with the Sonos. I don't see why it wouldn't, every speaker has a wattage limit.

Since Sonos supplies amps of what it thinks are the necessary watts to properly drive the speakers it provides in the same box, this data point isn't necessary. It becomes necessary where one has to match the power of an amp made by company A to the power needs of a speaker made by B, to select these two bits of kit. The Connect Amp does get used in this manner, and Sonos provides the wattage information for it.

The only data point that could be provided for integrated play units is about how loud the speakers can go but that isn't one that is easy to interpret. The way therefore to pick a Sonos speaker is to see if you like the way it sounds, and can it go as loud as you need, without distorting sound such that you don't like it anymore. The only reliable way to make this assessment is by playing the speaker at home, with the music you like. The best way to do this is to buy the kit on a returnable basis.

The other reason why Sonos does not provide this information is because it does not address the market of buyers who like to have this information to fuel their "mine is bigger/better than yours" games.