New home theatre


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Hi everyone,

First post from me..just took delivery (today) of a playbase, sub and a couple of Play 1's for a home theatre setup. This replaces a Q acoustics 2000 series 5.1 system (with 2050 floor standers) and yammy av amp I've had for 8 years. Well what can I say, seriously impressed, I'm still tweaking a bit, but I can't believe how good it sounds (I have a tv that passes DD5.1 thru optical). The bass is much tighter, the highs and the mids are more crisp and the clarity of speech is so much better. The stereo separation isn't quite as good, but it's nearly there after a trueplay run. Reason for switching, well the better half wasn't impressed anymore with a lounge full of speakers, so I was therefore forced into a more minimalist approach. I wasn't sure if in reality it may have been a downgrade..we'll not where I'm sitting!!

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12 replies

Sounds like you've got a sweet set up there. Can I ask why you went for a playbase instead of a playbar? We are building a new home and I'm trying to decide if I retire my Yamaha amp and 5.1 Kef's and go with a Sonos set up. Been happy with my 3 and 5 that I've been using in other areas of the house.

I'm thinking of maybe using two of the new 5's as I'm not too fussed with surround sound or heavy base. Cheers
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You need to go with a playbar or playbase to work with a tv, otherwise you will almost certainly get lip sycn issues.

You will get no sound at all from DTS or any other high end sound track, other than DD5.1, from a dvd/Blu-ray/UHD disc. You might be able to force stereo (pcm) out of your disc player.
I've had a single 5 connected to our TV (via line in on the 5 and headphone jack on the TV) for the past 6 months and I've not noticed any lip sync issues and the sound is very impressive. We don't watch many movies and no DVDs so won't experience any DTS issues.

I just think for less money than a bar and sub we can have a better sound from a pair of 5s (especially for music) and a they will fit better in the design of our new TV room. But I am still considering my options.


I just think for less money than a bar and sub we can have a better sound from a pair of 5s (especially for music)

In cases such as yours, this is certainly the case. And for music this will work better for most people, for the better stereo imaging obtained.

To the OP: I suggest seeing how much the TV experience is affected by deleting the surround speakers. Quite possibly what you are hearing is very much a base+Sub driven thing. If so and TV still works well without these, you will release a couple of 1 units to add to other spaces, either singly or as a stereo pair.
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Hi guys

Just recieved a playbase after weeks of waiting. My setup it`s playbase and a couple play 5-s 2nd gen as surround.
Nice rich base without the subwoofer. jJust ordered these wall mounts https://www.vebos.co.uk/vebos-corner-wall-mount-sonos-play-5-gen-2-black-20-degrees.html to place the 5-s in the sweetspot.
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Well it's been a week with the new setup..and so far really enjoying it. Observations....definitely use trueplay to me there's a big difference in the sound stage when you toggle it on and off. I've had to reduce the level of the sub to about 35% on the slider the trueplay initial setting was a bit too much for my taste. After watching alot of 5.1 content I noticed, from my seating position, the surrounds were drowning out the centre channel ever so slightly in some scenes so I've dialled those back a bit too. On the music side, loving it!! The playbase on it's own sounds great ( excellent bass extension) but coupled with the sub and surrounds it's impressive. I have a play 5 gen 2 in the kitchen (absolute over kill for in there) so I think I'll do a comparison against the playbase to see how they compare musically. A big shout out for the sanus playbase tv stand which I purchased with this setup as I didn't want to wall mount tv, good quality and looks the business, I know it ain't cheap but as I was shelling out so much anyway I thought I'd just go for it!

One happy sonos newbie, very impressed so far!!
Hi guys

Just recieved a playbase after weeks of waiting. My setup it`s playbase and a couple play 5-s 2nd gen as surround.


Are you using the 5s as the rear speakers? Or up front? And you have no sub? Sounds like a unique set up.

I've read that to get the best out of a pair of 5's you need to place them vertically as this activates 'mono' mode and let's them work as a stereo pair which means the set up I was planning may not work so well. I'm wondering if there is a way to change the settings and have the same mono effect and have them horizontal. Anyone know if this is possible.

Hope I'm not hijaking you thread Daz. Apologies if I am.
Mono mode is never activated for speakers paired together as stereo speakers. All that changes for these by orientation changes from vertical to horizontal is the size of the stereo image.
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Using the 5s as rear speakers. No subwoofer yet. The bass it' satisfying. I went for the playbase becouse it has woofer.
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Hello boyz and girlz!!!

One year after buying the Playbase a sudden urge reappered. Could feel it in my gut. I just knew that i have to get me a Sonos Sub. hahaha. I was actually very pleased with my setup Playbase and 2 Play5. the base was rich and smooth.
After connecting the Sub i noticed what a difference it made. Now my setup it`s complete (i think).
Sub
Platbase
2 Play 5 second generation (surround)
A very heavy sound becouse all speakers are delivering a rich bass.
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The Sub is a good move. It does anchor the whole system and it takes some of the mid-bass duties off the Playbase and 5's which makes their job a bit easier. Run Trueplay again to complete the set-up.
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did that. sound perfect. 😃