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Enthusiast II
July 29, 2018

Sonos doesn’t really do “5.1”

Before you buy any SONOS equipment to achieve a 5.1 setup please consider this: a Denon AVRX2400 AV Amp, Elac CINEMA 5.1 speaker system, all cables professionally installed behind the walls gives you true home cinema with all the surround sound codecs you could ever want with no cables showing for way less than £1000 (see Richer Sound web site for prices). Or spend £1700 on a SONOS setup and get stereo or Dolby Digital only plus you may have to buy a new DVD player to play your UHD DVD’s, a HDMI Switch then deal with lip sync issues etc, etc.

SONOS do speakers, great speakers, but only for music. They are stealing money from people wanting 5.1 for their TV. The system I suggest costs at least £700 less, hides all the wires (what we all want) and sounds much, much better. Go mad, stick a couple of speakers in the ceiling and get real Dolby Atmos for £150 more and still save yourself £550. I have begged SONOS to tell me if they are developing a surround sound product with HDMI and more choice of listening eg DTS, Dolby X etc but they point blank refuse to discuss future products stating they are catering for the “modern listener”. That put me in my place. SONOS remind me of great companies who made world class products like Blackberry, Blockbuster, Compaq and SAAB, just a minute, they all went out of business because they didn’t produce what their customers wanted at a competitive price (no pedants please, I know there were other factors which meant these companies went bust, I am just illustrating a point). Are SONOS going down the same route? Think about it while you are watching your new laser disc.

I would be interested to hear any arguments against my proposed SONOS alternative system.
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150 replies

Ken_Griffiths
July 29, 2018
Well I’m a bit of a modern TV listener and I chose the new Sonos Beam. I wanted a wireless system, as I did not want to re-plaster walls, lift flooring, or have cabling showing. I had existing Play-1’s in the room already and I’m more than happy with the sourroud sound it produces. I added a Harmony Hub for full voice control of the TV and it’s peripheral devices.

The best £399, that I have spent in 'modern' times. So no regrets here.
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djsgrantAuthor
Enthusiast II
July 29, 2018
Ken, I am genuinely happy for you. What I said was SONOS do not do proper 5.1 and I stand by that. Play any of your DTS DVDs and you will have stereo or silence. If you are happy with the limitations then fine although for £400 I would have purchased a good sound bar and wireless sub. Also, your two Play 1s were not free so you 5.0 system actually cost you about £700. Quite a lot for a very limited system.
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David
Smilja
July 29, 2018
As a side note, the 'argument' "They are stealing money from people wanting 5.1 for their TV" does not exactly make for a lively discussion.
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»And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space, Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind.« (›Windmills Of Your Mind‹ [1967]. Music by Michel Legrand ; English lyrics written by Alan & Marilyn Bergman)
Tom526
Prominent Collaborator I
July 29, 2018
You have some valid points and I do agree on some aspects, especially the DTS part! I went with the Playbase with 2 Play:1s (which I bought pretty cheap used, not the Playbase) cause I also wanted something for great music on top of having the 5.1 ability. Also having the Sonos app, trueplay, and multiroom capability is super handy.

Plus, don't think my wife will want someone running new cables through the walls! I know, it's irrational! LOL

So while I don't totally agree or disagree with you, I found the Sonos a better fit for my needs.
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Ken_Griffiths
July 29, 2018
Ken, I am genuinely happy for you. What I said was SONOS do not do proper 5.1 and I stand by that. Play any of your DTS DVDs and you will have stereo or silence. If you are happy with the limitations then fine although for £400 I would have purchased a good sound bar and wireless sub. Also, your two Play 1s were not free so you 5.0 system actually cost you about £700. Quite a lot for a very limited system.
But the Beam does so much more besides the TV audio... and I accept what you say about the cost of my Play:1’s, but I had made that purchase, years ago. I was just saying why I chose the Beam (now) in my case. I was already partly invested in the Sonos architecture.

I will add, because Sonos is already now all around my home, were they to produce a new PlayBar Gen-2 with HDMI ARC and built in voice control services, I would still buy that device, over your Denon device, even if the new PlayBar supported codecs, were the same as the Beam.

I’m quite happy with the 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound and I do prefer to use the streaming video/movie services subscriptions nowadays and my Beam has no problems playing decent audio from either Netflix or Amazon.

I see that Apple have said that they will move their movies over to the Dolby Atmos Audio format later this year for Apple TV users ...I suspect Sonos could also move towards Atmos eventually (virtual or otherwise), before they may ever move towards supporting DTS or DTS:X.

But it’s each to their own, I guess. My Beam does do all the things I need it to do.

I should add that I do currently have a Sony DTS 5.1 Home Theatre System on my main Sony Bravia TV, but I would swap it for a new PlayBar (2nd gen) just because of all the other things (Audio/Voice/Smart features) that it will do, plus I prefer less cables in my room and there is just no way am I channelling out plaster in our walls to embed cables to then have to re-decorate.

Like I said, I truly don’t have any regrets with my purchases so far.
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Avid Contributor III
July 29, 2018
Ken, I am genuinely happy for you. What I said was SONOS do not do proper 5.1 and I stand by that. Play any of your DTS DVDs and you will have stereo or silence. If you are happy with the limitations then fine although for £400 I would have purchased a good sound bar and wireless sub. Also, your two Play 1s were not free so you 5.0 system actually cost you about £700. Quite a lot for a very limited system.
But the Beam does so much more besides the TV audio... and I accept what you say about the cost of my Play:1’s, but I had made that purchase, years ago. I was just saying why I chose the Beam (now) in my case. I was already partly invested in the Sonos architecture.

I will add, because Sonos is already now all around my home, were they to produce a new PlayBar Gen-2 with HDMI ARC and built in voice control services, I would still buy that device, over your Denon device, even if the new PlayBar supported codecs, were the same as the Beam.

I’m quite happy with the 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound and I do prefer to use the streaming video/movie services subscriptions nowadays and my Beam has no problems playing decent audio from either Netflix or Amazon.

I see that Apple have said that they will move their movies over to the Dolby Atmos Audio format later this year for Apple TV users ...I suspect Sonos could also move towards Atmos eventually (virtual or otherwise), before they may ever move towards supporting DTS or DTS:X.

But it’s each to their own, I guess. My Beam does do all the things I need it to do.

I should add that I do currently have a Sony DTS 5.1 Home Theatre System on my main Sony Bravia TV, but I would swap it for a new PlayBar (2nd gen) just because of all the other things (Audio/Voice/Smart features) that it will do, plus I prefer less cables in my room and there is just no way am I channelling out plaster in our walls to embed cables to then have to re-decorate.

Like I said, I truly don’t have any regrets with my purchases so far.


Yea I agree with everything you said, I've done both and got tired of the wires and grabbed a beam already had play 1s and a sub, setup 5.1 and love it and would also buy a playbar gen 2 in a heartbeat but I am crossing my fingers it will also do Atmos ?
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Prodigy II
July 29, 2018
But Sonos is wireless. Why faff about with wires. If you can’t configure your hardware to output the correct audio signal then maybe you shouldn’t be trying to set up a wireless system anyway.
And linking the speakers into other rooms. Moving your speakers. Tuning speakers to your room, Et al.
Functionality, convenience and results are trade offs. Your system has nothing going for it other than watching TV whilst the Sonos version does.
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Tom526
Prominent Collaborator I
July 29, 2018
Moving your speakers.
Forgot to mention that as a plus! You change rooms or houses, you have to pay to get the wires done again? Not with Sonos.
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djsgrantAuthor
Enthusiast II
July 29, 2018
SONOS supporters above. You are missing my point a wee bit. I have SONOS products for music and I am more than happy with them and would not part with them. As I have also stated, if it meets your 5.1 requirements then terrific. What it is not (yet) is a proper, modern surround sound system. It will still meet the needs of some, just not me. The Beam, Base and Bar do many other things as stated above but guess what? It’s meant to be a TV speaker first and foremost and I argue that none of these products do that job well. Good fun this.

Last point, what I suggested, and it is not “my system” hides all the wires. True, if you move, you start again but that is one of hundreds of variables that drill too far down into a general discussion. Someone else take it up 😃
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David
Tom526
Prominent Collaborator I
July 29, 2018
djsgrant, I see your point. My father has a home theater in his house, projector, 5.1 system with receiver, etc. He asked if Sonos system can replace it after hearing Sonos speakers. I told him, absolutely not! As much as I love my Sonos speakers, they will never replace a proper 5.1 system with separate speakers. At least not yet. Perhaps Sonos will create a system with independent speakers in the future.
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