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Hi all! I’m getting a deal on my first sets of Sonos speakers, and I wanted to seek some guidance on how I should set them up! The speakers are:

  • 3x Sonos Play 3
  • 1x Sonos Play 5

The above is being as a bundle for $600 (I think that’s a deal?). Prior to coming across this offer, I was looking into getting a Sonos Beam + 2x Sonos One for watching movies in the living room (or master bedroom). Though, I’m most likely still getting a Beam.

Quick background: I currently have a dozen or so Alexa speakers setup throughout the home for playing Spotify music. They’re all a part of a multi-room speaker group. 

So if I pick up this deal + a Sonos Beam... is the best way to make use of these speakers is to put them in a 5.0 setup (Beam + 2x Play 3)? I’m not sure what else I can do with the remaining Sonos speakers other than plug them into some of my lower-end Alexa devices via aux. What do you think?

Is the Play:5 a Gen 1 or Gen 2?

The Beam + Play:3s as surrounds is a great option.

You can connect an Echo device to the Play:5’s line-in port but you might experience a slight audio delay when you play it together with other Echo devices in a multi-room setup.

The Play:3 is not equipped with a line-in port.

Is the Play:5 a Gen 1 or Gen 2?

The Beam + Play:3s as surrounds is a great option.

You can connect an Echo device to the Play:5’s line-in port but you might experience a slight audio delay when you play it together with other Echo devices in a multi-room setup.

The Play:3 is not equipped with a line-in port.

The Play:5 is Gen1; the seller’s photos show headphone/line-in ports.

Thanks for calling that out! It seems like I’d better off just buying 2x Play:3 from him… however, breaking the bundle would have that come out to $200/ea. Perhaps I should go with 2x Ones instead since they’re newer and around the same price-point?

Do you know if Sonos Ones (Alexa-enabled) can be grouped in Amazon’s multi-room speaker groups?

The Play 5 Gen1 can only be used as a stand-alone speaker. It can’t be integrated into a Home Theater as can the Beam. 

At $200 each for Play 3’s I’d definitely pass and go for One’s X 2 or a One and a One SL if being used for music only to create a stereo pair. Using a One together with a One SL to create a stereo pair will still give you a choice to use Alexa or Google as a voice assistant.

If you are planning never to use them as a stereo pair but only as surrounds then save a few dollars and purchase the One SL x 2. The voice assistant capability in One’s when used as surrounds with a Beam (or Arc) is deactivated as the Beam (or Arc) handle voice assistant duties.

 

Unfortunately, Sonos speakers cannot be grouped with Echo devices to play the same music.

$200 for a used Play:3 is not a good deal. You can get a used Play:3 on eBay for $150 and less.

If you are going to use the Ones as surrounds with the Beam, get the One SLs instead to save money. When a Sonos speaker is used as surrounds, it disables the microphone and voice assistant. So your best option would be to get the Beam (Gen 2) + two One SLs as surrounds.

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