New Sonos 3?

Hmmm... I may almost have talked myself into believing the 3 is actually redundant. What do others think?

The Play:1 is very good. I would buy two Play:1s instead of a Play:3.

Yes, I too agree with John B and The LHC here. The Play-5 (gen2) and/or two Play-1's seem to over-shadow the Play-3 in today's market.

I no longer possess a Play-3 speaker and quite often you can find some good deals on a Play-1 twin-speaker 'starter' set, which can be quite good value. Considering their compact size, they really can fill a room in most homes with great sound and bass. They easily outstrip competive speakers of similar size and work well.

A local sound engineer, near to where I live, says they are also a very reliable speaker in his opinion and he 'rarely' hears of any Sonos speaker that has developed a fault, certainly there is nothing 'commonly' known to go wrong with these speakers, even in the long term. So they are a good investment for the home.

Ken Griffiths

If there ever will be a new version, all I hope for is a line-in jack... 🙂

Sonos' versatility in dependable, synchronous wireless transmission requiring just a power-point in proximity to speaker location is great. However, anyone who has experienced truly great speakers such as B&W will hear the shortcomings in Play 3 immediately. I augmented 2x Play 3 in stereo with Sub for a kitchen but that hollow 'cheap speaker' sound that defines Play 3 is disappointing and lets down the excellent Sub. As I am using Flexsion brackets to wall-hang the speakers, Play 5 is not really an option. I hope that the next-gen Play 3 takes the audio quality up several notches.

I augmented 2x Play 3 in stereo with Sub for a kitchen but that hollow 'cheap speaker' sound that defines Play 3 is disappointing and lets down the excellent Sub.
Given the excellent results I get from a 1 pair + Sub, this is surprising to me. Although I have no experience of the 3, by all accounts it is at least as good as the 1. The problem with it is that it is a halfway house between the 1 and the new 5, and that leaves little justification for it, leaving another question mark over when a new 3 will be released. Sonos, as usual, won't say.

I augmented 2x Play 3 in stereo with Sub for a kitchen but that hollow 'cheap speaker' sound that defines Play 3 is disappointing and lets down the excellent Sub.
Given the excellent results I get from a 1 pair + Sub, this is surprising to me. Although I have no experience of the 3, by all accounts it is at least as good as the 1. The problem with it is that it is a halfway house between the 1 and the new 5, and that leaves little justification for it, leaving another question mark over when a new 3 will be released. Sonos, as usual, won't say.

Hi Kumar, I think there is good justification for 3 for those seeking good volume in a reasonably tidy package. The 1, for me, is a bedroom /bathroom /conservatory speaker, but not strong enough for parties and high-volume listening. 5 is too bulky for wall-mounting. If it were smaller, I'd have it over 3. As for 5... I have an older Bose Sounddock 10 and the audio quality far outstrips the original Sonos 5 -I haven't heard the new one. But then, Sonos is more versatile than a sounddock 10 in terms of connectivity. As I said in my original comment, this is clearly Sonos' killer feature. They've nailed that bit but the actual sound quality compared to high-end Bose Sub/Sat or other high-end speakers & amps is sadly lacking.

I even paired mine with Tidal HiFi and it did improve but once you've been spoiled with great speakers it's easy to hear the shortcomings in Sonos. Go to a proper HiFi store and experience great HiFi... you'll know what I mean then.

Actually, while on this point, I find that the sound from Connect is quite 'bright' with excessive treble. I have linked it with Marantz /KEF & Yamaha /B&W combos and the results were the same. The alternative source was an Arcam CD72 -same music. Far more 'musical' compared with Connect.

This is all very subjective, of course, but the idea of associating the words "high end" and "Bose" is something I struggle to get my head around. Not heard a Bose speaker I liked or rated. I wasn't a huge fan of the old Play:5, either, though - but the gen2 is brilliant.

high-end Bose
Is that not an oxymoron?

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bose

haha! Ok, I realise they're not so popular with purists but I like the tiny speakers and the strong bass. I haven't listened to a Lifestyle 50 in a long time but when I did, I liked it. And, as a single-speaker setup, the Sounddock 10 is great. Anyway, I too have gone down the Sonos route so don't shoot! 😉

That said, I'll say it as it is, Play 3 is not an amazing speaker by any means.

I have a stereo pair of Play 3s and I love them. I dare say if I ever listen to a Play 5 Gen 2 I'll change my mind so that's why I'm avoiding that risk!!