Optimum sub placement

Postion 1 is ideal at this time, since the bench is open under the sitting area and I assume, so is the table such that when you bend down from the other side of the table you can see the Sub. What isn't ideal is the one play 1 stuck into the corner - ideally a little way out into the room would be better.

After any placement change, run True play again for best results.

Thanks for the reply Kumar. Unfortunately due to space restrictions the corner speaker can't move much further into the room. Both speakers are angled into the center of the room but I didn't show this in the rather poor picture.

I'd trust Kumar's judgement a lot, based on what I've seen in his other comments on these boards. That being said, I think it's a lot like the whole "which speaker should I get Play:1 + Sub or Play:5s" discussion....at the end of the day, it really depends on your own ears, and what you like. I certainly am not able to tell you what will sound best for you. I suspect Kumar has a lot of professional knowledge that he's basing his comments on, or perhaps scientific knowledge about sound fields (or both, most likely), but it still boils down to what you want, and how you make adjustments to your system in the Sonos App. Not to mention music type, etc.

I hope you find what you like!

If your speakers are angled into the centre of the room, and much of the bass duties are not with them in the first place because of the Sub, any little room response issues should be well handled by Trueplay and the corner placement then may well not be a big issue; the best judge for that are your ears. And play around with the sub volume levels after True play tuning, so see what works best for you and the music you listen to, I had to boost mine just a little above the default centre position after True play tuning to cater to my tastes.

I am sure anyone that listens to your set up, who knows anything about home audio, must be taken aback at the bass the little 1 units seem to be putting out, seemingly in defiance of the laws of physics!

My Sub is also out of sight, and I have a tailored cover of thin cotton for it to keep dust and all else away from it so it is completely maintenance free.

@Airgetlam: I appreciate the vote of confidence - anything useful I am able to impart comes from over a decade spent in audiophile land, with a lot of mistakes made along the way:-).

Thanks again Kumar for your advice! Regarding EQ setting, do you use loudness on and do you manage bass levels via the EQ bass setting or by the bass level in the advanced menu?

Also, does anybody have any opinions on whether I should completely re-think my speaker placement? I think the only other suitable place with my current room layout that I could achieve good stereo separation is placing my play 1s on my TV unit/book shelf. Of course I then loose out a little on listening at the dinning table. I guess picking up a couple more play 1's or again picking up a play 5 would be the best solution!

p1rate_chris wrote:

do you manage bass levels via the EQ bass setting or by the bass level in the advanced menu?

Also, does anybody have any opinions on whether I should completely re-think my speaker placement? I think the only other suitable place with my current room layout that I could achieve good stereo separation is placing my play 1s on my TV unit/book shelf. Of course I then loose out a little on listening at the dinning table. I guess picking up a couple more play 1's or again picking up a play 5 would be the best solution!

I don't need to use loudness for low level listening for the zone with the Sub. And in the EQ tone controls are all set to flat, I only boost the Sub output a little to compensate for the Trueplay driven bass settings which leave a little lower bass levels than I like.
And I would not disturb your play 1 pair that is able to have the Sub in a place that is both discreet and acoustically close to ideal. As you have thought, adding the mentioned units somewhere near the TV unit would allow you to play all as one group at the times you want room filling sound of equal sound levels across the space - and I would start with just one play 1 unit that may well be sufficient for that. Of course, more may be better if you have the spare cash!

I had thought of picking up a play 5 again for the bookshelf; it is a mighty fine speaker and would have the added benefit of providing a line-in. Adding a record player at some point is part of my overall grand plan. However, maybe a play 5 is overkill for the area and a play 1 would be up to the task. Also, spend wise my wife would be more agreeable 😉

Yes, but if you are at all serious about the record player, a single 5 unit there is the way to go - be sure to plan for the later requirement of space for the player as well which needs to be within wiring distance of the 5. But wives are a lot more tolerant of Sonos than of other audio kit - including record players!