Play 1 sound quality

  • 15 January 2017
  • 29 replies
  • 2912 views

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Have just invested in a Sonos set up for the first time, and took the plunge with a pair of Play 1's, figuring that every single review without exception said they sounded fantastic. I'm slight underwhelmed to be honest. They're on wall brackets about 8 foot apart, have run Trueplay & the sound quality is not blowing me away. Listening to radio stations on tune in does sound pretty damn good, but streaming spotify/Google play music, it sounds a bit flat and undynamic. Anything with a bit of complexity, there is no detail, the bass is a dull thud and it all sounds a bit muddled.

I did so much research before buying and reviewers and consumers alike rave about the crystal clear sound and finding details they've never heard before etc. Am not finding any of that. I'm far from an audiophile, I just like clear dynamic sounds from my system

Any thoughts? Run trueplay again?

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29 replies

there is no science whatsoever to back up your over the top claims for the Sonos kit, merely subjective opinion... which we all know is very, very flawed...
As of course is yours; equally subjective and equally flawed being subject to all the known psychological biases that afflict you if you are a human being.

That said, check the Butterworth FQ response measurements of the 1 unit that contain some science, however imperfect you may think that to be.

Bottom line: those that like the way well set up Sonos kit sounds are happy to move on to the listening to all the music it provides access to, along with the convenience of use that is a huge bonus. And some that do have a subjective good opinion of its sound quality that is based on many years of listening to high end, hifi stereo kit from different brands that runs to much larger budgets than Sonos kit; among others, I am also fully satisfied that paying higher amounts for "HiFi" brands is no assurance of better sound, and can often be the opposite.
Go figure :D
Recording/mastering quality is the source - pardon the pun - of these differences. Reinforced by your earlier statement that some metal tracks also come across well rendered by the unit.
And some that do have a subjective good opinion of its sound quality that is based on many years of listening to high end, hifi stereo kit from different brands that runs to much larger budgets than Sonos kit...

Same old talk, still no evidence....

Same old talk, still no evidence....

LOL. Ditto.