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Jmauld
Contributor I
December 8, 2016
Question

Play:1 vs Play:3

I purchased one of each of the play:1 and the play:3 to do a comparison before investing in more speakers. I was surprised that the low volume bass of the play:1 seems to be punchier than the play:3. Of course, the play:3 has more clarity, and once you increase the volume, the bass improves over the play:1.

But, I do most of my listening at lower volumes, where the play:1's bass sounds better to me.

This surprises me because I thought the play:3 had two low-range drivers vs the one in the play:1. Have others noticed the same thing, or do I have something setup incorrectly? I have played with the eq settings.
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    8 replies

    Kumar
    December 8, 2016
    It is not easy to set up Sonos speakers incorrectly!

    The only suggestion I can come up with is do Trueplay tuning of both and see how things turn out. And let your ears be the ones to decide.

    Many here have commented that their listening needs are met by either a 1 or a 5; between them they cover all the bases.
    Chris
    Chris
    Lead Maestro
    December 8, 2016
    Position can sometimes effect bass with them a lot. Put the play:3 closer to wall or corner and I find it buts out a lot of bass.
    Respect the Queue (2)Move (3)Beam (1) Era100 (2)ARC (1)SonosOne (1)Playbar (4)Play5 (4)Play1 (3)Play3 (1)Port (2)Connect (1) Roam (2) Ace (1)Connect:Amp (4)Sonos Amp (1)Sub + (9) Echo + Smartthings; (2)Play)
    jannyman
    Avid Contributor II
    December 10, 2016
    Buy the sub and do a retune. You will be amazed!!!
    JmauldAuthor
    Contributor I
    January 5, 2017
    Just as an update, I've played each unit for a few weeks now, and the Play:3 bass has picked up considerably. I've always read that some speakers needed to be broken in, and perhaps this was the case here. Both speakers are meeting my expectations now.
    John B
    January 5, 2017
    Glad you are happy but i don't believe the tech in Sonos needs or is capable of running in. I am open to being corrected.
    Kumar
    January 6, 2017
    Both speakers are meeting my expectations now.
    That is the bottom line, at the end of the day.

    But if you are curious to know why, it is because the brain has been broken in to like the sound of the speakers and not the other way around! And it takes a very short time to do this - everybody's brain - fuelling all the equipment burning in mythology. Some speakers may need a very short time of actual breaking in, but the effects are barely audible. In the case of other kit, breaking in is all myth - audiophiles will even claim that speaker wires need to be broken in.
    JmauldAuthor
    Contributor I
    January 6, 2017
    Could all be mental. I won't argue that. 🙂
    bockersjv
    bockersjv
    Local Superstar
    January 6, 2017
    My et up sounds better if i stand on one leg too 😉
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