Answered
Play 3 vs Sonos One bass
I have a playbar and I had 2 Sonos One speakers as my surrounds. I bought 2 new play 3 speakers today and it seems like they don’t have near as much bass. I went in and turned the bass all the way up. I thought the play 3 was supposed to be better sound quality wise.
Best answer by shoturtle
The bass is better on the play 3, it has 2 woofer and a bass tube vs the single woofer of the sonos one, for my ear. But it depends on what you are looking for, the sub is the way to get true base response, even the play 5 can not match the sub when it comes to bass response..
I have 2 sonos one paired, and 2 play 3 paired. And in my living room, the play 3 does out preform the sonos one pair in bass response. The sonos one pair lives in the bedroom. Where it does a great job in a 35-40% smaller room.
Turn the sonos one paired to 80% then listen to the play 3 at 60%. The play 3 sounds better at the equivalent volume level, and you do not have the distortion cancel happening on the sonos one at 80%. Where the sonos is lowing the volume to keep down the distortion.
But it is all relative which sounds better. I find my play 3 jamming lynard skynynd sweet home alabama sound better then my sonos one playing the same song at the same volume level. I have played around with both pairs in the same location in my living room. And to me I find the play 3 sound better in the 35% to 80% volume range vs the sonos one. At the lower volume, it seem moot. Your are not really driving the either speaker.
I have 2 sonos one paired, and 2 play 3 paired. And in my living room, the play 3 does out preform the sonos one pair in bass response. The sonos one pair lives in the bedroom. Where it does a great job in a 35-40% smaller room.
Turn the sonos one paired to 80% then listen to the play 3 at 60%. The play 3 sounds better at the equivalent volume level, and you do not have the distortion cancel happening on the sonos one at 80%. Where the sonos is lowing the volume to keep down the distortion.
But it is all relative which sounds better. I find my play 3 jamming lynard skynynd sweet home alabama sound better then my sonos one playing the same song at the same volume level. I have played around with both pairs in the same location in my living room. And to me I find the play 3 sound better in the 35% to 80% volume range vs the sonos one. At the lower volume, it seem moot. Your are not really driving the either speaker.
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It may be more expensive but I find the Play 1 sound far better than the Play 3.
Many others appear to do so too.
I'm not sure I really see the point off the Play 3 to be honest.
Many others appear to do so too.
I'm not sure I really see the point off the Play 3 to be honest.
Yah. I’m really kinda of disappointed. I might take them back.
Can I get anyone else to weigh in. It’s not just me right?
If you're looking for more bass, look to either the PLAY:5, or adding a SUB to your current Sonos Ones. If it was me, I'd probably do the latter, since the PLAY:5 doesn't have microphones to work as an Alexa device.
You are saying the play 3 has an Alexa mic?
I didn’t realize that.
Upon listening for awhile, I will say that the the play 3 has some crystal clear sound, just really no bass at all. The Sonos One, to me, has more bass and I like bass. I noticed it because I’ve been listening to mostly hip hop but when I just tried listening to some classical and some bluegrass and some blues, the play 3s really shine.
I think I will just save up for a sub I guess.
I didn’t realize that.
Upon listening for awhile, I will say that the the play 3 has some crystal clear sound, just really no bass at all. The Sonos One, to me, has more bass and I like bass. I noticed it because I’ve been listening to mostly hip hop but when I just tried listening to some classical and some bluegrass and some blues, the play 3s really shine.
I think I will just save up for a sub I guess.
The bass is better on the play 3, it has 2 woofer and a bass tube vs the single woofer of the sonos one, for my ear. But it depends on what you are looking for, the sub is the way to get true base response, even the play 5 can not match the sub when it comes to bass response..
I have 2 sonos one paired, and 2 play 3 paired. And in my living room, the play 3 does out preform the sonos one pair in bass response. The sonos one pair lives in the bedroom. Where it does a great job in a 35-40% smaller room.
Turn the sonos one paired to 80% then listen to the play 3 at 60%. The play 3 sounds better at the equivalent volume level, and you do not have the distortion cancel happening on the sonos one at 80%. Where the sonos is lowing the volume to keep down the distortion.
But it is all relative which sounds better. I find my play 3 jamming lynard skynynd sweet home alabama sound better then my sonos one playing the same song at the same volume level. I have played around with both pairs in the same location in my living room. And to me I find the play 3 sound better in the 35% to 80% volume range vs the sonos one. At the lower volume, it seem moot. Your are not really driving the either speaker.
I have 2 sonos one paired, and 2 play 3 paired. And in my living room, the play 3 does out preform the sonos one pair in bass response. The sonos one pair lives in the bedroom. Where it does a great job in a 35-40% smaller room.
Turn the sonos one paired to 80% then listen to the play 3 at 60%. The play 3 sounds better at the equivalent volume level, and you do not have the distortion cancel happening on the sonos one at 80%. Where the sonos is lowing the volume to keep down the distortion.
But it is all relative which sounds better. I find my play 3 jamming lynard skynynd sweet home alabama sound better then my sonos one playing the same song at the same volume level. I have played around with both pairs in the same location in my living room. And to me I find the play 3 sound better in the 35% to 80% volume range vs the sonos one. At the lower volume, it seem moot. Your are not really driving the either speaker.
Oh, upon re reading your response I think maybe you misunder stood me.
I originally bought a playbar and some sonos ones for surround. I love them but I wanted some more sonos speakers for other rooms.
Instead of just buying some new sonos ones for other rooms, I thought I’d buy some play 3s for the surround speakers because I thought they were supposed to have much better sound quality than the Sonos One. But it seems to be that while they have great sound quality, they have far less bass than the ones and of course they don’t have Alexa.
I originally bought a playbar and some sonos ones for surround. I love them but I wanted some more sonos speakers for other rooms.
Instead of just buying some new sonos ones for other rooms, I thought I’d buy some play 3s for the surround speakers because I thought they were supposed to have much better sound quality than the Sonos One. But it seems to be that while they have great sound quality, they have far less bass than the ones and of course they don’t have Alexa.
No, only the Sonos One has an Alexa capable mic. There are no microphones on the PLAY:3, and the microphones that are on a PLAY:5 gen 2 are not used, and not capable of hearing an Alexa command.
I was saying I'd go with the Sonos Ones with a SUB. Not the PLAY:3s. Just because of Alexa. OTOH, I do have a pair of PLAY:3s in my bedroom, and they're fine for what I listen to.
I was saying I'd go with the Sonos Ones with a SUB. Not the PLAY:3s. Just because of Alexa. OTOH, I do have a pair of PLAY:3s in my bedroom, and they're fine for what I listen to.
I originally bought a playbar and some sonos ones for surround. I love them but I wanted some more sonos speakers for other rooms.
Instead of just buying some new sonos ones for other rooms, I thought I’d buy some play 3s for the surround speakers because I thought they were supposed to have much better sound quality than the Sonos One. But it seems to be that while they have great sound quality, they have far less bass than the ones and of course they don’t have Alexa.
If you are using it as a surround speaker, not sure how sonos handles their 5.1. But as stereo music speakers, the play 3 is a better bass speaker then the sonos one and play 1.
I originally bought a playbar and some sonos ones for surround. I love them but I wanted some more sonos speakers for other rooms.
Instead of just buying some new sonos ones for other rooms, I thought I’d buy some play 3s for the surround speakers because I thought they were supposed to have much better sound quality than the Sonos One. But it seems to be that while they have great sound quality, they have far less bass than the ones and of course they don’t have Alexa.
When using speakers for surround sound. You really don't drive them to much. That is why most surround speakers are lower power and small in general. And you normally do not drive them with high wattage for bass, as it is use mainly for fill sound. So you most likely never hear the difference between the play 1 and play 3 when they are used as surround. And most of the bass still comes from the playbar. For 5.1 base with the playbar, you really need the sub if you are looking for the thump of the bass in your 5.1 system. The playbase has a much larger woofer then the playbar, so it has a much better base response.
But if you use the play 3 for music you do get much better bass :8
I originally bought a playbar and some sonos ones for surround. I love them but I wanted some more sonos speakers for other rooms.
Instead of just buying some new sonos ones for other rooms, I thought I’d buy some play 3s for the surround speakers because I thought they were supposed to have much better sound quality than the Sonos One. But it seems to be that while they have great sound quality, they have far less bass than the ones and of course they don’t have Alexa.
When using speakers for surround sound. You really don't drive them to much. That is why most surround speakers are lower power and small in general. And you normally do not drive them with high wattage for bass, as it is use mainly for fill sound. So you most likely never hear the difference between the play 1 and play 3 when they are used as surround. And most of the bass still comes from the playbar. For 5.1 base with the playbar, you really need the sub if you are looking for the thump of the bass in your 5.1 system. The playbase has a much larger woofer then the playbar, so it has a much better base response.
But if you use the play 3 for music you do get much better bass :8
Yah. It’s music I was talking about.
I honestly don’t know what was wrong earlier. Nothing was sounding right. I just completely reset everything and set it all up again and now it all sounds amazing.
It was almost like the sound was all midrange and treble. Now it sounds great.
I will agree with you that there is a chance the ONEs sound better (more bass) than the 3s. I have them side by-side-side right now, grouped. Switching between the two using mute, I def think the bass reach on the ONE is better. More hit. I am disappointed in my stereo paired 3s vs stereo paired ONEs, bass-wise. You'd think there would be a jump with double drivers, but remember that the driver in the ONE is a lot newer design.
-JR
-JR
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