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Chrisps
Contributor I
July 24, 2021
Answered

Play:5 (gen 2) versus Sonos 5

Hi,

I have just bought a Sonos that says on the box Play:5 Gen 2. The first disappointment was that it wouldn’t play my apple hi res music. So I have deleted Apple Music and gone back to Tidal. 
This Play:5 was priced at €579. My worry is that I have bought old stock and that there is a newer model called the Sonos 5 which is the same price on the Sonos site. I can’t get any clear information on google. Also information very sketchy on exact specs. How do I know if I got the latest model. It was the last in the shop, a display model, so maybe I got the wrong box. What are the differences between Play 5 and 5. NB, it is definitely not a Gen 1, and all I can get is comparisons between Gen 1 and 2. 

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Ken_Griffiths
Ken_GriffithsAnswer
July 24, 2021

The new speaker is called a "Sonos Five” whereas the older gen2 model is called "Play:5” - the model should be stated on the label where you will also find the MAC Address/Serial Number. The Sonos logo on the front is the easiest thing to look for as the newer model has a darker/discreet logo. See this YT video:

 

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Kumar
July 25, 2021

@Chrisps

Trust your own ears, if something sounds better for you then go with it.

No argument with that. It is just that before plonking down more money, be sure that how it sounds can't be matched by just nudging the volume control upwards!

Belly M
Belly M
July 25, 2021

@Chrisps

Trust your own ears, if something sounds better for you then go with it.

No argument with that. It is just that before plonking down more money, be sure that how it sounds can't be matched by just nudging the volume control upwards!

The OP did not state if he had a Tidal HiFi subscription as this would certainly be the reason why he prefers Tidal over lossy Spotify listening on a 5.

    Kumar
    July 25, 2021

    I can’t speak to Tidal, but what I hear from Spotify at home over my Sonos and Quad/Dali/KEF speakers is no different from what I hear from the same albums ripped lossless and streamed from my local NAS. Or downloaded in AAC 256 kbps format via iTunes to the local NAS.

    I do know that I have to adjust volume levels when I move to playing from Spotify to local NAS to get the sound levels I am accustomed to for my listening.

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