Play 5 vs play 1

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I had a play 1 in my fairly large kitchen, and I thought I’d replace it with a play 5. The 5 arrived yesterday, and if I’m really honest, I’m not hearing much of a difference between the two speakers. I’ve done a side by side comparison with classical, rock, pop & jazz and there’s no noticeable improvement when listening on the 5 vs a 1. Even when I listen to bass-heavy music the play 1 sounds just as good as the 5.

It’s not that the 5 sounds bad, it’s just the play 1 sounds just as good to me.

I have a 5.0 setup in the living room (Playbar and 2x play 1s) and that does sound better, probably due to the stereo separation of the play 1s at the rear.

I think I might return the play 5 (£500) and get another play 1 (£150) to create a stereo pair in the kitchen.

I was surprised to discover this. I’m no audio expert but I do listen to a lot of music.

Has anyone else come to the same conclusion?

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