Why can't I make a stereo pair from a Play 5 and Play 3?

Hello,

In short, because it would sound weird.  When using like models for stereo pairing, you're guaranteed that it's always going to sound balanced between the two channels.  It would be much more difficult, if not impossible, to account for all the necessary factors and product an appropriate, balanced sound across different hardware players.

I hope that information helps.

Hello,

In short, because it would sound weird.  When using like models for stereo pairing, you're guaranteed that it's always going to sound balanced between the two channels.  It would be much more difficult, if not impossible, to account for all the necessary factors and product an appropriate, balanced sound across different hardware players.

I hope that information helps.
The question is would it sound better than a single Sonos 5?

I think the answer is yes.  You can experiment with this by taking a pair of Sonos 5's and a pair of Sonos 3's and then putting a 3 & 5 together in one room.

It's true that it wouldn't sounds as good as two Sonos 5's, but it wold sound better than one Sonos 5.  And the sound could be improved by Sonos if they adjust the EQ separately for each speaker, just as Sonos does when pairing the Sonos 5 with the Sonos Sub.

Also, people perceive stereo more in the high frequencies than the low frequencies, so the extra base from the Sonos 5 wouldn't necessarily sound unbalanced with the Sonos 3.

I don't understand how it would sound "weird," and with an equalizer we could create our own balance. I already had a Play 3 and received a Play 1 for Christmas and after I set it up, I discovered I couldn't create a stereo setting. I mean wouldn't it be nice to have to Play 3 speakers up front and two Play 1's behind. With an equalizer and fader, we could have a very cool sound going on in a single room setting.

I have a Play 5 and just bought a Play 3. I am very disappointed to find that pairing is only possible via the same units. This is the first negative I have ever found with Sonos!

One thing is for sure - pairing two different types of Sonos speaker would not sound as weird as this thread.

I agree, I have the S3 and S5 and would like to have the option of stereo as well.  My first neg for Sonos too!

If all you want to do is have two speakers in the same room play the same thing then you can group them. I have to agree with Sonos that creating a stereo pair with mismatched speakers would sound weird and just plain bad. You wouldn't buy two different models for the left and right speakers in a conventional wired stereo system so why would it be a good idea to do it with wireless speakers?

I agree, I have the S3 and S5 and would like to have the option of stereo as well.  My first neg for Sonos too!
Not going to happen, the aural signature from each is too different.  If you were buying separates, would you put a B&W floorstander on the left and a bookshelf on the right?  Of course not, each has a distinct musical signature.  It's the same with Sonos.

Let's introduce the configuration ability and make it an option for the end user. People can the either take it or leave it.

There's only so much ROM space available for implementing new "optional" features and a lot of widely requested features such as persistent room groupings and volume limits will be useful to a much larger percentage of Sonos users. Let's get those completed first and then see what kind of resources are left for other things.