Why I'm returning / selling my brand new Sonos Play 1

Just bought a Sonos Play 1 today.

I'm not happy with it to say the least.

I was expecting by it's description and it's reviews to produce really high quality sound.

I have to say I like the tone of the audio on some songs, others are to be desired, but whats rubbing me the worst is the actual quality of the audio. There seems to be a blotchy-ness with it that makes it sound almost low-res. There seems to be a lack of harmonic detail, any brass on the drums tends to sound like bad static more then a physical ringing instruments that they are. Something that really shocked me was when I was listing to "The Best You Never Had" by Leona Lewis. There's a synth tune that plays about 0:32 in the song, I like the tune, I tend to hum it when the song comes up, however whats strange is that my Sonos Play One the synth melody is almost inaudible! Then it got me thinking; "If I can't hear that, then what else can't I hear!?" There really is a shocking lack of detail in this speaker. I described it at one point as a sounding almost as a "supermarket speaker".

The sound quality isn't my only issue. It's also support. I understand you only support iOS and Android. The thing is I'm a hobbiest Windows 10 UWP App developer and my smartphone of choice is a Lumia 640 for it's affordability and decent spec and construction. Microsoft Lumia smartphones are officially unsupported by Sonos. Sonos does however support UPNP playback and so I can use that right? Well for about 8 hours of trying my Lumia 640 wasn't connecting to my Sonos. Totally frustrating! It somewhat works now, although I can't adjust the volume. I surprised to see that the Play 1 doesn't have bluetooth connectivity. It's something so common that I just thought it was given and that it a real bummer for me.

One of the only reasons I bought the Sonos over other brands of speakers was the True Audio technology. It made the speaker sound almost atomically customizable. Although I don't have a supported phone, my dad has a Galaxy S4 which he said he would let me borrow to set up this feature, which Is when I found out after I bought my Play One that it only works on Apple smartphone's and tablets, something which highly annoyed me as I don't own one (I'm not THAT rich or technically competent).

I bought my, what I think is a considerably expensive Sonos Play One speaker on the grounds of it having a really great audio quality, being vastly customizable, being able to tailor tune it to my room, being somewhat compatible with my phone, supporting bluetooth connection (Which is my fault really, although their is literally no information on the box and the website is just as cryptic).

What I believe I got is a well made, powerful, low-res wireless speaker that fails to accurately produce the entire frequency range of audio, that contains a shallow app (Using my Windows Laptop) with lack luster configurable options, that is sold under false pretenses to I'd imagine ~70% of customers whom don't own an Apple products, including myself.

Start to finish for me buying, unpacking, using and configuring this product I've had nothing but annoyances (Which I'm probably passing on my irritation to you, for which I apologize.)

I like the Sonos brand. I think the product line needs an update and I'm getting my money back be it via a refund or private sale on a popular auction website.

Thanks for you time and patience.

Nathan.

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I've noticed the flatness on other tracks as well

Something more for you to consider, based on a reading of all your posts. A HiFi speaker - and the 1 unit is that except for its inability to faithfully deliver low bass content - seeks to be true to the source signal and that sound can seem flat to those accustomed to sound that is shaped by effects like Hall/Club/Studio/Reverb and the like. The 1 unit does not do these effects, and its EQ adjustments are only meant to cater to room responses that come in the way of the flat response it is designed to deliver. So if you like the all singing all dancing sound that these effects can deliver, then the 1 unit isn't for you. By customising the original recorded sound in this way, these speakers are less HiFi - by design - and appeal to some. Others, like many that like the 1 unit, find this added colour to not be to their taste, and also tiring to listen for a long time.

ratty said this in an earlier post, I am only elaborating on that.

I definitely want them for their sound, but they're not room and wife friendly...

Perhaps the second part was an implicit context to the Sonos CEO comment that offends you? Because both are important criteria to the target market.

No, he was talking about sound quality...

I did not say they are no better now, did I?!

No? So you accept that there are systems available for considerably under $40k that sound better than Sonos kit?

"Upwards at 45 degrees" is the correct title, the artist's name is Julian Cope. Setting spotify to stream extreme audio quality somewhat improved the playback.

A quick listen on a single PLAY:1 revealed a far bit of 'air', though whether this was real or an added studio effect is not known. I was however accessing a lossless stream. Depending on the degree of compression, lossy formats are known for their potential effect on reverb tails.

I did not say they are no better now, did I?!

No? So you accept that there are systems available for considerably under $40k that sound better than Sonos kit?

I accept that there may be such systems that will sound better to me. Which isn't to say that: i) there are such systems, a definitive statement I can't make until I find at least one after listening to it, and, ii) what sounds better to me will also sound better to others, or vice versa.

I don't think I have said anything different to this, anywhere. I am not a native English speaker, so perhaps my language may have led you to think so?:-)

Thanks, i don't have an IOS device at hand. I hope to hear from you.

I've noticed the flatness on other tracks as well, reportedly it's due to Spotify or a 'bad unit'

@commandline.be. First thing to say is that I was following the thread on my phone and initially missed your post highlighting a particular track, and thought you were saying a "Hall" sound was desirable generally. So apologies for my unjustified puzzlement at what you were saying.

I have listened to the track on a single Play:1, a pair of Play:5s and a top-notch hifi. My source is Google Play Music, so probably 320kbps lossy file. I can hear the reverb on all devices. The track doesn't sound as good on the Play:1 as on the other setups, of course, and part of that is that the reverb is slightly less pronounced on the Play:1. But it is definitely there and overall the track sounds good to me on my Play:1, and not like it was recorded in a wardrobe.

I listened to the track from two albums, Jehovahkill and The Collection. The track on Jehovahkill sounded slightly the better to me. However, they appear to be the same recording, and this could be my imagination. Maybe that just proves how subjective audio quality judgments are.

Do you have any locally stored music you could play through the Play:1, such as on a computer or phone? Have you tried this? I also think it would be worth getting hold of a friend with an iOS device to Trueplay tune the Play:1 before any final verdict.

I'll be interested in your further thoughts.

Are you able to also toggle back and forth between lossy and lossless to see if the air collapses and comes back? I haven't found any such thing in lossy down to 256 kbps.

John B Thanks for the feedback it's valued. In the meantime i found out a few things. Settings spotify to stream "Extreme Quality" helps, i dont like loudness so it's usually off, switching it on also offers a better experience. Basically i'm dissapointed the flattening is due to technological constraints. In a different song from Julian Cope i know hear more reverb than on other devices.

I'll check other sources but this Sonos App is not as well designed as i'd hoped.

Sonos will always use the highest quality from spotify regardless what the Spotify app is set to.

Next month (apparently) you will be able to control Sonos directly from the Spotify app without needing the sonos app at all as they will enable Spotify Connect compatibility on Sonos speakers.

I accept that there may be such systems that will sound better to me.

I shouldn't really have used 'better', anyway - it's more 'hi-fidelity' - in the original sense, not the green felt tip pen sense 😉

Are you able to also toggle back and forth between lossy and lossless to see if the air collapses and comes back?

No. I simply pulled a stream from Deezer Elite. I don't have any other subscriptions at present.

If you're interested: http://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/what-data-compression-does-your-music

Presumably the play1 is processing both LR stereo tracks into one mono output somehow?

Lol. What is a forum for?!

wow this thread blew up... I came across it a couple weeks ago when I was searching for answers on why my $200 play 1 in my bedroom sounded so awful. I mean REALLY bad IMHO and I totally agreed with everything the OP was saying on quality. When I closed my eyes, it sounded like a cell phone in a red solo cup on my dresser.

well I just picked up a 2nd play 1 and put them into a stereo pair and that's a game changer. Now when I close my eyes and listen, it sounds like a room full of sound and I can't pinpoint where either speaker is.

Still doesn't compare to a pair of big, full range tower speakers but I've gone from completely disappointed to a happy camper. I only had to spend twice as much! ;)

but seriously, for $400 to have a great sounding system in the bedroom without running a bunch of wires and having a big ugly receiver to deal with... pretty awesome.

Still doesn't compare to a pair of big, full range tower speakers

A comparison to full range towers - where a lot of what you pay is for expensive furniture - isn't a fair one unless you support the 1 pair with a Sub. Expensive, but so is a pair of towers once the amp is thrown in.

Not much point in doing this for a bedroom though, but if you wanted to, you could because it is easier to do in a bedroom than trying to shoehorn in a pair of towers with the required supporting kit.

well I just picked up a 2nd play 1 and put them into a stereo pair and that's a game changer.

Not always the case - the stereo sound is better of course, no doubt, but not often game changer different.

Perhaps when you added the second, you also relocated the first unit to a place that works better for it? If so, see how the first unit now sounds, when playing on its own; it probably sounds a lot better than before, and if it does, you will realise how much the speaker placement affects sound quality.

Or, just enjoy the better sounding music!

Like I said, doesn't compare as in I wouldn't try and shouldn't. Apples and oranges.

My point was to suggest a 2nd speaker for anyone else who came across this thread like I did looking for solutions because I would have appreciated that suggestion much more than a whole bunch of people defending Sonos. (Which I still don't understand how anyone could ENJOY listening to a single play device in mono)

Man, Kumar, you just like to argue and disagree. Whatever. This post ain't for you.

The reason why adding a second speaker isn't obvious and immediately suggested is because many of us have only seen this convert good mono sound to good stereo sound. It worked for you, that's good, but IMO it makes more sense to investigate the reasons why a single speaker isn't sounding good, and fix those. Because it is so obviously able to, if placed correctly, fed music from a well recorded source, and optimised with true play.

And the last thing someone talking about returning his unit wants to hear is - buy one more unit! However, this suggestion is now part of the thread as well and may well prove useful.

I just wanted to say to OP that I listened to the Leona Lewis track on both my new sonos 1 and my sonos 5 2nd gen. The sonos 5 reproduced the synth sound perfectly, however I could hardly hear it on the sonos 1.

Now, it's possible this is due to what other posters have said, that it's a mono speaker, I know from experience that mono speakers do sometimes miss some minor things due to having to sum up the L+R. I'm moving shortly and I'll do a test of the sonos 1 in stereo to see if it fixes the lack of synth sound.

Your opinion on SQ is valid, as only you can judge how us feel it sounds. Your other points just appear to be a lack of research before buying. Seriously though, what did you expect for £150?

I tried the Leona Lewis track from Spotify through my stereo pair of Play 1s plus Sub. The synth came in very clearly at 0:38 seconds.

Thanks, it seems like it's less of a speaker problem then and more of a stereo > mono conversion problem. Good to know!

I tried the Leona Lewis track from Spotify through my stereo pair of Play 1s plus Sub. The synth came in very clearly at 0:38 seconds.

If you're interested: http://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/what-data-compression-does-your-music

The conclusion from the link:

"At 320kbps, AAC is clearly the winner, but the sound will be different from the raw PCM format — things will just not quite sound the same, and the stereo image will probably not be as clear, defined or wide as it should be."

Fortunately for me, the experience I have is different. My music collection must be equally divided by now between ALAC CD rips and 256kbps iTunes purchases. In playlists that include both kinds of files, I haven't noticed these stated to be obvious differences, even in earlier supposedly more resolving systems bearing the audiophile tag. What I do notice is that when volume drops on some files, differences of this kind do become obvious even on a play 1 pair - but this is nothing that a boost in the volume control does not fix, inconvenient though that is, and a different issue.

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