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Question

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

122 replies
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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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K

Kumar

And though the post above may come across as a fanboy one, I always remain interested in sound quality value for money, that ought to always be getting better with tech progress, since I don't really see much forward progress by anyone on the sound quality front in absolute terms in more than a decade of tech progress. If you can't make it better, at least make it cheaper!

Any solution that beats Sonos will always be of interest, therefore, though I haven't found any till now. I though that the Chromecast Audio looked promising till I used it - too clunky/fiddly to use daily, though the delivered sound quality is just as good as any other once it starts streaming.

On sheer convenience and ease of use anywhere that one goes as well as on the value for money front, I have found a bluetooth speaker like the JBL flip 3 to be very good too, but that does involve making of sound quality compromises at this time. Perhaps in a couple of years those will disappear and make for a compelling alternative.

T

The LHC

Play:5 with Trueplay - that should be a hi-fi beater especially if you had a pair of Play:5s in stereo like a true hifi.

A single play:5 is never going to compete with a decent mid-fi setup. Two in stereo along with a subwoofer - maybe, but it's not a cost effective solution.

Not cost effective? Two play:5s is less than a grand, try finding any half decent hi-fi system for that, once you've got the speakers, amp and however many sources you intend to use.

K

Kumar

This is just accumulated prejudice at work; if Sonos were to look like traditional hifi kit, wrapped in wood veneer, it would sound better to some. I doubt that the market for that is large enough for it to be worthwhile for Sonos to take the trouble though. The only losers are those that don't get to benefit from all the other Sonos features and conveniences in their hankering for "HiFi".

A

amun

And though the post above may come across as a fanboy one....

You think?

I think that most people here would agree that Sonos kit is very good for the money... I certainly don't regret buying mine, and don't know of anything better at the price point..

The problem comes when people make exaggerated claims for it's performance. The classic was when the main guy in Sonos claimed that Sonos kit would out-perform anything up to $40k - a ridiculous statement, and damages the credibility of anything else that they say.

It seems to me that many Sonos users choose the convenience, usability, domestic friendliness and flexiibilty over ultimate sound quality - and there's nothing wrong with that - sometimes 'good enough' really is the best compromise 🙂

K

Kumar

The problem comes when people make exaggerated claims for it's performance. The classic was when the main guy in Sonos claimed that Sonos kit would out-perform anything up to $40k - a ridiculous statement, and damages the credibility of anything else that they say.

I am not sure about the context of that statement, but to say that the right Sonos kit will outperform some that cost $40k isn't a stretch - which is perhaps what ought to have been said. In the world of audio, price isn't a good indicator of sound quality.

And of course, with Connect, it is quite accurate to say that it will not degrade the performance of any system which has it for a front end, regardless of what that system costs.

I would love to see a level matched blind test of a 5 pair + Sub in a usual sized domestic room, with any of the said expensive kit, and see how many users mark down the latter as the sound they prefer. I haven't seen such a test anywhere, and I doubt it will ever happen.

chicks

Surely you realize that $40k systems are mostly hype. You're paying for furniture grade cabinetry, thick metal faceplates, overpriced cables and the hyper exaggerated reputation of some audio "designer".

There's nothing that can justify paying exorbitantly for an amplifier, as a property designed one will sound exactly like the next. Having one amplifier per driver, as Sonos does, eliminates issued with crossovers, and lets each amplifier be optimized for a specific range of frequencies. Ideal, and well beyond the abilities of boutique audio "designers".

Expensive cables are, of course, utter nonsense, and eliminated altogether in Sonos' multi amp wireless speakers.

I don't think you can get better sound from anything pricier than the Linkwitz LX521s, at about $5K per pair, plus some relatively inexpensive ATI amplifiers to drive them. They are larger than most people will want to have in the living room; a pair of Play:5s will sound almost as good, and are far more wife-friendly.

K

Kumar

I don't think you can get better sound from anything pricier than the Linkwitz LX521s, at about $5K per pair, plus some relatively inexpensive ATI amplifiers to drive them. They are larger than most people will want to have in the living room; a pair of Play:5s will sound almost as good, and are far more wife-friendly.

Never heard these, but I am sure that in a sighted test, most wives will say the 5 pair sounds just as good because they will, perhaps subconsciously, take looks and convenience into account into their subjective assessment.

A possible candidate for the blind test I spoke about perhaps?!

J

John B

@Amun - does your Sonos listening experience include a stereo pair of gen 2 Play:5s plus Sub, Trueplay-tuned?

If so, and you still think Sonos is only a "good-enough compromise", then fair enough. Our views are different but I respect your opinion. If it doesn't, then you are not in possession of the necessary information to judge.

chicks

Linkwitz is an engineer's engineer, as was Peter J Walker. No hype, just years of research into speaker design. He's the exact opposite of the boutique audio "designer".

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_Linkwitz

http://www.linkwitzlab.com/LX521/Description.htm

K

Kumar

Surely you realize that $40k systems are mostly hype. You're paying for furniture grade cabinetry, thick metal faceplates, overpriced cables and the hyper exaggerated reputation of some audio "designer".

You are also paying for the costs of small scale in everything - from component sourcing to manufacturing costs. And small volumes over which marketing costs have to be amortised. Even a higher profit per unit is needed to obtain an economically viable profit volume.

In addition, you are paying for the propensity of audiophile buyers to think that high price = high end = higher fi + more bragging rights. In that world, pricing logic isn't what it usually is. More people may buy a system with a price of USD 40K than would buy the same if priced at USD 20K. Not rational, but that is how these market niches operate, with a logic unique to them.

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