Skip to main content
Question

Stereo pair of Play:5s: one louder than the other?

  • May 16, 2026
  • 5 replies
  • 30 views

controlav
Forum|alt.badge.img+24

Two Gen 1s, for some reason the white one (L) is a lot quieter than the black one (R). No, its not the Balance control. Both are identical hardware revisions. Problem on all types of audio. My third Play:5, which I could use to figure out which one is “wrong”, is 2000 miles away.

5 replies

Stanley_4
  • Grand Maestro
  • May 16, 2026

Have you tried listening to each individual driver to see if all are working? Check both horizontal and vertical orientations. 

A paper towel center roll can help with that.


Mr. T
  • May 16, 2026

Unbond and recreate the stereo pair?


buzz
  • May 16, 2026

I would reboot the speaker at some point. Play some audio test tracks.


Forum|alt.badge.img+19
  • Senior Virtuoso
  • May 16, 2026

Try unpairing them and set them up as a group. Do they play at the same volume in that configuration? Re-pair them but switch so the previously left speaker is now the right. Does the same one play louder, or has it switched? 


Airgetlam

Could be the English ‘power’.

I’m teasing you ;) You shouldn’t be visiting the old country ;)

My true suspicion is along many of the suggested options of previous posters, i.e. a problem with the electronics on one of the two devices. Which would likely be more clear by the tests previously suggested, or a call to Sonos Support to discuss it.
 

Which, for power users like you is likely an anathema, and annoying as we don’t have access to the data in a diagnostic…although I’m not 100% certain that all electronics failures show up there. My supposition is, given the age of the devices is a potential issue with an amplifier, but given it is still working a bit, it may not show up. Probably not associated with the color ;)