I have a couple of new Sonos One speakers, and love the sound. The bass is great but not overwhelming even at low volumes. At near peak volume though, the bass gets lost a bit, and the sound overall isn’t very well balanced for my taste. I decided to step up to a play 3 hoping that the bass would be at least equivalent at low volumes, and more consistent through peak volume. Even comparing a single Sonos One speaker to a single play 3, I was very disappointed with the bass performance of the play 3. To my ears, it doesn’t get nearly as deep as the Sonos One, and I can hardly hear the bass at all (other than “punchy” bass) until l push the play 3 past 50% volume. I do think the play 3 sounds “better” overall at high volumes especially, but I love my bass, and can’t seem to get enough of it from the play 3 at any volume or eq setting. Has anyone else had a similar issue, or did I maybe get a lemon play 3?
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Hi,skywaytj. Welcome to the community. Your ears do not deceive you, the PLAY:1 is bassier. It sounds to me like you want a SUB... Have you considered one?
That's pretty far out of my price range at the moment. I had heard that the sub was great though. But it's nice to know I'm not the only one who has noticed the play 3 is a bit lacking in bass. I did some more comparing yesterday, and the bass on the One's is great at about 1/3 volume, then loses emphasis and quality at higher volumes. The 3 does do decent on bass at very high volumes though.
It's simple physics really. Such a small speaker simply lacks the appropriate membrane size and volume (pun intended) for it to compete with a dedicated floorspeaker or subwoofer at high volume levels. Give the Play:5 a try (at least at a hifi shop) or, as already reccommended, add a SUB.
If you are sourcing your music from the net/streaming services, a non Sonos solution that can work better for lower:
Get a used 2 channel amp and quality passive speakers; if you are lucky/watchful, you can score the lot for less than USD 400. Supply them music with a Chromecast Audio device that costs USD 35. Job done, for about USD 400.
Get a used 2 channel amp and quality passive speakers; if you are lucky/watchful, you can score the lot for less than USD 400. Supply them music with a Chromecast Audio device that costs USD 35. Job done, for about USD 400.
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