Hello everybody!
I'm thinking of joining the Sonos club thus I intend to buy a Playbar, Sub and 2 x Play:1s. Before I take the plunge I would really love to hear your opinions.
First of all I have never listened to a Sonos system nor do I have the possibility of doing so. My only source of information so far were online reviews, which brought me here.
I would really like to know how does the bass performance feels while using the system at low to mid volume. At present I'm using a 'decent' soundbar+sub combo and while the sound clarity is OK, it lacks the rumble/grunt that makes you feel alive. Please keep in mind the volume levels mentioned earlier as I live in a flat and don't want my upstairs neighbours visiting with pitchforks in hands 🙂.
Thank you for sharing your experience and please, by all means, tell me what convinced you to buy Sonos gear.
Joining the Sonos club
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Based on your use of the word "flat", somewhat less common in the US, I'm assuming you live in the UK. Are there no places there that have demonstration units? Here in the US, a rather common store called Best Buy usually has a setup where you can at least listen to them. Nothing better than hearing before buying, but if, as you say, you're not able to, Sonos has a pretty generous return policy, so you can purchase, install and listen, and if you don't like, you can return them.
OK, the sales part aside, I had a PLAYBAR for about 18 months (I think, hard to remember now) before purchasing a SUB. I was incredibly pleased with the bass out of it, it seemed to handle all of the TV/Movie/Music thrown at it without an issue. And generally speaking, I rarely go above 30% volume. However, when I added the SUB, it changed from great to sublime, especially during movie watching. Again, I'm not one who cranks it up, but Sonos handles all of the low to mid volume stuff incredibly well.
Interestingly, I'd already been involved with Sonos with music only, using a PLAY:5 and a stereo pair of PLAY:3s, but I was getting tired of running speaker cables around the house for surround speakers, as I was renting at the time, and didn't have access/permission for cutting in to the walls. But getting rid of the stack of stereo devices, moving to a NAS and Sonos cleaned up my living room to my intense satisfaction.
Go ahead and purchase. I predict that (as Sonos does, otherwise why offer it) you won't be returning it.
OK, the sales part aside, I had a PLAYBAR for about 18 months (I think, hard to remember now) before purchasing a SUB. I was incredibly pleased with the bass out of it, it seemed to handle all of the TV/Movie/Music thrown at it without an issue. And generally speaking, I rarely go above 30% volume. However, when I added the SUB, it changed from great to sublime, especially during movie watching. Again, I'm not one who cranks it up, but Sonos handles all of the low to mid volume stuff incredibly well.
Interestingly, I'd already been involved with Sonos with music only, using a PLAY:5 and a stereo pair of PLAY:3s, but I was getting tired of running speaker cables around the house for surround speakers, as I was renting at the time, and didn't have access/permission for cutting in to the walls. But getting rid of the stack of stereo devices, moving to a NAS and Sonos cleaned up my living room to my intense satisfaction.
Go ahead and purchase. I predict that (as Sonos does, otherwise why offer it) you won't be returning it.
My favorite part of sonos is that it's a very simple to setup and use multi room audio system. The sound quality is just fine, but the best part is the synchronized audio and ability to select rooms. I do enjoy nice audio and probably have more than my fair share of equipment. The sonos devices can integrate into existing systems and also offer good standalone systems. I have a vintage mcintosh system in our main level and the sonos connect is a great pairing. We have a couple of play 1s to bring music to other rooms so you don't have to miss the music or talk radio and am considering other little spots in the house. The integration into Alexa and also current integration into smart home apps like smart things and harmony hub is also nice.
I've just bought the same setup Alex and it really is excellent!. The only issue I had was my TV wouldn't natively pass through 5.1 audio from the HDMI ports to it's optical out. I solved this with a pair of EDID HDMI addons (£20 each).
Plenty of bass even at low volume, it has a night mode as well so you don't annoy the neighbours late on..
Plenty of bass even at low volume, it has a night mode as well so you don't annoy the neighbours late on..
Hello to everyone!
Thank you Airgetlam for your words of wisdom. Actually I live in Romania and there are no Best Buys here, as far as I know, but there are some audio stores that demo the Sonos system, just not one in the town I live in. My work schedule keeps me grounded so that is why I can't go and listen to one live. As far as return policy goes, I have 30 days to change my mind and return the product if I don't find it suitable, I hope I don't have to.
As you said Reli Rothko, the possibility of covering those little spots in the house sounds enticing, although this will probably be in the distant future.
Keithmac your last remark about the bass sealed the deal for me.
Thank you all very much for your input, I sincerely appreciate it that you took the time to offer me your thoughts! I just ordered the system and it will probably arrive on Monday, with a bit luck even Saturday.
I'm feeling just like a kid before Christmas, you won't believe how excited I am. To tell the truth, I've never owned such an expensive set of audio gear and my expectations are high.
I will return with feedback after testing.
A good day to you all!
Thank you Airgetlam for your words of wisdom. Actually I live in Romania and there are no Best Buys here, as far as I know, but there are some audio stores that demo the Sonos system, just not one in the town I live in. My work schedule keeps me grounded so that is why I can't go and listen to one live. As far as return policy goes, I have 30 days to change my mind and return the product if I don't find it suitable, I hope I don't have to.
As you said Reli Rothko, the possibility of covering those little spots in the house sounds enticing, although this will probably be in the distant future.
Keithmac your last remark about the bass sealed the deal for me.
Thank you all very much for your input, I sincerely appreciate it that you took the time to offer me your thoughts! I just ordered the system and it will probably arrive on Monday, with a bit luck even Saturday.
I'm feeling just like a kid before Christmas, you won't believe how excited I am. To tell the truth, I've never owned such an expensive set of audio gear and my expectations are high.
I will return with feedback after testing.
A good day to you all!
I'm just listening to some cd's I've ripped to my NAS drive on my Playbar/ Sub/ Play1's, it's excellent!. They've been in the loft for years, now it's just a few taps on my phone 🙂.
There's a Full Music Mode for the Play 1's when grouped in a Surround setup, make sure you turn that on 😉.
There's a Full Music Mode for the Play 1's when grouped in a Surround setup, make sure you turn that on 😉.
Hello everyone!
It's been almost a week since the system arrived and so far it's been great. I had a friend over to help me set the system up (had to move some furniture arround the living room first) and after everything was set into place, we opened a couple of beers and sat down to enjoy some music.
Let me tell you, we both had big smiles on our faces after the first song. Wow! This thing can really push some bass. The sound is clear and vibrant and the bass can go loud, like really shake the room, although it doesn't have that room pressurizing feel as other more conventional subs. It does give me goosebumps though so that is a big win in my book.
Did I mention that I din't pass the ~55% volume mark? I dare not to.
I'm really impressed by Sonos when it comes to music, the pure quality of the sound is just gorgeous. On the other hand, I feel movies don't sound as great as they could have. The dialogue volume often sounds a bit too low to my ears, especially when using 5.1 tracks. I'll keep testing with the settings untill I find what suits me best.
Overall it's an excellent product, not perfect, but pretty damn near.
Now time for some music...
It's been almost a week since the system arrived and so far it's been great. I had a friend over to help me set the system up (had to move some furniture arround the living room first) and after everything was set into place, we opened a couple of beers and sat down to enjoy some music.
Let me tell you, we both had big smiles on our faces after the first song. Wow! This thing can really push some bass. The sound is clear and vibrant and the bass can go loud, like really shake the room, although it doesn't have that room pressurizing feel as other more conventional subs. It does give me goosebumps though so that is a big win in my book.
Did I mention that I din't pass the ~55% volume mark? I dare not to.
I'm really impressed by Sonos when it comes to music, the pure quality of the sound is just gorgeous. On the other hand, I feel movies don't sound as great as they could have. The dialogue volume often sounds a bit too low to my ears, especially when using 5.1 tracks. I'll keep testing with the settings untill I find what suits me best.
Overall it's an excellent product, not perfect, but pretty damn near.
Now time for some music...
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