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Hi, I haven't seen this question answered. I have a large room, 20x25, with a high ceiling. I am wondering if I should go with a stereo pair of play 1s and a stereo pair of play 3s, or a stereo pair of play 1s and a subwoofer.



I am using air miles to get them and Play 5s are not an option, nor is a pair of 3s and a subwoofer (beyond my miles).



I know the play 1s with a subwoofer will be better for bass, but I'm concerned that they won't be enough to fill the space. I'm thinking the two pairs of 1s and 3s will better fill the space. Is this correct?
Unless you place speakers high up near the ceilings, they won't have to fill that part of the space.



What matters is where you will do most of the your listening; if that is in a small part of the room that can conveniently be located around one point of an equal sided triangle with each of the two speakers working as a stereo pair being the other two points, I suggest a 1 pair + Sub for best results. With Sub placed somewhere between the two speakers, as close to the centre as possible.



If you need music to be heard evenly all over the space, 4 play 1 units placed close to the four corners would do the job better.



In both cases, the speakers need to placed at the height of your ears in the usual sitting position - approximately is good enough here.



In all cases, run Trueplay after speaker placement to optimise sound quality
Thank you for the great response Kumar! Yes, I want to heard all over the space. Is there any reason why you suggest all four to be play 1s? Could Play 3s help bring in more bass (in the living room part) and then use play 1s in the kitchen part?
You could do that as well without going wrong; it just that most believe that there is little to be gained by using a 3 over a 1; noticeable audible differences need a move to a 5 unit.



But there are fans of the 3 units as well, it must be said.
I tend to agree with Kumar, my perception is that the extra bass that you get with the PLAY:3s is not equal to the price difference. But I think both Kumar and I would suggest that you listen to them both and make your own decision. Our ears are not your ears. And frankly, depending on who you're purchasing from, there's often a return policy, so you could potentially get a pair of each and listen to them both. I just wouldn't keep a pair of both in the same space, though. Stick with 4 of the same kind.
Having a combination of different Sonos kit in an open space that works very well together when needed, I would not worry too much about combining 3 and 1 pairs; on the other hand if you are able to get them on a returnable basis as suggested which is always a good idea, you could check this aspect for yourself as well.
Unfortunately as I'm buying from points I can't return, so I'm trying to do as much research as possible.



Is it difficult to group two stereo pairs (4 speakers)?



My only reservation is that the play 1 and 3 can't link to my laptop when I watch a movie (I don't own a tv). Unfortunately I can't get the play 5 with points. But I am drawn by the reviews that suggest the sonos speakers have truer/cleaner bass than Bose.
]Unfortunately as I'm buying from points I can't return after I purchase, so I'm trying to do as much research as possible.



Is it difficult to group two stereo pairs (4 speakers)? Will trueplay work with 2 stereo pairs in the same room?



Thanks for your help. 🙂
You would do the Trueplay one pair at a time. As you will have intuited, that is not the best way to do it if you will play them grouped, but if you don't like the outcome it is easy to toggle it off.



Grouping two pairs is easily done though.



As to speakers for the laptop, I suggest you look for separate speakers for this application; such speakers are available starting from very basic ones from about USD 15, to better ones for about USD 75. Logitech for one has models across these price points.
I tend to agree with Kumar, my perception is that the extra bass that you get with the PLAY:3s is not equal to the price difference. But I think both Kumar and I would suggest that you listen to them both and make your own decision. Our ears are not your ears. ... Stick with 4 of the same kind.

I agree with everything here too.



I'd strongly encourage you to try and find a local retailer where you can hear the speakers. It was immensely helpful for me. It's really hard to relay something like bass performance in text.
Thank you for all of your feedback! I will try to see if there is somewhere I can hear the speakers, but recognize that local box stores may not let me pair 4 speakers, or 2 speakers and a sub... 🙂 But to even hear each of them individually sounds like the next order of business. After reading a lot of posts on this and other forums in this community, and a great many of them excellent posts by Kumar, I have to say I am especially intrigued to hear the Play 1 stereo pair with a sub.
That's true. In the US, the Best Buy stores I have been in typically have a single speaker setup for the Play 1, Play 5, and the Playbar (or base) with/without sub.
I assume that the display in the Best Buy stores is actually designed by Sonos, given specific constraints by Best Buy (you can have 2 shelves of this width), but I'll certainly agree it isn't ideal. As I recall, Sonos opened some retail space of their own, maybe in NYC(?), which I wouldn't mind visiting at some point. But at the end of the day, as many folks here suggest, taking advantage of the "purchase and listen in your home, and send back as necessary (unlikely!)" is a good strategy.
But at the end of the day, as many folks here suggest, taking advantage of the "purchase and listen in your home, and send back as necessary (unlikely!)" is a good strategy.

Even if the displays were better, the quoted is still a good strategy, because room acoustics unique to rooms/homes have a large part to play in how a system sounds. I know someone whose system was transformed - in his words - into a HiFi system, when it was moved to a different room in his home.

Listening in the store then should only serve to short list what to test at home. And Trueplay can only be valid when run in the exact place the system is to be used.



This gets important as the investment become significant, which it is for a 1 pair + Sub. I have no hesitation in recommending it as an audiophile class set up, but this is a subjective assessment best tested at a would be buyer's home by the would be buyer's ears.
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