Large space question.

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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?

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K

KumarAnswer

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

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S

Skelton

Prodigy I

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.

Airgetlam

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.

Bruce

K

Kumar

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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