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peterb47
Contributor I
April 1, 2016
Question

Newbie - Two Play:1 Vs. one Play:5

Hi all - about to start investing in Sonos. I was wondering if people had strong opinions regarding starting with two Play:1 in stereo vs. starting with a Play: 5.1. This is for my living room -- 12x20 room. Thanks for your help.
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    HaikoK
    Lyricist II
    April 8, 2016
    Thanks all, good suggestion that I should start thinking whether it is 4 background tunes or active listening. Personally I am totally not a fan of the play 3. It in my perspective gives too little improvement compared to the Play 1. Not the cheapest nor the best, so neither fish nor fowl.
    HaikoK
    Lyricist II
    June 15, 2016
    Hi all, a little update which could help others: I have tried two Play 1's and two Play 5's at the same time and compared them. The difference is really huge and I have treated myself with the Play 5's:) If you listen to the play 1's by themselves the sound is ok. But if you compare it with the Play 5's the 5's give far more depth to the music. As soon as I changed the music to the play 5's I started to smile;)
      Chirosono
      Enthusiast II
      June 16, 2016
      I have two pairs of second gen play:5s and I couldn't agree more. But for more than twice the price of a play:1 pair I would hope they would sound much better 😛
        Mr.Sizzle
        Mr.Sizzle
        Lyricist III
        January 1, 2018
        Play:5 is probably overkill as well as two play 1s.
        Not sure I would agree on this - 7x4m (21 x 12ft) is still a pretty big room, at least it is here in the UK! I've seen far smaller "listening rooms", and much bigger systems in smaller rooms.

        HaikoK, if you just want to have radio or music in the room, as a background./incidental thing, then a single Play:1 or Play:3 might suffice. But if you want to listen to music as a primary activity, I think the same advice as given to peterb47 would apply.

        I agree with Chris that the Play:5 is a great entry point because of the flexibility the line-in gives you, eg to add Airplay, bluetooth or a Chromecast Audio etc. The trade-off is the more limited stereo imaging you will get compared to a pair of Play:1s.

        If you can buy direct from Sonos in your country, then why not try both options? Their 100-day trial means it's zero-risk (apart from the risk of deciding to keep both...)
        The only truth is music - Jack Kerouac
        Mr.Sizzle
        Mr.Sizzle
        Lyricist III
        January 1, 2018
        "because of the flexibility, the line-in gives you, eg to add Airplay, Bluetooth or a Chromecast Audio etc."

        Where and when has AirPlay been added? I was under the impression it is coming in 2018...perhaps even this month.
        The only truth is music - Jack Kerouac
        Chris
        Chris
        Lead Maestro
        January 1, 2018
        You have always been able plug an airplay express into input to get airplay. Airplay2 native in speaker is coming 2018.
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