One play 5 plus Sub vs two plays

I bought a Playbase about a year ago. Couple months later got 2 Play:1s for surround. Just this month I bought a Play:3. So I'm not hardcore, yet! 😉

Placement is not critical for movies, where the low bass effects cannot be located by ear, so it does not matter much where they come from. But for music to integrate well across the Sub and the play units, I have found that the Sub needs to be in the same plane as the speakers, and not to one side of either speaker, but somewhere between the two.

Which isn't to say that a convenient placement won't work, but I would definitely not commit to that, or a Sub investment without trying it out.

I know that Sonos claims that Trueplay is a magic bullet that allows speakers to be placed anywhere, but I think there is a lot of marketing speak in that. Nothing beats getting placement as right as possible, so that Trueplay is tasked with just the final tweaking of sound for best results.

As to the bass from the 5 units, I suspect that the speakers don't do this as well as they ought to, at low volume levels. Something that the Sub does very well. The other thing that the Sub does well is when very loud sound levels are needed. The 5 units seem to do well in a range - from perhaps 40% to 80% of the volume sliders, and outside this range, need a Sub for best results.

Absolutely agree Kumar, I found the sub with my Play5:Stereo really makes a difference at the lower volumes. Unfortunately I have the sub underneath the left speaker as its not possible to play in the middle of the two or anywhere else.

I've bought 1200$ of Sonos kit in a month and. Now seriously thinking of bumping that to 2000$ with a sub
My question is , how much does an average Sonos listener here spend on Sonos?:D
If you have bought them in white, another thing they share with rabbits is how they multiply in the home!
I have a 5 zone system that was built up from 2011 to 2014, but I have been content with all I have since then. There is a lot to be said for allowing music listening to shift to front and centre.
In your case, you may want to press "Hold" and make sure that the system so far works glitch free for a few months and then decide on expansion. Sonos does need some handholding at times, something that all WiFi systems do, so perhaps you can get familiar with that, play music often from various sources, and see how things go before opening the wallet.

Unfortunately I have the sub underneath the left speaker as its not possible to play in the middle of the two or anywhere else.
That should still work. I would hesitate to place it to the left of the left speaker though.

Wow, that's a lot of replies!

By average, I meant, what's the average spend by a Sonos user within a year? I thought I was overdoing this, but I guess I'm not spending that much after reading these replies.

Flare, you're not intruding at all, your comments only aid the thread and thank you for them.

So, to summarize:

Most agree that stereo placement of either two play 5s or play ones is worth the cost

Some say the sub is a worthy addition to anything, though most agree it has most value with play 1 s

Not many seem to get the play 3...

I was reading another interesting thread about Sonos boost as I noticed that my phone can't control the speakers in the kitchen.. I was reading about boost and then discovered, just plugging in a relatively cheap play 1 into the router is basically the same as getting a Sonos boost and creating a dedicated Sonos mesh network, so, that's what I'll try next

I'll place two Ones in the bedroom for stereo, shift my bedroom play one to the study for Sonos boost and music there

I'll end with another play 5 for the living room for stereo and added bass.. I think I'll avoid the Sub for now.

What do you think, Kumar?

If you are not able to place the Sub as it deserves to be placed for music, the 5 pair route is better, particularly since you like how the single 5 sounds.

The 3 is a bit of a halfway house - between the 1 and the 5 all needs are met for most people.

Wiring a Sonos unit to the router will give you Sonosnet and almost certainly a more stable music play experience, but it may not solve your phone issue - it will still talk back to the router for all its WiFi functions. If an iPhone, you may need a WiFi extender in the kitchen. If an Android, you can set it up to directly talk to Sonos units and solve the kitchen problem.

Thanks Kumar,

I think that's settled, two play 5s in stereo would be better than moving in two ones and adding a sub... And cheaper

Is there are huge difference between a stereo paired 5 and a single 5, or is there just more sound and more bass? Do you really hear a difference when they're used in a pair?

The 5 will give you a stereo image that sounds like a live gig on a stage, but only if you are sitting close to it. Stereo is an illusion created in the brain when the left and right channels and you are the corners of a triangle with equal sides; with a single 5, since the distance between left and right speakers is limited, so is the listening distance that will yield this illusion. With 2 speakers, they can be placed as far apart from each other as you are from each, so the stereo image illusion can be heard from much further away. With good stereo recordings, the difference between one speaker and two is night and day.

But you can check this for yourself with the one units you have - except that a single one will never be stereo, always summed mono. Even so, you will get a fair idea of how stereo sounds much better.

Is there are huge difference between a stereo paired 5 and a single 5, or is there just more sound and more bass? Do you really hear a difference when they're used in a pair?
I think this goes for any brand really. Stereo sound isn't just more sound, it's adding another dimension when listening to music produced in stereo, which is pretty much all music since the 70s, I think. Having the stereo setup will let you hear what the artist intended for you to hear.

Thanks Kumar and Tom
I know what stereo is, I have older sets, it's just that the Play 5 has six drivers... They're supposed to simulate stereo
So, would getting another 5 make a huge difference to just one play 5, with the six drivers that are used as stereo by the software?
Kumar's answer indicates that listening position would be enhanced further back with with a 9 feet separation, right?

I just checked, Kumar, I discern more stereo effect with my single 5 when I sit ten feet from it than when I'm just in front of it. I imagine sounds 5 feet on each side with a central thumping bass at ten feet, close to the speaker I don't get this effect.. this is contrary to what I expected after reading your comments.