To sub or not to sub that is the question

I'd say yes, you would. I am not a child of the nineties, and use mine mostly for TV/Movie watching, but it does just fine at low volumes. Go to a local vendor and do some testing on your own.

You will find it works fine at low volume. Weirdly my bay window seems to accentuate the bass in a small area so experiment with positioning will pay dividends. I play lots of 90s stuff, Leftfield, Prodigy, SL2 etc.and my system came into its own when the sub was added. Windows can start to rattle when i get carried away with some Hardstyle on the treadmill though. Can't get my head around jump-up DnB like my kids listen to. 😉

Child of the 90's - reporting in...

Personal recommendation: Get the SUB. The support on the low end is great (regardless of the level) and adds depth to the stereo pair of Sonos Ones. When you have better sounding audio, you don't have to turn it up nearly as loud. 🆒

Damn kids! Get off my lawn!

:)

OK, really showing my age. What's DnB? In my mind, it's always been Dave and Buster's.

Dub without a proper sub is heresy, I say. Heresy.

I agree with the low levels recommendation; the Sub does as much there to add richness to the sound as it does at higher sound levels. Although, dub at low levels sounds like a contradiction in terms!

Airgetlam wrote:

Damn kids! Get off my lawn!

:)

OK, really showing my age. What's DnB? In my mind, it's always been Dave and Buster's.

Drum & Bass although the "jump-up" flavour seems like nothing more than musical nursery rhymes to me. If/when you hear it you'll see why "Nelly The Elephant" (not the Toy Dolls version) springs to mind. Handy to remember at our age for CPR though - especially when a bit of Felix comes on...;)

However embarrassing my music is to my kids (a penchant for Scooter and I don't care), our shared love of bass is a constant so the SUB has been worthwhile. You can adjust the bass relative to the other speakers if you didn't already know, and paired with a Playbase (or Playbar?) there's a convenient "night" mode to avoid upsetting neighbours. I use a Playbase and 2x Sonos Ones with full emphasis (not ambient) when playing music and the sound is far more "clubby" with the SUB than my expensive speakers driven by a Connect Amp. But I'm a quantity over quality listener with no need for high quality sources.

I'd like to say that my SUB was an investment, but Sonos is just about to trash my investment in working controllers which cost the same as 4 new SUBS! Not nice. 😞

Sorry, but had to google Dave & Buster's and realised I've answered thinking you were the OP.

To translate my sound preferences, just think EDM, Chicago House etc. Stuff like "Blue Monday" (New Order) and "Love Can't Turn Around" (FJF/Darryl Pandy) seem to stimulate the need for a deep bass "fix" for me.

Get one. I bought one to go with my two Play 1's on the basis that it would go back within the 100 days. Now i'm a rock fan but like most all music genres to some extent and electric music was my youth.

One track in, well 1 minute into that first track and i was sold. It made a huge difference to the overall sound, at every volume. Extra depth and warmth and as the deep bass is tuned out of the play 1's when the sub is added they can go louder with very little distortion.

My advice is try it, you can always send it back in the unlikely event it dissapoints.

Thanks everyone, I thought as much and to be fair my mind was already made up! I listen to some dnb but it leans toward the Ragga jungle end and that certainly has a lot of dirty 30hz present and doesn’t translate well with just the sonos ones. Now I just need to save the money. Unless someone wants to buy a used and poorly looked after kidney, one careless owner? 🙂.
Just one last thing. I spent most of the late nineties and noughties setting up and taking down sound systems for parties we used to put on and always remember everyone wishing we could do away with the annoying cables and the inevitable mess they would end up in if you didn’t spend hours wrapping them up properly! Now, although much smaller, sonos has answered my prayers! For my house at least 🙂 the sound quality is good but what does it for me is the ease of use and convienence of streaming music so no need for anymore clunky cables or skipping cds or scratched vinyl or dodgy styluses! I love the future 🙂

bockersjv wrote:

My advice is try it, you can always send it back in the unlikely event it dissapoints.

Is this the case when buying from an independent vendor or do I need to buy direct from sonos?

lettis121 wrote:

Is this the case when buying from an independent vendor or do I need to buy direct from sonos?

Give Sevenoaks or Richer Sounds in Bristol a call and see if they'll let you try a SUB. Both are official Sonos dealers, and if you keep it, you'll also get their six-year warranty. I agree that a SUB would be a very pleasing addition to a pair of ONEs.

Booyaka Booyaka. Enjoy your "dirty stinking bass" Lettis. 🆒

I'm a Prodigy/ NWA and 90's Rave man myself, sounded good on the Playbar and Play1's but in a different league entirely when I added the sub!.

We have it on low most of the time unfortunately but even then it does add presence and fullness. Might drag the lot down to the shed one day and try it all flat out 🙂.

This is a cracking album, well worth buying if you can find it..

Keithmac wrote:

This is a cracking album, well worth buying if you can find it..

Oh yes! All the Clubbers Guide are great! Waiting for my Sub to arrive tomorrow and searches for Sub or bot for moral support for the express but i think my mind is lade up. Shopped w Sonos directly to use the 100 day trial but think this thread made me keep it even before it arrived. Listen mostly to edm and watch movies. Soundbar with Ones as surrounds already sound great but tried Sub in a store and had to order ?

Dang! Got my Sub today! What a difference! Incredible! Doors shaking windows rattling until I turned the eq down ?. Have to trueplay time the room but still sounds MUCH richer and louder with Sub. If you’re on the fence, don’t be. Get it!

Got me a Sonos Sub today to match the Beam ... wonderfull addition. I havn't Trueplayed the room yet, no suitable IOS devioce but will borrow mates when he comes over. Currently listening to Ray Charles Rainy Night in Georgia , the Bass sounds supurb, up next Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street.

Thanks Guys for good product , and simple setup even an old guy like me can work it out :)

cheers.