Two Sonos Five’s Vs. Sonos Amp and bookshelf speakers?


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Will I get better audio quality with two Five’s (no Sonos sub) or with a Sonos Amp and say the Q Acoustics 3020i speakers ($314 for a pair) + regular subwoofer? 

 

Both scenarios would have a turntable connected and I intend to stream to other Sonos devices in my house. 


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Because preferences for how speakers sound are very subjective, the answer would need you to listen to both alternatives at home, with music of your choice. And because subwoofers are not always integrated well enough to deliver good music reproduction with speakers of another make, I would go with better sounding passive speakers from the money saved from buying a sub.

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Because preferences for how speakers sound are very subjective, the answer would need you to listen to both alternatives at home, with music of your choice. And because subwoofers are not always integrated well enough to deliver good music reproduction with speakers of another make, I would go with better sounding passive speakers from the money saved from buying a sub.

 

I am not sure I fully under your response about speakers from another make. Just to clarify, I would be using the Sonos Amp with Q Acoustic speakers and a wired Sub, not a Sonos Sub.

I meant where speakers and sub are from different makes - getting the necessary integration for music is a challenge that increases where the sub and the main speakers - Q acoustics or any other - are from different companies.

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Well that’s actually a tough one... I love Q Acoustic speakers and would normally suggest this route, however...


The Sonos 5 is a very good speaker and can produce a good amount of bass and can fill a large room with sound, paired is heavenly and you have the added ability (if you have an iOS device) to use Truplay and have a much neater solution.

 

Personally if I was going to connect a TV at some point then I would go with the Amp, if just the Turntable then the pair of Sonos 5’s.

 

You really need to find a dealer who does home trials, or buy direct from Sonos so you can send back if not happy.
 

Dont forget you either need a turntable with an inbuilt preamplifier or a separate one

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The Amp is really suitable for TV also. I have the Amp with 2 Monitor Audio Radius speakers, the Sub and 2 Play 1's as TV surrounds. The virtual center speaker is wonderful for me. And without the Play1's I use the same setup for hifi audio, great double use! 

 The virtual center speaker is wonderful for me.

Ditto, with one caveat: one has to give up separate control over volume levels for the dialogues, which can get hard to hear without the effects going too loud for movies with such. I often revert to subtitles even for movies where I know the language being spoken.

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I guess this off course depends on your room where you use the setup. Eg can you sit in the exact center of both speakers and tv. For me the setting 'enhance speech' in the app (sorry, don't know if this is the right label in English) is enough. For me the sound is great and beter than my old Playbar. The sound stage with the 2 seperate front speakers is much nicer. 

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I have the Sonos Amp with Revel M16 speakers and another with B&W 606 25th ann speakers which just came out.  I’m also using a B&W 8 inch sub with the Amp.  Both sound really great for music and everything else but the two fives are a much neater solution and can be Trueplayed.  If you aren’t concerned about connecting to a TV definetly do the Five’s.  I do use the Amp with my TV but I’m music first.

Also watch Peter’s video on the Fives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZxF3pkD2Js

Personally I find the 3rd Gen 5’s better than 2nd Gen.  There is a little more detail and everything starts and stops faster and is more reliable.  I doubt you will need a sub but it’s always an option.

Wow Socalistic, your post hit the nail on the head re the info/insights im looking for. 

I’m torn between 2 Sonos 5s vs a getting a pair of the B&W 606’s +sub just as you mentioned. Based on pure sound quality alone, which would you say wins? And is it a landslide win or closer to a tossup in your opinion?

When I weigh the pros and cons its a tough choice. The freedom of the wireless is nice. But I also like that the wired speakers are good to go with my turntable and current set-up. (i get the 5’s can have a turntable plugged into them, but given the config of my layout, that’s tricky and not wanting to re-arrange everyrhing  

Would be curious to hear what u think on sound qual compared. thx

@slurpeee : There is yet another option, esp since IMO any Sub makes for an audible impact. And that is a Sonos One pair + Sonos Sub. Use a Port to give access to this set up to your turntable which would then not need any relocation.

IMO a One pair+Sub will be just as good as 5 pair minus Sub, and in some situations, sound better.

But every sound quality opinion is subjective and needs to be validated by the target buyer via listening, preferably at home.