How many speakers does the average Sonos user have?

  • 4 September 2021
  • 18 replies
  • 786 views

How many speakers does the average Sonos user have? Are most people just buying one unit and using it for everything in their apartment and maybe getting a Roam for on-the-go experiences? Do most people buy a stereo pair or surround sound set-up and then keep growing their ecosystem? 

Right now, I own one Sonos unit and would love to eventually get a sound bar and enhance my home theater with a surround system. 


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18 replies

How many speakers does the average Sonos user have? Not enough.

Userlevel 7
Badge +23

Here are the speaker-count stats from one of my apps:

 

@controlav

That’s interesting chart. However, I’m still trying to figure out what I’m looking at. 🤔 Please enlighten me…O Great Sage. 


These are the relative stats of how many speakers people have. So 3 is the most popular count, then 5, then a single speaker, etc. Sorry I wasn’t clearer, I look at data like this all day :-)

 basement theater Arc 5.1 or is it 7.1? 

 

5.1.2 actually.

Userlevel 7

Here are the speaker-count stats from one of my apps:

 

@controlav 

That’s interesting chart. However, I’m still trying to figure out what I’m looking at. 🤔 Please enlighten me…O Great Sage. 

Do non Sonos speakers also count?!

The thing is that just as the net/broadband connections have expanded music supply by orders of magnitude at very low costs, so has the advent of good home WiFi expanded the listening to it all over the home. For instance I always thought that music in the bathroom was decadent, but all it took is the wiring up of a Echo in a safe place and mounting it out of direct harms way for me to get used to this luxury within days of setting it up. The latest flat version of the Dot before the  round ones were released lends itself to easy wall mounting on a cheap bracket that can even be just mounted via good double sided tape so no drilling of any kind was needed and sound quality more than suffices for that space. It may not last for more than a year given the somewhat humid environment, so I bought a couple of refurbished copies for very cheap as well.

All it takes is a love of music...

Userlevel 2
Badge +3

2 x play5 (gen2) alongwith sub for music

beam for TV

3 x Sonos one for general use in various rooms.

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Beam + One+ One SL + Sub in the living room, Connect (Gen 2) in the living room (for CD player), One in the kitchen, One in my study/attic, One in the bathroom, Symfonisk in our son's room.

Do I count as an avarage user?

Userlevel 7
Badge +22

My problem is that I have too many Sonos or maybe it is too small a house.

I have an ancient pair of Play 3s in the formal dining room that are only powered on a few days a year, nobody uses that room outside family holiday gatherings.

I got a chance to upgrade a Beam to an Arc, leaving me with a spare Beam. I put the Beam in a bathroom (shower there isn’t used) sitting on the over-toilet cabinet.

I moved the Sonos One I had in there to my office workspace, it is usually set to near zero volume but grouped with a 5.1 Beam setup there. It may seem silly but with the long startup delay, 20-40 seconds, in being able to control my Sonos using my Android controllers it is handy to be able to tap the pause button on it from my office chair and stop the music instantly if the phone rings.

Badge

3 Ports, 1 Play:5 (Gen 2), 2 One (Gen1), 1 Play:1, 1 Roam, 1 Beam, so a total of 9 

Userlevel 5
Badge +9

I have the followings:

PLAY 1 x 8

ARC

SUB GEN 2

SUB GEN 3

BEAM

ONE

MOVE

ROAM x 2

Symfonisk Bookshelf Speaker

Symfonisk Lamp Speaker

PORT

CONNECT

 

Ignoring the BOOST, totally 20.

Userlevel 4
Badge +4

Just from a purely selfish perspective,since I’m so happy with my srereo Play 5’s paired with the sub and knowing what that is capable of……..

I can’t wait to see what Sonos comes out with to replace,or go above the current Play 5’s.

Maybe a Play 10…..Wow!

Userlevel 5
Badge +15

I am a Sonos addict and have just been growing every year for about ten years now. I have 3 theater setups in my house, a Beam 5.0 master bedroom, basement theater Arc 5.1 or is it 7.1? and a Playbar 5.0 in my family room. I have some version of Ones or Threes in four other rooms that are all paired plus a S1 Five, Move and Roam for the other rooms and several Amps/Connects for outdoor speakers. Needless to say I am way outside the norm but it’s just so easy to just add especially to stereo pair ones as to me it makes such a huge difference. 

Userlevel 4
Badge +6

(@Kambot9000 , it sounds like you’re trying to get a feel for your own situation, so here’s a spec and then a lifestyle explanation, analogous to your question:)

7 devices in 5 zones (and still 2 AirPort Express zones, no Ports!), 2 Lutron Picos, 1 Senic Nuimo, & an iPartridge in a pear tree!

That works out to be: 2 stereo pairs of One’s for bedroom and kitchen (1 Pico each), and 1 is a Move to go from bathroom to outdoors, and 1 is an Amp for main-listening speakers plus TV in the living room (iPad docked there), 1 Amp for dining room (1 Nuimo).  The AirPort Express zones are from my before-Sonos-existed iTunes Library setup; both remain attached to “intentional listening” systems, much like one would have a turntable sitting around for “music as an occasion.”  The Sonos system is for lazy listening or background music.

From the use of One’s, you can tell that it’s a small kitchen and a small-ish bedroom.  This is for a house, not an apartment, but smaller than the USA average.  However, as you can tell from the device&system count, there is music in every room!  So it’s pseudo-luxury, but on a budget, which is the Sonos sweet spot.

Badge +17

I’m far from the average Sonos user (considering I work here :sweat_smile:) but, removing any devices I use for said work, I have a total of 11 speakers combined into 7 rooms (my players are all listed on my community profile).

I started out with a pair of Ones and have slowly expanded my system into all rooms of the house (excluding a permanent fixture in the bathroom due to UK H&S regs). My Playbase surround setup and the Roam on my desk get the most use day-to-day, but I enjoy having the flexibility to play whatever I want wherever I want :slight_smile:

At the end of the day, it’s entirely down to personal preferences and requirements in your space, and you shouldn’t think too much into what the “average Sonos user” has, since all that really matters is what you feel you need to improve your listening experience :smile:

 

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +23

Here are the speaker-count stats from one of my apps:

 

Userlevel 4
Badge +4

I own 4…...A pair of stereo Play 5’s(gen 2) with the sub and I get extremely good results with a Roam as a rear ambience speaker…..Dynamic and immersive…..I only want to use my set up for music.…...but…..

My friend,who got me into Sonos(thankfully) has the exact set up,with the exception of an additional Sonos Soundbar.

He has everything hooked up to a 65 inch high def TV and has a high ceiling,in a medium sized room.

Beyond amazing is still an under statement!…..It’s that good.

He likes to place the Roam(when he’s not taking it onto his screened outside room) as an additional ambience speaker,placed behind one of the listeners.

The other day,he invited us over to see “Hamilton”…...My jaw dropped!

Can’t compliment this set up enough.

Good luck

Userlevel 7

Hi @Kambot9000 

Good information from @GuitarSuperstar.

However, I would not concern myself with what the so-called “average Sonos user” is buying. Sonos product line today is very fluid compared to what it was a few years ago. How many speakers YOU require/need/want really comes down to few parameters:

  1. Number of rooms
  2. Room type (i.e. bedroom, kitchen, living room, office or bathroom)
  3. Do you need a Home Theater setup, a single speaker or stereo pair for music
  4. Your budget

The nice thing about Sonos is that you can start with your basic speaker needs and expand as your need (or budget) dictates. 

Here is an unofficial evolution listing of Sonos speakers for the basics.  The list does not include Sonos in-wall, in-ceiling, Sonos Amp or Port which are one-offs for special situations. However, The Sonos Amp is a solution if you already have wired speakers to use. All speakers shown in Green are current offerings with voice assistant and Airplay2 (except Sonos Sub) unless otherwise noted.

  1. Play 5 Gen1 (multi-speaker box with stereo imaging) > Play 5 Gen2Sonos Five (Note: Voice Assistant  for Sonos Five  requires an Alexa or Google Home device integration).
  2. Play 1 Sonos One Gen1 > Sonos One Gen2
  3. Play 3 (multi-speaker box with limited stereo imaging)
  4. Playbar (Home Theater speaker with left/center/right channels) *
  5. Sonos Sub Gen1 > Sonos Sub Gen2 Sonos Sub Gen3
  6. Playbase (Home Theater speaker with left/center/right channels that could also support a flat panel TV when placed on a table. Designed for areas with limited space)
  7. Sonos One SL (same build as Sonos One w/o Alexa or Google Voice Assistant)
  8. Sonos Beam (Home Theater speaker with left/center/right channels) **
  9. Sonos Move (Portable/Bluetooth)
  10. Sonos Arc (Home Theater speaker with left/center/right channels and reflective speakers for Dolby Atmos)
  11. Sonos Roam (Portable/Bluetooth)

All speakers can (or could) be used in a Home theater system with the exception of the Move, Roam and Play 5 Gen1. The Arc, Beam, Playbar or Playbase serve as the anchor for front channels (L/C/R). All other speakers if used in Home Theater served as surround speakers. The Sonos Sub can be used in a Home Theater or with other speakers in a stereo pair (excepting Move and Roam).

 * Some say the Arc is a replacement for the Playbar...I disagree. IMO it’s like saying the up-tick in SUV sales replaces the sedan. I say it’s a phase-out of one technology in favor of another in referencing the Playbar vs the Arc. 

Userlevel 7

Here is some data from the IPO filing in 2018. I’m sure these figures have only increased the last three years.

https://www.statista.com/chart/amp/14610/sonos-unit-sales-and-household-penetration/

I personally have 10 Sonos devices. Once you purchase one Sonos speaker, you will only want to add more until you have one in almost every room in the house.