Play 5 - Hiss when not playing music


Hello to everyone. This is my first post. I have recenly added a Play 5 Speaker to my setup. I also have a Play 3, Connect and Bridge.

Last night I noticed a quiet hiss coming from my Play 5. The unit had not been playing anything for a few hours. On hearing this I went to my Play 3 which is totally silent.

Have I got a faulty unit or is this noise normal. You do have to have your head quite close to the speaker to hear it.

Thanks

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11 replies

Hello to everyone. This is my first post. I have recenly added a Play 5 Speaker to my setup. I also have a Play 3, Connect and Bridge.

Last night I noticed a quiet hiss coming from my Play 5. The unit had not been playing anything for a few hours. On hearing this I went to my Play 3 which is totally silent.

Have I got a faulty unit or is this noise normal. You do have to have your head quite close to the speaker to hear it.

Thanks


Although a very quiet sound is normal, it should not be happenng after a few minutes of downtime. Do you have a line-in attached to the unit, and is the source for the line-in constantly playing? Because as active line-in will cause the unit to stay on, reagardless if it is playing that line-in source.
I have nothing attached to the line in and it is connected via wireless. The unit plays fine but the hiss is always there once it stops playing, even after a few minutes. The only time it stops is when I unplug it. when I plug it back in it starts again.
Hello,

Unfortunately, I think the hiss coming from your Play:5 is normal. I also have it and I remember there being a thread about it a while back. I used to have the Play:5 in the bedroom, but then switched it to the living room, because the hiss would be audible during the night. If I remember correctly, the hiss is coming from a transformer in the unit and you can localize the source of the hiss coming from the back of the Play:5. I think some get lucky and have only a very minimal hiss, while others have it a bit louder (might also be due to subjective perception of the hiss).

I think for a speaker in this price range this is a flaw that should not be present. On the other hand, this is just about the only complaint about the Sonos system that I have and meanwhile I don't even hear the hiss anymore.

EDIT: As you can read in the two following posts, I may have been wrong about the hiss being normal, but it is certainly not a rare case. Best is to contact support as suggested by BigN and ratty.
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No hiss at all from either of mine when they're sleeping. So I would not accept it as "normal". Contact Sonos Support to see what they have to say about it.
Just to be absolutely clear:

The Play:5 emits a very slight hiss from its speakers for a minute or so after play stops. This is straightforward low level noise from the amplifiers. It ceases when the amplifiers automatically shut down.

A continuous mechanical hiss/whistle from the internal power supply is not normal. Sonos Support should be consulted with a view to replacing the unit.
I called SONOS yesterday about a whistle coming through my Play:5 when plugged in. It is always a noticeable sound, whether I am playing music or silent. My speaker is less than 4 years old. I was told it is a known issue with Play:5 speakers that are out of warranty, and was offered a 30% discount off a new Play:5 Gen 2. I can’t spend that kind of money to replace OR repair, so now I am left with a VERY expensive piece of electronic waste. Who would buy a SONOS speaker with a whistle? Nobody!
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I have four Play 5s and only one has a terrible hiss sound. It is so sad for such expensive material to have this! 

Have you followed the suggestion made by ratty above, and tried to contact Sonos Support directly to discuss it?

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I did and they have asked me to do a little video of the speaker and to record with the music playing and then without the music playing. They have also asked me to run a new diagnostic. Will see...

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I called SONOS yesterday about a whistle coming through my Play:5 when plugged in. It is always a noticeable sound, whether I am playing music or silent. My speaker is less than 4 years old. I was told it is a known issue with Play:5 speakers that are out of warranty, and was offered a 30% discount off a new Play:5 Gen 2. I can’t spend that kind of money to replace OR repair, so now I am left with a VERY expensive piece of electronic waste. Who would buy a SONOS speaker with a whistle? Nobody!

Search: "I have 11 Sonos units and one that has a terrible hissing sound. I have been told that the only option is to return my Play5 and pay between 513.00$ to 676.00$ to get a new one and they want my old one back??? I don’t get this. You can buy a new one on their site for around 600.00$ Why not repair my speaker? Why charge me the price of anew one and request my broken one back? Why not repair it ?"

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I called SONOS yesterday about a whistle coming through my Play:5 when plugged in. It is always a noticeable sound, whether I am playing music or silent. My speaker is less than 4 years old. I was told it is a known issue with Play:5 speakers that are out of warranty, and was offered a 30% discount off a new Play:5 Gen 2. I can’t spend that kind of money to replace OR repair, so now I am left with a VERY expensive piece of electronic waste. Who would buy a SONOS speaker with a whistle? Nobody!

Search: "I have 11 Sonos units and one that has a terrible hissing sound. I have been told that the only option is to return my Play5 and pay between 513.00$ to 676.00$ to get a new one and they want my old one back??? I don’t get this. You can buy a new one on their site for around 600.00$ Why not repair my speaker? Why charge me the price of anew one and request my broken one back? Why not repair it ?"

Terrific  news! I got an answer from Sonos saying that they would wave the guarantee time limit and replace my unit as if still under guarantee!  Now this is what one expects from a top of the line competitive company! I do love my Sonos products and thank the Sonos help desk for their guidance and help.