Play 5 huge letdown

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Anyone else purchased a gen 2 play 5 and been shocked at the poor sound? I have had it a few weeks and can't believe all the rubbish spouted in the press. Despite being used in a few locations and having true play set up its terrible. Closed in mid range, splashy treble and flat sounding. Does Sonos only offer 100 day returns if bought from them? Anyone want to buy it?
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30 replies

O
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Good idea.
A
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I had Logitech speakers for years (using Apple Airport for Airplay) and liked them really. Then got into Sonos and felt they missed some punch and bass, but liked the mid details. I got used to Sonos and have Sonos in every room. I can't stand Logitech sound anymore, with reason most will tell me... I think we get used to what we like or have 🙂
K
I think we get used to what we like or have :)
I agree 100%. Until we read a review that is meant to get us to be dissatisfied with what we have!
D
My Sonos play 5 is terrible also. Overly sharp treble, no real midrange, so orchestral music and jazz sound terrible. Perhaps it’s fine for bassy hip hop but I’m ready go through it all in the garbage.
S
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I switched from a laptop / J River to a Hegel amp and ATC Sc40mk2 + a JL audio sub. For less than half the price, my stereo pair play 5 mk2 plus sub is worryingly close. I suspect partly that my room acoustics were really not helping with the old system, but then I've owned similar gear in several different houses over the years and in my experience the sonos system is definitely better than any similarly priced separates system (eg NAD / B&W etc). These things are all subjective of course, but room acoustics are way more critical than the hardware, you can't spend your way out of a poor environment. Funnily enough I came across this review on YouTube. I guess the reviewer has similar views, but interestingly and without conducting a proper ab blind test then the bias we will exhibit (fan boi vs trad audiophile) is probably playing a bit part here?

https://youtu.be/47VGW3LSRng

FWIW my experience is that this is not some "lifestyle" system, though I'd agree that this only applies to play 5. The play 1 is not an audiophile device in my opinion. I suspect that the holistic active design approach is paying dividend in this performance. Matching separates connected by metres of cables in a non ideal acoustic room is always going to potentially be a big risk of compromise.
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