Sonos was established with the unique goal of reinventing home audio for the digital age. Its presence is now seen in over 60 countries and is a name to reckon with fewer than seven languages. The company has been constantly searching for ways on how to deliver an enhanced listening experience to its growing audience.
The Sonos Play: 5 is the latest model so far in the company's iteration of quality speakers. With shipping slated to begin on Nov. 25, customers who are in the market for new speakers could perhaps use a little help in deciding on whether to buy or not from a handful of dependable reviews that we've rounded up.
Aaron Souppouris of Engadget. I was very pleased to see Sonos create a (comparably) budget speaker in the form of the Play: 1, but it's great to see the company trying to push the envelope on sound quality instead of just lowering the price of entry. The Play: 5 is a big leap forward for Sonos, finally setting up the company not just a disruptive tech startup, but also as a bona fide creator of quality speakers. Let's hope the improvements it's made here trickle down to the second-generation Play:3.
Michael Brown of TechHive. A single Play: 5 performs best when its oriented horizontally, but rubber feet at either end allow it to be set vertically. In this position, an accelerometer switches the speaker to monophonic mode. Pairing it with a second Play: 5 produces two-channel stereo again. You can use multiple Pair: 5's with a Sonos Playbar and a Sonos sub for a home-theater setup. The Play: 5 is equally adept with other types of music. Playing Bill Evans' B Minor Waltz (For Ellaine), from the jazz pianist's album You Must Believe in Spring, I was immediately impressed with the manner in which the tweeters articulately rendered Evans' piano without ever losing the ability to deliver Eddie Gomez's delicious double bass lines. You could hear [the] each attack as the piano's hammers hit its strings. It was a truly blissful experience.
Chris Davies of SlashGear. Sonos' own range is more affordable, with the $199 PLAY: 1, but alternatives like Google's Chromecast Audio - at $35 - are even cheaper, albeit with the additional expense of separate speakers. Is there, then, a place for a $499 wireless speaker - or, if you want stereo, a $998 pair? Having lived with the new Sonos PLAY: 5 I'm minded to say yes. Sound quality is noticeably improved, the convenience of a one-box system is hard to overstate, and as always Sonos hits the fundamentals like perfectly synchronized multi-zone playback without breaking a sweat.
Chris Welch of The Verge. The Play: 5 adjusts for all manners of music without any trouble spots. One thing that's immediately noticeable is that the Play: 5 sounds rich and full at any volume; the Play: 3 can sound a bit weak if you're not cranking it. If you want loud, Sonos' latest speaker can outperform everything else in the company's stable.
Mario Aguilar of Gizmodo. Sonos speakers all sound very good, and the new Play: 5 continues the legacy. It's got plenty of low-end power and a realistic soundstage, even when you're using it in a single speaker configuration. The sound is generally pretty clear and balanced across frequencies. Provided you put the speaker in the right place and EQ it to your taste, you'll be a very happy owner.
Britta O'Boyle of Pocket-lint. Sonos has a fantastic track record in delivering great speakers - and the new Play: 5 sets yet another precedent. It has a subtle yet sophisticated design that we love, offers a brilliant app to connect to streaming services and all your music, among other great features such as capacitive touch controls. But more importantly the sound it delivers is superb, especially with Trueplay software tuning. Yes it's slightly bass biased, there's no hi-res support and it's not cheap, but the new Play: 5 is all-round fantastic and well worth the splash of cash.
Napier Lopez of The Next Web. Sonos gets almost everything right with the new Play: 5. Sure, some people (like me) will lament the lack of a headphone jack, others will prefer the physical keys, but the new design, TruePlay tuning and awesome sound make it a worthwhile upgrade. If you've got the budget and are looking for some connected speakers, the Play: 5 are definitely worth consideration in time for their November 20 launch date. Your ears will thank you.
