Summary
Meet the new boss; same as the old boss. These are Sonos speakers; no matter the model, you're assured of immersive, dynamic sound with bright highs and punchy basses.
The main differences between the Sonos Play:1 versus Five are the updated S2 app (required for Five and optional for Play:1), power and price.
For a more varied soundstage reproduction at a lower cost, we prefer a two Sonos Play:1 speaker configuration over a single Five.
While Sonos no longer manufactures Play:1, the product is still supported.
Sound Quality
Have you ever noticed that there often tends to be quite the opposite opinions about a speaker?
I can understand this for more "personal taste" kinda products like clothing, for example.
But for engineering products like speakers? Personal tastes and preferences probably still play a role. But shouldn't it be less?
Why is it that we can't set a universal metric for sound quality?
First time I asked this question to myself has been a pivotal day.
Because it turns out that in the mid 90's, Electrical Engineer PhD Floyd Toole came up with a method called Spinorama. This is exactly what he accomplished with this. Turns out that his book Sound Reproduction is like the bible of audiophiles.
Put it simply, Spinorama is a set of measurements that gives a comprehensive overview of a speaker's performance from various angles.
It allows you to compare the performances of different speakers before even laying your ears hands on them.
Isn't that amazing?
This is why Spinorama was apparently groundbreaking news for audio industry. Hence in the mid-late 2010's, most brands and magazines began publishing Spinorama measurements, despite the challenges of making such measurements.
Fortunately, now we have the Spinorama data for a bunch of quite popular speakers. Pierre Aubert put all this untidy data together and put it into https://www.spinorama.org/. This is a stunning source. Pretty valuable stuff from him right there.
All good up to this point.
Now there comes a caveat.
Since the sound speakers propagate are in the form of omnidirectional waves, all measurements are obtained in anechoic or semi-anechoic chambers (a super-quiet room where soundwaves don't bounce back, here's how different that room sounds [a mind blowing time-adjusted video]).
This is a problem because it means that Spinorama alone, unfortunately, won't give us all we need. Placement and reflections play an equally important role there too.
This is why most A-class brands (like SVS, Bang & Olufsen, etc) often come up with room correction features, adjusted either manually or automatically. The EQ adapts itself to the placement (room, corner, center, etc) for a better (deeper and more accurate) sound. Which is great.
Additionally they often emphasize the importance of placement, here is an example: https://www.svsound.com/blogs/subwoofer-setup-and-tuning/75365187-the-art-of-subwoofer-placement
Anyways...
The source code under Pierre Aubert's work is licensed under GPL (General public license). He didn't perform any of the measurements himself, and instead he compiled all of them into one place, so that makes sense.
At this point, I thought that if there was a tool that combined both the Spinorama with the room acoustics data, it'd be extremely useful.
Unfortunately, it turns out that there wasn't any.
This is where I stepped in and partnered with an Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD in order to achieve this.
We combined Spinorama data with room acoustics and came up with Soundton. A very simple, 2D online tool that allows you to:
- Reveal optimal speaker positions in a room,
- Test with real speakers from real brands,
- Compare different speakers and different positions in the room.
It can be very valuable for the vast majority.
The colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) listening experience.
It works the best with subwoofers since Soundton processes low frequency response waves only.
- Soundton is going to be, say, 80% accurate. Not 100%.
- Because, other parameters such as the age/materials of the building, furniture/windows in place also have an impact on room acoustics.
- If you want absolutely the most detailed room analysis, then what you need is an acoustics consultant. Mind you that's going to require deep pockets and patience though... assuming you find the right person and they get the job done.
Anyways...
Ideal for relatively small rooms (e.g., bedroom, office, kitchen), both models deliver rich, bold sound from a bookshelf-sized speaker. Note that to receive stereo sound from Play:1, two speakers must be deployed. The horizontal placement of a single Five speaker achieves the same effect.
Compression artifacts would seem to impact Sonos Play:1 more than Five. The latter is Sonos' latest and greatest, unleashed in early June 2020, with more memory, faster processing power and a new-generation radio.
Using either with a TV "will result in some latency or lip-sync issues while the audio is converted from analog to digital."
Loudness & Power
How loud is Sonos Play:1? CNN found that "you’d likely need two Amazon Echos to reach the sound level (of one Play:1 speaker)."
Sonos Five is even louder, outputting 120 watts of sound. It features three high-excursion woofers within a sealed architecture, eliminating echo and reverb.
In contrast, Sonos Play:1 has only a single mid-woofer, providing 55 watts of sound per channel.
Both models require an auto-switchable 100 - 240 VAC, 50/60 Hz power supply. To prevent degradation of the WiFi signal feeding the speakers, Sonos recommends that they not be placed on surfaces like concrete, metal, brick or marble.
Features
Sonos Play:1 weighs 4.08 lbs (1.85 kg) and measures 6.36 x 4.69 x 4.69 (in) / 161.45 x 119.7 X 119.7 (mm). It comes with two Class-D digital amplifiers, a tweeter and a mid-woofer. Top panel buttons control volume and play/pause. It also has an LED to indicate status.
Sonos Five, on the other hand, is a heftier speaker. It weighs more—14 lb (6.36 kg)—with larger dimensions, measuring 14.33 x 8 x 6 in (364 x 203 x 154 mm). It's powered by 10 Class-D digital amplifiers and 10 amplified speaker drivers (6 midrange, 3 tweeters and 1 woofer).
Both models feature a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port to connect with a router or a network-attached storage (NAS) device. Also, while Play:1 requires an 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz) 3x3 MIMO WiFi network connection, Five can operate on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies. As mentioned above, Five is compatible with the Sonos S2 controller app only; Play:1 can utilize both the obsolete S1 app and the S2 app. Both models require an app for user operation. Either app can be downloaded from the Play Store (Android) or the App Store (iOS).
Alas, both models lack an HDMI interface. Too, Sonos Play:1 has no 3.5 mm or RCA input connectors, and cannot be paired with devices via Bluetooth (BT). Thankfully, Five features a 3.5 mm audio port and can use BT for initial setup. Both can be placed on walls with adjustable swivels and tilts (mounts not included with the speaker).
Check out the User Guide for Sonos Five.
Looks
Both Sonos Five and Playbase are available in either white or black matte exposure, and Five comes with a graphite grille. As a rule, Sonos products have a minimalist aesthetic since controls are usually performed through the Sonos app. For example, the app adjusts EQ settings such as loudness, bass and treble.
As the "tale of the tape" above indicates, Sonos Play:1 is a modernistic block-shaped speaker while Five has a greater girth. Both are available in white or black, and Five features a graphite grille. Both speakers feature touch controls for play/pause and volume control. However, users will need the Sonos controller app to adjust speaker controls, such as EQ settings for treble and bass.
Those with iOS devices can use Sonos Trueplay to tune their speakers.
The Verdict
In a two-speaker configuration, we prefer the flexibility of Play:1 with speakers spaced at least 10 feet (3 meters) apart. On the other hand, those who believe that "if it's too loud, you're too old" will want the audio onslaught of Five. Just one of these speakers will saturate your den or bedroom with sound.
If price is a consideration (of course it is), or if you're unfamiliar with Sonos products, Play:1 is a great introduction to Sonos speakers. While discontinued, Play:1 is still available from Amazon. Those willing to pay a premium for the latest and greatest from Sonos will want Five. Either way, you're assured of outstanding sound from the world's premier manufacturer of wireless speakers.
Watch a video review here: