Changed my two Play:5 Gen 1's to two Gen 2's right after it's released in 2015.
#Note: Find full Sonos review list at the bottom.
In summary...
Don't get either one of them. Get the Sonos Five - because the Play:5 is discontinued long ago!
If you can't or won't get the Five for any reason, however, then definitely the Play 5 (Gen2). FYI, I sold my two Play 5 (Gen1) in favor of two Play 5 (Gen2) as soon as the latter was released.
- Also see: Sonos Play:5 vs Five
The Sonos Play:5 (a.k.a Zone Player S5) was introduced in 2009.
The Play:5 was Sonos’ first all-in-one unit. After several years and software upgrades Sonos decided to retire the Play:5 with the release of a new improved version dubbed the Play:5 (Gen2) introduced in 2015.
The previous model became known as the Play:5 (Gen1).
In summary, it’s a no-brainer… definitely the Play 5 (Gen2). FYI, I sold my two Play 5 (Gen1) in favor of two Play 5 (Gen2) as soon as the latter was released.
As of this writing the Play:5 (Gen1) is no longer available as a new product. However, the Play:5 (Gen2) can be found on-line via re-sellers, mostly as a used or refurbished product - although it's also discontinued by Sonos.
On rare occasions one might come across old inventory that a few select sellers may still have on hand as New-In-Box (NIB).
There are those that still have a Sonos Play 5 (Gen1) speaker (or speakers) and continue to enjoy them as their only Sonos product; or in conjunction with other Sonos units for whole home entertainment.
If one is contemplating the purchase of a Sonos Play 5 a question might be…“which to buy - Play 5 (Gen1) or Play 5 (Gen2)?”
In summary, it’s a no-brainer… definitely the Play 5 (Gen2). FYI, I sold my two Play 5 (Gen1) in favor of two Play 5 (Gen2) as soon as the latter was released.
This article is not intended to dictate that you purchase a Play 5 (Gen2) over a Play 5 (Gen1). It’s meant to provide you with information that will allow you to make an informed decision.
A word on sound quality
Let me tell you something right off the bat.
The sound quality performance you'll end up getting from a speaker will always depend on your room acoustics - particularly room dimensions and speaker positions.
The impact of the combination of these two is actually so strong that in most cases, it doesn't even make sense to utter a single word on sound quality without speaking of them.
This is also why it's not unusual to see completely different reviews of the same speaker.
In one case the speaker might be placed in a sweet spot inside the room and hence the user might be satisfied. In other cases the same speaker might be ill placed and hence user might even have returned it.
The point most people miss here is that it mostly isn't even about the engineering behind the speaker itself. It's about where you place the speaker inside which room.
So, in order to solve this problem, I've partnered with Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD Andrea Cicero from AC Acustica and created Soundton - a simple, 2D, browser accessible online speaker placement calculator.
With Soundton, now there's a way to figure the sound quality of most speakers before you buy them.
Read more about its working principles at soundton.com/documentation/.
The end colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) acoustics.