As you see, Sonos Five is basically an improved version of Sonos Play:5.
#Note: Find full Sonos review list at the bottom.
As you know, I love, LOVE Play:5; and have been recommending it in Soundton quite a bit.
In my experience, it has almost always been the go-to solo-speaker in the market, with few true competitors.
Well the good news is that Play:5 is still here - just with a different name. It's now called Five.
This is the angle I want you to look at when comparing Play:5 vs Five.
Yes, the Play:5 is discontinued, although you can find it on other retailers like Amazon.
I contacted the Sonos customer service about Sonos Play:5 vs Five and their differences.
Here's what I'm told about Sonos Play:5 vs Five
Basically, the Sonos Five features updated internal technology, including increased memory and a more powerful CPU, as well as a new monochromatic finish.
When it comes to power of the speaker, they are the same only for internal components the Sonos Five had been made some improvements.
As you see, Sonos Five is basically an improved version of Sonos Play:5.
Conclusion
There are no real sound quality differences between the Sonos Play:5 vs Five - although getting the latter is still recommended for obvious reasons like the updates.
Hope this is helpful!
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.
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So, in order to solve this problem, I've partnered with an Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD 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.
The end colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) acoustics.
ASAP Science also made a video on the loudest and quietest rooms in the world. A mind blowing example of the importance of acoustics (play time adjusted video below).
Other parameters such as the age/materials of the building, the furniture & carpets in place, etc can and will, of course, have an effect on room acoustics, too. But it's much less compared to other parameters mentioned above.
Also, while you're at it, blast my Hidden Electronic Gems list to test the speakers:
Anyways...