*** Official SONOS Thread ***

[RoyMi6]

Damit, why didn't anyone tell me they were everything I wanted earlier?!

I've been putting off buying them for as long as I can remember, hoping for something to come along to beat them on price while still maintaining usability (I was even happy to sacrifice on some quality!) but I finally gave in an ordered the 2xPlay:1 starter pack.

From the moment I started playing my first song after starting the app I knew I'd be hooked. The combination of fool proof interface with "out the box it just works" awesomeness (that we all secretly want) just makes it a tough one to beat.

I've tried countless systems and mashups of various devices to try and get this experience but nothing has worked..

For me, the icing on the cake has to be the alarm functionality that removes the clumsiness of an app based system (I'm a massive fan of simple button controls http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18631835) and allows you to schedule your radio station of choice (or any playlist) without using you phone. This has the effect of "resetting" the system each morning so that the physical button the device allow you to "turn on and off the radio" just like you normally would with a simple DAB radio.

It even acts as a nice "double" alarm for us as we like to get up at 07:30 and leave at 08:30 - so I've set the SONOS to only turn on for an hour on weekday mornings - reminding us to leave the house when the radio goes off.

It's really nice to have the accessibility I wanted for listening to music, as all my previous attempts have been hampered with touch and go performance or usability.

Oh, and the room groupings - genius. So simple, so quick. Love it. Really makes moving them a round much less of a task. Of course, this is also avoided if you can afford to put them in every room of your house... but since we've just bought a 5 bedroom behemoth I think it will be a while before every room has one.

For anyone looking to dip their toes into it I can highly recommend the pair of Play:1's. The real strength of the system (for me) lies in the "whole house" system and the Play:1's a nicely formed, and punchy, little devices.

Can't see myself going back - can see myself spending a lot more money

 

[encephalopathy]

try a flexson stand for the play:1 - really helps the sound. 27 quid or so though

 

[photoshop]

I bought the Play 1 pair on Sunday. Should hopefully be delivered tomorrow.

The one thing i found on reviews is that having just one Play 1 in the room (and putting the other in another room) does affect the sound quality and its better to keep them both in a single room. Can you comment on this?

 

[GAM8LE]

One of the client groups in my work is Sonos, and the Sonos client built them a sound room where they get all the latest gear sent on a monthly basis or when something is released.

All the employees get 25% discount(I believe) as they have a corporate ordering page.

Lucky sods, everything sounds fantastic from their floor.

 

[Minstadave]

Great bits of kit. Got Play 5s in the kitchen and lounge and a Play 1 we move around. Really tempted by the new Play 5 too.

Trueplay tuning is excellent. Great they're still adding features to old kit.

 

[RoyMi6]

try a flexson stand for the play:1 - really helps the sound. 27 quid or so though

We actually quite like it hidden away behind a vase of flowers on the mantle. The Trueplay feature they have now that "tunes" the speaker to the room seems to have done a good job a balancing the base / treble every time I've moved them.

I bought the Play 1 pair on Sunday. Should hopefully be delivered tomorrow.

The one thing i found on reviews is that having just one Play 1 in the room (and putting the other in another room) does affect the sound quality and its better to keep them both in a single room. Can you comment on this?

Not sure exactly what they're talking about... Yes, you can set up any two speakers as a stereo pair (play:1's are perfect for this) and you'll get a noticeable fuller sound. So again, yes, that's going to sound "better" - but for us, since we're using them for casual background music/radio we much prefer having the whole house filled with the music.

From a technical aspect the Sonos can work one of two ways. Either entirely over your WiFi (which we do) or you can plug one in via ethernet (or buy a sonos bridge) to create its own Sonos wireless network. The dedicated network is meant to be "more reliable" and provide "better sound". We've not had any reliability problems running on regular WiFi and my ears couldn't tell the difference between wired and unwired - but again, this could be due to our choice of music source.

I much prefer the flexibility of being able to move them around and have them almost "hidden" - so running it over the WiFi is fine for us and this shouldn't make any difference if they're in the "same room" or not. It's simply not a limiting factor. Like I say, the only aspect it would make a difference for is the physical difference between either having 1 or 2 speakers in the same room...

All the employees get 25% discount(I believe) as they have a corporate ordering page.

They can go take a long walk off a short plank

 

[RoyMi6]

Great bits of kit. Got Play 5s in the kitchen and lounge and a Play 1 we move around. Really tempted by the new Play 5 too.

Trueplay tuning is excellent. Great they're still adding features to old kit.

Yeah, being so impressed with the Play:1's it's a hard decision about my next purchase.

Can't decide between getting more rooms filled with perfectly adequate Play:1's or a single room kitted out with "better" sound...

I mean a single Play:5 is the same cost as 3xPlay:1's! And I love my Play:1's!

 

[Minstadave]

You can pick up the older play 5 for good prices sometimes on Amazon it or es. Both of mine were about £230 delivered.

 

[davisdavid]

You can pick up the older play 5 for good prices sometimes on Amazon it or es. Both of mine were about £230 delivered.

Have you got a link to those mate?

I bought the missus a play 1 last christmas and I've been surprised just how much it's been used. It's in the dining room/kitchen and pretty much comes on as soon as she walks through the door to cook my dinner. hur hur.

Bought another 2 play 1's for this christmas but wouldn't mind getting a play 3/5 for xmas aswell. great bits of kit even if they are a little pricey new, they are clearly worth the money.

 

[Minstadave]

Just got to check Amazon Spain and Italy regularly. Looking at it they might have discontinued sales on the old 5 now the new one has arrived.

Hotukdeals is good for finding Sonos deals, you can set an alert to email you when one pops up.

 

[Amp34]

Yeah, being so impressed with the Play:1's it's a hard decision about my next purchase.

Can't decide between getting more rooms filled with perfectly adequate Play:1's or a single room kitted out with "better" sound...

I mean a single Play:5 is the same cost as 3xPlay:1's! And I love my Play:1's!

Two benefits of the 5 over multiple ones...

1. The 5 has an audio in so you can connect devices directly to it.
2. The 5 has a bass, which gives significantly more low end power than the 1s.

We currently have a 5 and a 1, but are going to get the Play:1 two pack and another Play:5, as well as a Play:3 for the bedroom and an amp for outside. That'll give us 1's in each bathroom, 5's in the living and rec room/second living room, a 3 in the bedroom and a 1 in the kitchen (connected to the living room).

The only think I'm missing is what to use in the office, a 5 is too big really butto connect the computer I really need a line in.

 

[photoshop]

Got my Play 1 starter pack today. Very impressed!!

Going ti get another one for the lounge

Then more in the future for the other rooms

 

[dannyjo22]

I went to my local richer sounds recently to pick up a tv and when I went in the Sonos demo guy was leaving. He just been in with the upcoming stuff. In store I told them I was interested and they said to wait for the new kit. Is it just the Play 5 that's 2nd gen? Is the other stuff being replaced too?

I also have a new Samsung tv for my games room and the only thing letting it down is the sound. I'm wondering if the soundbar would be good?

 

[Minstadave]

Only the Play5 has been updated. I'm sure the 3 and 1 will also get an overhaul but that may take years, Sonos doesn't work quickly. The Play 1 will probably be the last to be done so is still a sensible purchase.

 

[rs1800]

Which would be better for our kitchen/dinner 4m x 9m. Will be xmas pressie for wife who just wants background music. Have 2 toddlers so will not be loud.

1 x play 5 or 2 x play 1 in stereo?

 

[Minstadave]

Play 5 is perfect for a kitchen. That's what we use

 

[NeilMick]

I originally bought a Play:1 for the bedroom as I wanted some music in the bedroom without a full on stereo. 3 weeks later I now have 5.1 in there, it's great.

 

[alle]

...We have two 1s and the play bar, in three separate rooms. Not sure which room will get 'done' next

They do get used all the time, convenient and the sound quality is pretty good too.

 

[SAM81]

Big Sonos fan. Was given a Play 3 for my birthday and it gets used a hell of a lot. I Really want to use Trueplay, but have an Android phone. My wife however, has an iPhone. Presumably, i can simply use that to tune the speaker and continue to control it from my Android phone as per normal?

 

[Minstadave]

Yup you can just install the iOS app on her phone, tune it and forget about it. It's very effective.