Easy to agree with this. My living room already has 2x Play:1 as surrounds, an Arc and sub. I picked up a single Five, placed in the corner of the long end of the room, and it fills the room with beautifully separated instruments and vocals. So far the wife hasn’t spotted it….when the time is right, I’ll add a second! ;) Great video Peter.
Awesome review like always. Your reviews are absolutely the best I've seen. Such in-depth information and easy to understand. I look forward to all your videos.
Great review! Already bought a pair of Five's, and considering adding a Sub Gen3 for a 2.1 setup strictly for music. I am wondering if this probably is slightly overkill in a small livingroom, or if it just will make every frequency pop more out?
For the fives, adding the sub woofer is truly an overkill. You don’t need to as the incremental performance is going to be very marginal. But yes, the highs will be handled better and the lows will go down lower. Just not as big a jump as you might think it to be.
Peter, you are the best at reviewing Sonos gear. I love the summary you give up front and the very detailed and well researched info that follows. One of the great TH-cam channels!
I totally agree! That grouping speakers for different configurations would be great! It’s so disappointing that their is no easy way to unpair the surrounds from an arc if you want to hear music. Great video again! Thanks for sharing! 🙏
At this price, you should compare the Sonos with KEF LSX. I have 1 Sonos Fives (gen3) not a stereo pair and a pair of KEF LSX. The KEF beats the Sonos on sound quality by big margin.
Great scientific approach to speaker quality, thank you! Can you please advise if you think a stereo pair work equally as well horizontally placed as opposed to vertically? Many thanks.
Could you compare the sound quality between 2 play 5 as stereo vs a 5.1 system (playbar, sub, and two play 5s as surround w setting for music on full) for music listening?
So if I heard this correctly. A pair of Sonos Fives for Music 👍 👍. But… for TV movie sound staging 👎 due to latency/ delay from picture to audio ? Please help for I want to buy 2 Fives both for Movies and music. BTW read comments on here Fives paired w the Sonos Arc great for movies. 🤷♂️
I was looking for better passive speakers, either tower or shelves, for a budget of 2.5k max, possibly adding a sub to that... It doesn't seem to be worth it. The Fives seem to be solving many problems at once. Would be curious to hear about anyone's experience with the Fives using the Roon music player. I don't mind the 48hkHz limit personnally as I cannot hear the difference between CD resolution and higher formats, but are there any issues I might not be aware of ?
I have had my stereo pair of Fives for a few weeks now and love them. I placed them vertically as per the normal way most people place them. I then thought I would try them horizontally and wow! they sound much better. I trueplayed both times and interestingly, with them vertically, there was a huge difference in toggling on and off the trueplay. Not so much now with them horizontally which suggests my room was better able to deal with the sound horizontally anyway.
Yeah. Cos usually you have things around the house that will absorb sound waves and reflections on the lateral plane. But most people won’t have things on the ceiling to absorb reflections, causing some imaging issues.
Not sure if anyone else commented this already, but what about the KEF LSX pair? How would it compare to the Fives? Same price class and many positive reviews. No comparison to the latest Sonos Fives though.
I’m confused, you said that the speakers of Sonos Five are aggressively angled towards left and right; so, if I place a stereo pair of Fives vertically then won’t they be throwing sounds to the floor and the roof? Would it give me as precise soundstage as a pair of two mono speakers that have front facing speakers such as Sonos Ones?
Thank you uncle Peter. Came across your video on searching the sonos five and was so impressed, went out and bought two. I can say, no regrets as I am blown away by the ease and power this setup affords. Subbed!
Nice! Aaron, I am happy to have helped! And So far, for the sub and the fives, no one has ever blamed me for a wrong choice before when I recommend them!
Thank you Peter for the great video. I heard the play 5’s as a stereo pair at a friend of mine and was impressed, especially at this price-point! As far as I see it only a Sonos AMP paired with a set of real nice monitors (on good stands) like e.g. B&W 606 would give a greater fidelity within the Sonos eco system. But at a much higher price. I think that it depends on your listening expextations/demands. But what I would like to know is how this setup would integrate with the sonos SUB(G3) AND how its gained soundquality wil compare with the Sonos Five strereo pair and the SUB(G3). I can imagine that the DSP’s in the FIVES will affect the sound and most likely the (e.g)Sonos AMP/606 combo will sound more natural due to far less DSP processing. Maybe an idea when you are getting bored 😂. Thanks again Peter
Hey Peter, I bought two Sonos Five’s and I am confused about something: After enabling “Stereo Pair” option through the Sonos app only one of the Sonos Five speaker plays while using AirPlay to play music or watch movies. I did a factory reset and re-paired the speakers using the app and it still has the same behavior. As a workaround, I unpaired the stereo pair through the Sonos app and I am now choosing two speakers in the AirPlay option. This allows me to play music using both the speakers. But, this option is inconvenient since I have to manually choose the two speakers. I thought the stereo pairing feature would produce sound from both the speakers at the same time? Am I understanding stereo pairing incorrectly? Thank you!
Did you ever find out what the issue was? I just got my second five and hooked the two up as stereo pair. When I use airplay from Apple Music, prime music etc… only one Sonos five will play. If I use the Sonos app to play Apple Music it will play on both fives. It seems to me that the stereo pair only works while using the Sonos app to play music.
Paired a sub mini with a single Five, the result was minimal. Bass is a little deeper but you probably wouldn’t even notice the difference. You’re better off get a pair of Fives.
I'd say that one major difference with the The Fives is the room placement. With that back port, the The Fives really need to be pulled out from the wall or else you're gonna suffer from too much bass. This is okay for when you have space, but none of my rooms would work for this. I do appreciate the Sonos Fives for being a sealed design that won't care much how close it is to a wall. The Klipsch speakers do have an advantage though for 2 or 2.1 channel home theater with their HDMI ARC port. All the issues Peter mentions in this video with the line-in delays means that this $1,000 set can only be used well for music (or back channels with a Sonos ARC). Maybe the Sonos Fives in a stereo pair would work well for 2-channel home theater over AirPlay2 instead? I've used AirPlay2 to connect a HomePod to my Apple TV 4k (small room) and it works mostly well. Some crappy apps (BritBox, etc) tend to choke or drop the AirPlay connection from time to time. Netflix and Prime aren't bothered.
I did consider the LSX. I auditioned it at least on 3 separate occasions and couldn’t make myself buy it. I have a wide taste in terms of music genre and while the KEFs excelled at vocals, they lack a little in the bass department.
Hey Peter! What is the best quality audio streaming service for the Sonos Five Stereo pair? Apple Music? Derzeit? tidal? … etc? What would you recommend? Can youngest the difference on the Sonos Fives? Thanks, Sven
Thank you for all your hard work Peter. I have 4 Sonos Fives in my 40’x20’ living room. Each set is paired together on opposite sides. It sounds awesome. Is there anything I should do differently with this set up? Thanks.
The Fives have no bluetooth. You can add a device that will accept Bluetooth audio and output to the Fives through the Aux port but you will still get latency.
Thanks Peter. Awesome as usual. For stereo imaging in a vertical position should the tweeters be on the outside of the image , or inside ? … hope this makes sense …
Hi Peter, great review ! I own one Five and do not have enough space for a second one. I was thinking of adding a sub to my sole Five (easier to place the sub). Do you think it is a big improvment? Or does adding a second Five would make more sense than adding a sub? Txs 👍
A sub won’t do much more for your single five. I’d say maybe a 10-20% improvement if you need to quantify it. But adding a second five will improve the sound by another 150%. I don’t think I’m exaggerating.
Hi there, it would be good to know where the frequency crossover point is when paired with the sub? Be a shame if it keeps the same 92hz point as the arc.
Thankyou for your excellent review, today i purchased the sonos 5 and am more than impressed. I just wanted to add something which i would like to hear your view of, on initial listening with the unit horizontal (just one) it sounded very mono so i got digging into the settings (no callibration as only have android). Anyway i turned off volume limiting and loudness, i also turned off compression, then i played with the equilizer with the unit on the floor central and about 5 feet away, I lifted the trebble to plus 3 and the imaging suddenly came to life i could hear the medley floating with width and shimmering treble, i then pushed it a little more upto 5 and somewhere between 4 and 5 is the sweet spot with the stereo image coming alive and well centered feeling like a stereo pair. If you would like to try this and let me know if this works for you too, it may help those with only one speaker or it could just be my room but on 0 it sounds very flat and mono. It seems those outward tweeters are not driven enough with the factory eq and the width is left muddled with the bass and lifeless. The detail right across the board with this speaker is also amazing. Thanks, Mat.
AWESOME review, Pete! Quick question, I read online that you should space them between 8-10 ft apart. Will I compromise the sound quality if I literally let them be side by side by just a few inches? Your input would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Если вдруг какой-то русский захочет купить sonos 5 и случайно увидит это видео и чудом заметит мой коммент - бро, покупай, не думай. У меня пара пятерок. Они стоят своих денег. В рашке брал за чуть менее 50 тр. за шт. Жду появления Arc, чтобы послушать. Были бы свободные 80к - купил бы и его не глядя.
Translate: "If suddenly some Russian wants to buy sonos 5 and accidentally sees this video and miraculously notices my comment - bro, buy, don't think. I have a pair of fives. They are worth their money."
The sub makes the arc sound infinitely better than the arc on its own. At least the bass is taken care of. But it won’t come close to the Sonos fives. Sound staging and mid range suffers right away. And there is a very artificial boost on the arc’s treble which will disrupt musical performance.
My first Sonos was the Play 5 first gen. I was blown away by the power and sound in such a small package and it was beautiful and so well made. Have since purchased a Sonos Playbar, Arc and gen 3 subwoofer. Going to get either the Sonos Move or the new play 5 the place the gen 1 Play 5 for the upstairs of our home this coming holiday.
The Move can not be used as surrounds, but if you just want a single portable speaker .. or a stereo pair .. it is a good choice. It does however only compare to the Play:3 .. it is not the same as a Play:5 or Sonos Five
Hmmm, I have never thought of the Move as a Play:3 replacement. But in terms of size, it does look similar and sits between the One and the Five. But the use case for the Move is restrictive through. Just for music. Or if you like, Bluetooth from a tv or screen to put sound out. But there will be a definite lag.
@@PeterPee yes .. it nowhere replaces the Play:3 at all. From a sound-stage and quality it replaces the Play:3, but only as a single speaker or a stereo pair. Because you can not pair it in as rear surrounds. There is a true gap in their portfolio now between the One and the Five. I only got convinced to go down the Sonos route very recently by a friend who has been harping on about Sonos for years. I haven't had a decent stereo system in over a decade and when we moved to a new home that I decided to go full on smart home in, Sonos was the perfect choice. So I now have a total of 18 Sonos speakers and a Sonos Connect Gen 2 around the house :) That's 4 Playbars, 4 Play:3, 4 Ikea Symfonisk Bookshelfs, 4 Ikea Symfonisk Lamps, 1 Sub Gen 3 and 1 Move. And I am already planning on getting a 2nd Move to make a stereo pair. It could even work as stereo pair on the move using tethering in a mobile phone (in theory ... I will have to test it) I also have a room, that I have a Five planned for .. maybe eventually two .. just have to find the funds for it. I'd even love more subs to accompany the playbars, but it's such a pricey proposition. Worth every penny though, when you can afford it. I got real lucky with the Playbars, as Amazon was offloading them for around 500 quid to clear stock, when the Arc got launched. Prices soared again after that.
Hi Peter. I’ve got a Sonos arc already and I’m considering adding a pair of stereo for serious music listening & movie surround sound. Just wonder should I go for a pair of fives or get a Sonos amp and two passive speaks, such as B&W 607? I listen to lots of classical music😊
Hi,peter I just bought a five. It sounds like there are a lot of bass. It will be very shocking to watch movies, but the singer's voice will be covered by the bass when listening to songs, so I adjusted the bass to -6 to sound better.
That's a good question. And to be honest, I have always been undecided on this. The Phantom Reactor goes really deep but below a certain level, it's all extra which most music material won't make use of. But... if you queue up a track like the "First Cells - Eric Serra" and "Bass I love you - Bass Mekanik" then the Phantom Reactors start to shine. So the answer is dependent on the type of music you listen to. If you need to go low, the Reactors will do it for you. But it's twice the money. If you are thinking about a single Phantom Reactor vs two Sonos Fives because they cost the same, DON'T. A single Phantom Reactor, or a single anything for that matter, sounds like crap.
Oh Adnan! I thought of doing that before! But I don't have the TV to do it and I can't extract the uncompressed Atmos at the moment. But I do have experience with a full 7.2.4 setup before at home. And I'd subjectively say that the difference is so so very marginal and only appears to enhance the lowest frequency registers. TrueHD also has the volume bumped up slightly so you may perceive the sound quality to be better but if you normalise the volume, you'd be hard pressed to tell the real difference.
Thanks Peter, great video as usual...do you have you any recommendation for the speaker orientation in terms of sonic quality when using them as a stereo pair?
I prefer them horizontally in stereo pair. For hometheatre especially paired with an Arc now, I prefer them in vertical as it throws the sound stage higher.
Hi Peter, Thank you for great videos! Is there any way to stereo pair play5 Gen2 & Gen3? Had a Gen2 so bought a Gen3 bcos I wanted to stereo pair but was disappointed when I couldn't pair them. Do know if it's possible?
Thank you Peter for the great video. Definitely subscribed for your channel :) Could you make sound comparison between Sonos five versus Arc + sub. Especially in the bass area. I heard both in the store and I got a feeling that the bass from Sonos Five (single) sounded better (more natural and musical) than the one form the SUB. The SUB's sound was kind of a thick... What is your opinion about it (Especially with the song you mentioned in the video "First Cells") Thanks
Yes your impression will be correct. The bass from the Sonos five is more musical. The speaker is of a sealed design and it sounds more even. The sub from Sonos is ported and thus it hits harder in the mid bass region. If you are into music, I’d say go for the fives. But bear in mind that the fives are not suited for line in from TVs as there will be a lag.
@@PeterPee Thanks for the replay :) Have you tried Five's as rear speakers to Sonos Arc? How much bass will they push without subwoofer for movies/music? I really do not like the bass from the sub compared to five's bass
This is probably an answer that everyone wants to know. I’m trying to get this done but work has not been kind. I’ll try to get something out this weekend.
I will give you an option with sound quality I would argue is much better, low end absolutely astoundingly better and room filling ability multiple times that of a pair of 5's for the same price, or less. I was going to do two 5's in a 3000sf room but after listening to them, as well as a pair of 12 inch Yamaha's and 15 inch yamahas, the difference wasn't even close. Different sports. I ended up doing two Yamaha DBR15's for $499 each and an ebay connect for $100. I have all the sonos app, multi-room playing with all the other rooms and sonos products but I have 1000 watts each, a pair of 15" woofers and the ability to completely fill the room to the absolute top with full, rich sound that you couldn't accomplish with 10 sonos 5 speakers. The Yamaha DBR12's also sounded great and just slightly less full than the 15's. A person would still be multiple times better off with those and they are $399 each. With an ebay connect you would be $100 or so under the price of two 5's. The Yamaha's do not care. They just fill the room with so much range anywhere from a whisper all the way to true face-melting power. Something to think about. Still a sonos system. Still very economical. The only real pro for the 5 would be space and physical size. However, a Yamaha DBR10 would be closer in size and still only be $350 each.... On Edit: Also, obviously you would need to run a single rca from the connect to each speaker in a stereo pair. If you ran a single speaker, clearly the connect would just go right with the speaker, and again, power would be all that was needed. So that is the other con to using a connect as opposed to speakers with built in sonos.
Yes, there is no replacement for displacement. When you go up in size that much, you are definitely going to get much more sound. And hey, at 3000 square feet, very few options will fill that room. The Fives, even if you get 4-6 of them, they are not going to cover that space.
excellent video, it's the best I've seen. I really appreciate the technical analysis you have done, I am a fan of the Bowers And Wilkins brand, I would like you to make a comparison between the Formation Wedge or Zeppelin Wireless, to know the frequency response of the two brands. I declare myself a fan of your channel. thank you.
Oh yeah! A long wait.. The Sonos Five was on sale.. after all the voucher and stuff my Five other half is coming... can’t wait to experience the true stereo.. Thanks to Peter! Great review... was considering the XLS.. but I think for sure the XLS will definitely require a sub, whereas the Fives is the best Sonos can offer without a sub.
Hey Peter, I was going to get a five. For my Mac as a desktop speaker. Is there a difference between Wireless sound and 3.5mm sound? Also if I plug it in through the 3.5mm jack will I still be able to use TruePlay?
Yes, trueplay works regardless of connection. Differences between wireless sound and 3.5mm ultimately depends on the source. If both are good, the difference should be minimal. 3.5mm has a slight delay though so if you are hooking up a screen you might get lip sync issues.
I was thinking about using Fives as speakers for my Macbook. If I use Airplay 2 will there be a noticeable delay if let’s say I’m watching a movie or TH-cam video or is that more for a line in connection?
Works great for music and safari sound, no lip sync issue in Airplay2 but there is a 2sec latency that is quiet annoying. For example when you press play on a TH-cam video, it will take around less than sec for the video to start and another 2 from the moment you press pause, the sound will continue 2 sec after. However with the Five, Era 100 and 300 with 3.5 jack it works perfectly well!! And the sound can be played wirelessly to your other speakers!
Thanks so much for this thorough and very informative review. Really clears up the air on a lot of questions. I wonder if you might help me think through a comparison. My living room setup (music/audiobooks only) consists of a pair of Polk Monitor 60 tower speakers, a Premier Acoustic PA-120 subwoofer, all driven by an original Sonos Connect: Amp. How would this setup compare to a stereo pair of Play:3s, Play:5s, and each of those with a Sonos Sub attached? Essentially, where on that continuum is the best bang for the buck, and how would it compare to my current setup? Thanks!
Your current setup is hard to beat in terms of volume. Fidelity wise I can't comment as. I am not familiar with Polk. But I might want to suggest you think about getting a Sonos Amp to drive your tower speakers assuming you still like them and have the space to keep using them. Then you can pair the Sub Gen 3 with the Amp and that should give you a good improvement without replacing your speakers.
You can use the Fives, Era 100 and 300 as computer desktop speakers via the 3.5 jack. Tested it on a Mac, works great with no lip sync delay and instant play/pause. The best of it if you have other Sonos products is that they can Instantly transfer the sound of the computer to other Sonos speakers wirelessly.
Can you do a video of the differences for using two fives in stereo pair and having them hooked up to the arc as surround? How the surround changes the dynamics when playing music?
Which is why… I explicitly titled this as $1000 setup. Not $500. Cos I know you’re gonna get the second. It happened to me. Went back to the store the next day to get the second.
Hey peter i have a playbase, 4 play, 2s at the rear of my couch eather side and 2 just in front of playbase and a sub, i am getting a secend sub, but do u think it would be worth me getting 2 play 5 for rear?
Hei Peter first of all nice channel 👍 you do a great job, because of your research and all your advice I became an Sonos fan. I need your help, however, I just get my brand new Arc with sub and on pair of One.I am thinking to get a pair of Five. I have an old system 5.1 Jamo S 603 with Pioneer vsx 922.What do you think about....is this an good upgrade?? Thank you very much.
Hey Emil, welcome to the channel and Glad that you found it useful. I had the Jamo s603 before! With the pioneer, you have a relatively good setup. I’m not sure you’re going to get a very big upgrade in terms of sound quality and sound stage. If you want to get the same levels of performance, the fives will up the system performance but I can’t be sure it will match the performance of your current setup. One thing for sure is that the Sonos arc can process Atmos and has upwards during Soeakers so you will get a more immersive soundstage which the Pioneer/Jamo setup can’t deliver now.
Hi Peter I really like your videos and want to see more! I just bought an Arc after your review and will buy next week a sub Gen 3 based on your review :) Then I wanted to buy 1 play 5 to increase music experience. But in your video it seems I can't use at the same time the Arc + sub + play5 at the same time? Not sure I understand the line in issue you are pointing out. Thanks again so I can make a decision on whether buying the play5. Cheers from France. Clement.
Don’t worry about the line in issue for a five in a surround setup. You can use it in a surround setup. Just that you won’t be able to pipe in music into Sonos five with the line in if you set it up as surrounds speakers. It will be just performing the surround function.
Happy that I was able to help! And yes, the fives are great. The best stereo setup you can get from Sonos today. And when paired to the arc and the sub, it’ll be the most potent home theatre setup from Sonos!
Only thing i hear is a lot of bass. I doesnt sound good in any way. Everything else is missing: no mids, just highs and still recessed compared to the bass. Maybe the track is not thw best but it doesnt sound any good.
Hi peter. Great video. Placement question... Do you keep your fives stereo pair in vertical or horizontal position? Is it true that in vertical position only the middle tweeter works and the other two angled tweeters are turned off? If the two angles tweeters are not turned off in vertical position then does it adds height to the sound or like an atmos effect by reflecting sound from the ceiling?
Thank you for this video. As always, great work! It's truly a shame that you cannot (simply) use a pair of fives as rear speakers AND as line-in stereo pair by simply grouping them. Since the Sonos Port is almost as expensive as a five on discount, I was thinking about getting a five for better connectivity, and then the second five would be an option down the road...
You’d enjoy the single five now. And you’ll enjoy the second five later. I cannot say enough great things about the Sonos five. Even the play:5 for that matter.
@@PeterPee I totally believe that :-) but as long as I need an additional pair of ones as rear speakers for my ARC (because line-in won't work otherwise) I'm running out of space and money ;-)
Just thought I’d mention the Play5/Fives sound good for rears and when configured to play “Full” music in the Sonos app you get rich music playback. There is a Sonos sub configured and positioned close to the Play5’s which integrates well but I leave that at level 0 to give depth without drawing attention to itself. I increased the surround music level +5 and the sound in the room gives a more traditional stereo effect with the lower volume ARC filling the other end of the room without any real distraction. I’m also spending a while listening to music through my cinema config with TruePlay OFF as I think it gives a richer music playback. After some weeks I’ll engage TruePlay again to see if my hearing still feels that way. While TruePlay is off the cinema sound is still very engaging. If you find sound config/settings you enjoy and stop thinking about those settings, you know your happy and the tech side of things will fade away leaving only enjoyment of the sound. Have fun finding your own preferred config 👍
Try find a 2nd hand Sonos Connect Gen 2, which is S2 compatible. The price point of that will be more to your liking and in all honesty, it's a better product than the Port :)
Hi Peter, I stumbled upon on your videos while searching various reviews on speaker. I started with searching reviews on Bose hs 500 and SB 700 with a tilt towards buying Bose as I have a Bose wave for 14 years which stopped playing finally. But after I saw your videos on Sonos I am fully sold out on this Sonos five. I have seen all your videos related to Sonos five, Arc and the Sub 3. Now I decided to build the whole Sonos echo system gradually starting with Sonos Five followed with Arc and then the sub. Will add the 75 inch TV with Atmos the last. I think I heard in one of the reviews you are from Singapore. If so can you suggest best places to get good deal on Sonos five. Also are there any recommended stand / wall mount for Sonos five.
Would you say a pair of Sonos Five for $1000 is a better deal than the LSX Wireless 2 and Devialet Phantom Reactor pair for around $2800? I want to have the option for playing it loud at times and enough bass to where I wouldn't need a subwoofer.
Since you mentioned price somewhere in your question, I am going to assume you are looking for value for the money that you are spending. The $1K setup for the pair of Fives is the best bang for the buck. Correctly placed, I never felt the bass lacking. Not for $1K.
Hello! Nice review I bought 2 Sonos five and one sub. I am planning to walk mount the fives and sub The five could be mounted orizontally to save space, my question: Do the fives work in stereo even if putted orizontally?
A single five will work in stereo when placed horizontally. If you pair them up into a stereo pair/room, they will each play the respective left or right channel regardless of orientation.
Hi Peter - I love your channel! I am trying to understand if you can use a couple of Five in a TV set up as surround (with Arc and Sub) as well as in a music set up (as stereo speaker with or without sub)? Can you easily switch from one config to another through the app - or do you have to set up or do multiple actions on the app or worse - Not possible at all? Thanks for you response!
It is going to be a lot of trouble having to switch all the time. I use the Fives in a surround setup but if I listen in music sources, I will increase the surround volume to +15 so that it drowns out the arc a bit. It gives a better stereo image that way.
Really a great video dear Peter! No nonsense.. up to the mark and so easy to relate to and understand. thanks for posting. I have a single sonos 5 and was thinking of pairing it .. my decision is clear now. thanks once again and best wishes.
Is it possible to make a 2.1 TV set up with Fives + Sub? If so, how do you connect them to the TV (since the Fives only accept analog)? I'm hoping that I could put a Five on either side the TV if its possible to get them streaming or connected to high-res digital (keep the Dolby intact) from a TV somehow? I know this can be accomplished with a Sonos soundbar, but anyway to skip that requirement?
I know I could play through my phone, laptop, and record player, but is there a way I could connect a pair of Sonos to a TV and play music from the Spotify and TH-cam app via my XboxOneX? Should I use these as speakers for my TV or would you suggest something else? Thanks.
I would really suggest something else as connecting the fives to the tv required a 3.5mm analog input and that introduces a lot of lag and lip sync issues. Your sound won’t match the picture.
Peter well done on a super informative and detailed analysis on the sonos five speakers. Really well done as always :-). I was looking at the frequency response part of the video (8:30) and I am looking at the graph for the single sonos five. I can't make out the exact db figures but it does look like the bass is way way pronounced compared to the rest of the frequency range (like 15 db over or more)? If that is the case, should we expect this to result into super boomy bass? I was kind of hoping that sonos would produce a more balanced frequency response to be honest. A few years ago I owned the Play 5 gen 2 and it too had a very pronounced bass that was impossible to tame unfortunately. Even with trueplay tuning, it was still there and the bass / treble eq was not enough to adjust the sound. Did you find this problem with the new Sonos five? In contrast, I found it was easier to get a more balanced sound with the bluesound speakers (after eq adjustment). Many thanks again
You brought up a good comparison for discussion. Sonos and bluesound, having tried both, appears to take a very different approach to their products. Sonos is a smart speaker company first. They are damn good at their sound too. But rely heavily on computational audio processing. In other words, DSP. Their intent was never to produce flat response. Flat response, is not exciting to them. Bluesound, is a different animal, pedigree born of royal hifi heritage, NAD and PSB. NAD is in the business of making amplifiers and PSB making speakers. To these parents, great hifi has always been an uncolored sound. If it’s neutral, it’s hifi. So the approach is to flatten the response. As to which route is preferred or even correct, no one is to judge. They both offer products with different emphasis. Sonos gets you started. Bluesound lets you graduate. To answer your question directly, Sonos five still offers a very deep bassy sound signature. There is some DSP magic there. And you’ll have to accept that that’s their sound signature and if you’re using eq to correct it, it’s trying to correct it from a position you don’t want it to start from. So my take is for someone of your preference, the bluesound is going to be the right speaker for you.
Hi Peter, I love your way of presenting, I have seen all your setups. I am convinced and decided to purchase 2 fives, sub g3 and an arc to order. The 2 fives a week without sub used. Very nice sound placed upright in stereo setup. Today added sub. What strikes me is now when using trueplay the low tones almost disappear from the fives. To be honest, a degradation of the sound quality. without trueplay they play better at the lower frequency. Have you noticed this too? lovely to check the sound throughout the evening. Greetings. Rene
Yes, with a sub in the mix, the bass frequencies are taken away from the Fives. So with or without true play, the Fives won't play much low frequencies.
Anyone aware of this issue? Im using Playbar in Living Room only and 2 Sonos 5s in the kitchen (stereo paired); when attempting to add kitchen and living room to a group, I get no audio on the Sonos Fives.
@@PeterPee Not sure if it’s a distance issue, because when I removed the stereo pair from the fives, leaving them in the same location I’m able add to the Playbar with them in a group without issues. I can look into adding it directly to my router and see if that helps. Thanks man. I appreciate your response and keep up the good work
Does the lip sync issue with linen in occur when you have one speaker on or only when fives are used as a pair. If there’s no sync issue with a single speaker, it’s possible to use splitters to split the signal in to left right, and use the speakers as stand alone singles.
It occurs when the line in is used. It doesn’t matter whether it’s one or two speakers. Actually the splitting of signal won’t be ideal also. You’d have to control the volume independently to match.
In a fairly open concept 1st floor, should I get two 5's, one in the kitchen and one in the family/dining room (separated by about 25ft with a small wall in the middle). Or two separated SL's in the kitchen and one 5 in the other room?
Will the two rooms always play the same songs together? Will they always be playing at the same time? Any situations which will end up with only either the kitchen or family room playing on its own? If they are always going to be playing together, then get two fives. It’s a bitch to keep having to group them to play together. And the sound will be much more coherent and not sound like Optus fives are over powering the ones.
@@PeterPee yes, always the same source/song, thank you! Note your XM4 LDAC vid has been referenced at least twice on a big CDN deal site, very helpful vids sir
Hello Peter. This is my first comment ever on youtube! Even though i am not an audiophile (far from it) i really really enjoy your videos. Your voice and the way you make everything so exiting is amazing, congrats on that! So i am thinking about buying some Sonos speakers for a 1000 square feet (or 90 m2) open Studio. I was thinking about finding a pair of 3s on Ebay as they are much cheaper .. i could also go for a pair of Play 5 Gen 1 (they are selling CHEAP because of lack of update situation). What would you do? Buy a pair of 3 and a bit more modern (at least supports new app) or a pair of old Play 5 ? Sorry for such a big question. Please keep up with your work
Hi Babara! Sorry I haven’t got round to replying as I was so busy over the last 2 weeks. For 1000 sq feet of open studio, 1 play:5 might not provide enough coverage. My suggestion is to get the pair of play:3s. It will provide a more even spread.
@@PeterPee Thank you so much for your reply! Yes i think having more then one for a more uniform sound is the best bet. The good news is that they are cheap right now on ebay comparing to the 5s :) Keep up the great work !
Excellent review! Thanks Peter! Just ordered a pair. Question about placement. Should the 2 speakers be placed at an angle (toe-in), or should they face the front straight? Thanks again. Kenny
Thanks for all your videos to date. After comparing two one's vs a single five in my kitchen - I was very impressed at the pair of one's - so much so that i regretted my purchase of the single five. after many months - i went out and purchased my second five for a stereo pair ... Does it sound better??? YES it definately sounds better than stereo ones and a single five..... is it $749 (Australia) better???? Probably not - but I'll keep them anyway.
I got a single bluesound pulse 2i.... but a second.... haha. I will consider this carefully. I love that design and the software. But Gosh.... you’re right about the price tag.
Hello Peter, first of all, thank you for your videos, I really like them, very useful. Here are my questions. I bought 2 Sonos five. They are great but with true play, the voices of the artists seem pretty thin if you know what I mean. is that normal? Furthermore, would you recommend 2 Sonos one sl behind the sofa to have the real music surround experience (my 2 Sonos 5 are in front of me, approximately 1,5 m separated from each other)? I would be very thankful for a respond. Thank you.
For music, don't need the surround channel for music, They won't be set up together too and it might get distracting. Not recommended. For the Trueplay, which phone are you tuning with? Check my latest video for some idea.
Hello Peter, i just this Pair for my New home, is there any chance to connect them with a TV ? Or i need to get the Sonos Beam or one pf the soundbars? Thanks
You need the sound bars. You can connect to the TV if your tv has an analog 3.5mm out but there will be a significant problem with the audio lag and lip sync issue.
@@PeterPee Hi Peter, I watched a video on youtube where a guy went into the settings of the fives for the line in and changed the audio compression setting from automatic to uncompressed and that seemed to fix the issue. could you test that out?
I'm starting to think Sonos is pouring money into your pockets ... this is UTTER CRAP! Anyone that actually "listens" to music would fall off their chair laughing at this rubbish.
@@raduiordache2772 I own them along with a lot of other Sonos gear .. and for anything beyond casual listening/TV surround they're just OK and far from "the best". My point is this channel is promoting Sonos under the guise of performing "reviews".
@@markladenheim5352 there are too many variables for one single answer. To be frank, a pair of Sonos 5's is an ok solution to stereo listening in a variety of circumstances where the listener is not highly critical. Hence my BS call on it being "the best". To be the best it has to excel in every circumstance and Sonos simply doesn't in many areas of definition, detail and accuracy. BUT, if your thing is the latest auto-tuned crapoduction on a low definition stream you are not going to care about much other that volume. The 5's do volume! In some circumstances a bridge, analogue amp and a pair of bookshelf speakers will be better. Sometimes a pair of powered reference speakers will be a superior audio experience. What's your source? That's also a major determining factor. If you personally want to seriously enjoy a stereo reproduction of music and want to hear every nuance and detail .. but you've only got $1K to spend - get headphones and a headphone amp!
Easy to agree with this. My living room already has 2x Play:1 as surrounds, an Arc and sub. I picked up a single Five, placed in the corner of the long end of the room, and it fills the room with beautifully separated instruments and vocals. So far the wife hasn’t spotted it….when the time is right, I’ll add a second! ;) Great video Peter.
would love to see the comparison between this versus the Devialet 😆 great video as always Peter!
I’m keen to do that video too. That video will surely split camps. Haha. But there is a speaker for every price bracket.
Peter Pee I look forward to that video (Five vs Reactor) so much. It will be exciting and will be the first on the Internet!
Thanks for the reminder! I know. So busy lately but I’ll get round to it!
@@PeterPee Could you play a pair of Sonos Fives together with an aux cord connected to laptop? What if Wifi goes down?
Awesome review like always. Your reviews are absolutely the best I've seen. Such in-depth information and easy to understand. I look forward to all your videos.
Thank you for your very kind words Shawn!
Great review!
Already bought a pair of Five's, and considering adding a Sub Gen3 for a 2.1 setup strictly for music.
I am wondering if this probably is slightly overkill in a small livingroom, or if it just will make every frequency pop more out?
For the fives, adding the sub woofer is truly an overkill. You don’t need to as the incremental performance is going to be very marginal. But yes, the highs will be handled better and the lows will go down lower. Just not as big a jump as you might think it to be.
Peter, you are the best at reviewing Sonos gear. I love the summary you give up front and the very detailed and well researched info that follows. One of the great TH-cam channels!
Wow, thanks!
I totally agree! That grouping speakers for different configurations would be great! It’s so disappointing that their is no easy way to unpair the surrounds from an arc if you want to hear music. Great video again! Thanks for sharing! 🙏
Happy to share! Actually I can recognise there are challenges in implementing but some should be easy.
At this price, you should compare the Sonos with KEF LSX.
I have 1 Sonos Fives (gen3) not a stereo pair and a pair of KEF LSX. The KEF beats the Sonos on sound quality by big margin.
I have been lusting over a pair of LSX for the longest time....
How does this compare to the Kef LSX? Currently also in the somewhat similar price range.
+1
Great scientific approach to speaker quality, thank you! Can you please advise if you think a stereo pair work equally as well horizontally placed as opposed to vertically? Many thanks.
Could you compare the sound quality between 2 play 5 as stereo vs a 5.1 system (playbar, sub, and two play 5s as surround w setting for music on full) for music listening?
So if I heard this correctly. A pair of Sonos Fives for Music 👍 👍. But… for TV movie sound staging 👎 due to latency/ delay from picture to audio ? Please help for I want to buy 2 Fives both for Movies and music.
BTW read comments on here Fives paired w the Sonos Arc great for movies. 🤷♂️
I was looking for better passive speakers, either tower or shelves, for a budget of 2.5k max, possibly adding a sub to that... It doesn't seem to be worth it. The Fives seem to be solving many problems at once. Would be curious to hear about anyone's experience with the Fives using the Roon music player. I don't mind the 48hkHz limit personnally as I cannot hear the difference between CD resolution and higher formats, but are there any issues I might not be aware of ?
I have had my stereo pair of Fives for a few weeks now and love them. I placed them vertically as per the normal way most people place them. I then thought I would try them horizontally and wow! they sound much better. I trueplayed both times and interestingly, with them vertically, there was a huge difference in toggling on and off the trueplay. Not so much now with them horizontally which suggests my room was better able to deal with the sound horizontally anyway.
Yeah. Cos usually you have things around the house that will absorb sound waves and reflections on the lateral plane. But most people won’t have things on the ceiling to absorb reflections, causing some imaging issues.
I was wondering about this.. I have mine vertically .. I’ll try horizontal
Not sure if anyone else commented this already, but what about the KEF LSX pair? How would it compare to the Fives? Same price class and many positive reviews. No comparison to the latest Sonos Fives though.
I’m confused, you said that the speakers of Sonos Five are aggressively angled towards left and right; so, if I place a stereo pair of Fives vertically then won’t they be throwing sounds to the floor and the roof? Would it give me as precise soundstage as a pair of two mono speakers that have front facing speakers such as Sonos Ones?
Thank you uncle Peter. Came across your video on searching the sonos five and was so impressed, went out and bought two. I can say, no regrets as I am blown away by the ease and power this setup affords. Subbed!
Nice! Aaron, I am happy to have helped! And So far, for the sub and the fives, no one has ever blamed me for a wrong choice before when I recommend them!
Got a pair of 5s after this, stereo paired these are sooooo good
Thank you Peter for the great video. I heard the play 5’s as a stereo pair at a friend of mine and was impressed, especially at this price-point! As far as I see it only a Sonos AMP paired with a set of real nice monitors (on good stands) like e.g. B&W 606 would give a greater fidelity within the Sonos eco system. But at a much higher price. I think that it depends on your listening expextations/demands. But what I would like to know is how this setup would integrate with the sonos SUB(G3) AND how its gained soundquality wil compare with the Sonos Five strereo pair and the SUB(G3). I can imagine that the DSP’s in the FIVES will affect the sound and most likely the (e.g)Sonos AMP/606 combo will sound more natural due to far less DSP processing.
Maybe an idea when you are getting bored 😂. Thanks again Peter
Hi Peter, is it still the case in 2024? Many thanks for your reviews and your polite style
I am planning to add sub gen3 to a pair of sonos 5, is it gonna make different? Or maybe added 2 more sonos 5 to my bar setup?
Hey Peter, I bought two Sonos Five’s and I am confused about something:
After enabling “Stereo Pair” option through the Sonos app only one of the Sonos Five speaker plays while using AirPlay to play music or watch movies. I did a factory reset and re-paired the speakers using the app and it still has the same behavior.
As a workaround, I unpaired the stereo pair through the Sonos app and I am now choosing two speakers in the AirPlay option. This allows me to play music using both the speakers. But, this option is inconvenient since I have to manually choose the two speakers.
I thought the stereo pairing feature would produce sound from both the speakers at the same time? Am I understanding stereo pairing incorrectly?
Thank you!
Did you ever find out what the issue was? I just got my second five and hooked the two up as stereo pair. When I use airplay from Apple Music, prime music etc… only one Sonos five will play. If I use the Sonos app to play Apple Music it will play on both fives. It seems to me that the stereo pair only works while using the Sonos app to play music.
@@MrLopez199 hi! Try to connect both Sonos Five to the 2.4ghz wi-fi network - this should solve the problem.
How would it be for example to pair 3 or 4 fives in a living room, can't find any story about it on the web???
No you can’t. But you can set them up separately and then play them back together in a group.
I use apple tv with my theater and i am able to use it wirelessly
An outstanding review, Peter. Thank you very much.
Would you ever pair a sub mini or sub 3 with a pair or single 5 for music only listening? Or would that be overkill? Great videos! Thank you!!!
Paired a sub mini with a single Five, the result was minimal. Bass is a little deeper but you probably wouldn’t even notice the difference. You’re better off get a pair of Fives.
Awesome review, information that not many videos offer :D
Peter would you consider testing the klipsch fives
Quite a few requests for that. I am actually very keen but I am not sure as I have more speakers than rooms to place now. Haha.
Peter Pee have you considered the Kef LSX’s? A Sonos 5 vs Kef Lsx video is highly anticipated...
I'd say that one major difference with the The Fives is the room placement. With that back port, the The Fives really need to be pulled out from the wall or else you're gonna suffer from too much bass. This is okay for when you have space, but none of my rooms would work for this. I do appreciate the Sonos Fives for being a sealed design that won't care much how close it is to a wall. The Klipsch speakers do have an advantage though for 2 or 2.1 channel home theater with their HDMI ARC port. All the issues Peter mentions in this video with the line-in delays means that this $1,000 set can only be used well for music (or back channels with a Sonos ARC). Maybe the Sonos Fives in a stereo pair would work well for 2-channel home theater over AirPlay2 instead? I've used AirPlay2 to connect a HomePod to my Apple TV 4k (small room) and it works mostly well. Some crappy apps (BritBox, etc) tend to choke or drop the AirPlay connection from time to time. Netflix and Prime aren't bothered.
@@PeterPee Do you think these would work well as a Stereo pair with an Apple TV 4K over AirPlay2?
I did consider the LSX. I auditioned it at least on 3 separate occasions and couldn’t make myself buy it. I have a wide taste in terms of music genre and while the KEFs excelled at vocals, they lack a little in the bass department.
I would probably take any 2.1 or just sync TV stereo with any phantom... For that money I would miss under 200hz kick of subs.
Till this day, the sub sonic performance of the Phantom Reactors still amaze me everytime I hear it kick in.
Your videos are nothing short of excellent, sir.
Yeah concur 100%. Just waiting for my old hifi system to die before i fork out for a pair.
Hey Peter! What is the best quality audio streaming service for the Sonos Five Stereo pair? Apple Music? Derzeit? tidal? … etc? What would you recommend? Can youngest the difference on the Sonos Fives?
Thanks, Sven
Thank you for all your hard work Peter. I have 4 Sonos Fives in my 40’x20’ living room. Each set is paired together on opposite sides. It sounds awesome. Is there anything I should do differently with this set up? Thanks.
Peter I bought one Sonos Five and was impressed. You are absolutely correct in the fact that you are better off with two for pairing. Love the sound!
Are all drivers active in vertical position? How about adding a Sonos Sub for even better bass response?
The sub doesn't add much to a pair of Fives. I have tried it and the difference is negligible. The left and right tweeters are firing off to the sides
Thanks again Peter. Enjoyed everything....
Especially the "Behind the scenes" 😂😂😂
You’ve been a great supporter! Thanks Tiaan!
I heard about the possibility to connect TV to sonos five via bluetooth - would that solve latency?
The Fives have no bluetooth. You can add a device that will accept Bluetooth audio and output to the Fives through the Aux port but you will still get latency.
Thanks Peter. Awesome as usual. For stereo imaging in a vertical position should the tweeters be on the outside of the image , or inside ? … hope this makes sense …
Looking forward to a stereo showdown between the SONOS Fives vs the Devialet Reactors
Hi Peter, great review ! I own one Five and do not have enough space for a second one. I was thinking of adding a sub to my sole Five (easier to place the sub). Do you think it is a big improvment? Or does adding a second Five would make more sense than adding a sub? Txs 👍
A sub won’t do much more for your single five. I’d say maybe a 10-20% improvement if you need to quantify it. But adding a second five will improve the sound by another 150%. I don’t think I’m exaggerating.
@@PeterPee no, you're not exaggerating! best thing I did was to get another play 5 for a stereo pair.
Hi there, it would be good to know where the frequency crossover point is when paired with the sub? Be a shame if it keeps the same 92hz point as the arc.
That’s something that I want to test as well. Requires quite a bit of moving and the weekend is over. Will get to that some time!
Very Good in depth Review my Friend. Thanks for your efforts
Thank you!
Thankyou for your excellent review, today i purchased the sonos 5 and am more than impressed.
I just wanted to add something which i would like to hear your view of, on initial listening with the unit horizontal (just one) it sounded very mono so i got digging into the settings (no callibration as only have android).
Anyway i turned off volume limiting and loudness, i also turned off compression, then i played with the equilizer with the unit on the floor central and about 5 feet away,
I lifted the trebble to plus 3 and the imaging suddenly came to life i could hear the medley floating with width and shimmering treble, i then pushed it a little more upto 5 and somewhere between 4 and 5 is the sweet spot with the stereo image coming alive and well centered feeling like a stereo pair.
If you would like to try this and let me know if this works for you too, it may help those with only one speaker or it could just be my room but on 0 it sounds very flat and mono.
It seems those outward tweeters are not driven enough with the factory eq and the width is left muddled with the bass and lifeless.
The detail right across the board with this speaker is also amazing.
Thanks, Mat.
AWESOME review, Pete! Quick question, I read online that you should space them between 8-10 ft apart. Will I compromise the sound quality if I literally let them be side by side by just a few inches?
Your input would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Если вдруг какой-то русский захочет купить sonos 5 и случайно увидит это видео и чудом заметит мой коммент - бро, покупай, не думай. У меня пара пятерок. Они стоят своих денег. В рашке брал за чуть менее 50 тр. за шт. Жду появления Arc, чтобы послушать. Были бы свободные 80к - купил бы и его не глядя.
Translate:
"If suddenly some Russian wants to buy sonos 5 and accidentally sees this video and miraculously notices my comment - bro, buy, don't think. I have a pair of fives. They are worth their money."
Кароч, посоны. Я купил арк. И мое мнение, он НЕ стоит своих денег.
пруф : ibb.co/6YPwqXb
Did not research but for that money its great sound.
Fantastic content. Keep it up!
Is listening to music on the Arc +Sub worse than a stereo pair of fives? How much worse is it?
The sub makes the arc sound infinitely better than the arc on its own. At least the bass is taken care of. But it won’t come close to the Sonos fives.
Sound staging and mid range suffers right away. And there is a very artificial boost on the arc’s treble which will disrupt musical performance.
Thanks. I was afraid of this, or rather my wallet was afraid of this.
My first Sonos was the Play 5 first gen. I was blown away by the power and sound in such a small package and it was beautiful and so well made. Have since purchased a Sonos Playbar, Arc and gen 3 subwoofer. Going to get either the Sonos Move or the new play 5 the place the gen 1 Play 5 for the upstairs of our home this coming holiday.
The Move can not be used as surrounds, but if you just want a single portable speaker .. or a stereo pair .. it is a good choice. It does however only compare to the Play:3 .. it is not the same as a Play:5 or Sonos Five
Hmmm, I have never thought of the Move as a Play:3 replacement. But in terms of size, it does look similar and sits between the One and the Five. But the use case for the Move is restrictive through. Just for music. Or if you like, Bluetooth from a tv or screen to put sound out. But there will be a definite lag.
@@PeterPee yes .. it nowhere replaces the Play:3 at all. From a sound-stage and quality it replaces the Play:3, but only as a single speaker or a stereo pair. Because you can not pair it in as rear surrounds. There is a true gap in their portfolio now between the One and the Five.
I only got convinced to go down the Sonos route very recently by a friend who has been harping on about Sonos for years.
I haven't had a decent stereo system in over a decade and when we moved to a new home that I decided to go full on smart home in, Sonos was the perfect choice.
So I now have a total of 18 Sonos speakers and a Sonos Connect Gen 2 around the house :) That's 4 Playbars, 4 Play:3, 4 Ikea Symfonisk Bookshelfs, 4 Ikea Symfonisk Lamps, 1 Sub Gen 3 and 1 Move. And I am already planning on getting a 2nd Move to make a stereo pair. It could even work as stereo pair on the move using tethering in a mobile phone (in theory ... I will have to test it)
I also have a room, that I have a Five planned for .. maybe eventually two .. just have to find the funds for it. I'd even love more subs to accompany the playbars, but it's such a pricey proposition. Worth every penny though, when you can afford it. I got real lucky with the Playbars, as Amazon was offloading them for around 500 quid to clear stock, when the Arc got launched. Prices soared again after that.
Wow. You are in deep. Haha. Sonos has this uncanny ability to suck one in.
Hi Peter. I’ve got a Sonos arc already and I’m considering adding a pair of stereo for serious music listening & movie surround sound. Just wonder should I go for a pair of fives or get a Sonos amp and two passive speaks, such as B&W 607? I listen to lots of classical music😊
Hi,peter I just bought a five. It sounds like there are a lot of bass. It will be very shocking to watch movies, but the singer's voice will be covered by the bass when listening to songs, so I adjusted the bass to -6 to sound better.
For reference, how do these compare to the Devialet reactor 600? What am I getting if I spend double the money?
That's a good question. And to be honest, I have always been undecided on this. The Phantom Reactor goes really deep but below a certain level, it's all extra which most music material won't make use of.
But... if you queue up a track like the "First Cells - Eric Serra" and "Bass I love you - Bass Mekanik" then the Phantom Reactors start to shine. So the answer is dependent on the type of music you listen to. If you need to go low, the Reactors will do it for you. But it's twice the money.
If you are thinking about a single Phantom Reactor vs two Sonos Fives because they cost the same, DON'T. A single Phantom Reactor, or a single anything for that matter, sounds like crap.
@@PeterPee Thanks for the quick answer. Love your channel, keep it up!
Yooo thanks for showing that song.
Yes really great sample for testing the low end.
You should do a video comparing the Arc’s performance between lossy Atmos (DD+) and uncompressed Atmos (TrueHD)
Oh Adnan! I thought of doing that before! But I don't have the TV to do it and I can't extract the uncompressed Atmos at the moment. But I do have experience with a full 7.2.4 setup before at home. And I'd subjectively say that the difference is so so very marginal and only appears to enhance the lowest frequency registers. TrueHD also has the volume bumped up slightly so you may perceive the sound quality to be better but if you normalise the volume, you'd be hard pressed to tell the real difference.
@@PeterPee Thanks so much for clearing that up. Keep up the great work. Love what you're doing.
Thanks for the support Adnan!
Thanks Peter, great video as usual...do you have you any recommendation for the speaker orientation in terms of sonic quality when using them as a stereo pair?
I prefer them horizontally in stereo pair. For hometheatre especially paired with an Arc now, I prefer them in vertical as it throws the sound stage higher.
@@PeterPee THX, I will rearrange them horizontally in my stereo setup. BTW: really worth using them as rear speakers in the arc and sub setup?
Hi Peter,
Thank you for great videos!
Is there any way to stereo pair play5 Gen2 & Gen3? Had a Gen2 so bought a Gen3 bcos I wanted to stereo pair but was disappointed when I couldn't pair them. Do know if it's possible?
For music how does a Sonos five compare to a Sonos Arc?
MILES AHEAD. For music, go for Fives. No contest.
Thank you Peter for the great video. Definitely subscribed for your channel :)
Could you make sound comparison between Sonos five versus Arc + sub. Especially in the bass area.
I heard both in the store and I got a feeling that the bass from Sonos Five (single) sounded better (more natural and musical) than the one form the SUB. The SUB's sound was kind of a thick... What is your opinion about it (Especially with the song you mentioned in the video "First Cells")
Thanks
Yes your impression will be correct. The bass from the Sonos five is more musical. The speaker is of a sealed design and it sounds more even. The sub from Sonos is ported and thus it hits harder in the mid bass region. If you are into music, I’d say go for the fives. But bear in mind that the fives are not suited for line in from TVs as there will be a lag.
@@PeterPee Thanks for the replay :)
Have you tried Five's as rear speakers to Sonos Arc? How much bass will they push without subwoofer for movies/music? I really do not like the bass from the sub compared to five's bass
This is probably an answer that everyone wants to know. I’m trying to get this done but work has not been kind. I’ll try to get something out this weekend.
I will give you an option with sound quality I would argue is much better, low end absolutely astoundingly better and room filling ability multiple times that of a pair of 5's for the same price, or less. I was going to do two 5's in a 3000sf room but after listening to them, as well as a pair of 12 inch Yamaha's and 15 inch yamahas, the difference wasn't even close. Different sports. I ended up doing two Yamaha DBR15's for $499 each and an ebay connect for $100. I have all the sonos app, multi-room playing with all the other rooms and sonos products but I have 1000 watts each, a pair of 15" woofers and the ability to completely fill the room to the absolute top with full, rich sound that you couldn't accomplish with 10 sonos 5 speakers. The Yamaha DBR12's also sounded great and just slightly less full than the 15's. A person would still be multiple times better off with those and they are $399 each. With an ebay connect you would be $100 or so under the price of two 5's. The Yamaha's do not care. They just fill the room with so much range anywhere from a whisper all the way to true face-melting power. Something to think about. Still a sonos system. Still very economical. The only real pro for the 5 would be space and physical size. However, a Yamaha DBR10 would be closer in size and still only be $350 each....
On Edit: Also, obviously you would need to run a single rca from the connect to each speaker in a stereo pair. If you ran a single speaker, clearly the connect would just go right with the speaker, and again, power would be all that was needed. So that is the other con to using a connect as opposed to speakers with built in sonos.
Yes, there is no replacement for displacement. When you go up in size that much, you are definitely going to get much more sound. And hey, at 3000 square feet, very few options will fill that room. The Fives, even if you get 4-6 of them, they are not going to cover that space.
excellent video, it's the best I've seen. I really appreciate the technical analysis you have done, I am a fan of the Bowers And Wilkins brand, I would like you to make a comparison between the Formation Wedge or Zeppelin Wireless, to know the frequency response of the two brands. I declare myself a fan of your channel. thank you.
Oh yeah! A long wait.. The Sonos Five was on sale.. after all the voucher and stuff my Five other half is coming... can’t wait to experience the true stereo.. Thanks to Peter! Great review... was considering the XLS.. but I think for sure the XLS will definitely require a sub, whereas the Fives is the best Sonos can offer without a sub.
Hey Peter,
I was going to get a five. For my Mac as a desktop speaker. Is there a difference between Wireless sound and 3.5mm sound? Also if I plug it in through the 3.5mm jack will I still be able to use TruePlay?
Yes, trueplay works regardless of connection. Differences between wireless sound and 3.5mm ultimately depends on the source. If both are good, the difference should be minimal. 3.5mm has a slight delay though so if you are hooking up a screen you might get lip sync issues.
I was thinking about using Fives as speakers for my Macbook. If I use Airplay 2 will there be a noticeable delay if let’s say I’m watching a movie or TH-cam video or is that more for a line in connection?
Works great for music and safari sound, no lip sync issue in Airplay2 but there is a 2sec latency that is quiet annoying. For example when you press play on a TH-cam video, it will take around less than sec for the video to start and another 2 from the moment you press pause, the sound will continue 2 sec after.
However with the Five, Era 100 and 300 with 3.5 jack it works perfectly well!! And the sound can be played wirelessly to your other speakers!
I have a Sonos 5 gen 1. Can I pair it in stereo mode with a newer Sonos 5 gen 2 that you have here presented?
Thanks so much for this thorough and very informative review. Really clears up the air on a lot of questions. I wonder if you might help me think through a comparison. My living room setup (music/audiobooks only) consists of a pair of Polk Monitor 60 tower speakers, a Premier Acoustic PA-120 subwoofer, all driven by an original Sonos Connect: Amp. How would this setup compare to a stereo pair of Play:3s, Play:5s, and each of those with a Sonos Sub attached? Essentially, where on that continuum is the best bang for the buck, and how would it compare to my current setup? Thanks!
Your current setup is hard to beat in terms of volume. Fidelity wise I can't comment as. I am not familiar with Polk.
But I might want to suggest you think about getting a Sonos Amp to drive your tower speakers assuming you still like them and have the space to keep using them. Then you can pair the Sub Gen 3 with the Amp and that should give you a good improvement without replacing your speakers.
I pair my arc with two sonos five with no subwoofer and the sound is insane. I love it 😍 no subwoofer needed with this setup. I returned mine.
You’re getting me very excited! I have been so busy at work I haven’t had time to work on this or to pair the fives to the arc!
Oh dear. I hope Sonos makes speakers to use as computer desktop speakers
Try Sonos Beam if you have optical out on your pc
You can use the Fives, Era 100 and 300 as computer desktop speakers via the 3.5 jack. Tested it on a Mac, works great with no lip sync delay and instant play/pause. The best of it if you have other Sonos products is that they can Instantly transfer the sound of the computer to other Sonos speakers wirelessly.
Can you do a video of the differences for using two fives in stereo pair and having them hooked up to the arc as surround? How the surround changes the dynamics when playing music?
Peter, we need these fives vs the reactors. :)
I got one sonos five, the sound is great above 50% volume but barely audible below 30%, is it with me only...
Hmmm.. I definitely don't push it above 50% almost any time. 30% is good enough for me.
I should of never come to this video 😂. Ordered one speaker and it was amazing so I’m ordering a second lol
Which is why… I explicitly titled this as $1000 setup. Not $500. Cos I know you’re gonna get the second. It happened to me. Went back to the store the next day to get the second.
Hey peter i have a playbase, 4 play, 2s at the rear of my couch eather side and 2 just in front of playbase and a sub, i am getting a secend sub, but do u think it would be worth me getting 2 play 5 for rear?
No, get the sub. The second sub is going to add a lot more to your sound than the fives for the rear.
Hei Peter first of all nice channel 👍 you do a great job, because of your research and all your advice I became an Sonos fan. I need your help, however, I just get my brand new Arc with sub and on pair of One.I am thinking to get a pair of Five. I have an old system 5.1 Jamo S 603 with Pioneer vsx 922.What do you think about....is this an good upgrade??
Thank you very much.
Hey Emil, welcome to the channel and Glad that you found it useful.
I had the Jamo s603 before! With the pioneer, you have a relatively good setup. I’m not sure you’re going to get a very big upgrade in terms of sound quality and sound stage. If you want to get the same levels of performance, the fives will up the system performance but I can’t be sure it will match the performance of your current setup. One thing for sure is that the Sonos arc can process Atmos and has upwards during Soeakers so you will get a more immersive soundstage which the Pioneer/Jamo setup can’t deliver now.
Hi Peter I really like your videos and want to see more! I just bought an Arc after your review and will buy next week a sub Gen 3 based on your review :) Then I wanted to buy 1 play 5 to increase music experience. But in your video it seems I can't use at the same time the Arc + sub + play5 at the same time? Not sure I understand the line in issue you are pointing out. Thanks again so I can make a decision on whether buying the play5. Cheers from France. Clement.
Don’t worry about the line in issue for a five in a surround setup. You can use it in a surround setup. Just that you won’t be able to pipe in music into Sonos five with the line in if you set it up as surrounds speakers. It will be just performing the surround function.
@@PeterPee so I can buy it! you're the best 😊
Happy that I was able to help! And yes, the fives are great. The best stereo setup you can get from Sonos today. And when paired to the arc and the sub, it’ll be the most potent home theatre setup from Sonos!
@@PeterPee and would you say it increases a lot the music experience too?
A lot. If you set the music playback to full bandwidth rather than ambient, the result is remarkable.
Only thing i hear is a lot of bass. I doesnt sound good in any way. Everything else is missing: no mids, just highs and still recessed compared to the bass. Maybe the track is not thw best but it doesnt sound any good.
Hi peter. Great video. Placement question... Do you keep your fives stereo pair in vertical or horizontal position? Is it true that in vertical position only the middle tweeter works and the other two angled tweeters are turned off? If the two angles tweeters are not turned off in vertical position then does it adds height to the sound or like an atmos effect by reflecting sound from the ceiling?
Thank you for this video. As always, great work! It's truly a shame that you cannot (simply) use a pair of fives as rear speakers AND as line-in stereo pair by simply grouping them. Since the Sonos Port is almost as expensive as a five on discount, I was thinking about getting a five for better connectivity, and then the second five would be an option down the road...
You’d enjoy the single five now. And you’ll enjoy the second five later. I cannot say enough great things about the Sonos five. Even the play:5 for that matter.
@@PeterPee I totally believe that :-) but as long as I need an additional pair of ones as rear speakers for my ARC (because line-in won't work otherwise) I'm running out of space and money ;-)
Just thought I’d mention the Play5/Fives sound good for rears and when configured to play “Full” music in the Sonos app you get rich music playback. There is a Sonos sub configured and positioned close to the Play5’s which integrates well but I leave that at level 0 to give depth without drawing attention to itself. I increased the surround music level +5 and the sound in the room gives a more traditional stereo effect with the lower volume ARC filling the other end of the room without any real distraction. I’m also spending a while listening to music through my cinema config with TruePlay OFF as I think it gives a richer music playback. After some weeks I’ll engage TruePlay again to see if my hearing still feels that way. While TruePlay is off the cinema sound is still very engaging. If you find sound config/settings you enjoy and stop thinking about those settings, you know your happy and the tech side of things will fade away leaving only enjoyment of the sound. Have fun finding your own preferred config 👍
Try find a 2nd hand Sonos Connect Gen 2, which is S2 compatible. The price point of that will be more to your liking and in all honesty, it's a better product than the Port :)
Great advice. Thank you for sharing here!
Fantastic review Peter. My wife got me into wireless audio and this is the first time I’ve watched you. Subbed, Thankyou 👍🏻
Welcome aboard! If you got a Five, you must really enjoy it!
Hi Peter, I stumbled upon on your videos while searching various reviews on speaker. I started with searching reviews on Bose hs 500 and SB 700 with a tilt towards buying Bose as I have a Bose wave for 14 years which stopped playing finally. But after I saw your videos on Sonos I am fully sold out on this Sonos five. I have seen all your videos related to Sonos five, Arc and the Sub 3. Now I decided to build the whole Sonos echo system gradually starting with Sonos Five followed with Arc and then the sub.
Will add the 75 inch TV with Atmos the last. I think I heard in one of the reviews you are from Singapore. If so can you suggest best places to get good deal on Sonos five. Also are there any recommended stand / wall mount for Sonos five.
You can try to buy from ishopchangi.com. Tax free!
A very nice scientific analysis of sonic capabilities of Sonos speaker
Would you say a pair of Sonos Five for $1000 is a better deal than the LSX Wireless 2 and Devialet Phantom Reactor pair for around $2800? I want to have the option for playing it loud at times and enough bass to where I wouldn't need a subwoofer.
Since you mentioned price somewhere in your question, I am going to assume you are looking for value for the money that you are spending. The $1K setup for the pair of Fives is the best bang for the buck. Correctly placed, I never felt the bass lacking. Not for $1K.
@@PeterPee Thanks!
Hello! Nice review
I bought 2 Sonos five and one sub. I am planning to walk mount the fives and sub
The five could be mounted orizontally to save space, my question:
Do the fives work in stereo even if putted orizontally?
A single five will work in stereo when placed horizontally. If you pair them up into a stereo pair/room, they will each play the respective left or right channel regardless of orientation.
Hi Peter - I love your channel! I am trying to understand if you can use a couple of Five in a TV set up as surround (with Arc and Sub) as well as in a music set up (as stereo speaker with or without sub)? Can you easily switch from one config to another through the app - or do you have to set up or do multiple actions on the app or worse - Not possible at all? Thanks for you response!
It is going to be a lot of trouble having to switch all the time. I use the Fives in a surround setup but if I listen in music sources, I will increase the surround volume to +15 so that it drowns out the arc a bit. It gives a better stereo image that way.
Really a great video dear Peter! No nonsense.. up to the mark and so easy to relate to and understand. thanks for posting. I have a single sonos 5 and was thinking of pairing it .. my decision is clear now. thanks once again and best wishes.
Glad it was helpful!
Is it possible to make a 2.1 TV set up with Fives + Sub? If so, how do you connect them to the TV (since the Fives only accept analog)? I'm hoping that I could put a Five on either side the TV if its possible to get them streaming or connected to high-res digital (keep the Dolby intact) from a TV somehow? I know this can be accomplished with a Sonos soundbar, but anyway to skip that requirement?
Never mind, just saw you already replied to someone and said there’s no way to connect to a TV and keep digital audio.
Yep, it's unfortunately the case. Only soundbars from Sonos will take digital.
I know I could play through my phone, laptop, and record player, but is there a way I could connect a pair of Sonos to a TV and play music from the Spotify and TH-cam app via my XboxOneX? Should I use these as speakers for my TV or would you suggest something else? Thanks.
Maybe the Klipsch Fives would be more what I’m looking for.
I would really suggest something else as connecting the fives to the tv required a 3.5mm analog input and that introduces a lot of lag and lip sync issues. Your sound won’t match the picture.
And yes. The Klipsch fives will be the ones for you. They are bookshelf speakers with hdmi arc input.
Peter well done on a super informative and detailed analysis on the sonos five speakers. Really well done as always :-). I was looking at the frequency response part of the video (8:30) and I am looking at the graph for the single sonos five. I can't make out the exact db figures but it does look like the bass is way way pronounced compared to the rest of the frequency range (like 15 db over or more)? If that is the case, should we expect this to result into super boomy bass? I was kind of hoping that sonos would produce a more balanced frequency response to be honest. A few years ago I owned the Play 5 gen 2 and it too had a very pronounced bass that was impossible to tame unfortunately. Even with trueplay tuning, it was still there and the bass / treble eq was not enough to adjust the sound. Did you find this problem with the new Sonos five? In contrast, I found it was easier to get a more balanced sound with the bluesound speakers (after eq adjustment). Many thanks again
You brought up a good comparison for discussion. Sonos and bluesound, having tried both, appears to take a very different approach to their products.
Sonos is a smart speaker company first. They are damn good at their sound too. But rely heavily on computational audio processing. In other words, DSP. Their intent was never to produce flat response. Flat response, is not exciting to them.
Bluesound, is a different animal, pedigree born of royal hifi heritage, NAD and PSB. NAD is in the business of making amplifiers and PSB making speakers. To these parents, great hifi has always been an uncolored sound. If it’s neutral, it’s hifi. So the approach is to flatten the response.
As to which route is preferred or even correct, no one is to judge. They both offer products with different emphasis. Sonos gets you started. Bluesound lets you graduate.
To answer your question directly, Sonos five still offers a very deep bassy sound signature. There is some DSP magic there. And you’ll have to accept that that’s their sound signature and if you’re using eq to correct it, it’s trying to correct it from a position you don’t want it to start from. So my take is for someone of your preference, the bluesound is going to be the right speaker for you.
Hi Peter, I love your way of presenting, I have seen all your setups. I am convinced and decided to purchase 2 fives, sub g3 and an arc to order.
The 2 fives a week without sub used. Very nice sound placed upright in stereo setup.
Today added sub.
What strikes me is now when using trueplay the low tones almost disappear from the fives.
To be honest, a degradation of the sound quality. without trueplay they play better at the lower frequency.
Have you noticed this too?
lovely to check the sound throughout the evening.
Greetings. Rene
Yes, with a sub in the mix, the bass frequencies are taken away from the Fives. So with or without true play, the Fives won't play much low frequencies.
Anyone aware of this issue? Im using Playbar in Living Room only and 2 Sonos 5s in the kitchen (stereo paired); when attempting to add kitchen and living room to a group, I get no audio on the Sonos Fives.
Hmmm. Could they be too far away? Sometimes the signal doesn’t sync if it’s too weak. Try plugging the playbar into the router directly.
@@PeterPee Not sure if it’s a distance issue, because when I removed the stereo pair from the fives, leaving them in the same location I’m able add to the Playbar with them in a group without issues. I can look into adding it directly to my router and see if that helps. Thanks man. I appreciate your response and keep up the good work
Does the lip sync issue with linen in occur when you have one speaker on or only when fives are used as a pair.
If there’s no sync issue with a single speaker, it’s possible to use splitters to split the signal in to left right, and use the speakers as stand alone singles.
It occurs when the line in is used. It doesn’t matter whether it’s one or two speakers.
Actually the splitting of signal won’t be ideal also. You’d have to control the volume independently to match.
In a fairly open concept 1st floor, should I get two 5's, one in the kitchen and one in the family/dining room (separated by about 25ft with a small wall in the middle). Or two separated SL's in the kitchen and one 5 in the other room?
Will the two rooms always play the same songs together? Will they always be playing at the same time? Any situations which will end up with only either the kitchen or family room playing on its own?
If they are always going to be playing together, then get two fives. It’s a bitch to keep having to group them to play together. And the sound will be much more coherent and not sound like Optus fives are over powering the ones.
@@PeterPee yes, always the same source/song, thank you! Note your XM4 LDAC vid has been referenced at least twice on a big CDN deal site, very helpful vids sir
Hi Peter, excellent review! Would you recommend me pairing it with a Rega P3 to listen to vinyl? Thank you in advance
That is a good turntable. I would recommend that!
Hello Peter. This is my first comment ever on youtube! Even though i am not an audiophile (far from it) i really really enjoy your videos. Your voice and the way you make everything so exiting is amazing, congrats on that! So i am thinking about buying some Sonos speakers for a 1000 square feet (or 90 m2) open Studio. I was thinking about finding a pair of 3s on Ebay as they are much cheaper .. i could also go for a pair of Play 5 Gen 1 (they are selling CHEAP because of lack of update situation). What would you do? Buy a pair of 3 and a bit more modern (at least supports new app) or a pair of old Play 5 ? Sorry for such a big question. Please keep up with your work
Hi Babara! Sorry I haven’t got round to replying as I was so busy over the last 2 weeks. For 1000 sq feet of open studio, 1 play:5 might not provide enough coverage. My suggestion is to get the pair of play:3s. It will provide a more even spread.
@@PeterPee Thank you so much for your reply! Yes i think having more then one for a more uniform sound is the best bet. The good news is that they are cheap right now on ebay comparing to the 5s :) Keep up the great work !
sonos need to update with bluetooth connection for more portable when people go outdoor with no wifi
That's what the Sonos Roam does today!
How is the quality of the sound when listening music to low level volume? Can i listen in the night, is the sound good?
Yes, for the fives, similar to the Reactor 600 that I have, low level listening is actually very impactful.
Excellent review! Thanks Peter! Just ordered a pair. Question about placement. Should the 2 speakers be placed at an angle (toe-in), or should they face the front straight? Thanks again. Kenny
They should be by your side and angled in to face your main listening position.
@@PeterPee Thanks Peter! Appreciate the advice !
Thanks for all your videos to date.
After comparing two one's vs a single five in my kitchen - I was very impressed at the pair of one's - so much so that i regretted my purchase of the single five.
after many months - i went out and purchased my second five for a stereo pair ...
Does it sound better??? YES it definately sounds better than stereo ones and a single five..... is it $749 (Australia) better???? Probably not - but I'll keep them anyway.
Troy , thanks for taking the trouble to post ….I’m following your advice.
@@maxflight777 no worries ... stereo fives or stereo ones? i will say though for a party .. stereo fives ...
Interesting review. How about against a pair of bluesound pulse2i (forget the price tag)?
I got a single bluesound pulse 2i.... but a second.... haha. I will consider this carefully. I love that design and the software. But Gosh.... you’re right about the price tag.
Where can I download that demo song?
Hello Peter, first of all, thank you for your videos, I really like them, very useful. Here are my questions.
I bought 2 Sonos five. They are great but with true play, the voices of the artists seem pretty thin if you know what I mean. is that normal? Furthermore, would you recommend 2 Sonos one sl behind the sofa to have the real music surround experience (my 2 Sonos 5 are in front of me, approximately 1,5 m separated from each other)? I would be very thankful for a respond. Thank you.
For music, don't need the surround channel for music, They won't be set up together too and it might get distracting. Not recommended.
For the Trueplay, which phone are you tuning with? Check my latest video for some idea.
@@PeterPee for trueplay, Iam using the iPhone 11.
Hello Peter, i just this Pair for my New home, is there any chance to connect them with a TV ? Or i need to get the Sonos Beam or one pf the soundbars? Thanks
You need the sound bars. You can connect to the TV if your tv has an analog 3.5mm out but there will be a significant problem with the audio lag and lip sync issue.
@@PeterPee Hi Peter, I watched a video on youtube where a guy went into the settings of the fives for the line in and changed the audio compression setting from automatic to uncompressed and that seemed to fix the issue. could you test that out?
I'm starting to think Sonos is pouring money into your pockets ... this is UTTER CRAP! Anyone that actually "listens" to music would fall off their chair laughing at this rubbish.
Have you actually ever listened to them?
@@raduiordache2772 I own them along with a lot of other Sonos gear .. and for anything beyond casual listening/TV surround they're just OK and far from "the best". My point is this channel is promoting Sonos under the guise of performing "reviews".
What is better, in your opinion, for $1,000, than a pair of 5's?
@@markladenheim5352 there are too many variables for one single answer. To be frank, a pair of Sonos 5's is an ok solution to stereo listening in a variety of circumstances where the listener is not highly critical. Hence my BS call on it being "the best". To be the best it has to excel in every circumstance and Sonos simply doesn't in many areas of definition, detail and accuracy. BUT, if your thing is the latest auto-tuned crapoduction on a low definition stream you are not going to care about much other that volume. The 5's do volume!
In some circumstances a bridge, analogue amp and a pair of bookshelf speakers will be better. Sometimes a pair of powered reference speakers will be a superior audio experience. What's your source? That's also a major determining factor.
If you personally want to seriously enjoy a stereo reproduction of music and want to hear every nuance and detail .. but you've only got $1K to spend - get headphones and a headphone amp!
Is it possible to connect a pair of these to an svs sub?
Not directly. You will kind of need the Sonos Amp to do it... And you know what? I just got an SVS sub but haven't had time to do the video for them!