The best stereo setup for $1000 - A pair of Sonos Fives
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2024
- The best stereo setup for $1000 - A pair of Sonos Fives
Today we look at the Sonos Fives in a bit more detail and in a pair. The Sonos Fives are the darling of the Sonos line up for music. They are an incredible pair of speakers and for $1000 (with spare), it is indeed hard to beat for the convenience and the sonic performance. Let me know in the comments section below, if you are more into the Sonos ecosystem for music, or for their home theatre offerings.
Patreon link for my coffee fund! : / peterpee
0:00 Intro
1:29 Summary Recommendation
2:36 The Sonos Five in detail
4:51 A single Sonos Five
7:51 Frequency Response
11:24 Shortcomings
14:49 Overall summary
16:45 Demo 1 - Single Sonos Five
18:30 Demo 2 - Sonos Five in Stereo
20:01 Behind the Scenes - Věda a technologie
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.
Thank you for your very kind words Shawn!
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!
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 CZcams channels!
Wow, thanks!
An outstanding review, Peter. Thank you very much.
Your videos are nothing short of excellent, sir.
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!
Really great video Peter! You are a pleasure to listen to and the information you give us is exceptional and easy to follow!
Thank you for the affirmation on my videos! I’m grateful for the feedback!
Very Good in depth Review my Friend. Thanks for your efforts
Thank you!
Thanks again Peter. Enjoyed everything....
Especially the "Behind the scenes" 😂😂😂
You’ve been a great supporter! Thanks Tiaan!
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.
Awesome review, information that not many videos offer :D
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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
Got a pair of 5s after this, stereo paired these are sooooo good
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.
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.
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
Just amazing content man
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.
this is the video that i was waiting for… i was thinking to buy a pair so i will do it
You won't be disappointed with the performance of a pair of Sonos Fives for music!
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.
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!
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?
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.
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?
Looking forward to a stereo showdown between the SONOS Fives vs the Devialet Reactors
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!
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?
A very nice scientific analysis of sonic capabilities of Sonos speaker
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.
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.
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😊
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.
Peter, we need these fives vs the reactors. :)
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?
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 …
Did not research but for that money its great sound.
Yooo thanks for showing that song.
Yes really great sample for testing the low end.
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 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!
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!
Loved this review man. I have a total of 4 Play:1s and 3 Ones all an various stereo and standalone setups. Stereo is definitely the way to go and when I heard how immersive two Play1s or Ones could be, I was immediately sold.
Likewise, this review has sold me on upgrading my experience to a pair of Fives. I'm curious if you had experience and testing between stereo Play5s vs Fives. Of course the Play5s can be found cheaper now but does not support the newer features or longevity. But if I were strictly concerned about the frequency response, I'm curious how the two setups stack against each other.
I did not test my Play:5s before I sold them but I’d tell you they are sonically identical. Like how I am still using the older pair of Play:1s because the Ones sound identical.
@@PeterPee Thank you and truly appreciate you taking the time to respond, Peter!
When you say identical to current Fives, are you referring to gen 2 Play5s or gen 1? I'm assuming Gen 2 since architecturally it's pretty similar to current Fives.
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.
You’re the best!
Thanks Peter for the detailed video as always. I'm glad that you finally got your pair of Sonos five. I got mine couple of weeks back and my sub is on its way. With that il have a 2.1 sound system. I'm looking forward for your video on 2.1 music setup with your sub. What do you think at $1700 price? How does it compare with pair of KEF LS50W (which also retails for $1700 now)?
And another video I'm eagerly waiting is to have these fives as rear speakers. Many says it's overkill but want to know your opinion with the detailed analysis
Not overkill if you want to use the Play5/Fives within the Sonos cinema config for music playback. Talking purely sound stage (ignoring cost & aesthetics of speaker size) they will always give a richer sound stage than smaller speakers. If you have a dedicated cinema/music room then you might have one setup for movies and another for HiFi stereo. But if you want one system to enjoy both movies and stereo music then the Sonos cinema setup with Play5/Fives is a very good compromise. Turn on the “Full” music playback in your Sonos surround settings, listen with & without TruePlay, play with your EQ, sub & volume settings to get your preferred sound. E.g. I really like +5 on surround speakers for music playback. Helps ARC fade away while still letting it give a slight room filling effect at opposite end of the room. Sit back and enjoy rich sound whether it’s for a movie or music. So there are definitely tweaks you can do to make great use of the bigger speakers for music playback in the Sonos movie config. Enjoy experimenting.
So if I have a play 5 sub and move rn would a arc be good or what?
I am thinking it’s overkill too but I will need to test it. Can you believe I haven’t had the time to do it yet! But I will.
As for the fives plus sub, this is the most potent stereo combination that Sonos has to offer. And if you ask me, I’ll flat out choose this over the kef ls50w. The kef’s truly musical and great for vocals but it doesn’t deliver the depth of bass that the Sonos five + sub gives.
Again, it depends on the music genre you like but I can see a lot of people preferring the Sonos setup. I have not gotten into the software side of things yet, which will again tip opinions towards the Sonos.
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?
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.
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?
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!
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 ...
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.
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.
Peter, your videos are the best! I am new to Sonos and now acquired a total of 8 items from their new line (3x Five, 3x One, Move, and Sub).
I have a large multi-leveled living room where I've placed two Fives and Two One SLs. I wanted to see if you could do a video of frequency response curves when paired to a single Five, pair of Fives, single One, pair of Ones. Trying to figure out the best placement and best way to pair the Sub!
Thanks for your hard work!
Thank you for your support! This is easy. No need for extensive testing.
Set 2 fives in a stereo pair. Set any other five as standalone and let this roam anywhere you need more output.
Set two ones as a stereo pair, the sub should go with this pair. Set another standalone one anyway to fill in the gap in soundstage in your large space.
The move you can of course move anywhere.
So in our large living room, the pair of fives in stereo and pair of ones in stereo with sub should be there. And you can play them together to fill the whole space with sound.
@@PeterPee As I had mentioned, the sound from the Five became a lot more tinny once the sub got connected, it's as if it's own sub got turned off as a result of linking the sub. Placement of the sub is also somewhat tricky on a multilevel floor, seems like I have to place it at the higher point rather than lower. It's a work in progress, plus I need an iPhone... ;)
Oh yes. To perform trueplay. Anyway the fives will turn the bass down when a sub is connected. That’s the way it works. It should not affect the rest of the frequencies though. Just turns off the lower frequencies. But if well integrated, you won’t be able to discern where the bass is coming from. In fact it should sound like the speakers (fives) are the ones delivering the bass.
@@PeterPee Peter, like I mentioned, I have a multi-leveled living room with a loft and two sets of three stairs. I'm not an engineer, but I've noticed that bass has a hard time traveling up. a good idea for a video might be the science of how low frequency waves travel through air and space. Just an idea ;)
That’s a great idea! Thanks! I’ll read up more on this aspect!
Great video- as always, Mr. Pee- I have a play 5, but the new 5 does not form a stereo pair with the older 5. Would it be a good idea to get an old play 5 second Gen before they stop or just trade it in and get a sonos 5 later? What would you do?
I would get a older play:5 gen 2 if you already have one. I had that before and while I thought it was going to be a sound improvement, there is none. Sonically, it sounds the same. Save a bit and get the older one. And in fact, I wouldn't even mind knocking it off from some used deals site.
@@PeterPee many thanks, so, getting a pair is still a no brainer?😀
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.
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.
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.
Yeah concur 100%. Just waiting for my old hifi system to die before i fork out for a pair.
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 !
Hi Peter,
Another awesome and informative review on the Fives. Just wondering whether you place your Sonos Fives on speaker stands - if so, what speaker stand would you recommend?
My Fives are currently on shelves. I used to place them on some cheap stands but doesn't do them justice. And this question you are posting is super uncannily timed. I just (like minutes ago), placed an order for a pay of Kanto SP 26". You might want to consider the Kanto stands. Seems to be well made and sturdy. If you are in no rush, do wait for my review of that item.
These are my affiliate links if you decide to consider them.
White : amzn.to/33yXacM
Black : amzn.to/3oeFjjf
@@PeterPee Thanks for the reply Peter 😊👍. I have purchased a pair of Sonos One with the Sub gen 3 last week. Discovered that I needed pair of stands for the speaker. Just purchased a pair of Flexson stands for my Sonos one two days ago.
But am also considering may be a pair of Fives for another room 😅 after watching your vids on the Sonos Five.
Looking forward to your review of the Kanto stands 😊👍
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.
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
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 !
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.
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.
How does this compare to the Kef LSX? Currently also in the somewhat similar price range.
+1
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.
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.
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?
Your excellent reviews have convinced me to buy a Sonos Five pair. Is there any way to give you commission via a referral code when I purchase?
Great video. Is there any benefit in using the Sonos fives as surrounds with an Arc and a sub?
Disregard. I just found your video on this topic!
Hey! I was just going to point you to that video! Sorry for the late reply. I was busy the whole day.
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?
Nice review! Do you have any thoughts on the Sonos 5 setup (without sub) vs your Devialet Reactors? I’m considering these two, I know it’s about double the price but wondering if the additional cost is worth it. Would love to see a comparison video :) cheers
Short answer is, not worth it. It’s really not twice as good. It’s damn cool but I’d choose 4 Sonos fives over a pair of reactors anytime.
@@PeterPee haha thanks for the straight forward answer. Was thinking along that lines as well
If you get a pair of Fives, you won’t hate me for it. :)
Where can I download that demo song?
Great video as usual! Im currently considering buying a sonos sub, will it make my rear sonos ones focus more on high/mids and less on bas? Im having a hard time to find the answer anywhere:) thanks
Sub Gen 2 or 3 will allow for your ones to perform miss voice if you have the arc it will balance your entire system to sound as crisp and clear.
I have the Arc, Sub Gen 2 plus my two Ones Tv Sony 85” 90xh
I’d say it will help your rear Sonos one. But for the best answer you’ve to wait till I get some time to perform a conclusive test on how much the rear channels are getting in terms of bass. I’ll answer that in an upcoming video.
Not that I’m trying to hold the answer but I need to test it before I can confidently answer!
@@PeterPee Sounds good, Im currently having the my rear ones with a wall mount, but I need to tighten the screw every other week or so to avoid ratteling noice since my ones still do quite alot of bas, hopefully the sub will help to avoid it. Cant wait for future videos!:)
If you can push a split washer along the screw in your bracket you can avoid the retightening every now and then.
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 CZcams 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 CZcams 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!
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.
Is it also possible to pair the sonos arc with 2 one SL AND 2 sonos five AND a sub?
You should choose either the One SL or the Fives, not both. The sub will go with either.
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?
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.
Hi Peter, is it still the case in 2024? Many thanks for your reviews and your polite style
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.
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
Can you leave these in their landscape/horizontal position when you stereo pair them?
Yes you can. In fact I think they sound a little better, subjectively speaking. But it will take up a bit more real estate and might not be that stable depending on the speaker stands you are using.
I have a sonos arc. Can I use these speakers as the "rear speakers" for the arc?
Oh yes you can. I’m going to be releasing a video this weekend about that. And in short, yes you can.
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
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 need your opinion : for home cinema, 1 arc or 2 sonos five? Thks !
For home cinema, one arc. The fives have no means of getting sound from the tv except in analog form which will introduce some lag.
Great video as always Peter. I would love for you to do a comparison of lossy atmos vs lossless atmos on a Sonos arc surround sound setup. My tv only has arc so I can currently only get lossy atmos. I’m curious to know how they compare. I have done some research and I believe the only way for me to get lossless atmos will be using a device from HD fury (arcana)which is due to be released in the coming months. I would love to hear your thoughts
I can’t recommend a third party device unless I try it. And I don’t think I’ll buy that device. For reference, I’ve had a full 7.2.4 atmos setup before and when I pipe lossy and lossless, the sound difference is there but if I had to put a number to it, I’d say it’s about 10% difference. It sounds more dynamic and less muddled but I won’t pay a fee hundred dollars for it.
Peter Pee Thankyou for the response and for saving me some money :) I look forward to your future videos
Thank you for your support! Glad to be of help!
@@PeterPee Is it worth to buy it just for Dolby Atmos. My TV doesnt even do lossy dolbt atmos. Is Arc's dolby atmos good enough?
If your tv doesn’t support Atmos, then likely that the arc won’t output Atmos. But even if you do use it as a regular sound bar, it’s great at delivering a good convincing surround soundstage. Note that you will need to consider a Sonos sub to make the most out of it.
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!
Good day Peter,
I'm planning on pairing a pair of Sonos Five's, in your professional opinion, what do you recommend for orientation vertical or horizontal? I have the real-state that it will require to achieve optimum (quality) performance should need be.
Thanks for your time, I will definitely consider your recommendation/s.
For stereo, vertical. For surround sound duties, horizontal
There are definitely some intricacies involved. For example, depends on whether your room is carpeted, or if your walls are close by. But in general, for music, I prefer vertical placement.
@@PeterPee NOTED,
I will definitely consider your recommendation/s.
@@PeterPee thank you for your time.
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!
Just added two of these to my 15 device rock fest
So that's 17 Sonos devices now? All playing at the same time!?
@@PeterPee I have a playbar and two play 1s as rear surrounds in the bedroom that I normally use by themselves. The other 14 devices are in my living room/kitchen area, and yes I always use them as multiple rooms that are grouped together. It consists of an ARC, eight 1s, two 5s, and 3 Subs. I’ve spent multiple hours dialling it in to sound uniform. I just wish that Sonos would give us an option to set up multiple “settings profiles”. As switching from TV watching to music listening usually requires some EQ, and Sub volume tweeks. For example Sub volume on +4 to watch a Dolby Atmos movie sounds great, but when you switch to streaming music, it becomes way too much booming for the Subs to handle in a good way, so I have to go into the settings and turn them down individually. To take that idea even further - listening to hip hop, compared to country music for example can require tweeks to the settings. So please Sonos, get it together and give us a settings profiles option to simplify things 🙏. I can post a video on my CZcams if you’re interested in having a look at the setup? My future plans to complete my system are to either add two more 5s and a fourth Sonos Sub, or a Sonos Amp, and aftermarket towers, and a 15” aftermarket Sub. This is still under consideration, and will occur as soon as it’s financially viable.
Hey Peter,
I am big fan of your videos and i need your help for my decision.
I already have a full Sonos setup (playbar, the sub and two one) in my living room. I also have a play 5 gen 2 which is also placed in the living room for music. Know I think about to upgrade my playbar to the arc or buy a second play 5. My TV would support Dolby Atmos through arc (DD+).
What decision would you make?
Thank you for your help
You’re quite sure your tv supports Atmos? If so get the arc! And I’m recommending specifically cos you have a sub already.
Next step if you want to consider, is to sell the two ones and then buy another play 5 gen 2 and then pair both the play:5 into surround. When you play music, set the rear play:5 to full bandwidth and enjoy the music from there!
Peter Pee Thank you for your opinion. I have a Philips Oled 803 which should support Dolby Atmos over hdmi arc. But I think I need a hdmi switch with an audio extractor to get Dolby Atmos with an Apple TV 4K.
Don’t get the extractor first. I actually tried an extractor and it didn’t work with the Arc. Actually, if your TV supports Atmos and Apple TV 4K recognises it as such, it will send Atmos over.
Peter Pee I think I have to wait until something like the 4K Arcana 18Gbps comes on the market, because the Apple TV 4K gives out Atmos over MAT and my TV need a DD+ signal for Dolby Atmos. So I think I will buy a Play 5 gen 2 as my new rear speakers first and than maybe later the arc. Thank you very much for your answers and best regards from Berlin.
Berlin! Nice to have people from all around the world here. I am about to pair my fives to the arc for surround and will report back over the weekend!
Great as usual... The highs and lows of sonos products explained in a very understandable way. I tried a pair of sonos play 5 (2°gen)at home myself recently and I was astonished. Better in my opinion for acoustic music than pair of ones+ sub >> what do you think Peter? (Although for tv-cinema I'd rather prefer the second setup)
I like the fives for music. There’s no other speaker in Sonos lineup today that comes close. And so yes, I’d have to agree that it’s better than the Sonos ones with a sub.
The reason why you will prefer the sub setup for movies is simply because there is much more Low end material in a movie which will make use of a sub.