Sonos Play 5

[RC]

Well, volume wise I find max 1/3 volume slider to be good, but being spoiled with Genelec actives & sub on my computer I kinda miss the bass. I might need to try a 5 at some point.

Moving it into the backyard was a breeze.

Main issue I have found yet is the fact that these are always on. And the 6W standby power figures sounds really high for simple things like these.

 

[Mickfb]

Must admit that I think they have got it wrong there. They state that the units are ready for instant play. Why! I am sure most people don't need that facility.

 

[joraft]

Well, volume wise I find max 1/3 volume slider to be good, but being spoiled with Genelec actives & sub on my computer I kinda miss the bass. I might need to try a 5 at some point.

I'm telling ya, the Sonos Sub is killer. Put a handle on top and carry it around like a suitcase. You'll rattle all your windows and doors, and the neighbors' too.  [smile]

 

[3PedalMINI]

I'm an AV dealer/installer and sonos is absolutely incredible. I just hit gold dealer status with them, Ive been direct with them for years but just in the last year im installing more and more of them. Even in new construction homes were installing them in a central location and using in-wall ipads around the home to make quick and easy access to the system, and finally we have the ability to integrate them into our home automation systems!

There is a rule of thumb with the "bridge" though, Keep in mind that for optimum performance and so your music doesn't get compressed when you have all of your zones on that for every 4 wireless devices you need 1 wired. Also keep in mind that ANY sonos device can be the start of the system so sometimes a bridge isn't necessary.

another thing that is REALLY nice is that say you have a connect or connect amp that is wireless and you have a laptop,desktop blu-ray player, tv sonos can act as a bridge. Just connect a ethernet cable from the sonos device to a device that you want "hardwired" and voila you have an instant connection!

One last thing; and this is the MOST IMPORTANT is that sonos relies entirely on your network. Anything more then 3-4 sonos devices on your ISP's provided combo modem/router you really need to upgrade to a more powerful router. Otherwise you will grow to hate your sonos system due to all of the connection drops.

Im very well versed in sonos and constantly go to factory training's. Im here if anyone has questions or issues. Just PM me or contact me through my website!

Ohh! and the "sonos sub" is very impressive!

 

[RC]

Well, I guess I'm a sucker but there was a 10% off everything at our local hifi-store and I just had to order another Play:1 and a Play:5  for the house to get to play with the multiroom part of Sonos. Should be free next day delivery so I'm waiting for them tomorrow...

 

[Mickfb]

Well, I guess I'm a sucker but there was a 10% off everything at our local hifi-store and I just had to order another Play:1 and a Play:5  for the house to get to play with the multiroom part of Sonos. Should be free next day delivery so I'm waiting for them tomorrow...

If you are feeling generous Reiska you can treat me to a play 1  [big grin]
You will love the play 5.

 

[joraft]

... I just had to order another Play:1 and a Play:5  for the house to get to play with the multiroom part of Sonos. Should be free next day delivery so I'm waiting for them tomorrow...

Just one more slippery slope. Remember, the guy who dies with the most toys wins.  [smile]

 

[promark747]

There is a rule of thumb with the "bridge" though, Keep in mind that for optimum performance and so your music doesn't get compressed when you have all of your zones on that for every 4 wireless devices you need 1 wired. Also keep in mind that ANY sonos device can be the start of the system so sometimes a bridge isn't necessary.

I didn't know about the possibility of compression...I have six zones (rarely if ever use them all simultaneously) and have never noticed any drop in quality.  Is there any way to know whether there is compression taking place, or a way to prevent it?  (I'd rather get a message stating that adding another zone will result in compression and give me the ability to not listen to that extra zone).  I do not use the Bridge, but rather a Zone90 wired to my router as the base station.  All other zones are wireless.

Oh, and I agree with RMW...Sonos and Tivo are two of the best purchases I've made.  And using Spotify with Sonos is just an absolute dream.

 

[rljatl]

I bought the Sonos play 5 hi fi system this weekend. What a revelation, it is a brilliant bit of kit. I have NAD separates and Mordant Short speakers but haven't used them lately.
The Play 5 can't compete on the sound quality of the separates but it is a joy to use and the sound quality for the size is very good. Can use my MacBook Pro, iPad, touch and Android phone to control it. Use Google Play music to stream more music and radio stations than you can shake a stick at. Just add more speakers in different rooms to listen all around the house, even different music in different rooms at different sound levels.
Only problem is knowing when to stop buying extra speakers.

Hey, how about that, I have separate NADs too!  ;D

 

[rljatl]

I'm an AV dealer/installer and sonos is absolutely incredible. I just hit gold dealer status with them, Ive been direct with them for years but just in the last year im installing more and more of them. Even in new construction homes were installing them in a central location and using in-wall ipads around the home to make quick and easy access to the system, and finally we have the ability to integrate them into our home automation systems!

There is a rule of thumb with the "bridge" though, Keep in mind that for optimum performance and so your music doesn't get compressed when you have all of your zones on that for every 4 wireless devices you need 1 wired. Also keep in mind that ANY sonos device can be the start of the system so sometimes a bridge isn't necessary.

another thing that is REALLY nice is that say you have a connect or connect amp that is wireless and you have a laptop,desktop blu-ray player, tv sonos can act as a bridge. Just connect a ethernet cable from the sonos device to a device that you want "hardwired" and voila you have an instant connection!

One last thing; and this is the MOST IMPORTANT is that sonos relies entirely on your network. Anything more then 3-4 sonos devices on your ISP's provided combo modem/router you really need to upgrade to a more powerful router. Otherwise you will grow to hate your sonos system due to all of the connection drops.

Im very well versed in sonos and constantly go to factory training's. Im here if anyone has questions or issues. Just PM me or contact me through my website!

Ohh! and the "sonos sub" is very impressive!

What kind of more powerful router would you recommend? 

 

[3PedalMINI]

There is a rule of thumb with the "bridge" though, Keep in mind that for optimum performance and so your music doesn't get compressed when you have all of your zones on that for every 4 wireless devices you need 1 wired. Also keep in mind that ANY sonos device can be the start of the system so sometimes a bridge isn't necessary.

I didn't know about the possibility of compression...I have six zones (rarely if ever use them all simultaneously) and have never noticed any drop in quality.  Is there any way to know whether there is compression taking place, or a way to prevent it?  (I'd rather get a message stating that adding another zone will result in compression and give me the ability to not listen to that extra zone).  I do not use the Bridge, but rather a Zone90 wired to my router as the base station.  All other zones are wireless.

Oh, and I agree with RMW...Sonos and Tivo are two of the best purchases I've made.  And using Spotify with Sonos is just an absolute dream.

No way to know, Or turn it off. It is what it is. It is the bandwidth limitation of the units its self. Go into your settings and make sure you turn compression to the lowest (highest quality) this is especially usefull when you are only listening to one or two zones. FYI sonos just announced a more powerful bridge to combat this issue due to release this holiday season!

Also, With the newest update a bridge is no longer required for you guys that just want to use one or two sonos devices or to get your feet wet. FYI they recommend only using a maximum of 3 devices when setup this way.

I'm an AV dealer/installer and sonos is absolutely incredible. I just hit gold dealer status with them, Ive been direct with them for years but just in the last year im installing more and more of them. Even in new construction homes were installing them in a central location and using in-wall ipads around the home to make quick and easy access to the system, and finally we have the ability to integrate them into our home automation systems!

There is a rule of thumb with the "bridge" though, Keep in mind that for optimum performance and so your music doesn't get compressed when you have all of your zones on that for every 4 wireless devices you need 1 wired. Also keep in mind that ANY sonos device can be the start of the system so sometimes a bridge isn't necessary.

another thing that is REALLY nice is that say you have a connect or connect amp that is wireless and you have a laptop,desktop blu-ray player, tv sonos can act as a bridge. Just connect a ethernet cable from the sonos device to a device that you want "hardwired" and voila you have an instant connection!

One last thing; and this is the MOST IMPORTANT is that sonos relies entirely on your network. Anything more then 3-4 sonos devices on your ISP's provided combo modem/router you really need to upgrade to a more powerful router. Otherwise you will grow to hate your sonos system due to all of the connection drops.

Im very well versed in sonos and constantly go to factory training's. Im here if anyone has questions or issues. Just PM me or contact me through my website!

Ohh! and the "sonos sub" is very impressive!

What kind of more powerful router would you recommend? 

This depends on alot of aspects, how many devices you have connecting to the network and how many sonos pieces you have. The best DIY solution is this one http://store.linksys.com/viewproduct.htm?productId=158014980&utm_source=cse&utm_medium=cse-google-shopping&utm_campaign=cse-google-shopping&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=158014980&gclid=CjwKEAjwp7WgBRCRxMCLx8mMnDMSJADncxS2FNX_bbPd5-Z2uFTRs3bcnib9KE0OZ9aZ19Wrv8-l2xoCHq7w_wcB

We use ubiquiti products in most of our installation but does require IT knowledge and a separate access point, you can find settings online that turn it into a regular router For the price it cannot be beat and you cannot overload it http://www.ubnt.com/edgemax/edgerouter-poe/ . When we do even larger installs we use Mikrotik routers, which we have an IT guy that sets them up.

your network and router is the single most important thing in your house next to your Water,Sewer,HVAC,Electrical, it is no longer a commodity it is required. You cannot cheap out and you cannot rely on your providers modem/router combo (unless you have just one device)

 

[RC]

Are you mixing a router with a switch in this context?

Doesn't the Sonos bridge and speakers create their own mesh network and only the app control messages are passed over Wifi/Lan to the bridge or master speaker depending on your configuration?

At least my mediocre three speaker and bridge setup works just fine with the bridge plugged into my low-end HP 1810G-24 switch which has its uplink through a pfSense firewall and an el cheapo VDSL2 router in bridge mode on a copper link of 100/10Mbps and on the wifi side of things an Apple timecapsule in the same VLAN as the bridge & media server are.

 

[E30Mark]

I've just started a new kitchen in a beautiful house that the owner has a full Sonos system throughout, I hadn't heard of Sonos before, so he proudly demonstrated the system for me, WOW! what a sound, I think I now know what i'm missing in my life  [cool]

 

[Decroded77]

Ok maybe one of you guys can help me now that you have helped me spend so much money on Sonos.

Background:  I've got a Netgear N600 router connected to the Internet over a cable modem. I've got a Sonos bridge connected via wire to the router and two sonos speakers connected wirelessly. I've also got a Roku, DVD player, 4 tablets, 3 laptops, and two cell phones which connect to the network wirelessly at some points in time.

Occasionally my Sonos will just drop out and quit playing. I'm assuming it is because of my cheap router because at times I will be trying to use a wireless device to access the Internet while netflix is working fine and get a "no network" error message. Five seconds later it will work fine.

So summary, do you think that is the problem? Do you have recommendations for a good router or switch? What are the attributes that determine the traffic a switch or router can handle?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[nclemmons]

I'd suggest you call Sonos tech support and get them to help you with diagnostics before replacing your router.

Netgear should be fine.  You should make sure that the Sonos bridge is not too close to the router or other equipment that might induce interference as a start.

Once you have checked that, you can check your network status by doing this:

First open the sonos app on your computer - Select 'about my sonos system' from the drop down

Identify the IP addresses of one of your zones.

Open a browser and enter the command to get to the network matrix - http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:1400/support/review where you substitute one of your zone IP addresses for the xxx.

It will take a couple minutes but come back with a browser window with each zone, controller and a zone matrix listed.

Click on the zone matrix and note if the left column of zone names are all green or not.  This will start to tell you if you have zone interference.

As I said start with this and then get Sonos tech support on the phone and they can help you out.  They are terrific at diagnostics and very patient!

neil

 

[Decroded77]

Thanks Neil. I'll give it a shot today.

 

[3PedalMINI]

Ok maybe one of you guys can help me now that you have helped me spend so much money on Sonos.

Background:  I've got a Netgear N600 router connected to the Internet over a cable modem. I've got a Sonos bridge connected via wire to the router and two sonos speakers connected wirelessly. I've also got a Roku, DVD player, 4 tablets, 3 laptops, and two cell phones which connect to the network wirelessly at some points in time.

Occasionally my Sonos will just drop out and quit playing. I'm assuming it is because of my cheap router because at times I will be trying to use a wireless device to access the Internet while netflix is working fine and get a "no network" error message. Five seconds later it will work fine.

So summary, do you think that is the problem? Do you have recommendations for a good router or switch? What are the attributes that determine the traffic a switch or router can handle?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

How far are the sonos pieces from the bridge? the zone matrix posted above will help with determining placement and if its a sonos issue or router. Its a feature that is not well known, curious if neilc is an integrator?

Your router is very much under powered for the number of devices you have on the network. You gotta remember that sonos is a network hog, and when you throw a high bandwidth device (like roku) you are going to eat up the "processing" power of the router. Its a bad analogy but essentially when you attempt to watch netflix while listening to sonos it will divert most of its processing to the item that is requiring the most bandwidth. Cheap routers can only handle one of this at a time.

The best DIY router you can buy is the linksys wrt1900ac. Its easy to setup and will cover your devices.

If you want something even better with carrier class specs and reliability the Ubuiqiti Edgemax is a fantastic router that you will have a tough time taxing it. http://www.ubnt.com/edgemax/edgerouter-lite/ You will need a separate accesspoint like Ubuiqiti UNIFI  LR http://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap/ but this route will give you a true network with network stability. You will also need a switch http://www.amazon.com/CISCO-SYSTEMS-SF100-24-NA-Desktop-Switch/dp/B007RB1MH0. You will also need to find a profile to upload to the Edgemax Router, if you go this route i can point you to the right direction for the profile and how to upload it to the router!

 

[rmwarren]

Ok maybe one of you guys can help me now that you have helped me spend so much money on Sonos.

Background:  I've got a Netgear N600 router connected to the Internet over a cable modem. I've got a Sonos bridge connected via wire to the router and two sonos speakers connected wirelessly. I've also got a Roku, DVD player, 4 tablets, 3 laptops, and two cell phones which connect to the network wirelessly at some points in time.

Occasionally my Sonos will just drop out and quit playing. I'm assuming it is because of my cheap router because at times I will be trying to use a wireless device to access the Internet while netflix is working fine and get a "no network" error message. Five seconds later it will work fine.

So summary, do you think that is the problem? Do you have recommendations for a good router or switch? What are the attributes that determine the traffic a switch or router can handle?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

How far are the sonos pieces from the bridge? the zone matrix posted above will help with determining placement and if its a sonos issue or router. Its a feature that is not well known, curious if neilc is an integrator?

Your router is very much under powered for the number of devices you have on the network. You gotta remember that sonos is a network hog, and when you throw a high bandwidth device (like roku) you are going to eat up the "processing" power of the router. Its a bad analogy but essentially when you attempt to watch netflix while listening to sonos it will divert most of its processing to the item that is requiring the most bandwidth. Cheap routers can only handle one of this at a time.

The best DIY router you can buy is the linksys wrt1900ac. Its easy to setup and will cover your devices.

If you want something even better with carrier class specs and reliability the Ubuiqiti Edgemax is a fantastic router that you will have a tough time taxing it. http://www.ubnt.com/edgemax/edgerouter-lite/ You will need a separate accesspoint like Ubuiqiti UNIFI  LR http://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap/ but this route will give you a true network with network stability. You will also need a switch http://www.amazon.com/CISCO-SYSTEMS-SF100-24-NA-Desktop-Switch/dp/B007RB1MH0. You will also need to find a profile to upload to the Edgemax Router, if you go this route i can point you to the right direction for the profile and how to upload it to the router!

+1 on the Ubuiqiti UNIFI, after YEARS of fighting issues with my WiFi I switched to these PoE AP's and in 20 minutes had a rock solid wireless setup. Easy to administer without needing the earn a PhD and the handoff from one AP to another is seamless. I used only 2 of the 3-pack of AP's, both on the second story @ each end of a 65' long house and now I have 4/5 bars anywhere in the house or yard.

I have 5 Sonos zones, using the ZP80 to connect to the network and we never seem to have any issues with network congestion.

RMW 

RMW

 

[nclemmons]

3pedal - not an integrator, just a Sonos owner who has been on the phone w Sonos tech support.

I use an Asus router and two airport time capsule access points and a Dlink STP capable switch.

Tell me more about the router you recommend and how to get a profile. 

Neil

 

[joraft]

You will need a separate accesspoint like Ubuiqiti UNIFI  LR http://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap/ but this route will give you a true network with network stability. You will also need a switch http://www.amazon.com/CISCO-SYSTEMS-SF100-24-NA-Desktop-Switch/dp/B007RB1MH0.

Thanks for steering me in the right direction. I've been having trouble with my wifi system lately and decided it was time for an upgrade.

I just installed a  Ubiquiti UniFi UAP-PRO, two Amped Wireless-N 600mW Gigabit Dual Band Range Extenders, and a  Cisco SG200-26 Gigabit Ethernet Smart Switch.

What a difference! I've got a strong wifi signal two blocks away!

Only worry now is security. The Unifi Pro does not provide for MAC address filtering, so I'm relying solely on the WAP2.