Exceptional sound quality, a terrific app, and an ample volume, the Sonos PLAY:5 Wireless Smart Speakers surely impress. The outstanding sound quality alone makes this speaker a worthy investment.
There’s a good reason the Sonos Play:5 has been included in our top 10 portable speakers list. Let’s find out, in more detail, what makes it so great.
Design
About the size of a small PC tower, the speaker weighs 13 pounds and has a simple, understated design. You can set the Sonos Play:5 to either stand or lay flat with no problem. It helps that its touch-sensitive buttons are on the top, right next to the Sonos logo. The cleverly designed control button lets you skip tracks with a swipe and pause/play/adjust the volume with a press.
As for the technical components, the power cable port is conveniently located on the back of the device. Meanwhile, the Ethernet and aux-in ports sit comfortably below the speaker. Overall, the Sonos Play:5’s straightforward and clean appearance will fit well with your home’s interior.
Setting Up the Sonos Play:5
While setting up the Sonos Play:5 is straightforward, it’s lengthy and extensive when compared to other Wi-Fi speakers that work right out of the box. It begins with plugging the speaker to a power source and connecting it via wireless or an Ethernet connection. From here on, the setup is done through Sonos’ mobile app that you download for free on Google Play or the App Store.
The app then guides you through the setup, which includes registering the speaker and going through the Sonos TruePlay process. The latter is a procedure wherein the speaker ‘acclimates’ to the room where you’re setting it up. It does this by playing a pulsating tone and using your smartphone’s mic to listen for obstacles or interference. A little bizarre, to be honest, but the process results in the Sonos Play:5 delivering the best possible sound for a room.
After the initial setup, everything else becomes relatively easy. You control the speaker using the Sonos app on your smartphone or computer. Neatly organized, the app gives you access to all your favorite music streaming services (e.g. Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Tidal, etc.) so you may access them within the application. Plus, the app can set alarms, create playlists, queue songs, and group multiple Sonos speakers together for an immersive listening.
Performance
The engineering behind the Sonos Play:5 is well-thought-out. The speaker has 6 active drivers—that’s 3 midrange drivers, and 3 tweeters to propel the sound—all powered by individual amplifiers. Don’t be surprised if the device produces the clearest sounds, regardless of the genre you’re listening to.
What’s even more impressive is how the WiFi speaker projects crisp and natural sound. Aside from a good treble clarity, the bass quality is equally superb. That’s a surprise in itself considering that most wireless speakers with excellent treble usually suffers a lack of bass. With the Sonos Play:5, the treble doesn’t sound thin at all and its thanks to the balanced and punchy bass.
If your main concern is sound performance, you’re not going to find much better than the Sonos Play:5.
The Sonos Multi-Room System
The Sonos Play:5 along with other Sonos wireless speakers are individually excellent, most of them good enough to fill a room with full sounds on their own. But put them all (or even just two) together and they go from good to amazing.
Sonos multi-room setup is a powerful, wireless streaming system that you can control from your smartphone. Simply select the room where you’ve set up a Sonos speaker, queue what music to play with the device, and you’re set for a fully immersive listening experience wherever you are in the house.
Verdict
The compact yet powerful Sonos Play:5 is easily one of the best-sounding Wi-Fi speakers on the market. It’s a bit pricey, sure, but its sound quality is parallel to none. It’s full, well-rounded sound makes it a worthwhile investment. It does come with a lengthy setup process and a lack of Bluetooth, Google Cast, and AirPlay support.
For its sheer power, it’s a great speaker to have when you live in a spacious home. When you live in a small flat or apartment, though it’ll be an overkill (and you should probably turn the volume down a little bit).
