Customer Reviews

Sonos Play 5 All-In-One Wireless Music Player With 5 Integrated Speakers (S5, White)

5 star:		(166)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Just got the S5 about an hour ago. Setup couldn't be easier. Step 1 - connect the power cord to an power outlet. Step 2 - hit the Mute and + button to get the S5 added as a new zone, Step 3 - hmmm....I don't think there is one. Just hit play and enjoy pure bliss.

This is my 4th Zone player (see my other gushing review of the Sonos system on the Sonos bundle page), and anytime my wife asks, "how many of these white boxes you really need?", the answer is always "one more".

Portability is the key feature of S5. Moving it from Kitchen to backdeck is just a matter of unplugging the power cord and replugging at the new location. It's all in one box. And the sound quality is not bad either. With all 4 zone players on party mode - some connected to very expensive Klipsch towers - I have ran around to compare the sound quality at various locations. The verdict - this little guy stacks up nicely against the big boys.

And the iPhone controller is not too shabby either. Don't see the need to buy the new touch controller (CR200).

Awesome product. Pure genius. Just get it.

SONOS IN GENERAL

I've been using Sonos since 2009, and it's been flawless, an absolute joy. I've got instant, automatically-updated access to all of my iTunes Tracks, Artists, Playlists and Albums. Sonos also has an excellent implementation of Pandora, Rhapsody (and other music services) and Internet radio. It's such a pleasure to hear them throughout the house and Patio, controlled by my iPhone, and with full broadband quality sound.

The flexibility and ease of use are equally impressive. Each zone can play any independent track or other music choice, or be instantly grouped (synchronized) with any number of other zones. Even when zones are synchronized, it's a snap to control (a) the volume of any individual zone within the group or (b) the volume of the entire group while automatically maintaining the relative levels you've previously set. The ability to simultaneously play different tracks in different rooms from a single iTunes library, attached to a single computer, is an impressive technological feat that can not be achieved with a standard Apple AirPlay device. (You can also play music from multiple libraries on one or more computers). Any or all of those zones can be beautifully controlled by a single iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, android or by any number of such controllers.

I also have an Apple Airport Express linked to a sonos line-in, so that my friends can stream music to my sonos system, directly from their iPhones/iPads using Apple Airplay. That works well, but sometimes a streaming iPhone will loose its WiFi connection as you move about the house. (Of course, iPhone/Airplay WiFi streaming glitches are not sonos related problems. This is more of an illustration of how a WiFi based streaming system is likely to work in general.) Nonetheless, it's great to have Airplay available for friends.

My Sonos system has been absolutely flawless, with a consistent, intuitive interface, and my iPhone, with its Sonos controller app, is always right there in my pocket, ready to go.

Setup for all of the Sonos zones has been a snap, and the system has been a total joy from day one.

SONOS Play:5

Sounds every bit as good as, or better than my Bose Sound Dock. Looks great. Sets up in seconds, and moves easily between rooms when needed. It can really be cranked up in volume without distortion. Perfect.

One requirement to be aware of is that you'll either need to buy a $50 ZoneBridge OR connect this Play:5, OR any other ZonePlayer (ie, a Play:3, Play:5, Sonos-Connect, or Sonos-Connect:Amp) anywhere in your home, directly to your router or LAN with the included ethernet cable. Only one sonos device needs to be hardwired to the router or LAN.

If you already have an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Android, there are several advantages in buying a single Play:5 (or Play:3) rather than a Bose SoundDock or other docking speaker.

1) Control From Your Seat: It's an absolute pleasure to have complete control over what you're listening to, right where you are, keeping the iPod or iphone in your hand or pocket. You don't have to stand up to choose any specific track, playlist, artist or radio station, or to see what's playing. And because your iphone is only the controller (you're streaming from your desktop computer hard disk or from the internet, rather than from your iPhone, -- with the airplay exception as noted above) you're not using up valuable iphone battery life or suffering mediocre sound quality, as you would likely be otherwise. Further, your iPhone is still with you for answering phone calls, or using other iphone apps, with no disruption to the music system.

2) Internet Radio: Sonos probably has the worlds best remote control user interface for internet radio. Listen to Pandora, Rhapsody, Sirius, last.fm, Spotify, ALL of your local radio stations (local radio is quick to find, given it's independent menu item. A very nice touch.), or about 100 thousand other internet radio stations, organized by location (country, state, city), or searchable by genre, sub-genre, station name, station number, or radio SHOW name.

3) Upgradability: Add another zone (or multiple additional zones) at any time in the future and you're set with a multizone system.

(I should point out that there are, of course, some benefits in going with a single Docking Speaker instead:
1) Cost Savings:
2) Can be used just as easily away from the home.)

Final Verdict: I really do love my Play:5 and my entire Sonos system.

I just purchased the s5 with a zone bridge and the CR200. The combination is absolutely amazing. Installation was easy and operation is intuitive. There is plenty out there on how these things work, so I won't go into details on that. But I do have two observations to share:

1) In addition to the s5, I also picked up a NAS drive so that I could stream my 5000+ track mp3 library. After all, streaming my collection with a touch screen remote was one of the main reason I looked at Sonos in the first place. But, after setting Sonos up I decided to give Napster a try. The Napster/Sonos combination gives you access to 8 million tracks on demand. For example, Napster has over 60 Bob Dylan albums, which is pretty much his whole discography. If you want to sample the latest (obscure) music, Napster also has most of the albums Pitchfork reviewed this week--pretty neat.

So, despite my deep investment in my personal mp3 collection, it only took me a couple of minutes to realize that it was completely obsolete. Deciding between $5/month for a 8 million track library vs. a $200 NAS for my 5000 track library was a no-brainier. The NAS got packed up and sent back; my mp3s are now strictly for iPod use.

2) As an NPR fan, the other great feature I didn't realize Sonos included is the ability to search and play archived NPR shows. From the Splendid Table to Fresh Air, it is all there on demand--awesome.

_____________
Two-year update: This thing is still going strong. We use it everyday to catch up on NPR or listen to the latest releases via Napster. For instance, just yesterday, I read a review of the new Sigur Ros album and 10 seconds after finishing the review, I had the album streaming through my S5 with a few touches of the controller. I also find it extremely useful to be able to listen to non-local radio stations. If we sleep in and want to catch Morning Edition, or get home late and want to catch Marketplace, we just tune into Wyoming Public Radio (we are in Atlanta) and presto. (While the NPR shows are archived, they are usually not accessible until one day after broadcast).

Another note is that I have downloaded the Android App, which works very well. The only slight frustration is that it takes my phone a few minutes to ramp up the WiFi connection. Because of this, I still almost exclusively use the CR200 or my laptop to control the music. I'd say the CR200 is worth the expense in order to have a dedicated controller that always works without delay.

I am a big Sonos fan. Reading a few -ve feedbacks prompted to submit my own review. And I do understand a few frustrations expressed by other users

To me, no other system comes close to what my needs are. I am a tech guy so understanding the system came easy to me. Here are some basic highlights of Sonos:

*** Is Sonos a system for you? ***
If you are spending 500 bucks on a piece of technology, you better read every aspect of it. It's not a Louis Vuitton handbag where brand name matters. It's a price you are paying for a set of features it has to sell. If you want a system that works off your iTunes or your iPad/iPhone music collection then this is not for you. If you want a stand-alone system sitting in your kitchen/living room, then it's definitely not for you. Just one single piece of Sonos is not a "Complete Music System" and it's not "Complete Wireless System", as it turns out, is the biggest complain of the consumers.

*** What Sonos has to offer ***
If you want a Music System for more than one room in your house - and you want all these players to use a single music server (where you store your music - Windows XP/Windows 7/Mac/NAS) and you also want to control all these players with a single remote - Go for Sonos blindfolded.

What exactly did I mean by that? Let's go back to fundamentals.
All (or most) of us like having a music server. A music server is a computer/NAS on your local area network. This is our machine where we buy/save/arrange our songs. It is probably on this machine that we install our iTunes and sync our iPhone/iPad using this iTunes. So, stop assuming that iPhone/iPad is your one-stop music station. It's actually your main computer that we'll call your music server.

Now - In comes Sonos...
And let me bust the first myth about "Complete Wireless System". It's technically not. Your first Sonos component (any one of the player) HAS TO BE hard-wired to your local area network. This helps Sonos access your music library from the hardware perspective. Could Sonos have avoided this and connect to the network wirelessly? Maybe, but understand that Sonos's own networking is way powerful and using wireless TCPIP may have caused it to perform poorer. One button click on your Sonos remote triggers activity on multiple systems. Hard-wiring this machine Sonos was therefore a compulsion on its part. Yes - I agree - an inconvenience.

Let's complete the music system...
Once you have hard-wired this one player to your network, you needs to install Sonos Desktop Controller (a piece of Software) on your music server. This is a software parallel to iTunes and not an iTunes byproduct. Sonos has no obligation to pull iTunes playlist into Sonos Desktop Controller. It's an additional feature that Sonos does provide. So, if you are addicted to iTunes and want everything to work around iTunes, don't invest in Sonos. Now, let's say we are over iTunes. Sonos Desktop Controller is a Music Manager that manages your music (like iTunes). It's not state-of-the-art software. Its job is to deliver the songs from your hard drive to your player and it does that brilliantly well. Don't get me wrong - it does have a nice interface. It neatly allows you to manage your music. Just don't look for "ITunes Genius" on it. Next step is to sync your Sonos Desktop Controller with the Sonos player (which is relatively simple to do). If you restart your Music Server manually, the Sonos Desktop Controller automatically starts in the background. You don't have to launch it manually. Be advised that this Music Server needs to be up all the time (which is almost always up anyway, how many times do we shut down our machine?). And the Last component is a Sonos remote (which is a waste of money). Sonos provides "Sonos Remote" for iOS and Android. Use this app instead - much neater, convenient and free.

*** What the heck is a bridge then? ***
Most of us will not keep our Sonos player close our computer. Sonos Player would most likely be in our bedroom/living room/kitchen. Our router is not likely available there (it's probably close our Music Server). Now because Sonos mandates us to hard-wire our Player to the network, we need to buy an additional product - this is where I bust the second myth of "Complete Music System". If your router is in your basement or your study (most likely close to your Music Server) and you want keep your Sonos Player in your kitchen your need Sonos Bridge to hard-wire to your router (in basement or your study) and then Sonos Bridge communicates with Sonos Player wirelessly using its own networking protocol.

NOTE: I didn't need to buy a Sonos bridge as I have Ethernet cables running to my bedroom from my router. I connected my first Sonos Player to my bedroom's Ethernet port. I thus saved money on Sonos Bridge. I hard-wired my house with Ethernet cables because I wasn't happy with my PS3 connecting to my Media Server (storing my pictures/songs/videos) wirelessly. There was a lag (which is why I sort of defend Sonos's decision to enforce us to hard-wire atleast one device to the router). This Media Server of mine is incidentally the same machine that also has Sonos Desktop Controller.

That completes my system. Now, if that is all you want - stop reading further and don't invest in Sonos. If you are going to read further, you'll be very interested in investing on this product. Cos the beauty begins now...

My first investment was ZonePlayer 90. I put this in my bedroom, hard-wired to Ethernet and sent the output to by Bose 321 (which also houses my cable TV's audio output). I then installed Sonos Desktop Controller on my Media Server/Music Server and sync'ed it with ZonePlayer 90. Finally, I installed "Sonos Remote" app on my iPhone - and wallah state-of-the-art music system in my bedroom.

With ZP90, you do need a nice amplifier and therefore Bose 321 came in handy.

My next target was kitchen. I got ZonePlayerS5 (now sold as Play5) for my kitchen. Sync'ed it with Sonos Desktop Controller with my Music Server and it makes my kitchen much more fun. How did that happen so easily? My ZonePlayer90 also acts as a Bridge for ZonePlayerS5 (and will continue to do so for every new addition in my house). This is Sonos's strongest point - its ability to extend music across your entire house.

My next target was my living room. This is a big room and I knew for certain a Play5 or a Play3 won't be enough. I did not want a new amplifier (so a Connect/ ZonePlayerS5 was ruled out). Connect:Amp (formally known as ZonePlayer120) required me to buy two additional speakers. I somehow couldn't buy that idea. What did I do? And this is my favorite part:

I bought 2 Play3, placed it in two different locations in my living room and make it work like one system. 2 Sonos are now playing a stereophonic sound in my living room.

How does my remote look now? I have "Sonos Remote" app on my iPhone, my wife's iPhone and my iPad. They all work on sync. In other words - if my iPhone initiated a song on Sonos, my wife's iPhone can see that I am playing that song. It additionally lists our all the Players (in my living room/bedroom/kitchen) separately. Therefore, using the same iPhone app/Sonos Remote, I can play 3 music systems with 3 different songs and the app on my wife's iPhone and my iPad is well aware what I am doing with my iPhone. A very smart, nice interface too. In addition to that, the remote/app on the iPhone can scan thru multiple FM music stations across the globe (not just US). I am an Indian I can access tons of Indian FM music channels on my Sonos iPhone Remote.

The closest thing that comes to this is Logitech but using my iPhone as a remote for Sonos sealed the deal for me. This is one thing that is not available on Logitech. Without a doubt, quality of sound is better in Sonos. If anything, Logitech is half the price. All in all, I am close to 1000 bucks on my investments. I am a (borderline) music freak. I'll always justfy the price. My wife argues its way over-priced. I ask "as opposed to what?". She keeps quiet after that :) esepcially when I compare her 800 bucks worth of Louis Vuitton handbag with her 400 bucks coach purse.

Oh, last but not the least, Sonos does have a limit of no. of songs it can handle. Some claim that this limitation is gone too but I dont know for sure. If I have over 64000 songs then no one can help me, let alone Sonos. I have almost 15000 songs and it'll take a lifetime to get to 64000 songs. If I am 400 lbs fat guy then its not the fault of my weighing machine if it breaks while measuring my weight. Ok - poor and sic analogy - but you get my point...

The Sonos system is a fantastic option for anyone looking for an extremely easy (if not entirely economical) way to stream music with good sound quality throughout your house without destructive and cost prohibitive, non-adjustable, non-movable hard wiring. All it took was a zone bridge for the router in the office, a zone player 90 for my main house receiver and existing speakers, and S5's for each of the rooms where I wanted music but didn't have speakers, and I was up and running in under 20 minutes streaming music from Pandora, Napster and my iTunes library. The sound from the S5 is excellent for a single box, not-thousands-of-dollars speaker. One of my favorite things is the music integration -- when controlling the music from your iphone, it plays from a queue in which you can mix and match items from your Napster library and iTunes. I love being able to mix the music I just borrow from Napster with the music I own from iTunes. It moves seamlessly between the two -- you don't even notice a pause. Also, this is the only system I am aware of that can synchronize music throughout your house easily and perfectly. I can quickly move from playing a playlist throughout every speaker in the house, to just a couple of rooms, to just the room I am in, and back.

Despite the five-star review and the fact that I love it, nothing is perfect and I know the negatives can be more helpful sometimes in making a decision than the positives, so here are a few things to keep in mind:
(1) as noted by other reviewers, if you don't intend to have a player where your router is, you will need a zone bridge. Add $100
(2) if, like most of us, you have DRM protected music from back in the day from iTunes before most went DRM free, the Sonos will not play it. Music bought more recently from iTunes will work fine, so if you just joined the iTunes party in the last few years, you shouldn't have issues. For those with older, protected music, there are easy converter programs that will do a virtual burn of a CD onto your hard drive that will allow you to have copies of these songs which are playable on Sonos without breaking the DRM protection itself. (I found Tune4Mac extremely quick and easy to use if you have a Mac. Factor in the added software cost ($30-40) though when budgeting for your Sonos.)
(3) The s5's are addictive! I thought I wanted three. I liked them so much, I thought of another place to have one, and was quickly up to four. I actually now want 2 more, but will wait for the budget to recover!
(4) If you have a particularly large room in which you plan to use the s5, you may want to invest in two (add $399) and set them up as a stereo pair. I currently only have one in a very large master bedroom with a sitting area, and while the sound is really excellent, that is the one room where I can really tell that all of the sound is coming out of one box. In the smaller rooms, the sound just fills the room, but in the larger room, it is more directional. Having two, one on each side of the room should solve that issue, but its so minor for me, I haven't decided if its worth the cost yet.
(5) The iphone controller is great, but I assume most people have their iphone set to have the screen go dark pretty quickly to save battery power and to keep you from accidentally calling people when you bump the phone. While the Sonos controller comes back up quickly, it still has the pause while the phone reconnects to the wifi when you wake up the phone. 99% of the time, its not an issue, but if you receive a call or need to stop the music quickly for some other reason, it is not going to be an instant fix. The players all have mute buttons on them which can be used quickly, but if you have multiple ones going at once or are not right next to the player, the issue remains.
(6) The ads show how portable the S5 is, and it certainly is easy enough to pick it up and move it outside or to another room when you want music where you don't normally have it. What they don't really let you know clearly is that, after unplugging it, you will likely have to reconnect that player to the system. It is a 30 second to one minute process you can easily do when the need arises, but it is enough of a deterrent that if you thought you would be better off saving money and buying less, and then moving them around, you may change your mind. It is also a slightly annoying factor when you first set up the system, as you will probably want to move them around to find the perfect spot. I ended up having to redo one of them about 8 times just because I couldn't make up my mind where I liked it best, so I kept moving it. Of course, once it found its home, I haven't had to do it since.
(7) I am not a huge fan of how Sonos does its playlists. While I imported my iTunes playlists, I use the Sonos ones so I can combine iTunes and Napster music, and it would be nice if they improved on this. As it is, you basically have to queue up some music and then save that queue as a playlist. It seems like they should give you a way to set up the list without ever acting like you were trying to play the music first.

So, as you can see, trying hard to focus on the negative, I still only came up with a few issues that are easily remedied or easily lived with. Absolutely none of the issues affect my love of my Sonos system. I use it non-stop, listening to music even more than before. My Sonos wakes me up with a Pandora easy listening station in the morning with the alarm (which is nice that you can automatically have it come on Monday through Friday, so no more having to remember each night to set the alarm or worrying about an auto-alarm waking you up on the weekends), plays my favorite wake=me-up-and-get-me-ready-to-work pop music while I get ready in the mornings, switches to my workout music when I get home, to the classical music i have it play on a sleep timer while I go to sleep -- plus the thousands of other ways I use it in between. Five stars indeed!

I say "Amen Brother" to the preceeding reviews. I would like to add my two cents worth. One of the great features that was not mentioned is the "Line In" capability. This feature allows one to connect an external source of analog voice or music to the "Line In" and that audio to can be streamed to any or all combinations of zone players. I am a ham radio operator and have replaced my computer sound system with the Sonos. I can sit in front of my radios and listen to the hams chatting and pipe the audio all over the house while I am doing my chores...or if I decide, I can just lull around anywhere and listen to music...it's wonderful! Another point I might bring up is the wireless adapter does have a limited range and has to be connected directly to the router. One can get around this obstacle by using a Linksys PLE200 (or similar manufacturer) A/C interface and use the house A/C wiring to carry the digitial information directly from the router. Using this device, I could center my sonos wireless adapter in the house for best coverage. Also, if a player is still out of range, one can plug in another A/C adapter and plug the Sonos directly into the A/C adapter via an Ethernet cable as the S5 zone player can function equally well connected to the router system or operating wirelessly.

Also, one more tip: When you set up the wireless zone players, set them up close to your computer so you don't have to run all over the house pushing the two buttons to put them on line; put them on line near your computer. Unplug them, put them in their place and they will come up automatically as they were programmed originally.

Yes, it is pricey, but it's a keeper!!!

I have debated buying the Sonos system for several months mostly due to price and also in part wondering if it could truly live up to the claims and reviews. I am fairly technical and am usually an early adopter, although have at times, been disappointed with other purchases not working quite as well as advertised. I am thrilled with all aspects of my Sonos purchase and cannot believe how easy it was to set up and the sound quality. I received it about an hour ago, and in minutes, had the Zone Bridge connected to my router (since the router is kept hidden in a closet out of sight) and then the S5 ZonePlayer set up in my living room. I can now stream my iTunes Library from a Time Capsule (NAS) and listen to streaming music from Pandora, Last.fm, Sirius and more. Plus, as a transplanted Minnesotan in New York, I can save my favorite local stations from MN and listen to them here as if I were at home. The music is flawless, crystal clear and I would never know it is from the internet- no stutters, gaps or delay. This is one product that has surpassed my expectations completely. The only downside I can see will be now wanting to buy another S5 for my bedroom.

I just received wireless controller and S5 today. Not paying attention to dimension specs I was little surprised by smaller then expected size. However in some cases size does not matter and this is the one that it is true. Sound quality is very good for portable device that can be easily moved to your deck or other room. Moving S5 is as simple as removing power cord and reconnecting it in new location. Setup of Pandora, last.fm and mp3 library was very intuitive (for initial setup use your computer, which makes this much easier). I use iphone with Sonos app that again is very easy to use and has all needed options to control the system. The good news is that you control Sonos with many devices including computer, iphone, etc. When I was buying it I was not sure if that is the case. With service like Pandora, last.fm you basically can stop buying music and discover new artists that you did not know. Another compatible great service is radiotime that works like a charm. Since it is not possible to see device locally I was little skeptic that it may not deliver what it promises and price doesn't belong to lowest. To my surprise I am very happy with it and will definitely keep it. I will probably get one or two more of these in near future (if you are planning one, be warned that you will want more).

From all the previous reviews I expected the installation to be super-smooth, and everything did work right away, EXCEPT for streaming music from my iMac to the Zoneplayer: the radio streaming and the music services (Pandora/Rhapsody) were streaming flawlessly to the Zoneplayer (via the Zonebridge) because the Zonebridge talks directly to the internet. However streaming music from my iMac to the Zoneplayer was a different matter: whenever I was trying to setup music library in the Sonos desktop software, I kept getting strange errors like "could not connect to <ComputerName>", or "<ComputerName> not found". Then I talked to a Sonos technical rep, and he pointed out that I was having problems because my iMac is on WiFi (i.e. not directly connected to the internet via an ethernet cable). When I changed my setup so that my iMac was connected directly to the internet via an ethernet cable, I was immediately able to setup my music library for streaming. Somehow, somewhere it should have been clearly stated that the computer that hosts your music library MUST BE ON A WIRED connection to the internet, NOT WIFI. Other than this, I have no complaints whatsoever: it has quickly become one of the most-used gadget in my NYC apartment. Most FM reception here is crap, so it's great to have access to all sorts of internet streaming radio stations, plus you get Pandora and Rhapsody. The sound is definitely great for my living room and bed room. And best of all, of course, I can control this from my iPhone. We listen to a ton more music (and more often) just because we have the Zoneplayer. My wife was initially dismissive that I bought "yet another gadget", but when she realized all the things you could do so easily with it, she was quickly converted.

We bought the S5 after reading some of the breathless reviews. The concept of high quality, easily mobile wireless audio technology has always been appealing, but it didn't ever quite seem ripe. Well, it is now.

Setting up the S5 (if you don't have other Sonos equipment already, you're going to need the $99 Sound Bridge unless you only want to connect the S5 to your wired router . . . but why would you do that???) is about as easy as it gets. You tell it where your music is it indexes it, and it's all there, anywhere in your house, any time you want. The integration with Pandora, last.fm, and other internet radio is exceptional -- you would almost think they were proprietary services of Sonos, it's so well done.

You do not need to be a computer geek or a technician to install or appreciate this device. I am the geek in our house; my wife could care less about technology. About the best recommendation I can make in this regard is this: my wife does not have the technical interest or desire to even attempt to use Pandora and last.fm in their traditional, computer-based formats. She was setting up stations and using all of them flawlessly and joyfully within hours of the S5 arriving at our home.

If you have an iPhone and have any interest in this product, you won't be sorry.