Sonos Play:5 review

With all-in-one systems like this the only thing that’s hard to overcome is stereo separation, as the speakers are so close together. However, we have to say that the S5 does well. Using the balance control on a Controller to test the full effect we were pretty impressed. Playing Enough Space from the Foo Fighters’ The Colour and the Shape album, we found that the swirling guitar intro that sweeps from left to right and back retained its effect well. That’s not to say that the S5 is a good as a set of well-placed speakers, but it does well given its small frame.

If you want better stereo separation and money’s really no object you can use two S5’s in Stereo Pair setting, where one acts as the left channel and one as the right. To be honest, at this point you may as well buy the ZP120 and separate speakers instead.

When the speakers get too much, there’s a standard headphone output, so that you can listen to music quietly. There’s even a minijack 3.5mm line-in, so that you can listen to another device through the S5’s speakers.

Although the S5 can hardly be described as cheap, it does provide a lower-cost way for people to start out with Sonos, or a more flexible way for existing Sonos users to add to their existing network. With excellent sound quality and good looks, the S5’s an excellent addition to the brilliant streaming audio service.