Just when you thought a speaker couldn’t get any better, Sonos releases not only an exceptional new Play:5 model but an app that can make your existing Sonos speakers sound better than ever before.
The Sonos app that allows users to control their music and direct it to various Sonos speakers in the home now has a new featured called Trueplay.
It can optimise your speaker’s sound quality by assessing the speaker’s position in the room and the furniture and other items.
It does this through your iPhone’s microphone which, while the Sonos plays a test tone, you wave up and down while you walk around the room.
As the speaker pings your phone it is taking readings and making calculations so that the Sonos speaker in that room can sound as good as it possibly can.
In our case we positioned the new Sonos Play:5 speaker in our office and put Trueplay to work.
Now the Play:5 sounded excellent to begin with but it actually managed to sound even better, crisper and with an improved bass level.
Trueplay is tucked away in the Room Settings of the latest version of the Sonos app.
From here you can see each of your Sonos speakers and you simply tap the one you want to tune with Trueplay.
In our case it was the latest Play:5 which has an all-new design and an improved sound but Trueplay works with older Sonos speakers as well like the Play:1, Play:3 and Play:5.
The Play:5 has a more rounded look and can be positioned on its long base or upright on the left or right side.
There are also touch and swipe controls on the top panel that re-orient themselves to still work logically and sound great in any position.
And of course you can put a couple of Play:5 speakers together and easily set them up as a left and right pair.
But the real beauty of this is the Sonos name which sits sideways in the middle of the speaker.
Because it’s a palindrome (reads the same forward and backwards) and also looks the same even with it’s upside down – it always going to read Sonos no matter what way you place the speaker.
The attention to detail of the design can be seen in the precision of the grill where every hole was meticulously milled from a special material to ensure purer sound.
There are also microphones to enable the Trueplay tuning.
Under the hood are six digital amplifiers that power six speakers and three tweeters to deliver a thoroughly detailed sound so you can hear ever note, every voice and every beat.
Also onboard are three dedicated mid-woofers that really pump up the mid range and provide bass that’s just as good as the Sonos standalone SUB.
I paired my own Sonos SUB to the Play:5 to enhance the bass but, to be honest the Play:5’s bass sounded just as good on its own.
But the versatility of the speakers can easily be seen when they are paired with a Sonos Playbar or used as rear effect speakers in a home theatre.
Of course Sonos has become the benchmark when it comes to connected multiroom speakers – it was the first and it’s still at the top of its game.
The Sonos app is as powerful a feature as the speakers themselves and offers complete control of your music and where you want to hear it.
It also provides seamless access to music streaming services like Spotify, Deezer, Google Play and Pandora.
And that app now includes Trueplay which is like an insurance policy to make sure your speaker will always sound great no matter where it is on your home.
VERDICT
Sonos has managed to make a good speaker even better with the Play:5.
It’s not the cheapest wireless multiroom speaker on the market but it’s certainly one of the best and worth every dollar to anyone who values good sound.
SONOS Play:5
Price: $749
