Sonos Play: 5 is one of the highest quality smart speakers on the market, we reviewed it

We are in the time of Google Home and the HomePod among others. In this peculiar market it is standing out above all things Amazon and its edition Echo. However, those who opt for quality and compatibility have a divided heart, despite the fact that there is a clear winner that has been on the market for a long time, we speak once more about Are S. We are facing one of the best wireless and intelligent audio firms on the market.

In many specialized media they have not felt any trembling in their hands when qualifying it as the best of the speakers that Sonos has available in their store. The reality is that it has left us a very good taste in our mouths, although the experience with a pair of Sonos One is also quite good. As usual, we are going to analyze the most relevant details of this small-great speaker that Sonos has made available to us.

Soon we will offer you a direct comparison between the Sonos Play: 5 and the Apple alternative, the HomePod, available on our sister website, www.iPhone.com today

Technical characteristics: High quality sound and high compatibility

The speaker has six class 'D' digital amplifiers to offer us the best audio in the six speakers integrated into its acoustic architecture. In this way we have three tweeters at frequencies present in high-fidelity audio, as well as three more speakers offering equally tuned mids with the care of offering the most Premium user experience possible. The speakers have been placed in the box progressively (three up and three down) to direct the audio in the most correct way possible.

It is big for what we are used to sound, and heavy as usual on Sonos. However, its design, despite not being too small, is quite compact, so it will not look bad in any room or furniture, we have to be honest, Sonos in terms of design is always at the height of potential consumers to whom your products are directed. Thus he obtains dimensions of 203 × 364 × 154 mm (8,03 × 14,33 × 6,06 ″) and a total weight of 6,36 kilograms. 

The front grille of the device is made of graphite, as in other Sonos products, while the polycarbonate shell offers two different versions, one in white and the other in black, basic and minimalist colors that will generally look good in any case. Sonos does not offer a wide color gamut, but it is sufficient for the vast majority of users. Personally, I think that Sonos devices tend to look much better in white than black.

Connectivity and compatibility: One Sonos for everyone and everything

Sonos has always been characterized by its compatibility, it is capable of running the vast majority of firms that offer streaming audio (Spotify, Deezer, Tidal, Google Play Music, Napster, 7Digital, TuneIn, SoundCloud, Mixcloud). We will be able to reproduce AAC, AIFF, Apple Lossless, FLAC, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WAV and WMA. Connectivity is not going to be a problem, we will have Wi-Fi 802.11b / g at 2,4 GHz and a port Ethernet 10 / 100 (we don't need more for streaming music). Once again, I see as a negative point (and strange in a North American product), not having 5 GHz Wi-Fi, more and more demanded by users. It goes without saying that being Wi-Fi and not Bluetooth we will be able to generate a Multiroom environment that allows us to create a musical thread in our home in the easiest way. The offline content is not a problem either, you will have at your disposal music from any PC, Mac and storage unit on your home network (up to 16 different sources) or, if you prefer, you can also play the songs from your smartphone.

For lovers of the classic it is not lacking in this unit (it does in other versions of smaller Sonos) connectivity via classic audio jack. 

Another section that has fallen in love with us is that of the touch controls for the volume and the songs at the top. Despite this, this Sonos is not prepared or thought to adapt voice commands and other varieties that would come in more modern models like the Sonos One. In the same way, Sonos has promised us full compatibility with AirPlay 2, Apple's new streaming content delivery protocol, and despite having received two updates in recent days, we have not been able to enjoy this new connectivity.

The quality by flag, is a Sonos device

I cannot doubt as I write these lines, I am possibly before the device of these characteristics with the best audio that I have ever analyzed. But of course, we are facing a wireless and quasi-intelligent speaker that costs nothing more and nothing less than five hundred euros gentlemen. I was not disappointed for a single moment, we already know almost the entire Sonos range closely, but the Sonos Play: 5 is a device that can presumably not be missing in the living room or office of a lover of technology and the exquisite, perhaps this may be the main reason why their devices triumph in users of the Apple environment in general.

This is how they got the EISA 2016/2017 Award for the best Multi-Room product, and we don't blame them. Neither Spotify, nor through audio jack nor through any other means, we do not make the Sonos Play: 5 fall into errors in any situation. The surround sound that it offers means that having one of these is a spacious room you do not need absolutely anything else, it is clear that the environment analysis that includes its mobile phone application -and point through which the speaker software rotates- has a lot to see in it.

Editor's opinion

Until now, we had not tried an audio device of such unreproachable quality, if similar, but not that altogether it offered so many reasons to buy it, even though audio experts dismiss its incompatibility with Hi-Res Audio as a defect. . I only find one defect, which is coupled with the inescapable quality of its components, and that is the fact that you will hardly be able to buy it below € 500 in any case. But To be honest with you, if your home is full of technology or you consider yourself an audio lover, you can't ignore this Sonos Play: 5 system, but… are you willing to pay it?

• Buy Sonos Play: 5 on Amazon
• Buy Sonos Play: 5 on the Sonos website