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Sonos, am I loosing my mind?


W27

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This weekend I stopped by a friend’s house. He was playing music over his Sonos system. It consisted of a sound bar, 2 rear speakers, and a Sonos sub. That’s it, no receiver, amplifier, nothing. I expected something like the old “no highs, no lows, must be bose.” The thing actually sounded shockingly good. It made me question the racks and rooms filled with audio equipment I have. 
 

Today while bored at work I decided to google a little about Sonos systems since I know nothing. The general consensus I’m reading online is that Bose has better sound quality, but Sonos is more user friendly and easier to use. Bose sounds better? 
 

I didn’t do any critical listening or serious comparison. Are these things any good or am I loosing it? I did have a few beers lol. Getting rid of the towers and audio rack in the bedroom would at least make the girlfriend happy. 

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* You’re not. My stepson has the main system in his living room and satellites in several other rooms. He likes heavy bass and the Sonos can produce it, although on the boomy side for my tastes. Very user friendly for sure. We use Sonos in the car club I’m in located in a very large, high ceiling building. Pretty amazing how well the satellites can produce quite acceptable, full spectrum sound. And we are talking about filling several thousand sq. ft. of volume — . I believe each speaker enclosure uses a Class D amplifier for each the tweet and woofer driver speaker. Taking into context what it is, it is an impressive system — particularly for those that live on their phones controlling every function of their lives — 

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Soundbar technology has come a long way these past couple years. 
 

I was in BB the other day and listened to the BOSE 700 soundbar and matching 700 bass module. I was totally surprised by the sound this simple and clean looking system put out.

 

My friends all have these huge and beautiful homes and nearly all of them have Sonos soundbars. As much as I hate to admit it, they all sound very good especially when the subwoofer is turned on. 

 

I could unload all my gear, buy a soundbar and pocket a couple thousand but I just can’t give up my passion for buying and testing new gear. I actually like trying gear out more than I like using it, so I am a bit of a weirdo.. 

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20 minutes ago, K5SS said:

Soundbar technology has come a long way these past couple years. 
 

I was in BB the other day and listened to the BOSE 700 soundbar and matching 700 bass module. I was totally surprised by the sound this simple and clean looking system put out.

 

My friends all have these huge and beautiful homes and nearly all of them have Sonos soundbars. As much as I hate to admit it, they all sound very good especially when the subwoofer is turned on. 

 

I could unload all my gear, buy a soundbar and pocket a couple thousand but I just can’t give up my passion for buying and testing new gear. I actually like trying gear out more than I like using it, so I am a bit of a weirdo.. 

I completely agree. It’s more of a hobby. I regret selling most of the stuff I have over the years. Occasionally I buy stuff back. After seeing his setup I feel like a hoarder lol. I was just blown away that the difference wasn’t night and day. I appreciate the honest opinions. 

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I replaced a Blows system in a friends home that they paid $14,000 for about 15 years ago with a soundbar and sub and their words "I can't believe how much  better that sounds"  Not given up any of my rigs for one, but in a secondary bedroom or work area that has a TV, what the heck.  

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I'd say sonos is good for what they are... Especially when comparing them to bose. However, sitting in a dedicated stereo room in front of some kick-*** hifi speakers and an amp that could potentially power your entire street, can not be compared to the simplicity that is sonos and bose. 

 

In other words, I don't think you're going crazy. You might've just gotten yourself temporarily taken away by the hype. Shake it off!

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You’re not losing your mind, but you could loosen your grip on, and lose, that extra “O.” 😉

 

I was at a neighbor’s outdoor party and had the same reaction to a large Sonos speaker, but then again, alcohol was involved.  Alcohol causes one to lose inhibitions and loosen up.

 

On the one hand, Sonos speakers, IMO, do an excellent job of filling spaces with music that sounds good as you walk around.  On the other hand, my DIY system of Super Heresys and 4 tapped horn subs does an excellent job of producing focused full impact music fidelity if you sit in the sweet spot.  Most of my friends and family aren’t interested in spending time in the sweet spot.

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6 minutes ago, jason str said:

If you really want great sound check out the Marshall Woburn, its a large step above the others including anything Klipsch makes.


That is a great sounding speaker, I listened to it a few weeks ago. I can tell you that the Bose 700 with matching 700 subwoofer sounds much better. It should, obviously, at nearly 3x the price. 
 

I have been a Bose hater for many years but this new 700 soundbar appears to be a game changer. 
 

The truth is that soundbars are shrinking the gap between full sized speakers/systems but there’s definitely still a gap. 

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

The only thing with bose it doesn't have Dolby atmos. I use to be a big bose believer. They are so outdated. But I've always been a klipsch guy. I can't wait to hear the 800 and 1200 when they come out. As for sonos, they're amazing, but I need something multiple inputs. I'm shopping for a new soundbar. Hopefully these new klipsch ones are the one

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Outdated like this thread? 1yr + old?

 

Careful with Klipsch soundbars - search this forum forum for the BAR-48 - and see the issues. Klipsch make great speakers, yet I would stay away from the powered ones - s/w and bars.

 

I am considering a Sonos for my bedroom TV - LG CX OLED.

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
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3 hours ago, Jessi said:

Im currently looking at a sonos playbar wifi sound bar from costco, im debating on that or a klipsch theater system from costco. Can anyone give me some tips or opinion on which one I should get? Its a gift to my husband for a movie room

Welcome to the Forum Jessie, if you have a movie room I think you will much prefer a system than a sound bar. What are the approximate decisions of the movie room? That information will help people give you some solid advice.

 

Travis

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So I recently got a Sonos arc with the gen 3 Sub and the One SL's for surrounds. The system is mainly for my bedroom. The sound profile form the sonos is really awesome and with 5.1 surround content it really does a great job. But the issue is with the atmos content due to the lack of elevated or up firing speakers . Also Sonos only has one HDMI port to connect it to the eARC in my LGCX which is a pain since I would rather prefer connecting my Apple TV and PlayStation to the sound bar for better quality sound. But I am debating whether to switch to a Klipsch system (Full configuration is R-620F Towers,  R-52 center,  R-51M bookshelf for rear surrounds, R-120 SW Sub, R-41SA for atoms elevation. 

Any thoughts on whether this Klipsch configuration might be too much for a bedroom. The room is a rectangle shape with dimensions of length 12in width 10inch height and height 7 in. I am undecided because I plan to  move to a house in one year and is wondering whether I should just buy this Klipsch system or wait to buy a 7.2.4 system once I get the house. In that case I am considering using the soundbar for now.

Also any thoughts on the nakamichi shocwafe 9.2.4. I was also thinking about it as an alternate for the sonos since it has more HDMI inputs and has more surround and subs for less money.

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