Last Updated On December 28th, 2020
If you’re looking for the ultimate sound system for your home, this Sonos 5.1 review could be just the inspiration that you need.
Sonos 5.1 Review
The Sonos 5.1 home cinema system is a state-of-the-art surround-sound home theatre system, designed to give you deep and immersive audio for every movie night and family rock and roll session you might plan. It combines a variety of leading technology from Sonos, including a Hi-Fi soundbar, a pair of wireless speakers, and a wireless subwoofer.
Created by the leading audio team at Sonos, the home theatre system delivers the crystal-clear clarity and exceptional tech features you’d expect from the brand. What’s more, you can even get this system in black or white, depending on your home décor preferences.
Sonos products are created to give professional-quality audio to homeowners who want to take their movies, television shows, and music to the next level. These solutions combine cutting edge technology with leading audio equipment to transform the way that you interact with sound.
To help you decide of the Sonos surround sound system is right for you, we’re going to look a little closer at its:
- Technology included
- Design
- Setup (ease of use)
- Sound quality
- Customisation options
- Other features
Features & Benefits
What You Get in the Box: Technology Included
Before we start looking at the design and functionality of the Sonos kit, it’s worth running through the features of everything you get in the package. The Sonos home theatre solution comes with access to four pieces of technology, which you can use as a complete kit or individually.
Sonos Playbar
Probably the essential part of your new investment, the Playbar represents the heart of your Sonos system. This tool connects all of your other components with only two cords required – one for the television and one for power. When synced with your subwoofer and speakers, the Sonos play bar allows homeowners to create a state-of-the-art home system instantly. One of the great things about Sonos play bars is that you don’t need a separate remote to use it – the system works with your existing television remote. You can also sync the technology with an Amazon Echo or Alexa device if you prefer to use voice-activated controls.
Sonos SUB
The “Sub” is a leading wireless subwoofer from Sonos that comes as part of your package. This fantastic and eye-catching tool will give you everything you need to experience an incredibly deep and refined boom, without any distortion. You can display the kit in your living room, or you can hide it away behind a cabinet and still get the same amazing quality of sound. The SUB even works when it’s on its side or laid down.
Sonos PLAY
The final component of the Sonos kit is two PLAY wireless speakers. These intelligent speakers are small enough to fit in any space. However, don’t let their compact appearance fool you. Within these little devices is plenty of hidden power – enough to fill your entire room. You can even wall-mound your 2 speakers if you like. When synced together, these miniature speakers are great at widening the soundscape of your living room, theatre space, or bedroom.
The Design: Appearance
Since the appearance of this kit is probably one of the first things that will grab your attention, let’s start our Sonos surround sound assessment by looking at the design. If you’ve ever had a Sonos speaker before, then you’ll know that this company is just as serious about style as it is about sound quality. The sleek and stylish home theatre kit is something that you’ll be proud to show off, no matter which room you’re setting it up in.
Each unit included with this home theatre package is beautiful to look at. However, we were particularly blown away by the appearance of the Sonos wireless subwoofer. Available in a glossy black finish, the subwoofer has an impressive futuristic style to it with a rectangular cut-out in the middle. Although this part of the bundle was the first thing to catch our eye, the rest of the Sonos selection looks pretty amazing too. The slim and sleek Sonos soundbar will fit easily in front of your television. It’s streamlined enough that it doesn’t take up too much visual real estate also, which stops your living room from seeming too cluttered.
The two Play 1 smart speakers that come with the kit are also nice to look at. Though they’re quite small, they have a modern appeal to them that’s sure to fit into any stylish living room. Additionally, the Play 1s are humidity resistant, so they’ll work in most settings – even around your bathroom.
The whole system combines to provide a good-looking home theatre kit – with minimal wiring to ensure it can maintain its minimalist appearance.
Setting Up: Ease of Use
An attractive home theatre system is excellent, but it’s important to ensure that you can use your new investment easily too. The good news is that the Sonos home cinema system is designed to simplify the process of transforming your entertainment environment. Whether you’ve never used a smart speaker before, or you’re an audiophile who loves testing out new tech, you’re sure to find your way around the Sonos quite easily.
One of the things that make the Sonos so easy to use is the fact that you can control everything from your Playbar, and your bar connects to your television so that you can manage it with your standard TV remote. There’s no need to get used to any new equipment or extra apps unless you want to. With two cables, you can get your soundbar up and running in no time. Just connect the bar to the back of your television and connect the power.
With the Sonos app, set up is incredibly simple. You’ll be guided through every step involved with syncing your Sonos speakers and subwoofer to the central bar. You can install the app on your PC, Apple device, or android, and tap on “add a new speaker” inside the app. Press a button on the speaker that you want to sync at the same time, and hey presto! You’re ready to go.
All of the components of your Sonos kit should sync wirelessly together, plus, the “Trueplay tuning” feature included with the Sonos soundbar means that you will automatically get the best sound quality, regardless of where you place your Sonos speakers.
The Sonos home theatre kit can connect to any home wi-fi network with a 2.4 GHz broadcast router and delivers highly reliable wireless streaming. Although it might take a little while to find your connections initially – particularly if you’re new to setting up this kind of wireless tech, you should get there eventually. If you have any problems, you can contact the Sonos team for guidance.
Another way you can make setting up your Sonos package even easier is to connect it with an Amazon Alexa or Echo-enabled device. This means that when you want to find the best music for you or adjust your settings, all you need to do is ask Alexa for what you need. If you’re used to asking Siri questions or using your smart speaker to control your TV and lighting already, then Alexa’s compatibility will be a massive bonus for you.
Sound Quality
So, what kind of sound quality can you expect from your Sonos home theatre system?
After all, if you’re going to be investing some serious cash into your audio equipment, you need to make sure that you’re going to get an excellent sound as a result. Fortunately, Sonos is often quite reliable on that front. The company is well-known for offering state-of-the-art sound quality, and the Sonos kit is no exception.
The powerful Sonos sub-woofer included in the kit is particularly great at adding additional depth and texture to the sound quality in your home. The “SUB” solution comes with a unique rectangular opening in the middle that helps with moving more air in and out of the enclosure, allowing for bigger and more robust vibrations. However, the specialist design of the SUB doesn’t mean that you can’t use it in a range of different ways. The system will continue to work even if you place the device on its side or hide it behind your television.
The SUB isn’t the only component contributing to the Sonos kit’s exceptional sound quality. There are two mini PLAY speakers included in the package too. Although these speakers seem small at first glance, they’re also proof that big things really can come in tiny packages. Designed to work either on their own as part of a full home cinema system, the PLAY speakers come with the same trueplay tuning that makes your Sonos soundbar so unique.
Trueplay tuning ensures that wherever you choose to place your Sonos speakers, you get an incredible quality of sound. What’s more, the Play speakers come with three-year manufacturer’s warranties included, so if anything goes wrong, you can rest assured that you’ll be able to turn to Sonos for extra help and support.
Ultimately, if you think something as sleek, stylish, and minimalist in appearance as the Sonos home kit wouldn’t be able to deliver exceptional sound – think again. Even the tiny speakers included in this package are fantastic when it comes to delivering room-filling audio. Whether you’re using each component of your home theatre kit separately, or you’re combining them for a sensational full-throttle experience, you can rest assured that you’ll get market-leading sound every time.
Customisation Options: The Sonos App
If you’re not 100% happy with the experience that you get from your Sonos home theatre kit out of the box, then it’ll help to know that you can adjust and tweak the sound however you like within the Sonos app. Ultimately, the chances are that you won’t need to dive down into the finer details of the Sonos app, as the Sonos kit is designed to sound incredible in any environment. However, we’d be remiss if we didn’t look at the customisation options in this Sonos surround sound review.
The Sonos app was created for audiophiles who know exactly what they want when they’re listening to their favourite tunes or checking out the latest blockbuster movie. You can manage a lot of your sound controls using your own standard television remote controls, but the Sonos app is where you can dive deeper into things like room settings and special extras. For instance, if you’re using your home theatre system to binge-watch a box-set on Netflix, you can use the “Speech Enhancement” feature on your app to clarify the dialogue on-screen when characters are whispering, or there’s a lot of background noise to contend with.
If you don’t have access to the TruePlay customisation features on your smartphone, you can make manual tweaks to your surround-sound settings in the “Advanced Audio settings” in your Sonos Playbar. As well as increasing the amount of bass you have in your room, or adjusting each feature individually, you can also select from a range of pre-built room settings, such as “Ambient” or “Full.” In the “Ambient” setting, the system decodes ambient sounds in the audio signals of the shows or music you’re listening too and places these in the background to create a deeper soundstage.
If you’re looking for a way to fill your room with sound for a house party, then the “Full” settings give you stereo sound from the front duplicated in your rear speakers too.
Other Features
Before we bring this review to a close, it’s worth paying attention to the high-quality of customer service that you get from the Sonos team when you invest in a speaker system too. Many of the reviews that we read about this package praised Sonos for their willingness to respond to questions quickly and provide support if anything goes wrong with your technology or app software.
While the Sonos technology included with the kit is robust enough that you shouldn’t face any serious problems with your investment, it helps to know that there’s a dedicated customer service team available to help you when you need them. Other positive things worth noting about the Sonos include:
Included Warranties
Each component of your Sonos system comes with its unique warranty. The Sonos SUB subwoofer comes with 2 years of warranty support, while the Sonos PLAY speakers come with a 3-year warranty for peace of mind.
Display However You Like
There’s no limit to what you can do with the range of incredible equipment included in the Sonos kit. For instance, the wireless play bar works in virtually any environment, and the mini speakers are wall mountable too.
Extensibility
If you decide that you want to add even more Sonos tech to your home, you can also install additional subwoofers and extra speakers to connect to your Sonos Playbar too. That means that you can link speakers in your bedroom to your system downstairs.
Finishing Thoughts
Once you’ve got your full Sonos system set up and installed, you’ll find that you have everything you need for a truly incredible home theatre experience. Although this complete kit might cost a little more than some of the other home cinema options on the market, it’s still one of the best offers when it comes to value for money. It’s difficult to find any other option on the market that provides the same quality when it comes to things like robust design, sound quality, and technological prowess.
While the initial process of setting up your Sonos system might take a little while, to begin with, if you’re not used to this kind of tech, the overall experience is excellent for any homeowner – even complete technophobes. Additionally, because you have so much control over the type of sounds that you can create, the Sonos system is great for audiophiles with a discerning ear too.
For an all-around excellent home theatre experience that you can customise to suit your personal preferences, there are few things more appealing than the Sonos. Hopefully, this Sonos 5.1 review has given you an insight into what you can expect if you decide to bite the bullet and invest in your intelligent home theatre system.
Do you already have the Sonos kit? Let us know what you think about it in the comment section below!