276°
Posted 20 hours ago

SONOS PLAY:5 Smart Wireless Speaker, Black

£9.9£99Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

The Arc's own status light consists of LEDs that shine through four holes above the subtle Sonos logo (fun fact: there are 76,000 holes in all the grilles combined). By default, these LEDs remain off most of the time and their brightness is tailored to the ambient light in the room even when they are lit (when adjusting volume, for example), so as not to appear too bright.

We've now tested the Arc with many of the best TVs, and it's clear that mileage varies based on brand and age. The Now Playing screen in the Sonos app flags up that Dolby Atmos is being received, while the About My System part of the settings menus confirms the format in which it’s being transmitted. With a bit of fiddling in the TV menus, all of the LG OLED and Samsung QLED TVs that we've used have been able to transmit Dolby Atmos to the Arc from their integrated apps and pass through True HD Atmos from our Oppo UDP-203 Blu-ray player without issue. It's certainly far more fully-featured than its similar-looking Bluetooth speaker rivals. While most speakers this size are simple devices you simply connect to your smartphone using Bluetooth, the Sonos Roam offers full compatibility with the Sonos app and multi-room ecosystem the brand is known for. The Sonos Roam is the firm's cheapest smart speaker. Portable and with Bluetooth and wi-fi connectivity, the Toblerone-shaped Roam is a great alternative to the company's first Bluetooth speaker, the 2019-released Sonos Move (below). Without upward-firing speakers, it’ll never deliver as much immersion as a full Atmos speaker setup. But the Gen 2 does a surprisingly effective job of replicating overhead effects – and the soundstage is impressively expansive for a compact soundbar. It’s a simple, effective solution for superior sound – and you can always add a Sub if you want more oomph. This speaker shares all these traits with its cheaper brethren, the Era 100 (see below). But the two are quite different propositions.

In traditional Sonos style, the Five is not interested in a shy, retiring sound – it's here to bring the bass and make you feel it, and we're not complaining. However (and we've said this before) it's important to note that we like it more if you can use TruePlay tuning, and not everyone is granted that privilege.

According to Fink, Sonos put much work into iterating the curvature of the internal waveguides, revamping Trueplay to account for ceiling distance, angles and acoustics, and tuning Arc with Atmos content producers in music, movies and TV.We added our subjective impressions of the bar's soundstage with Atmos content. Since we don't factor this into our scoring, there were no changes to the Height (Atmos) score. Some devices may not pass Dolby Atmos by default without making some adjustments to audio settings.

There’s two rear reinforced holes to wall mount the 13.78 lb (6.25 kg) unit for a forward facing mounting setup, but naturally the bass response is a little more concentrated when it can reflect off a tabletop surface. It’s a 5.1.2 system when you add the rear surrounds and sub …the two height channels are the ‘pseudo’ downward firing channels. So I was mistaken, but this link may assist... Rarely does a device arrive that does so much and does it all so well. Even rarer that it remains a class leader almost three years after release. Be in no doubt; the Sonos Arc is a superb bit of kit. Ultimately, I think the Era 100 is a step up in sound over the Sonos One, but a smaller one than I expected once you factor in that the bass is a little loose – if you already have a pair of Sonos Ones and are wondering about replacing them with two of these purely to get richer bass, then I'd spend that money on adding a Sonos Sub Mini to them instead. Adding Dolby Atmos to a soundbar wasn’t a new idea. But Sonos found a way to make it sound groundbreaking. Successor to the Playbar, the Arc is designed to live beneath your TV and add superior audio to your viewing experience – without a full surround setup.

The thing about this speaker array and design, though, is that you can't be putting this on a set of shelves where it's covered above and to the sides, like many of the best stereo speakers can. It needs to be out on the open, with room to blast soundwaves up and to the sides. The compact dimensions are ideal for those who can't fit the larger, pricier Sonos Arc into their homes, though getting the full spectrum of Sonos's multi-room and streaming features for a more affordable price will be hugely popular too. That said, if the original (non-Atmos) Beam is heavily discounted, that could well be a better-value option for those on a budget. So the Sonos Era 100 features a new oval woofer for bass and mid-range, and two angled tweeters above it, one facing left, and one facing right. The tweeters have a 100-degree angle between them, and each has a waveguide frame in front of it that disperses sound across 180 degrees per tweeter. That means the tweeters have a total sound spread of 270 degrees between them, according to Sonos. There are connections on the rear for power and USB-C input, and you'll find the Bluetooth control button and the switch to cut the microphone here. It looks like a soundbar, but also like a Sonos speaker – largely thanks to its matte finish, acoustic grille and impeccable build quality. It’s lengthy at 114cm, but the limited height and depth give it a relatively low profile. Inside are 11 drivers: two firing upwards, one at each end and eight carefully angled along the front of the bar.

We'll have to reserve judgement until we've run the rule over every aspect of the Sonos Roam SL, but on paper, it's a tempting proposition for those who want to dive into the Sonos ecosystem at the lowest price point. It's particularly handy for use in the kitchen as it can be used hands-free, such as for catching up on the news, radio or cooking recipes, with extra information displayed on its seven-inch screen. You can also use it as a hub for your smart home, such as for turning smart lights on and off with just your voice. That's not to say it's bass-heavy overall though. Listen to Fontaines D.C.'s Skinty Fia and you'll hear a low-end that, while impactful and unwavering, never bloats or muddies other musical passages such as accordions, drum riffs, angered vocals and keys. This precision is matched by the three silk dome tweeters that deliver particularly crisp highs with an impressive level of control. We were particularly taken by the unit's ability to deliver soundscapes that distinguished sound from individual instruments during particular arrangements without feeling disjointed. The Era 300 joins its smaller Era 100 sibling as one of Sonos’ newest speakers. Its big draw (beyond its unusual form factor), is its ability to offer immersive, room-filling sound, thanks to support for spatial audio in the form of Dolby Atmos Music. The result is rich sound, a wide soundstage, and punchy bass, all presented in tight, crisp clarity. Non-Dolby Atmos Music is a treat to listen to as well, making it a superb all-rounder.I bought the Arc at the same time as a new tv so made sure they were compatable. The Arc gives a great, full sound. I use it for the television and for listening to streamed music through You tube. I previously had difficulty catching all dialogue well enough but it is much clearer for speech. The screen can be turned off and the music can be operated through my phone. These are 2 easy ways so as yet I haven't tried the Sonos app. It was easy to set up and link through the tv. I'm not a sound or tech nerdy type but wanted to improve and streamline my sound set up so I cant say about sub woofers and whatever. The depth and spread of sound is perfect for my situation and a medium sized room. I intend to add a Sonos speaker in the kitchen to link to it. A cylinder with a hollowed-out centre, the Sub Mini could be mistaken for a minimalist stool. Its one-colour matte finish is Sonos to the core, while the dimensions – 305mm tall by 230mm across – mean it’s easy to position. Its 6.35kg weight is also a lot easier to shift than the 16kg Sub. The Sonos Era 100 has a sound architecture comprising three Class-D drivers, two dual-angled tweeters and a mid-woofer. The woofer is said to be 25 per cent larger than the Sonos One's woofer, and there is a 47 per cent faster processor too, future-proofing the Era 100 for software updates. The Era 100 also delivers stereo sound rather than mono and overall, the sound performance it delivers is absolutely excellent. But the design is a lot more conservative. That's because it's designed to deliver stereo sound, but can't handle spatial audio. This is still an upgrade over the Sonos One though, which was only mono. Like the Sonos Playbar soundbar (which now isn't widely available), the Playbase has now been discontinued (but is Sonos S2-compatible). Stylish yet sturdy enough to plonk your telly on top of, the Playbase makes perfect sense if you don't fancy using a soundbar. In fact, it's the only Sonos option if you're set on the soundbase form.

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment