The new & improved Sonos Play:5 speaker has a sixth driver, better sound, motion controls and a more impressive housing. The new app takes the guess work out of EQing your room.
CE Pro reports :
The new Play:5 ($499) will eventually replace the old Play:5 and will cost $100 more than the original.
The build quality and power of the new Play:5 smokes the original, which was launched in 2009. New :5 has the extra driver and “twice the power,” says Kristen Johansen, group product manager, Player Experience.
It has six antennas inside for wireless streaming and, on the outside, polycarbonate grilles with 60,000 perforations resembling tiny pin pricks for the utmost in acoustic transparency. Look closely – even the Sonos logo on the face of the speaker is dotted with holes. The grilles are individually punched – not cut out of perforated sheets – so there is a clean line around the trim. No hanging chads.
There are some nice touches like smooth, unmarked gesture-controls for volume up/down on the top of the speaker. An accelerometer in the device knows which way the speakers are oriented (wide, vertical with logo to left, vertical with logo to right), ensuring the volume-up button is always in the right place.
The iOS-enabled app, which works with existing Play:1, Play:3 and Play:5 speakers is the Sonos version of room EQ for people like me who know little about audio. You don’t need fancy mics or acoustical gear, you just need a couple of hands and a little bit of mobility to wave your iPhone or iPad up and down, around the room, wherever a guest might be listening (watch the CE Pro video below).
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