Sonos Play 5 vs Genelec 8361A

[voodooless]

It's easy

Those are not on a wall

 

[johnwolf]

I have the GLM calibrated, the frequency graph is similar to the reviews on Youtube.

I have no intention to promote or demote either Sonos or Genelec.

I understand they are clearly designed for different use cases.

I am looking for suggestions of some songs or tests that I can do so that I can tell the difference.

 

[Pearljam5000]

There are pekplel

It's easy

Love this room

 

[GXAlan]

Remember that Sonos has the world’s largest anechoic chambers and economics of scale that cannot be matched by Genelec. The products are also manufactured in areas with lower production costs than Finland.

The Sonos 5 is pretty good and I have a pair along with the sub. They do a good job with a DSP.

That said, if the OP isn’t a troll, he or she simply lacks the experience to hear differences or is using a source of poor enough quality to make the difference smaller. The room correction of the Sonos system is pretty good and if you are at 60-70 dB, you might not appreciate a difference if listening as background music.

@napilopez measured cheapest Sonos Roam and it does pretty well at restricted volume;

Sonos Roam Portable Speaker: Spinorama and measurements (more proof mainstream speakers can be real good)

Measured the Sonos Roam today, the company's new, smaller bluetooth speaker. Here's the spin at 80% volume (measured at ~ 0.6m). So this is around 76dB@1m. Please read the disclaimer at the end of the post And here an estimate of it at 60% volume (i spliced a nearfield woofer measurement...

www.audiosciencereview.com

No one has a hard time imagining a Topping desktop DAC beating Marantz SA-10, but if we think a Sonos can punch well above its weight, we are skeptical…

For the record, I like my Sonos for background music. I think the JBL Studio 530 and JBL XPL90 are both far superior for solo listening, both of which are measured here.

 

[johnwolf]

Here is the picture.

 

[GXAlan]

I am looking for suggestions of some songs or tests that I can do so that I can tell the difference.

La La Land Sountrack - Another Day of Sun
As it gets chaotic at the 1 minute mark, a good speaker will handle the intermodulation effects more clearly. This track was mixed from 768 different tracks!

Inside Track: La La Land

Achieving a naturalistic sound on a Hollywood film set isn’t easy — but was central to director Damien Chazelle’s vision for La La Land.

www.soundonsound.com

House of Flying Daggers - Echo Game
Originally designed as a 5.1 showcase, the stereo mix really challenges a woofer’s control. I used to think it was a bad mix/mastering until I paired it with a JBL 4319 which has really clean and low distortion bass.

Same thing, when all of the drums are going simultaneously, a good speaker keeps each drum strike clean and crisp. A bad speaker starts sounding like random noise.

 

[G|force]

Those are not on a wall

They are haphazardly placed with little concern and my GRADE report confirms it.
They sound great anyway and if I put my chin on that table it's like a zoom lens.
IDK if that is a compliment for the loudspeakers but I can zoom in and out with my head.

 

[johnwolf]

La La Land Sountrack - Another Day of Sun
As it gets chaotic at the 1 minute mark, a good speaker will handle the intermodulation effects more clearly. This track was mixed from 768 different tracks!

Inside Track: La La Land

Achieving a naturalistic sound on a Hollywood film set isn’t easy — but was central to director Damien Chazelle’s vision for La La Land.

www.soundonsound.com

House of Flying Daggers - Echo Game
Originally designed as a 5.1 showcase, the stereo mix really challenges a woofer’s control. I used to think it was a bad mix/mastering until I paired it with a JBL 4319 which has really clean and low distortion bass.

Same thing, when all of the drums are going simultaneously, a good speaker keeps each drum strike clean and crisp. A bad speaker starts sounding like random noise.

Thanks. I will give it a try.

 

[Sancus]

According to rtings the Five can't play loud at all(bass below 70hz disintegrates above 80dB) and overall tonality is bright.

Looking at the design of the speaker I can't imagine it has good vertical directivity either so the sound will change substantially between sitting/standing. Hard to say anything else based on available data.

 

[Peluvius]

If you enjoy each speaker equally, I would sell the 8361s'. I am not sure how much "effort" you should have to put in to enjoy something (or even tell them apart) would seem a much easier solution for you to just enjoy the cheaper/smaller option. I still want to know who would buy a set of these without the ability to discern them from other speakers?

 

[xaviescacs]

Same thing, when all of the drums are going simultaneously, a good speaker keeps each drum strike clean and crisp. A bad speaker starts sounding like random noise.

I would say something similar about Central by John Frusciante. I would give it a try, at a good volume to unveil all the dynamics.

If you like classical and have some time, I would guess something with a lot of bass like Der Abschied of Das Lied von der Erde should reveal clear differences in bass capabilities: extension and clarity.

But before all of this I would try to match levels with pink noise. And if pink noise itself sounds different, there you have it

 

[G|force]

According to rtings the Five can't play loud at all(bass below 70hz disintegrates above 80dB)

We saw from the graph upthread that the Five is tilted up. As to the SPL capability, I recon that's the rationale for buying two six or ten. Comb filtering with constructive and destructive modes? Probably but one could get loud in their face with enough of them if SPL is the goal with the aforementioned lifestyle of maintaining a cable and clutter free environment.
I have chainsaw bar oil on my rug. I should clean that up.

 

[abdo123]

No one has a hard time imagining a Topping desktop DAC beating Marantz SA-10, but if we think a Sonos can punch well above its weight, we are skeptical…

Well the 8361A is arguably the best speaker in the world for distances from 1 to 4 meters. So yeah i feel the skepticism is very warranted.

 

[Miercoles2022]

@G|force, you also have that big Class A amp in the background…

 

[DMill]

Here is the picture.

Thank you.

 

[SuicideSquid]

Thanks. I will give it a try.

If you want more familiar popular music, try Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer, or anything from Sting's live album "All This Time". Lots of deep bass on both that should show off the Genelecs. The Sting album in particular is immaculately recorded and listening on a good set of speakers, it sounds almost like you're at the concert.

 

[GXAlan]

Well the 8361A is arguably the best speaker in the world for distances from 1 to 4 meters. So yeah i feel the skepticism is very warranted.

And Sonos might be the largest speaker company in the world by market cap. Sonos makes nothing but audio and their market cap is $2B down from $5B before the current stock market crash. Literally, Sonos only makes speakers/amplifiers/streamers and they're $2B. That's a lot of weight to throw around with your suppliers.

The Sonos Five is $550 and made in either China or Malaysia depending on product revision. Cost of living in Malaysia is 1/3rd of Finland, so you'd assume that the same Sonos Five made in Finland would be $1650.

Now imagine that the OP is listening content with minimal bass. Let's say an acoustic vocal with no background music.

Above 320Hz, the Genelec is now just a 5" woofer compared to the Sonos Five's 3x2.75" = 19.6 sq inches vs. 17.8 sq inches. It's probably easier to control distortion with 3 small woofers as opposed to a large woofer.

Now look at the photo of the OP's setup. The Genelec's are pretty high up whereas the Sonos is closer to being on axis. The OP is running them horizontally so that actually increases dispersion (as opposed to running the Sonos Five vertically).

Last, consider the author listening to lower SPLs where all of the engineering behind the Genelec is wasted.

It's a very stacked comparison, and by no means do I think the Sonos Five is better than the Genelec. However, I do think the right (or wrong) content can easily make the difference smaller than you'd think. I also think the Sonos systems punch way above their weight when setup properly. You give up a lot of audio quality for a gain in a lot of convenience.

This only works at lower SPLs.

 

[Peluvius]

Honestly OP. You have somehow found a Bugatti Veyron in your garage and you want us to tell you why the Honda civic next to it is different for driving to the local shops??

 

[jae]

@G|force, you also have that big Class A amp in the background…

Actually it's more efficient than class A...

 

[GXAlan]

Honestly OP. You have somehow found a Bugatti Veyron in your garage and you want us to tell you why the Honda civic next to it is different for driving to the local shops??

I think it's one of two things. The OP is trying to troll, or the OP actually is impressed by how well the Sonos 5 sounds. He has a Sonos soundbar which wouldn't interact with the Sonos 5's (you cannot use it as a center with two fronts flanking it).

I've got a Sonos Five pair (with sub) and it replaced a Devialet Phantom Silver pair.

The Sonos is much better than you'd expect for a lifestyle product. I really think Amir or Erin should review it. Again, look at the bottom of the line Sonos Roam's spinorama.

The Sonos is hardly a competitor to a premium audiophile system if you're listening to anything well recorded for pleasure or intent.